'Just stick to the script': Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy moving forward without a defensive coordinator

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy was more than 20 minutes into his press conference on Monday afternoon when he got a report on the status of the Cowboy practice that was just beginning across the street at the Sherman Smith Training Center.

“They’re starting to stretch right now,” said Sean Maguire, OSU football’s assistant director of communications.

Gundy turned back to the media.

“I’m coaching defense now, so I gotta go,” Gundy said.

He grinned like a man who was joking, but moments later, he was coaching like one who was quite serious, giving encouragement and direction to defensive players.

Gundy’s program is without a defensive coordinator, following the departure of Jim Knowles to Ohio State last week. And that is how it will remain throughout preparation for the Fiesta Bowl, where OSU will face Notre Dame at noon on Jan. 1 in Glendale, Arizona.

Sign recruits, hire a DC, plan a bowl: OSU football coach Mike Gundy has plenty on his plate

Gundy will not name an interim defensive coordinator, instead waiting until after the bowl game to insert a permanent replacement.

After returning from a recruiting trip late last week, Gundy got brought up to speed on everything he needed to know about how Knowles was operating the big-picture defensive planning.

“I gathered everybody up,” Gundy said. “We went over everything we needed to do to get to gameday, to where it would be the exact same, or really, even better than when Jim was here. So we laid all that out, made sure everybody understood their responsibility, made sure everybody understood what part of the game plan they were responsible for.

“And then I asked them things to get accomplished that I needed to know myself, to get caught up since Jim’s not here. I’ve been meeting with them every day.

“Quite honestly, I don’t expect to skip a beat.”

Gundy divided and delegated the work that Knowles was doing among his other assistants, Joe Bob Clements, Greg Richmond, Tim Duffie, Dan Hammerschmidt and graduate assistant Koy McFarland.

That is how the staff will operate for the next couple of weeks, until the team gets to Arizona. The coaches will prepare the team in a collective manner.

When they get to Arizona for game week, Gundy will make a determination on who will be the defensive play-caller for the Fiesta Bowl.

More: Which players are committed to Oklahoma State football's 2022 recruiting class?

'Bigger than one man': OSU has kept defensive recruiting class intact after Jim Knowles' departure

“I’ll make that decision, probably, the day we get there,” Gundy said. “I’m watching everything. I’m watching it take place in practice. I’m watching everybody do their job. I’m listening in meetings, gaining knowledge on guys in the room that can give me information on Notre Dame’s offense. I’m just gathering that information and I’ll make that decision when we get out there.”

Gundy could look internally for Knowles’ replacement, or he could look to bring in someone from the outside.

“There’s guys here that I have thoughts about,” Gundy said. “My job is to find the very best person, whether it’s here or somewhere else, to be in charge of the defense and keep the tools we have in the toolbox, and keep it moving forward, because we have a good plan right now.

“The easiest thing to do is just move somebody and not change. But I have to make sure that, in my opinion, I could be wrong, that that’s what’s best for the organization. I just don’t have that answer.”

In practice, Gundy has inserted his voice where Knowles’ is absent.

“It’s pretty different. He’s not usually around us,” OSU senior cornerback Jarrick Bernard-Converse said. “He’s usually on the offensive side. It’s nice to have him out there, cheering us on and coaching us up.”

Knowles informed the players of his departure as a group last week.

“We were kinda shook,” Bernard-Converse said. “We’re just gonna keep the same game plan, the same schemes we’ve been doing all year.

“Just stick to the script.”

Carlson: If college football cares about players, December's Early Signing Day must be stopped

Fiesta Bowl

OSU VS. NOTRE DAME: Noon Saturday, Jan. 1, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. (ESPN)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSU football: Mike Gundy will not name interim defensive coordinator