(This article was a joint effort between Robert Allen and Zachary Lancaster.)

STILLWATER -- Mike Yurcich, Oklahoma State's Offensive Coordinator since 2013, will no longer be with the program following the Liberty Bowl. A very reliable source told Go Pokes before the Liberty Bowl that the door to Yurcich's office was half open with the key left in it and his office was completely cleaned out.

Go Pokes was the first to report that Yurcich had officially been offered the Offensive Coordinator position at Tennessee at a substantial bump in pay from what he was making at Oklahoma State. At this time, we're not reporting that Yurcich is headed to Tennessee, just that Tennessee is the only offer that we know of currently on the table for Yurcich.

"[Mike] Yurcich is a guy whose name has been out there the last three years. Interesting how some of the fans view him but everybody else in the country wants him," Gundy said kind of wide-eyed during a press conference a few days before the Liberty Bowl. "Pretty interesting concept. At some point, Mike is going to move on. I told you guys last year during bowl prep that I wouldn’t be shocked if Mike is a head coach or moves on. He’s had interest from the NFL. There are NFL teams that have called about him as the NFL starts to migrate toward college football on offense. At some point, he’s going to move on. He’s 41 or 42. He’s at a point in his career where that that could happen. We would love to keep him here. We’re not going to be able to pay what other schools will potentially offer him. If he gets a run to be a coordinator at all the schools that are interested in him or maybe move on to the NFL, that’s probably going to be his next move. You just call it like it is. Some of the other coaching jobs you get at levels that are lower pay about a third or fourth of what these guys are making as coordinators. We hope to keep him as long as we can, but at some point he will move on. If he does, we wish him the best. He’s been very loyal and has been great for the program."

As Robert Allen said in his article a few days ago, Yurcich never denied any of the rumors of him being offered by other programs, but if you go back through the past few years, he’s never really denied any reports nor has he gone into any great detail.

"You guys have to do your job, but I have a job to do and it is to get this team ready for Missouri in the Liberty Bowl," Yurcich said when asked about the vacancy at offensive coordinator at Tennessee, a job he has been rumored to be a prime candidate for. "It's that particular time of year where speculation occurs and it has occurred several years in a row. The only thing is I would hate to take any time away from our purpose which is to send these seniors out as winners this season."

Now that Yurcich has left, a few possibilities to take over at Offensive Coordinator from inside the organization are either offensive line coach Josh Henson or wide receiver coach Kasey Dunn. Outside possibilities would include a number of coaches including Tampa Bay offensive coordinator and former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken now that Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter has been fired.

Monken was the passing game coordinator and wide receiver’s coach under Les Miles from 2002 to 2004 and came back to Oklahoma State in 2011 as the Offensive Coordinator under current head coach Mike Gundy and was vital to the team winning the Big 12 Title that year.

Monken is a hot commodity and to Gundy, so is continuity.

"Continuity is huge. I guess I can freely say this now, it’s like if you look around the country at athletic directors who say we’ve had a couple bad years, but I’m staying with this coach and then they end up doing pretty good," Gundy added. "They made a much better choice because on a smaller scale, when you make a change, you’re changing a lot. Unless you’re in a program if you have really, really, really good players, it’s difficult to make a wholesale change as a coordinator or head coach and then start showing up within the first couple years. The assistant coaches, they play a big role in this. At Oklahoma State, once [Larry] Fedora left and I started calling plays for a couple years and then I said I’m out of that and we started bringing coordinators in. When we bring those guys in, for the most part, they adapt to our terminology. That consistency has helped our team in our opinion. It’s the same with assistant coaches, with Dunn whose been with me 8-9 years and the other guys from the standpoint that unless there’s just a really, really, really good reason to make a change, the continuity is important. Forget football and recruiting. It’s hard enough to recruit anyway much less put a guy in an area or going after players that he’s somewhat uncomfortable with because he hasn’t been in that area like for us, in Texas. All those things tie in. It’s a pretty big picture."

Mike Yurcich came to Oklahoma State in 2013 following a successful stint at Shippensburg University and has overseen one of the greatest offensive eras in Oklahoma State history. During his six years in Stillwater, the Cowboys have averaged 38.0 points and 478.3 yards of total offense per game, there have been four 10-win seasons and the Pokes have a 52-24 overall record.