Mike Gundy tried to make a point in his latest foot-in-mouth fiasco. He missed the mark on that too.

Mike Gundy’s comments regarding Oklahoma State’s involvement in the arrest of Ollie Gordon on suspicion of DUI were one of the stupidest comments ever issued by a head college football coach. And it is a competitive category.

That doesn’t mean he wasn’t trying to raise an interesting argument about the responsibility of college head coaches these days, it’s just that when you accuse ESPN of being yourself in effect “1,000 times over.” Have arrived, no matter what point you are trying to make is seemingly lost.

We’ll get to all that, but only as a strategic matter, said Gundy, who is entering his 20th season as Cowboys head coach and 16 years old from his epic “I’m a man, I’m 40 years old” Years away, the Big 12 went completely unprepared for the anticipated questioning at media days.

Gordon, 20, was arrested late last month after the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said he was driving at a high speed and weaving in and out of traffic lanes. Open containers of alcohol were found in his vehicle and police allege Gordon later blew 0.11 and 0.10 on a breathalyzer.

Gundy knew he would be asked about it, let alone his decision not to suspend the Heisman Trophy candidate.

Yet his response was casual, absurd and self-centered rather than conveying the serious nature of the accusation. In doing so, they turned a lightly covered national story – Gordon’s arrest – into a huge headline and made it worse for everyone.

“College football has changed and we all know it,” Gundy began. “We may say that these people are not employees, but they are actually employees. These people get paid a lot of money, which is fine. But there has to be a side to what they do so they can, for lack of a better term, face the music and accept things.

“When I saw it, I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to be really honest with myself first, and then make what I think is the best decision for Ollie, our university, and our team,’ ” he adds. “…So I looked it up on my phone, ‘What’s the legal limit?’ In Oklahoma, it’s 0.08, and Ollie was 0.1. So I looked it up, and it was based on body weight – not to get on the legal side of it.

“But I thought, ‘Really, two or three beers, or four?’ I’m not justifying what Ollie did. I’m telling you what decision I made, ‘I’ve probably done this 1,000 times in my life.’ Which is fine. So I got lucky. Oli made a decision that he could do better.

“But when I spoke to Ollie, I said to him, ‘You’re lucky. You’re out because you make a lot of money playing football.’ In the old days, it was difficult for a college player to bear the cost of it.”

Gundy later tried to clarify when he said he would do so He “1,000 times in my life,” he meant He It means, “We are all guilty of making bad decisions. It was not a reference to anything specific.”

Eh, it definitely seemed like something specific, not a general “bad decision”. Either way, the entire response was not serious, but dismissive and insulting, especially to the many victims of drunk driving. This is a terrible image to present.

Earnings or not, we’ll give Gundi the benefit of the doubt that he’s not in favor of drunk driving or being unconcerned about it. At least we can hope for this much.

The overall point buried in Gundy’s stupidity seems to be that modern college coaches should not bear responsibility for the actions of their players because these players are adults who, due to zero rules, are essentially well-paid professionals.

For example, if the Kansas City Chiefs is arrested for DUI, no one is trying to figure out why Andy Reid hasn’t established the appropriate culture. It’s the same with history professors and deans.

It appears that Gundy believes that he cannot be blamed for Gordon’s decisions and that he is not obligated to suspend him for any length of time because of what Gordon allegedly did. So neither he nor any other player in the team will be affected.

Gundy is probably not alone among major college coaches on this.

Gundy joked – we think – that having to sit Gordon in the season opener against South Dakota State would be a reward, not a punishment. “If there’s any punishment, it would be to carry the ball 50 times in the first game,” Gundy said.

So, should the fact that Gordon is now being paid to play — rather than tuition, room and board — absolve Oklahoma State and its coaches of doing anything?

Perhaps, things have changed to some extent. Gordon must – and has – dealt with the consequences. However there is a lot that Gundy is conveniently ignoring.

First, in the NFL, a DUI conviction results in an automatic three-game suspension – which includes loss of game check. So it’s not like you can do whatever you want.

Second, Gundy is making $7.5 million per year, which is 7-10 times more than what the Cowboys’ best player, Gordon, is making. Andy Reid is not making 10 times Patrick Mahomes’ salary.

Third, the social contract between a professional team and the citizens of its home city – or a private employer and an employee – is different from the contract between a college team and the college it represents.

Because of that relationship Gundi has gained immense power, influence and fortune. Now he’s pulling the “don’t ask me, I just work here” bit?

College coaches might like to blame it on some of the bucks now going to the players, but even after filtering through Gundy’s clumsy logic, that’s a big stretch. He still bears a significant level of responsibility for everything that happens within his program.

This includes ridiculous and embarrassing answers on media day.