My advice would be to keep the powder dry right now folks. The season is over 1/2 done and there are going to be qualified candidates available at the end of the regular season that are not going to think themselves on the market right now. Akey can hold the flag while Santa Ana's troops climb the ladders.
That said, FCS winter xfer portal opens Dec 8 CFP or whatever it is opens on Jan 2, so having the HC hired by end of Nov seems like it's the critical time line.
Yep, wait to make the hire until the season is over and right before the portal opens. Best way to capitalize on the positive momentum that usually comes with the hiring of a new coach. It only happens once per new regime, don't waste it.
Barnes is right, Bray didn't do the things Barnes said. But that turd belongs in Barnes pocket. Any decent interviewing process would have exposed those weaknesses. Barnes is the real failure here and he should man up to it.
Franklin is only interested in programs he believes has a "chance" to win a NC. He's been very transparent about that since he got to Vanderbilt. He's not going to get another shot at a blue blood program, but he'll only be interested in a P4 job. Arkansas, Oklahoma State, possibly Auburn, etc. Plenty of second tier P4 programs will be interested, and a much better fit for him.
Barnes says Bray never embraced the entire enterprise. Wasn’t comfortable in the CEO roll and making the tough decisions. Shouldn’t Barnes have recognized this during Bray’s interview as well as his time as DC? Barnes didn’t do a very good job of vetting Trent Bray as head coaching material.
When JS skulked out of town the portal was open and Barnes had to move quickly to staunch the bleeding - not the time for an extended search. Not that easy to determine if a person is "CEO material" lol.
Dickert left at the same time at WSU, Cougars found what appears to be a good coach, who had previous head coaching experience. You can't panic in this timelines, departures always happen at the wrong time. Dickert quit on WSU (as did his QB) the last three games and he quickly got out of town on a jet with a selfie of him and his family saying "Wake Bound" with no thanks to WSU for giving him his first head coaching job. WSU moved fairly fast, looked at Vigen and Rogers, not sure who was the top choice, both are outstanding. OSU could've easily done the same, this is on the A.D.
Hindsight is always 20/20. No way to know if not promoting Bray and undertaking a quick search would have secured an experienced head coach. We do know that his promotion was enthusiastically accepted by the current players. I for one am not going to blame the AD for making a move that was easily understandable at the time.
Jayathi Murthy needs to have an eye ball to eye ball conversation with Barnes. And if that ends the way it should end, OSU will be looking to fill two positions.
Good interview John, and good on AD Barnes for taking the time. Right thing to do as AD, but too often they don't. Would have liked to see an OSU hat or shirt on Mr Barnes. No Search Firm, save $$. AD Barnes knows what he is looking for, coaches know the job is available, they'll reach out. Just ask the right, hard questions. See F King Alexander or USC Steve S/UW drinking issues, which the Search Firm didn't stress enough possibly.
I am not in the defending search firm business, but it takes a lot of coordination. There are agents that need to be spoken with, athletic directors, alumni, donors, and the coaches themselves. The money on the table has to be discussed, along with years on the contract, guaranteed resources that the university will put behind the program, etc. That is all part of the dance before Barnes would even get a long list, let alone a short list…then the actual negotiations start in earnest. Could Barnes do this? Probably. But would the university be better off hiring in experts that have shepherded dozens if not hundreds of coaching hires across college sports? I think so. No disrespect to Barnes here, but give him the help. It will make for what should likely be a more exhaustive, pragmatic, and well considered result.
Well played, and very thoughtful summary, Matt. Reality will top emotional shoot from the hip every time - however two things can be true. You list the many steps, transactions and analysis called for; some are designed to smoke out any hidden information that would be detrimental to the perceived results. Thus besides transactional there is still the importance of "CYA" I would hold.
Again, well played; correct and somewhat profound. Thanks again for your thoughtful notes. Charlie
I participate in a relatively small Zoom group chat associated with the Esalen Institute. I have always told my fellow members that one of the many reasons I enjoy being with them is the joy of talking to people who speak in complete sentences. I experience this same joy from time to time, example today, with you fellow Conzano Posse members. Thank you all.
It's illegal for ADs or schools to reach out to other coaches during the season. Search firms can reach out to agents immediately to start putting together a list of who is actually interested and an outline of what each coach's minimum requirements are. After that, the hiring committee should be working to help vet the candidates.
Great set of questions, JC. I find it telling that Barnes is using a search firm AND a hiring committee. The hiring committee, he admitted, is a first for him in 5 head coaching hires. That tells me Barnes is on a short leash--and he should be. Oregon State athletics is hemorrhaging financially and in reputation. And, fairly or unfairly, Barnes has been in the cockpit. He needs to get this one right, or he and Gary Andersen will be sharing flyfishing stories.
Missed opportunity to directly ask Barnes about his ownership regarding the coaching hire failure or if he thinks he’s on the hot seat at all given the state of the overall program, terrible NIL deal, Blaylock’s comments, etc.
Did you hear the end of the interview, where JC basically asked if Barnes regretted hiring Bray? He left the toughest question for last, but he didn't miss the opportunity; he took it. And this was not the interview to ask about the NIL deal and Blaylock. Only one crisis per interview allowed.
I did listen to the end. Asking if he regrets the hire isn’t the same as asking Barnes if he’s at fault for making the hire. He’s never going to admit publicly if he regrets it. I’d much rather hear Barnes respond to a question about owning the bad hire. It was ultimately his decision. Does he take ownership over the fact he made a bad hire?
Bray was asked week in and week out about job security. Barnes should not be immune from the same line of questioning, especially on the heals of firing Bray for the dismissal state of our program. Leadership starts at the top.
What Oregon State needs above all else is a top notch recruiter. One who is able to recruit high school athletes, portal transfers and retain desired talent. It all starts & ends with the quality of the athletes in the program. Get the best recruiter that the program can afford. He can hire game day coaches.
The game is no longer about recruiting. It is about raising money to pay for NIL and a competitive Rev-Share. If the top players are under contract at OSU, the 2nd tier that won't get paid much if any NIL will want to jump on board. Everyone wants to play for a winner, and vice versa
New York Times, Oct 10, 2025, "Boot Big Football from the NCAA" by Dr James T Harris, President, University of San Diego and former NCAA executive. Excellent summary of the many elements concerning where college sports are at the moment and consequences of certain decisions. Informative, worth a read. Charlie
Read it. Love it. It is also reprinted on the LinkedIN page of Stu Jackson (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stu-jackson-32a2a8b_opinion-boot-big-football-from-the-ncaa-activity-7382822146626052096-9jjn/). Here is what I said: Love this idea by Dr. Harris. I have suggested the same approach on John Canzano's blog "Bald Faced Truth". The logic of the P4 football ADs / Presidents is that they control most of the money in college football. True. They have conspired with the media networks to secure exclusive large contracts which actually are likely monopolistic and possibly subject to anti-trust law. If they set themselves up as an association, basically the AAA or developmental league for the NFL, then the NFL, with its partnerships in media, can help direct the 68 team AAA league which is divorced from the universities. They can still play in the same stadiums in front of the same fans, mostly in college towns without their own NFL teams. Those universities who give up their football team to the NFL-lite association can still lease their stadiums / facilities to those programs. The players can still attend classes, if they like. But there won't be any requirement to pretend to be "student-athletes". Rev-share will be based on a player's union contract with the management of the league, just like the NFL. There would be a minimum, maybe like $100K so even bench players make a living. NIL will still be a thing. If smart, the NFL-lite will adopt salary caps and some type of draft rules to ensure competitiveness.
To this, I would add, as I have previously: In the case of Oregon, which probably cannot support two expensive NFL AAA teams, once the Ducks are divorced from the U of O campus and become the NFL-lite affiliate in the state of Oregon, they can appeal to ALL the football fans in the state, not just the Ducks alumni. If the Ducks represented the state of Oregon, I would probably become a fan. There would be another few hundred thousand people to clammer for tickets within a 90 minute drive radius (picking up from Roseburg to Portland). This will make sense in all the 2nd tier cities in America who do not have an NFL team but do have a P4 college team nearby. It is really what should happen so we can get back to the NCAA representing amateur college sports and not sacrifice Olympic and women's sports in the process.
I really have no response at this point as I have not thought about the changes as far forward as you. I too liked the case Dr Harris made for the non revenue sports. Thanks for the thoughtful note, Charlie
Sounds like something I was thinking. The team names would be simply their same names with no mention of the school. To think these players represent their schools (except for a rare few) is wrong. They don't give a fig who they play for as long as they get paid.
Correct.... these players change teams every year if they can make a few more bucks. They are pros, not "student-athletes" (noticed today that Scott Barnes incorrectly used that term during his interview with JC)
Fans have forgotten the dire situation when JS skulked out of town. The transfer portal was open, and the expectation was that many players would follow him to MSU. No time for a deliberate successor search; the hire of Bray was welcomed by the players (remember the applause at the announcement?). Not that easy to determine if a Coordinator has "CEO skills."
I like Barnes. I know Beaver Nation has mixed feelings on him, owing to his hiring record and all, but lets remember how hard things have been at OSU for a long time running now, with a few bright spots sprinkled in. The last time things looked really good and sustainable was probably with Dennis Erickson, with a case to be made for Jonathan Smith, who fled when things got really hard. With that said: The facilities are pretty good now, the alumni are loyal. Things will improve. Could they get any worse?
I hope Barnes involves the very people Brent Blaylock said no one remembers:
Chad Paulson
Steven Jackson
Mike Hass
Sean Mannion
Derek Anderson
Yvenson Bernard…
The list goes on.
WeavTheBeav
Ocho Cinco has wanted to be involved
Love it!!
My advice would be to keep the powder dry right now folks. The season is over 1/2 done and there are going to be qualified candidates available at the end of the regular season that are not going to think themselves on the market right now. Akey can hold the flag while Santa Ana's troops climb the ladders.
That said, FCS winter xfer portal opens Dec 8 CFP or whatever it is opens on Jan 2, so having the HC hired by end of Nov seems like it's the critical time line.
Other thoughts? Beuhler? Anyone?
Yep, wait to make the hire until the season is over and right before the portal opens. Best way to capitalize on the positive momentum that usually comes with the hiring of a new coach. It only happens once per new regime, don't waste it.
Barnes is right, Bray didn't do the things Barnes said. But that turd belongs in Barnes pocket. Any decent interviewing process would have exposed those weaknesses. Barnes is the real failure here and he should man up to it.
"Any decent interviewing process would have exposed those weaknesses."
If that's true, then no marriage would ever fail, because "weaknesses" would be exposed in the engagement period.
James Franklin is available.
What about Mike Gundy?
Franklin is only interested in programs he believes has a "chance" to win a NC. He's been very transparent about that since he got to Vanderbilt. He's not going to get another shot at a blue blood program, but he'll only be interested in a P4 job. Arkansas, Oklahoma State, possibly Auburn, etc. Plenty of second tier P4 programs will be interested, and a much better fit for him.
The comment was a joke...
Got it.
Barnes says Bray never embraced the entire enterprise. Wasn’t comfortable in the CEO roll and making the tough decisions. Shouldn’t Barnes have recognized this during Bray’s interview as well as his time as DC? Barnes didn’t do a very good job of vetting Trent Bray as head coaching material.
When JS skulked out of town the portal was open and Barnes had to move quickly to staunch the bleeding - not the time for an extended search. Not that easy to determine if a person is "CEO material" lol.
Dickert left at the same time at WSU, Cougars found what appears to be a good coach, who had previous head coaching experience. You can't panic in this timelines, departures always happen at the wrong time. Dickert quit on WSU (as did his QB) the last three games and he quickly got out of town on a jet with a selfie of him and his family saying "Wake Bound" with no thanks to WSU for giving him his first head coaching job. WSU moved fairly fast, looked at Vigen and Rogers, not sure who was the top choice, both are outstanding. OSU could've easily done the same, this is on the A.D.
Hindsight is always 20/20. No way to know if not promoting Bray and undertaking a quick search would have secured an experienced head coach. We do know that his promotion was enthusiastically accepted by the current players. I for one am not going to blame the AD for making a move that was easily understandable at the time.
Lots of men and women have said that about their first spouse, no?
"Why didn't I recognize that?"
Sometimes things are only exposed over time.
I think Bray would have a few wins if Gundy wasn’t calling the plays. That guy should resign.
They'd be at least 3-4 if Jaime Christian wasn't on staff. Not that I'm defending Gundy. He's as bad of a coach as he was a QB.
Jayathi Murthy needs to have an eye ball to eye ball conversation with Barnes. And if that ends the way it should end, OSU will be looking to fill two positions.
Good interview John, and good on AD Barnes for taking the time. Right thing to do as AD, but too often they don't. Would have liked to see an OSU hat or shirt on Mr Barnes. No Search Firm, save $$. AD Barnes knows what he is looking for, coaches know the job is available, they'll reach out. Just ask the right, hard questions. See F King Alexander or USC Steve S/UW drinking issues, which the Search Firm didn't stress enough possibly.
Agree with the search firm dollars, all you are buying is "cover your ass" if something. crawls out later.
I am not in the defending search firm business, but it takes a lot of coordination. There are agents that need to be spoken with, athletic directors, alumni, donors, and the coaches themselves. The money on the table has to be discussed, along with years on the contract, guaranteed resources that the university will put behind the program, etc. That is all part of the dance before Barnes would even get a long list, let alone a short list…then the actual negotiations start in earnest. Could Barnes do this? Probably. But would the university be better off hiring in experts that have shepherded dozens if not hundreds of coaching hires across college sports? I think so. No disrespect to Barnes here, but give him the help. It will make for what should likely be a more exhaustive, pragmatic, and well considered result.
My two cents.
Well played, and very thoughtful summary, Matt. Reality will top emotional shoot from the hip every time - however two things can be true. You list the many steps, transactions and analysis called for; some are designed to smoke out any hidden information that would be detrimental to the perceived results. Thus besides transactional there is still the importance of "CYA" I would hold.
Thanks for your thoughts, Charlie
At the end of the day, I am speculating. So you are correct, both sides can be true.
Again, well played; correct and somewhat profound. Thanks again for your thoughtful notes. Charlie
I participate in a relatively small Zoom group chat associated with the Esalen Institute. I have always told my fellow members that one of the many reasons I enjoy being with them is the joy of talking to people who speak in complete sentences. I experience this same joy from time to time, example today, with you fellow Conzano Posse members. Thank you all.
It's illegal for ADs or schools to reach out to other coaches during the season. Search firms can reach out to agents immediately to start putting together a list of who is actually interested and an outline of what each coach's minimum requirements are. After that, the hiring committee should be working to help vet the candidates.
Search firms can act as a private conduit between the prospective coach and the person doing the hiring.
Great set of questions, JC. I find it telling that Barnes is using a search firm AND a hiring committee. The hiring committee, he admitted, is a first for him in 5 head coaching hires. That tells me Barnes is on a short leash--and he should be. Oregon State athletics is hemorrhaging financially and in reputation. And, fairly or unfairly, Barnes has been in the cockpit. He needs to get this one right, or he and Gary Andersen will be sharing flyfishing stories.
Mr. C, your skills as an interviewer are second to none
Missed opportunity to directly ask Barnes about his ownership regarding the coaching hire failure or if he thinks he’s on the hot seat at all given the state of the overall program, terrible NIL deal, Blaylock’s comments, etc.
Did you hear the end of the interview, where JC basically asked if Barnes regretted hiring Bray? He left the toughest question for last, but he didn't miss the opportunity; he took it. And this was not the interview to ask about the NIL deal and Blaylock. Only one crisis per interview allowed.
I did listen to the end. Asking if he regrets the hire isn’t the same as asking Barnes if he’s at fault for making the hire. He’s never going to admit publicly if he regrets it. I’d much rather hear Barnes respond to a question about owning the bad hire. It was ultimately his decision. Does he take ownership over the fact he made a bad hire?
Bray was asked week in and week out about job security. Barnes should not be immune from the same line of questioning, especially on the heals of firing Bray for the dismissal state of our program. Leadership starts at the top.
What Oregon State needs above all else is a top notch recruiter. One who is able to recruit high school athletes, portal transfers and retain desired talent. It all starts & ends with the quality of the athletes in the program. Get the best recruiter that the program can afford. He can hire game day coaches.
The game is no longer about recruiting. It is about raising money to pay for NIL and a competitive Rev-Share. If the top players are under contract at OSU, the 2nd tier that won't get paid much if any NIL will want to jump on board. Everyone wants to play for a winner, and vice versa
New York Times, Oct 10, 2025, "Boot Big Football from the NCAA" by Dr James T Harris, President, University of San Diego and former NCAA executive. Excellent summary of the many elements concerning where college sports are at the moment and consequences of certain decisions. Informative, worth a read. Charlie
Read it. Love it. It is also reprinted on the LinkedIN page of Stu Jackson (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stu-jackson-32a2a8b_opinion-boot-big-football-from-the-ncaa-activity-7382822146626052096-9jjn/). Here is what I said: Love this idea by Dr. Harris. I have suggested the same approach on John Canzano's blog "Bald Faced Truth". The logic of the P4 football ADs / Presidents is that they control most of the money in college football. True. They have conspired with the media networks to secure exclusive large contracts which actually are likely monopolistic and possibly subject to anti-trust law. If they set themselves up as an association, basically the AAA or developmental league for the NFL, then the NFL, with its partnerships in media, can help direct the 68 team AAA league which is divorced from the universities. They can still play in the same stadiums in front of the same fans, mostly in college towns without their own NFL teams. Those universities who give up their football team to the NFL-lite association can still lease their stadiums / facilities to those programs. The players can still attend classes, if they like. But there won't be any requirement to pretend to be "student-athletes". Rev-share will be based on a player's union contract with the management of the league, just like the NFL. There would be a minimum, maybe like $100K so even bench players make a living. NIL will still be a thing. If smart, the NFL-lite will adopt salary caps and some type of draft rules to ensure competitiveness.
To this, I would add, as I have previously: In the case of Oregon, which probably cannot support two expensive NFL AAA teams, once the Ducks are divorced from the U of O campus and become the NFL-lite affiliate in the state of Oregon, they can appeal to ALL the football fans in the state, not just the Ducks alumni. If the Ducks represented the state of Oregon, I would probably become a fan. There would be another few hundred thousand people to clammer for tickets within a 90 minute drive radius (picking up from Roseburg to Portland). This will make sense in all the 2nd tier cities in America who do not have an NFL team but do have a P4 college team nearby. It is really what should happen so we can get back to the NCAA representing amateur college sports and not sacrifice Olympic and women's sports in the process.
I really have no response at this point as I have not thought about the changes as far forward as you. I too liked the case Dr Harris made for the non revenue sports. Thanks for the thoughtful note, Charlie
Sounds like something I was thinking. The team names would be simply their same names with no mention of the school. To think these players represent their schools (except for a rare few) is wrong. They don't give a fig who they play for as long as they get paid.
Correct.... these players change teams every year if they can make a few more bucks. They are pros, not "student-athletes" (noticed today that Scott Barnes incorrectly used that term during his interview with JC)
Fortunate OSU has Akey on staff who has a proven record of driving a team from FBS down to FCS
Fans have forgotten the dire situation when JS skulked out of town. The transfer portal was open, and the expectation was that many players would follow him to MSU. No time for a deliberate successor search; the hire of Bray was welcomed by the players (remember the applause at the announcement?). Not that easy to determine if a Coordinator has "CEO skills."
I like Barnes. I know Beaver Nation has mixed feelings on him, owing to his hiring record and all, but lets remember how hard things have been at OSU for a long time running now, with a few bright spots sprinkled in. The last time things looked really good and sustainable was probably with Dennis Erickson, with a case to be made for Jonathan Smith, who fled when things got really hard. With that said: The facilities are pretty good now, the alumni are loyal. Things will improve. Could they get any worse?
Barnes has an excellent overall hiring record as OSU's AD.
Search firm, hiring committee. Hum??? Leading from the rear. Safest place.