Canzano: Oregon State AD speaks out about Jonathan Smith... and the plan
Scott Barnes talks about departure of football coach.
Glenn Sugiyama boarded a plane and flew from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest in the late hours on Sunday evening. The managing partner at DHR Global Sports Practice has been hired by Oregon State to lead the search for its next football coach.
Sugiyama, who has been in the industry for a couple of decades, declined a request for an interview. But I have to think he’s never before encountered a case quite like the one in Corvallis.
No coach.
No conference.
No plan yet announced for the 2024 season.
I reached OSU athletic director Scott Barnes for a 1-on-1 talk on Monday. Barnes is facing a tumultuous and trying week. This is the same AD who suffered a cardiac arrest last spring, was resuscitated by a trauma team, and is now back to work.
“Just living another day in paradise,” Barnes told me.
We covered a wide array of topics in our discussion — including the weeks leading to the departure of Jonathan Smith. Barnes told me he put a contract extension in front of Smith, but couldn’t get him to sign it. The AD shared the outline of his plan for 2024, how it felt when Smith told him he was gone, and the timeline for hiring a replacement.
I’m interested to see how all this plays out in the next seven days.