Home Football Final Thoughts on Jonathan Smith Hire

Final Thoughts on Jonathan Smith Hire

380

The last coaching cycle, I targeted Bronco Mendenhall as the #1 choice. You can read about this here. Of course, when GA became available, I was high on that like everyone else. Seemed great based on the little info we had on him. Egg on everyone’s face with GA. Who could know he was mentally unstable, etc?

This cycle, I said I wanted someone with PNW ties who would “get the culture”, etc. I targeted Baldwin as my #1 guy, but I had Smith up there the more I looked into him. By the end it was a toss up, and I gave Baldwin the slight edge. After watching the press conference yesterday, I think we took the right guy in Smith. Main reason I liked Baldwin slightly better was the media kept saying Smith had no personality. That’s not what I saw. I saw a focused, bright, articulate and passionate personality. Once I realized the media was wrong (shocker), Smith became a home run hire in my book.

Laugh at that all you want.

But the guy has over-achieved his entire life and knows how to win. I also agree with Smith’s assessment that the team isn’t as far off as they look. With a proper QB things would have looked much better last year. I think by year 2 or 3 Smith is winning. Yes, a lot depends on the staff. Even if we don’t get Heyward at DC, which I think we will, Smith knows he needs to get some great recruiters and sell the place. The only thing I don’t like about Smith: he seems to want to hire ALL Beavers. I think if he’s going to fail, it’s because of that. Some outside perspective is a good thing, and this can’t be “Let’s get the Fiesta Bowl team together as coaches”. Last time we saw a coach “get the band back together” they were basically a Milli Vanilli cover band. So, Heyward and Breckterfield are the only two I’d want. Both are legit at what they do and just happen to be Beavers. That’s fine. But don’t put a Beaver everywhere unless they’re truly the best fit for the job. I also didn’t like how there was so much reminiscing about the past during the presser. That is a bit concerning. It implies he’s already succeeded and might take some edge off.

Finally, I also like that Smith, if he is successful, will likely stay put. He’s raising a family and genuinely loves Corvallis. The price is okay at 1.9 mil. Overall, I think Barnes did a nice job. It might not work out, but it’s a great fit all around and the best possible hire under the tough circumstances. I personally really like it. It feels good to have “one of us” leading the way. GA never seemed to truly like Corvallis, just as Taggart doesn’t seem to like Eugene. They say the right things, but you can tell…something is just off. With Smith it just feels right. I was craving a good cultural fit with a plan, and he fits both bills. Good hire.

380 COMMENTS

  1. My biggest concern is we still essentially have the same ole dopey athletic department running things behind the scenes. Smith will only be able to do so much. I cringe whenever Ed Ray opens his mouth. I cringe when I see the same lazy marketing people tweeting out

    “One of our own is back. Beaver Nation, it’s time to rally around Coach Smith.

    OREGON STATE
    FIGHT
    FIGHT
    FIGHT”

    We still feel like the same hokey small town lovable loser with that message.
    Tone at the top needs to drastically change around OSU. I don’t know if that is next on Barnes agenda, but hopefully it is.

    • What do you want the marketing to say?

      As far as Ed ray, he’s done really well for the university on the academic side and raising the profile there.

    • Ed Ray is by all accounts an excellent President. I saw a few comments suggesting he needs to be let go because the coaching search went on for so long. That’s insane. People need to keep this in perspective. On the academics side, Ed Ray is first rate.

    • The message is fine. Hokey is better than having the FBI knocking on your door.

      Leave Ed Ray alone. So he’s a dork. Who cares? He’s a friggin’ smart one.

  2. I have zero data to back this up, but its always seemed to me that guys that were successful despite limited athletic talent seemed to make good coaches. Possibly because they busted their ass everywhere else to make it. Getting the right assistants is going to be the thing and recruiting an actual QB. Go Beavs!

    • Jim Leyland and Terry Francona come to mind immediately. Both horrible players and HOF coaches.
      I don’t follow football as closely in terms of stats, so none jump out at me. I bet I could name a dozen baseball guys in a few minutes.

      I think you’re reasoning is mostly right. But they have to have analytical minds, too.

    • At least as a positional coach is concerned it might have something to do with the ones who were better players relying on their natural ability as a player. They didn’t take as much time to work on the mechanics (they just performed). As a coach it is more difficult for them to see why something is not working for their player/s. For the same reason It also might be more difficult for them to break down the learning process into the most basic steps. Interesting side note the head coach for UCLA women’s gymnastics (one of the top programs in the nation) was never a gymnast herself.

  3. I am intrigued by the similarities between Smith and Rueck (even Casey), and not just their stature!
    Both have solid roots at OSU, both have been winners, and I’ve reason to believe, both are grounded in their Faith.

    It will be interesting to see how the conservative culture Rueck has established with a smaller organization in Corvallis translates to FB. Long term I expect a clean operation and continued good performance on the academic side, along with more W’s than we’ve seen for several years.

  4. I always thought it would be Baldwin due to his head coaching experience and I’d rather have gone for a person with head coaching experience due to the circumstances of the program.

    However, I do expect JS to be successful here. It might take 4 years but I believe he can do it. I’d say partly because he embodies what we want the program to be and out of nostalgia for the fiesta bowl season.

    My expectations for wins will be low for next year but I do expect gains in recruiting. Taking less risk on guys who have questionable academics and fewer jc transfers.

    As we know, it’s all about the QB. What 6 QBs started under GA? If JS were to land or flip a good QB along with Petras, I might just fall right into line and be a rah rah guy.

  5. I’ve been saying Smith since Riley left. I’m not saying I’m right, or wrong on him getting hired, but he is now officially hired as HC of OSU.

    With that said, I thought there was too much “remember when” stuff as well, but understand that it’s just 1 press conference, 1 day, and now that nostalgia is over with and it’s time to perform. It goes to show that “Winning” is nice, but don’t over celebrate. If the press was still reminiscing about the “glory days”, then yes, I would still be uneasy about it.

    Third, I would be fine going after Trent Bray. He coached under Riley, he knows Corvallis as well, he is an outstanding recruiter and is thought highly of Nebraska fans out here and they want Scott Frost to hire him on his staff. So there’s that for ya.

    Fourth and final point, let’s give Smith time to settle in and hire his assistants he wants. In Jonathan Smith’s words, “I’d rather be late than wrong when hiring assistants.” He’ll be methodical, he will be thorough like Barnes was with him. He wants to make sure his assistants are “Low ego, high output.” “Fits Corvallis” etc. I could see 2-3 defensive assistants that are ex-beavers, but no ex beaver on the offensive side.

    • I’ve been saying Smith since Riley left.

      He needed more seasoning last round. Wasn’t the right hire in 2014. Now he’s good to go.

      • I agree with you, but I at least wanted to get the fan base to think about the idea of that as a possibility. I watched his coaching career and where he moved was a promotion in responsibilities, going from FBS to FCS, back to FBS, and maintaining/earning autonomy at the OC/QB position with Peterson. He knows what it’s like to have someone mentor you with play calling, but also to be given 100% control/faith in your ability. Earn the trust of the HC, earn the right to keep own the responsibility of your role. I think JS will go after seasoned OC/DC with the exception of possibly promoting a position coach who is ready to implement their scheme and run their defense. This team won’t look like the Fiesta Bowl team, because it’s not the Fiesta Bowl team. They will look like a team that is coached by a man with a plan ala DE.

  6. Honestly when he said this thing is not far off I was sold. EVERY coach almost everywhere comes in and usually subtly bashes the previous guy. Talks about how the players need to get better, tougher, smarter etc. Talks about how it’s going to take some time to get his system and his guys in place. He then asks for patience effectively buying himself 1-2 years of failure before any criticism can seem legit. The fact that JS did not of that may be because he is a first time head coach but I don’t think so. I think what we saw was an authentic guy yesterday. One who wants to be here..knows what being here means and genuinely wants success for Beaver Nation, not just for himself but ACTUALLY for Beaver Nation.

    That is a rare find.

    • I liked that about him too. Given that he had to game-plan against the defense he probably watched a lot of film and could see what they were capable of if only they were properly coached. I also liked that he is honoring all outstanding offers and is concerned about “re-recruiting” current players. That shows a lot of respect.

    • Thing is… we’re not that far off talent-wise.

      The fundamentals absolutely suck. You all keep saying a different QB would have changed things. It wouldn’t have done so. Different players just make a different mess on the field, not a better one.

      The team is still young, long, lean and fast. If they start playing as a team, they can already play with most anyone.

  7. Smith is an understated kind of person as he described the kind of coaches that he would like to hire. How did he say it, low ego high achievers? He’s been underestimated his whole life and overachieved despite the bias.

    I like his handle Johnathan Smith@coachsmith_9. I realize that the 9 likely refers to his jersey number, but it could well be describing his height @5-9. When you think about what he did as an undersized quarterback, he must have had a lot more smarts and intangibles.

    I like his underdog persona because it reflects who we are at OSU. Not dogs but beavers… well disadvantaged in recruiting etc. The Pac is so highly competitive that he has a tough task at hand, but I like that he is not new at overcoming diversity. Whatever he has that has gotten him to succeed will translate well to what we need at OSU.

    My concern is that he is up against a lot of good coaches and even if he does turn out to be a good coach, he still has a very difficult job to out compete them.

    I like what I see so far. He is all substance and less flash. I think he will walk the walk…

    I am interested in the choices he makes for coordinators. Hopefully his eye for talent at quarterback will also translate to finding coaching talent. I would be fine with hiring Riley as a quarterbacks coach. That would be one heck of a selling point to recruits with all the quarterbacks he has placed in the NFL. (Hope I haven’t lost you there.)

    Smith has one heck of a coaching pedigree. You can’t ignore that. I think it will be a big factor in how he coaches. He has made shrewd moves in his career to coach under the best coaches possible. Coach Peterson could have probably hired anyone to coach as OC, but he chose Smith. Think about how much that says about Coachsmith_9. I am also interested in what coach Petersen says about the hire. I don’t see anything on his twitter though.

    At first when I heard of the hire, I was underwhelmed but now that I know a little more about him, I like what I see. I could see him turning into a long time favorite coach. I also think it is going to take some time. He is so young that he may have to learn from a lot of his own mistakes. I just hope we see some early results and have patience.

  8. After watching the presser, I’m now more convinced that JS was a good hire. Still cautiously optimistic, but a good hire. Since our FB program is in such disarray, I felt that Barnes needed to go after someone who knew how to build a program, rather than taking on the risk of someone not having head-coaching experience. However, I think that JS has enough passion, and knows enough about OSU/Corvallis to make this a success. Even though he doesn’t have head-coaching experience, I think he’s seen what good coaching is (Peterson) that he can succeed.

    The assistant coaches will be absolutely critical, and I’m actually not in favor of any additional former beavers on the staff. I think we, as a fan base, are spending too much time reminiscing of the super, awesome season….17 years ago! I’d like us to start building for the future, rather than focusing on what we had in the past.

    I was considering cancelling my season tix at the end of this season, but now I’m going to renew again.

  9. lol… If Taggert was calling recruits and telling them he is staying then bails for the FSU job I got to think there would be some poaching candidates.

      • yeah, just reading some tweets from a Tigard kid made me feel bad for the kid like he will probably be pretty angry at all this. I don’t follow recruiting but I thought I heard the Ducks had quite a few local kids?

    • WTF? That just doesn’t make any sense. For winning 10 games he gets $75,000, for winning 9 games he gets $50,000, for winning 8 games he gets $25,000, but if he wins 6 games he gets another year and another $1.9 million? Seriously, I would rather see him get $100,000 for winning 6 games instead of another year on his contract. That’s the never-ending mediocrity contract. I don’t like automatic extensions no matter who it is.

      • That’s the gift that keeps on giving all year round Clark. But if it takes 2-3 years to get to 6 wins, then the buyout would only be for 2-3 years respectively at that point. It won’t get to a continuous 5 year contract unless he wins 6 games every year. This is the same with Riley because 6 games gets you to a bowl game.

      • Don’t like it either. Odds make this already a 7 year deal for making a bowl in two of first 5 years. Maybe he makes 3 bowls in 1st 5 and this is already an 8 year deal. Out of those 3 extra years if he goes 6-6 twice, going as low as 3-6 in confetence then he would be gauranteed 10 years.

        That lifetime contract with low bar fot automatic extensions is more than anything else what pissed off the fanbase and caused Riley’s downfall. Should have been banished to siberia and buried in a box wrapped in chains and locks 1000 feet below the ground to never see the light of day again.

        Should have bewn more in deal for Pac-12 wins. Smith needs 8 wins or atleast 5 Pac-12 wins just to make 25K extra. That is a fairly high mark ans hw only gets 25K for that.

        Way contract is written 98% of it is just get 6 wins. After that you have to have a Herculean effort just to get another 50K by reaching 9 wins. Ridiculously put together.

        Barnes doesn”t ready AngryBeavs as some suggested a lower base salary and then 75-100K extra for each Pac-12 win after the 2nd or 3rd. Extremely little incentive for Pac-12 wins in this deal.

        Could have been 1.75 guaranteed and then 100K extra for each Pac-12 win over 2. That way you are rewarding getting close to and above more Pac-12 wins then losses. So if he won 4 Pac-12 games he would get 1.75 +.2 or 1.95 million (just above current 1.9) for 4 Pac-12 wins thar would likely be 6 wins total (2 nonconderence) and a bowl. Another 25K for the generic bowl as is now.

        However without reaching those 4 Pac-12 wins then it is the 1.75 guaranteed. With a good season of 6 Pac-12 wins and 8 or 9 wins total he would make the base of 1.75 +.4 or 2.15 million and in a still good 5 Pac-12 wins and 7 (possibly 8) wins total he would get 1.75 + .3 or 2.05 million before the extra 25K for the bowl that took him to 2.075 million.

        This contract serves the university, the fans, the players and Smith better as it offers incentive ans plenty of opportunity to earn above 2 million while if slightly underperforming (3 Pac-12 wins) it would be just below his current deal at 1.85 million and if underpedorming (2 Pac-12 wins or less) he only gets the 1.75 million and has some real incentive to do better and not stop at 6 wins either.

        Current deal after 6 wins he gets too much of a bonus with the extension and then after that it just requires a ton to eke out more where it is low odds we will see him earn more than 25K extra for beyond 6 wins in his first 7 years on the job or even longer. Just a dumb contract by Barnes.

          • The extension isn’t the issue. It’s that it’s automatic at a low bar. It’s fine to give the guy a review every year and then announce an extension. But what if all you get is what Paul Chryst did at Pitt for years on end?

  10. Happy about the hire after having time to digest. He kind of had a football nerd Mike Price feel to him prior to yesterday’s press conference. After having a chance in front of the mic, he said all the right things (even better then anderpants,) but it all felt more genuine. I’m glad we now have a smart guy instead of just a tough talking football guy at the helm. Have a real good feeling about JS.

    One last thing GA was good for: this website. There must be 50 new regular commenters.

    Remember when we were worried the name would have to change to happy beavs.com?

    Stay angry my friends

  11. Call me crazy but other than QB I actually think there is better talent on this team then when GA got here. If Smith can get the right kind of staff in place I think he has a chance to surprise some people right out of the box. I am not talking about a bowl game but I think they could win 3-5 games year 1 and makes things interesting. All of this hinges on the psyche of the current players. Do they still have some fight left in them or have then been broken for good?

      • Nice assessment SBnation……..
        Biggest strength: In Ryan Nall, Artavis Pierce, TCU transfer Trevorris Johnson, and potentially Oregon transfer Thomas Tyner, OSU might have the best running back corps in the Pac-12. And Andersen teams tend to know how to utilize a running game.

      • I am convinced that with MMcM, we would have had those 5 wins and maybe more. Watching the Boise State-Fresno State game last night, the kid was impressive, despite the loss, and made me more pissed off at GA for running him off. I know that at least one poster on here says the kid should have stayed,come hell or high water. But you know what, in life, you and you alone are all you can depend on; you should always be looking at a ‘Plan B’ because in the end, nobody else is going to be looking out for you, despite what they tell you. So good for MMcM – I hope the kid has a great bowl game and stays another year for Tedford.

    • If he leaves now, he will be eligible to play in January of 2019 instead of having to wait till November.

      Tinkle has really disappointed me. Oh well.

      Time to bring hire Payton, he is getting coaching experience in the new 3 on 3 league, good enough for me.

      (kidding, kind of….)

      • I’m good with Tinkle. He got the beavs to the tourney.

        I was hoping mcloughlin game would step up this year but he’s hasn’t distinguished himself in a crowded rotation.

        • You’re good with an 8-30 record without GP-2? I think he has this year and two more after that and if thinks don’t get going he’s gone since Tres will be graduated. Although, Tres might get injured again and get a sixth year!

      • Odd, but Stacy played his best by far when McLaughlin didn’t start against Marist. Granted, you have to consider the level of competition, but he also had a couple of good plays against LBSU.

        I still look at this as a negative against Tinks, high level recruit, regression second year. I don’t see a lot of development with his players, they all seem basically the same. What’s different about STjr’s game compared to previous years? And he’s done nothing to get stronger! Basically the same game of funky off balance drives and missing wide open threes.

        Keep an eye on Hollins though, he looks D-1 ready now.

    • Epic fail as a 4 star (?), or WT is not a good coach?

      Agree with angry, Bruce flunking, poor jc kids and the time spent on a failure of a 4 star, it’s like the beavs can’t get out of their own way.

  12. Taggert situation won’t be resolved until sat night after fsu plays on Sat. So that should be fun for duck fans and then they’ll get to go through the insane silly speculation of who the next coach would be.

    I fully expect Taggart to take the FSU offer. It makes sense in every way. Goes back to home state, big time school. Doesn’t have to compete in the SEC. Top heavy conference. 8 game conference schedule. Not much rebuilding if any. Big time money.

    • I’m not sure if it’s good news or bad news. Taggart kind of sucks as a HC. Great recruiter, but meh. Lost his QB and it showed how bad he was. Couldn’t make the team rise about it, etc.

      I wonder who they will go after. If they get a real coach in there I’d be more concerned than with Taggart.

      • Taggart is not a great X & O coach but the staff is A+ and he is a fantastic snake oil salesmen. His big pitch is he wants to be the first AC coach to win a NC. With the Nike sleeze factor he will continue to get top notch recruits. Top notch talent along with that staff and they will win a ton of games even with Taggart running the show. If Taggart takes the FSU job most if not all the staff are gone and Taggart will take many of the recruits this cycle with him. I could see a giant dumpster fire in Eugene at least for a little while and it would be fun to watch.

      • Is it me or are the options better this time around than when they hired Taggart?

        Sumlin, Miles, Strong..not sure if any of those guys fit the culture. Maybe Sumlin. Other than that, the hot coordinator picks are off the board. Maybe Frost sees it as a better opportunity than Nebraska?

        I could see Lame Kiffin ending up there, too.

      • Taggart managed to keep the Duck head coach legacy of not having even a semi-competent back up QB. Yeah, I think they could find someone better than Taggart and that worries me. I’d like to get Leavitt out of there, I think he was a decent upgrade on the defensive side as the season progressed.

  13. Re: Additional funds for coordinator/assistant hires.

    I came across this, which is from 2016; as you can see, for the most part OSU was at the middle or bottom for the PAC 12 in terms of salaries. Our highest paid coordinator? Kevin Clune.

    And he was paid slightly less than Alex Grinch?

    The opening of the wallet will at least make the school look better as a prospect, and more in line with what the rest of the division pays.

  14. Re: Additional funds for coordinator/assistant hires.

    I came across this, which is from 2016; as you can see, for the most part OSU was at the middle or bottom for the PAC 12 in terms of salaries. Our highest paid coordinator? Kevin Clune.

    And he was paid slightly less than Alex Grinch?

    The opening of the wallet will at least make the school look better as a prospect, and more in line with what the rest of the division pays.

    http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/football/assistant

      • I have no idea about Nebraska’s LB’s (don’t watch Nebraska); was it their technique that was bad or was it the scheme making them look bad?

        I have heard good things about Bray as a recruiter. So that is a positive at the very least.

        I agree they need some non-beavs but I am open to having several Beavs on the staff. Wisconsin has 5 alums on staff (I believe) and it seems to be working.

      • I get what your saying about an all beaver staff, and I agree. But do you think a guy going to his alma mater has a little more invested in coaching then just a pay check? I would think that it would mean more to a guy who played here and is now coaching, then it is for let’s say the Utah good ol’boys club that was here.

      • He wasnt one of the first. He was the first, by at least an hour.
        I came across him the morning of Smith’s hiring before it was announced. He tweeted at a bunch of media people about an hour or 2 before the announcement that smith to oregon state was final. (Check his replies nd you’ll see it all)
        Anyway, i ignored it because he only had some 4 or 5 followers, but then later that morning canzano announced it too.

        So then, he also reported osu lost their soccer coach too, which i just saw come across the news feed today, 2 days later. So, he’s basically 2 for 2 on OSU news. So i decided i might need to start following him. He has a ton more followers now than he did 2 days ago.
        Have no idea who he is or if he really has an ear for happenings within the AD, but at least he couldnt hurt to follow.

  15. You know what I love about Trent Bray? He’s Hungry… has to be. If he doesn’t preform well than he is on down the line.

    That’s a great spot to be in. Us as fans, and as a university provide so much to these guys. So much opportunity and also so much money. Bray hasn’t been on a knock out staff yet. This is a huge opportunity for him to showcase what he has as a coach, recruiter, and odd enough to say a husband… parent? Whatever? He has a great great opportunity in front of him as does smith.

    This isn’t something to take lightly and I don’t think coach smith will. That’s what I liked from his interview(honestly I was in the Lea mikes camp). I think whomever smith brings in will understand they have only upside from here. And that is huge.

    This is going to be a great thing to see transform and I can’t wait to see us knock off the huskies for the north soon. Go Beavs

    • Not too mention being a lb coach for Nebraska etc…. he could and has potential to be a very good lb coach under the right situation. I think/hope it’s now

    • Bray was an up and comer until he spent a few years under Riley. Now he’s the walking dead. Hopefully Smith can reignite him. Nebby LBs were OSU level bad.

    • Playing devil’s advocate, Bray already had a chance to show his coaching/recruiting skills at a program with more resources than OSU and failed miserably. Does that make him hungry or not good? He should have been hungry at Nebraska with a much more intense spotlight. I don’t want Smith hiring guys with spotty track records just because they are Beavers. Now, maybe there were some circumstances at Nebby that Smith understands regarding Bray’s ability, but if one is graded on performance Bray flunked, we shall see.

  16. OT: Is there anyway to watch the women’s basketball game tonight? There’s a link to listen on the OSU athletics site, but I was wondering if anyone knew of a stream.

  17. I don’t think JS is going to be facing Baldwin head to head, looks like Leach might be stuck at Wazzu. What a cluster fuck, the ex-AD offered a receptive Leach the job without “approval” from the mysterious powers that be in Knoxville and so they called him back and fired him? You can’t make this shit up. Idiots just should have kept Fulmer as their coach, now he’s the AD.

    • Fulmer is trying to be Barry Alvarez, except with the little caveat of being fired. I would assume this almost certainly means he hires his ex QB, Tee Martin, although I would not be shocked if he hires himself.
      Leach will not be at Wazzu beyond next year.

      • And apparently the AD they just fired (Currie) had some influence on getting Fulmer fired back in 2008! But, yeah, not sure why they just wouldn’t go with Tee Martin and call it good. Program seems delusional like Nebraska, the 90’s aren’t coming back!

        Beaver related. UT didn’t win a conference game either this year.

  18. Personally I’d rather have UW’s Jimmy Lake for DC than Heyward. Lake is earning 650K on Mutt Lake. Maybe a little more $ and an opportunity to make a defense his own is enticing enough?

  19. Besides not having a total Beaver reunion on his staff, JS needs to add some older guys with experience. I’m afraid we get all guys about his age, which may be good for recruiting, but we need some schematic guys. We are not going to out recruit our rivals. We need to out coach them.

      • No, but experience is great to have around for a young head coach. Hopefully he is confident enough to hire a guy who has actually run program to be a sounding board and advisor. Every first year HC says it is completely different from being a coordinator. A P5 job is a tough starting point as a HC.

  20. I will say I was wrong about 9 during the process. Everyone lazily conflated him and Beauner. But now that the hire has been made, I line him up against other prospective candidates I perceived as being competent hires, and he stacks up well.

    He gets better marks in my estimation because of O scheme, culture and pedigree. I lined him up against Yurcich, for whom some made a decent plea. 9’s not as productive, but Yurcich’s system would just drive me nuts. His understanding of OSU is nil. And one learned from Petey, one from Gundy.

    I just watched Gundy take advantage of a really stupid Tennessee process in order to play for more money. He’s done this many times before, and oSu fan will turn on him if he ever has a losing season. I suppose you can expect this from someone with a mullet and a visor.

    I have no real expectations for 9. I don’t know where to set them or what I would do if he doesn’t meet them. I can’t imagine myself being mad at him. This is my quandary. I suspect I will never need to consider this, but what am I supposed to feel if he screws up? It’s not the same, but I remember the range of emotions felt with Heimlich.

    And please hire the best for the job (that can be got). All things being equal, then you take the Beav… just like your hire. But don’t pretend someone who isn’t qualified would be better just because they’re a Beav.

    One last thing. I am now more firm in the belief that Beauner is not now a viable P5 head coach prospect. He’s about where 9 was in 2014. I see the lists from the 2014 search. They were pretty pathetic, and still 9 does not show up on them. But Beauner does now? No. Not just no, but a firm no. He still needs to prove he can coach on this level and get production out of his players. He took an O that was geeked up on raid talent, and he sucked. Sure, they lost production. But Sonny would not have lost that production. Last I looked, Sonny is not a P5 head coach.

    • “I can’t imagine myself being mad at him”

      That’s the only thing I don’t like about this hire. The fans and the AD are going to give him a looooong leash. If he sucks, it’s going to be so difficult to fire him. Let’s just hope he’s not Riley 3.0.

      • Except that I think the additional length on that leash will be necessary. This isn’t an overnight fix. It’s one thing to say that we have high expectations it’s another to be somewhat realistic. This situation is a mess and it will take a while to rebuild trust with fans, donors, and players. Continuity will be important. It may be hard to spot improvement for a while but I think that integrity is something that we should never look at with orange glasses. The program has to be run with integrity and we should be able to see that from the beginning.

      • I’m not really worried about long term failure. If he sucks, fire him.

        I’m worried that I won’t be able to be objective when he does the normal dumb things humans do. I suppose I just treat him like I would myself in those, “Wow! That was stupid,” situations. If he’s sincere about being mad at himself and makes adjustments to not make those mistakes again, I can buy it.

    • “And please hire the best for the job (that can be got).”

      This is why I hope Kendal Briles was the first person Smith called for the OC position. By far the best bang-for-buck hire we can get.

      • His O would never fly in a 9 system.

        We need to be thinking in terms of OCs who can run basic pro sets (as they are now). Run when you can process the opponent’s D. Run, play action and pass situationally. I’d love to see an honest screen pass or QB draw one of these days.

          • Pro set, not pro style.

            You can run pro style if you have NFL athletes. But you can’t run it if your system doesn’t allow for it in the first place.

            It takes actual fundamentals on both sides of the ball. I am so sick of watching the wide open Os who eschew fundamentals so they can just score a bunch of points. Unless you have a savant as a head coach, you have an obvious ceiling. One could say you still have a ceiling, it’s just vaulted.

  21. Smith wasn’t my first choice, but I do like the connection to the university and I like his no bullshit demeanor. Huge upgrade over the bat shit crazy one. I do have to laugh a little at the hype. Smith is a winner by associate with an incredible HC in Chris Peterson and Smith is a winner in regards to the magical Fiesta Bowl season. Everyone understands that he was a .500 QB the rest of the time, right? Beavers had some WTF losses with Smith at QB. Barnes and Ray make it sound like the Beavers went 44-0 when Smith was there. Ok, beat me up, guys.

  22. Leaning 80% that Hall should not be retained. Guy got wacky last 2-3 games of the season and those were ugly games after he got “more involved” with the defense. DB coach is only thing that makes any sense with some focus on California recruiting. Beavs doing anything more would turn out a big mistake. DC would be a clusterf*ck compared to Keith Heyward or Lake. Afraid he could prove a distraction to the program. If he isn’t happy at DB coach and recruiting Cali then I would thank him and part ways if I was Smith.

  23. I was high on Smith last time around actually, but I knew he was too young. So I’m actually pretty excited about him this time around. He has a lot more experience now and I think this is a good time to bring him in.

    I kind of agreed with him that the team is “not far off.” I don’t think we’ll be great or anything but with better coaching and preparation by the team I think we’d be much better. Just better QB play would make a huge difference.

    However, I said that I’ll be taking a much more “wait and see” approach this time around given what we went through with GA and I’m sticking to that.

    Gonna ultimately judge him based on the team’s performance on the field not pressers, coaching hires, or recruits. Yes, those things can be exciting but they’re meaningless if the team isn’t a winner.

    Of course I’m still pretty excited to see what staff he brings in and any recruits he can poach because I’m a bit of a junkie. :P

  24. Doesn’t the Taggart to FSU situation complicate the Heyward hire? Seems like there are a lot of potential scenarios where Heyward gets a promotion and/or raise at Oregon or FSU.

    Maybe Taggart brings Heyward to FSU with him either with a substantial raise or even in the DC role.

    Or he could get a promotion to DC at Oregon if Taggart leaves and they either promote Jim Leavitt to head coach or Leavitt goes to become DC at FSU.

    Smith wanted to have the staff up and running by Monday (I think he said tomorrow at the earliest).

    I assume we’ll see the FSU situation resolve today after their game, but it’s an potential road block. Hopefully Smith has a good backup option.

  25. Is it me, or does UCF’s fight song sound like a mash-up of Notre Dame’s and Michigan’s fight song’s with some instrumental Christmas music in between?

  26. Do u guys have any favorites other than heyward for coordinators? Just looking at top offenses from lower divisions ucf, usf, toledo, and memphis come up. Defense sdsu, utsa. How do u guys feel about long. He might be that coordinator with hc experience and get the d to stop playing so undisciplined. Don’t know if he would want to drop to dc tho.

  27. Maybe Smith will do what others have done. Looks up successful coaches at the fcs level and hire them. That’s how Wilcox got Baldwin. They didn’t know each other before.

    Hiring guys with proven results vs comfortable connections.

    For the coordinator jobs, it should be guys with proven coaching chops and the position coaches can be ones who are connected to Smith.

    Sumlin still out there for OC. Bielema out there for DC. Shouldn’t worry about their pay with the buyout they got. They would easily flip a few recruits. Game changers.

  28. What do u guys think about one or the Washington dcs? They would be familiar with the pac plus could hurt Washington a lil and maybe get some flips.

  29. Guys, Smith should not hire “old retired, farts”. He needs to get afresh staff of young to middle aged guys. I’ve been there before when my Company hired “experienced, old Managers” and it didn’t work out with younger Managers and Employees. The staff is like a Business and need to be on the same, younger page, as the HC. Kids today only relate to Coaches that are close to their age, or Asst, or both.The college days of yore have passed…

  30. Taggart still hasnt announced anything, but Oregon loses one of their top rated commits today. The fan meltdown on twitter is pretty entertaining.

    • Really hope it happens. So much gloating and little brother talk after th civil war for all the people from high school that didn’t attend college.

      Only concern is they get someone better.

      • Ya im afraid of someone better as well. I wanted him to leave bc of the recruiting but i looked at 247 and they have the 7th class with far more recruits than other schools. The uck fans and nemec really overhyped their shit.

        • When haven’t the schmucks been over hyped…nemec is a schmuck turd. I called him out on twitter declaring he was s duck homer…he got his panties in a bunch and threatened to block me on twitter….bfd….he wasn’t even man enough to declare that he is a schmuck fan…what a pussy.

          • A lot of these journalists have thin skin. I’ve been blocked by three just for asking a question that, apparently, they judged as criticism. Weak.

      • Scary thing is he has improved quite a bit since last yr

        Just have to figure out this insane discrepancy in 3pt shooting we have every game (341/351 in the nation at 25.9% currently)

        Burger did some nice things but he just can’t hit a 3, if he could that would be a huge boost.

        Hollins needs to be play more

  31. Reading between the lines on mcloughlins and wt statement, and based on timing, it sounds like JM is not making grades. It’s about finals week so maybe he found out he’s not going to be eligible winter term.

  32. From a quack blog, regarding Kevin Sumlin:

    “I liked his Houston teams. He wouldn’t be such a TERRIBLE consolation prize if he came to Oregon.
    On a side note, I honestly think that A&M has delusions of grandeur.”

    Pot meet kettle.

    • I love those ass monkeys are getting what they deserve if taggart leaves…. they fired their coach after one year…. then they go for the fast talking mercenary…..reap what you sew U of 0. F the Ducks….let’s do this at OSU Smith…. look to the future.

  33. Saw Coach Niner at the 6A state championship game today. Good way to build up our Oregon prep pipeline. I’d love that Cota kid from South Medford to be a Beaver…

  34. So has “Sidd Finch” made his first error? Football Scoop is saying that Taggart is staying based on some tweet he sent out today.

    • Football scoop is the only site that read that tweet to mean he’s staying at oregon.
      If anything, he was just covering his ass for 1 more day because he has to run a practice tomorrow under his current contract with oregon.

    • Here’s the tweet: “Looking forward to a great day tomorrow with our team. Practice, find out where & who we play in the bowl game, 2017 Team banquet and then back on the road recruiting. Go Ducks! #TheMovement18”

      I don’t think that says he staying or leaving.

  35. WBB from Wailuku, Hawaii is underway. Utah St starting with the hot hand.
    Audio link from the OSU Athletics site is fine, video…….not working for me, anyone getting it?

    http://www.osubeavers.com/schedule.aspx?path=wbball

    EDIT/ADD: Rueck with some thoughtful comments about Jonathan Smith during the pregame audio. Made the point that Smith, like himself, has seen what success looks like at OSU and will use that vision to guide his decisions.

  36. OH FUCK MY LIFE RILEY BACK AS AN ASSISTANT.

    This was the #1 reason not to hire Smith. Banker and Cav won’t be far behind. Potential fucking disaster in the offing.

    • I did say maybe I was crazy but if he’s back as a QB coach I honestly don’t hate it… The problem is does his influence metastasize or can Smith stay strong.

    • “Banker and Cav won’t be far behind.”
      If that happens, this thing is headed for the toilet!

      From what I’ve seen on Nebby boards, both Bray and Cav (especially Cav) were not held in high esteem. And Banker?………after the way he was fired, would he want anything to do with an association with Smilin’ Mike?

      Really hoped Smith would demonstrate some independence and show that he’d learned enough under Petersen to distance himself from Riley. This is bad news, if true.

      goBeavers rightly said, “The problem is does his influence metastasize or can Smith stay strong.” I’m afraid hiring Riley is, in itself, an indication that Smith cannot “stay strong”

      • It shows Smith has no confidence in himself, too. If he needs those old hacks around.
        The problem with those guys is they sap all energy from a team and staff. Nebby was asleep all game, every game. Their great players became more mediocre each year. LBs were horrible. No idea why Bray is even being considered.

    • Sounds like it is only you that is spreading this rumor. Beavrecruiting on twitter said “it wouldn’t surprise me to see Mike Riley hired as a QB coach.” That doesn’t amount to a rumor.

  37. You knew something with Riley was going to happen since he’s moving back to Corvallis. I never bought that DE was going to be involved after he didn’t get HC. DE is pretty much retired up in Coeur D’Alene. Riley is still looking to coach.

    • Erickson hype is what put Smith in positiom for the job. A ver y large % of the fanbase really was intrigued by those two being put together again.

      If you asked 100 fans if they want Smith paired with Erickson or Riley for any staff role, Erickson would win 95 to 5. It’s a total blowout.

      Yet here we are having to worry about Riles actually as staff. Should be nothing more than 2 consulting sessions during Fall Practice. That’s it.

      Riley can go find any high school program and try to take them to the state finals. That won’t happen because even that takes much more talent and relating with players than where Riley is currently at. He would most likely (75%) lose to Crescent Valley if coaching at Corvallis High.

      • Riley = program killer.

        The last 10 years that’s all he’s done. He hasn’t been relevant since 2009. He even managed to kill a historic program and sink them to all time lows. Yet Smith wants him on the staff. Soo gross.

        • All that is true as HC. Seems like Riley could still be a really good QB coach though…

          I’m assuming the main concern is culture. If Smith isn’t strong enough to impose his own culture, I think that’s a Smith problem.

          • You’re missing two key points:

            1. Where there is Riley, there is Banker, Cav, and Langsdork.
            2. Riley is looming. If Smith falters at all, many will call for Riley to take over.

            It’s a really really bad situation.

          • “.If… I think that’s a Smith problem.”
            Seems to me that is the point; if true, this is a reflection on JS’s judgement. If Smith has a judgement problem then Beavs FB does as well.

  38. You’re only as strong as your weakest link, and if you’re weakest link is Riley, then you’re a basement dweller no matter who else is around.

  39. Riley will not only sap all energy from the staff, but he will be lingering and waiting to take over should Smith fail (and Smith just practically guaranteed his odds of failing by hiring Riley, if true).

  40. If Riley is around, I wouldn’t shit my britches too much. He won’t have any central role on the team. He seems to have a positive effect on guys interpersonally, regardless of how he’s loathed in AB land. He also has an appeal to the parents of recruits who want someone ‘wholesome’ on the staff.

  41. I’ll believe Riley returning to OSU when I see it. If the last week has taught me anything, it’s not to trust the rumors swirling around this program until we get official confirmation.

    If it’s true though, we need to make our voices heard loud and clear, Tennessee fan-style, that we will NOT accept Riley back as any coach under any condition. Enough of living in the past and letting Riley take advantage of our football program, it’s time to move on.

  42. Or don’t, being involved in conversation requires the recipient to actually give a crap to respond. It’s funny to see you bitch and complain about everything, but then point out how duck fans Bitch and complain about everything. Or you like to call them delusional, thinking that their program is this top notch, dream school. You are no better than them, and you only perpetuate the negative public image of Oregon State. You are no better than all of the people you talk shi about. As long as people like you have a public forum, the script will never change.

    In true angry fashion, you will reply saying “I never said that”, and provide a link to an old bitch session of yours where you said something similar. Or you’ll poke holes in the way this message was written, calling out punctuation, or otherhullshit as to discredit me. Cool.

    Go Mike Fucking Riley! I’d like to read your bi polar Post if he flips halanoa to the beavs. You’ll probably write some post about your film study of him shows that he sucks, and he will probably get run out of town because Mark Banker lives down the street and occasionally bumps into him at local Boyz.

    What a joke

  43. I don’t like Nebraska, but shouldn’t Riley have to sit out from coaching for a minimum of three years for what he did to that program? One year for every year he fucked it up!

  44. Mike Riley is a good guy, and he’s coached plenty of quarterbacks into the NFL. Yeah, he left once to try the NFL, what’s wrong with that? The second time he was basically run out of town on a rail. The man has something to offer as a QB coach, and if he wants to help JS rebuild the team, and JS wants him, I’m all for it. If we were talking head coach here, then hell no, but he’s not going to be the head coach.

    • There’s nothing wrong with leaving to try the NFL. That makes the disloyalty almost justifiable. The NFL is a dream of many coaches, OSU is not. I get it. Good luck in the future, I’ll cheer for you.

      But don’t ever expect me to think you think OSU is a destination. You clearly used us for your own ends. You can be the nicest guy ever, but you can’t be called loyal to OSU.

      The second time he ditched OSU, he wasn’t run out. His disloyalty to the program in the form of loyalty to his friends at our expense was asked to leave. He chose to get all butthurt about him conflating business and friendship to our detriment.

      He possibly didn’t understand why we would be upset about any of it, because OSU is his chump. But maybe OSU just finally got tired of being a chump.

      Now we’re talking about OSU being a chump once again.

      This is what failing businesses do. They let employees walk all over them and call it a day because, “He’s a friend,” or “He’s so classy.” If he would have told OSU, “I’m going to give this one more season then move on to the NFL,” then it would be different.

      In the business world, that’s called giving notice. It’s what professionals do. If he’d have retired or been fired, it would all be different. But he saw fit to be disloyal to OSU a second time, and we were at fault for allowing him to get the chance.

      • Bringing him back as an assistant level coach seems to be a big difference. It’s not like we’re bringing him back as head coach again.

        Also, there’s only one site reporting these rumors so I’d take them with a grain of salt.

      • If the story is accurate, that BDC told Riley it was time to make some changes and Riley felt it was beneath him as “emperor of Corvallis” then fuck him. He was obviously willing to compromise at Nebraska to try to save his ass. I don’t think people understand the level of disrespect it showed to the OSU football program.

        • Riley is a piece of shit.
          That Smith is considering him (hire expected today or tomorrow, per the other sites) shows Smith himself is caught up in nostalgia, emotion, and the old guard mentality. Does he only have Beavers in his Rolodex? Scary.

        • Yeah, he could have resigned instead of fire his friend over the phone.

          Oooh!

          He could have told his friend to come home then had a little bit of respect for him by firing him in person.

          Can you imagine the immense stupidity involved in firing an assistant who is on the road? Until he signs the paperwork, he’s your liability. He can just sit at the airport and call whomever he wants.

          • I guess as long as you are accessible and nice to the media, you can get away with a shit ton of questionable moves. I don’t suggest we do, but one could dig into the Brenda Tracy inaction/cover up some more as another way to illustrate that Riley’s time at OSU is over. Go back to the CFL if you want to coach some more, they take anyone!

  45. FOOTBALL SCOOP on TAGGART:
    In an “opinion piece” Scoop shows it’s lack of knowledge about slick willie’s history. After reviewing willies tweet from Saturday and pointing out the importance of recruiting, relationships and trust, scoop concludes that he is returning to hole:
    “Taggart’s words left him no choice. He has to stay at Oregon, or he will be branded a liar; and liars can not be trusted.”

    Hmmm, so in the other cases he was only branded a trustworthy fibber??

    He may, or may not make a move, but that tweet locks him in to exactly NOTHING.

    http://footballscoop.com/news/opinion-opening-mouth-last-night-willie-taggart-stay-oregon/

  46. Hire Riley for a dollar a day. Let Nebraska pay his salary. This opens up more capital for your other assistants. I’m sure Riley has some tangible benefit that he could offer. But only as a mentor/position coach.

  47. I don’t have an issue with Riley as a coach. I think as a QB coach he could do a fantastic job.

    That said, it shouldn’t be at OSU working for a guy he coached who is in his first year as a young unproven HC especially when Riley recruited players remain on the roster.

    3-5 years from now when/if Smith is established? I’d be fine with it but its too soon.

      • Here’s another problem: say 9 hires Simple Jack to coach QBs, a job that I don’t know that he’s ever done professionally. 2 years pass and the QBs look like shit, not being coached up/not progressing like they should.

        Does 9 have the fortitude to can the nicest schmuck in CFB? Or does he get bumped to some other job so he can maintain never ending albatross status? Or does 9 have to also coach the QBs while gum chewer stands there grinning and collecting a paycheck?

        The only remotely appealing reason to have Simple Jack around is for a recruiting tool. Not having him actually recruiting, but the most successful current NFL players were from his era. It was kinda hard to point at Cooks and Mannion etc when GA was here because he had nothing to do with them. If MR is some kind of advisor or figurehead a coach can at least have some viable connection to NFL players.

        That said, I don’t want him anywhere near this program.

    • I am sure he is considering some non-beavs but I do think he is thinking about the Wisconsin model and having several alums on staff.

      It seems to work there.

      Not sure if any other programs do anything similar but I’m open to giving it a shot.

      Do agree that they need some outsiders on staff though

        • I can’t speak to specifics. I heard Bray was a solid recruiter? And without actually following Nebraska its hard to know if it was the technique that was them look bad (Bray’s job) or the scheme that made them look bad (DC’s job).

          I’m gonna give Smith the benefit of the doubt for now. I have no reason not too.

        • Bray had four ships for personnel his first year. He got depth, and his unit was the best on their D last year. Then they went to a 3-4 with 4-3 personnel this year.

          That’s not the greatest of excuses. But it explains why they would make him the interim.

  48. I hope smith goes hard after Draco Bynum soon. I think that kid has serious Oregon State ties, and possibly his ties from uw can help pull that kid back home.

  49. I will wait to see how the staff, which hasn’t even been hired yet, performs before I get angry because that’s consistent with me also saying that I won’t get too excited about pressers, hires, or recruits.

    It’s about results.

  50. Also, I don’t completely understand the Riley thing because I always thought Smith was a DE guy. Three years versus one year with Riley. Riley did make Smith the starter but then left him for the NFL.

    • Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t Petras planning to enroll early?

      I think having him for Spring practice would be key to starting as a True Frosh.

      I’d still try to get a grad transfer if possible (K.J. Carta-Samuels?).

  51. Ducks to Las Vegas Bowl destroying their planned recruiting visit blow out right before signing day.

    Guess they’ll just have to mail the cash and hope for the best?

    • Funny, a DB recruit, Bolden – who had flipped from FSU to ORE- is frustrated with Taggert and says “I’m tired of these games, I need answers!” Ha!

      Meanwhile, a highly ranked RB at FSU has recommitted, and is now being pursued by Frost at Debby as well as Clemson…

      Is this NCAA football season and its end particularly rich in a lack of commitment (coaches, recruits) or is it just my perception?

  52. Sorry if posted already, never saw this before from Eggers:

    “• Smith is already acquainted with at least a couple of his Oregon State players, including quarterback Jake Luton, who was the Beavers’ starter before going down to a thoracic spine fracture in the fourth game that caused him to miss the rest of the season.

    “He recruited me when he was at Boise State,” said Luton, who wound up at Idaho, where he spent his first two college seasons. “So I knew him a little bit five years ago.

    “I’m really fortunate to get to play for a coach like him. He has developed a lot of great quarterbacks.”

    Smith was never a high percentage passer was he, about < 60%? Different offenses, different times, but maybe he gives Luton a chance, improves him. Hope he starts the best. I think Browning was the first true FR to start at UW(?) so i’m hoping Smith would start Petras if he picks things up, performs the best.

      • His sophomore season he led the P-10 in completions and yardage BUT completed 48% of his passes, kind of unheard of now. I think that was the year he went something like 17 for 57 against Cal, that will lower the percentages quickly. Different times, no bubble screens or run/pass options back then.

        • Drew Brees was throwing the kitchen sink at the world before he was. You can probably credit his receivers with some YAC. All he had to do was lead them to open spaces… between hand-offs to Simonton.

  53. Canzano mentioned that Riley/Erickson could be consultants as well if I remember correctly.

    I think that makes a lot more sense for Riley. He’s going to be in town anyway. I doubt he really wants to be a full-time position coach and there’s no way he’s OC.

    If he’s just reviewing film and giving schematic pointers to Smith and whoever is the OC I don’t really mind it.

    He’s not actively coaching any players so his lack of energy wouldn’t infect the team at all.

  54. Sidd doubles down, tweets a half hour ago:
    “Justin Fuente at Va Tech says he was approached and declined to talk to anyone. He was FSU’s second choice behind Taggart. Expect Taggart to announce FSU tomorrow”

  55. Am open to Todd Graham as OC. Give him 625K and let him do good enough to eventually get offered another HC spot. Doubt it happens but I bet he takes the year off otherwise and schools that might hire him may prefer he stays active and show he’s still got it. 5 wins next year would be considered a pretty good start to a turn around for OSU. Follow that up with 6 and a bowl and he probably has some relatively decent options again. At that point OSU should be able to backfill with another good OC.

  56. Sounds like Cookus is being kept on from the old staff. Nothing official, but he’s one of the few coaches who has been allowed to keep working and contacting recruits.
    Unfortunately, Yray and Guinta are the other 2, for now.

    If you ever wondered why we had a flurry of questionable verbal commitments after GA left, look no further.
    Now Smith is stuck with some decisions to make about guys who wouldn’t necessarily ever have been given a spot in the 2018 class.

    Really disappointed with the rumored staff moves we’re hearing about so far. Hope Smith can see through the BS and clears out the recruiting guys as soon as signing day is over. I get that maybe he needs them in order to coordinate all of the final visits, communications, etc, through signing day, but they need to be removed before they poison the well any more.

    • A bunch of hacks from GA’s staff offering D2 players just so they look good. I was wondering why all those bad offers suddenly went out. Smith needs to pull them or hint they won’t play.

      • Sounds like most of the staff has not met with Smith yet. Nobody has been fired still. So I suppose more could be retained once Smith gets an idea of what he wants to do and what spots are left to fill. Coaching purgatory

  57. A high-ceiling QB recruit starting as a true freshman would inevitably have a lot of growing pains. That said, next year might be a bit of a lost year anyway, so maybe a reasonable move if we believe he (Petras?) is the future.

    If we want to win now, though, I think Luton is likely still the best option (assuming health issues are full go). I think the issues this year were much more McGiven than Luton. It’s certainly not like Garretson was any better. Further, I think experience this year and another full offseason (remember that last spring was sketchy with his mystery illness) will help him a lot.

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