The Oregon State football coaching search is ramping up, and interviews are underway. But when can fans expect an announcement of who will be leading the Beavers into the new Pac-12?
That and more in this week’s OSU mailbag. Please be sure to submit your questions to [email protected].
I hear a lot of misplaced angst with Coach Tinkle. With his annual NIL budget of $28, he recruits under the radar kids. Coaches them up. Gets them to generally play hard for him. The teams show encouraging signs and then the kids leave for more lucrative opportunities. He then has to recruit 12 new kids, and repeat. What is going on behind the curtain? — Scott S.
Wayne Tinkle is 163-191 at Oregon State with two NCAA tournament appearances in 11 years. That 3-28 season in 2021-22 was a disaster. But I think an Elite Eight run the year before was indicative of something OSU fans should recognize: this is a coach who does as much as he can with limited resources, and who genuinely cares about coaching up his players and trying to build a culture amid the chaos.
If you get to know Tinkle and have been around enough basketball, this will become clear. He won 20 games last year despite a flurry of off-court distractions for his team, namely NIL opportunities lurking in the background.
Does that mean he has job security in perpetuity? No. Anything can happen in college sports, and internal expectations could easily change. External pressures could continue to build if this is a rough season, too.
OSU lost all of its starters to the portal this past offseason. One guy got twice as much money as OSU’s entire NIL budget. You have to recognize that puts Tinkle at a major disadvantage, especially when you take into account that some schools are putting much more resources into basketball and little to none into football.
It’s not all about the money, and Tinkle is not free of criticism of his coaching tactics, but these days even high-level coaches are facing an uphill battle.
Any wild guess at the percentage of football players jumping into the transfer portal after their disastrous season? — Mark C.
Whoever is hired as OSU’s next head coach, this is going to be a potentially jarring offseason for Beaver fans with a revolving door of players coming and going. I couldn’t place a specific percentage, but I wouldn’t be surprised if dozens of players hit the portal the moment it opens in January, and some will announce well before. I’ll definitely be putting together a portal tracker so fans can keep up.
Losing begets this sort of thing. Players who feel they aren’t reaching their potential at OSU will look elsewhere for greater opportunity, and the Beavers’ best players will catch the eye of programs with more to spend who want to lure them away. Some retention will be key in building the foundation of OSU’s 2026 roster, but the next coach likely understands he will have his work cut out for him.
I’m wondering if there’s any possibility we’ll see more carries for the backup running backs in the future? I believe a more diverse rotation could really bolster our offense. — Clarence H.
With one game to go, I’d expect more of a steady diet of Anthony Hankerson against Washington State. But I’m sure Robb Akey will want to give the younger guys some carries as well, especially if the score is as lop-sided as the Tulsa game was.
I know it was the fourth quarter, so probably not Tulsa starters still in the game, but I can’t be the only one wondering why the coaching staff hasn’t given Tristan Ti’a more meaningful playing time. Given how sharp he looked, accurate passes with zip and good mobility, and a season with not a lot of upside left, why wouldn’t we give him a shot? — Kim D.
OSU didn’t pay $1.5 million for Maalik Murphy just to start a true freshman over him. They believed strongly he was the guy. And Gabarri Johnson was always going to be the second option with how he looked in camp and his athleticism. Trouble is, neither worked out. OSU took too long to figure this out and it dragged far too deep into the season.
Chalk it up to poor talent evaluation and the pressures of investing so much in your initial number one guy, but Ti’a not seeing the field to this point doesn’t surprise me on its face. I do think he is the most talented quarterback in this room and deserves to start the finale, just so OSU can see what it has going forward and hopefully not get out-bid by another school during the coaching transition.
If (when?) JaMarcus Shephard is named OSU’s new HC, who has no OC nor HC experience, are there any coaches on the existing staff that would be desirable to keep? Or is it best to clean house? — Jerry S.
A few assistant coaches come to mind that feel important to keep around if you can: running backs coach Ray Pickering, wide receivers coach Pat McCann, tight ends coach Will Heck, and secondaries coach A.J. Cooper. These are young guys with recruiting prowess whose position groups have had more success and development than others on OSU’s roster.
Shephard has a lot of connections from his time at Washington and Alabama, and if he’s hired, he’d likely want to remake the staff to fit his vision. Those four current assistants are certainly good options for stability.
There is only one game remaining for the Beavs with Washington State. Regarding the timing of a new football coach, what is the probability of a hire before the last game? — Darwin D.
As far as I know, zero. The news could certainly leak this coming week if the process accelerates, but I’d expect an official announcement for OSU’s next head coach in the 48 hours after the season finale against Washington State. This program wants to hit the ground running and begin the work of rebuilding as soon as possible.
The question is, would Jonathan Smith be welcomed back to Corvallis after he’s sacked at MSU? His abrupt departure still lingers with many Oregon State fans, he would have a tough time if he returned. OSU needs a better AD too. — Marv T.
I think Smith would have a lot of work to do repairing his relationship with the fanbase before they would accept his return. And for that return to happen in the first place, his relationship with the athletic department would also need mending.
From what I’ve heard lately, there is little to no chance a Smith-OSU reunion happens even if he is fired at Michigan State. There might have been some back-channeling initially just to test the waters, but the Beavers have high quality candidates interviewing for this job who deserve their focus.
