Scott Barnes, Oregon State’s athletic director, has long supported the CEO model for his football coach.
Football is by far the most popular sport in college, and it requires someone to manage everything rather than handle the day-to-day teaching.
Why, then, would Barnes leave his position with Trent Bray, his second-year coach, taking over as defensive coordinator for the Beavers?
“I think we win there because I can’t think of a better defensive coordinator,” Barnes stated.
Alright, so that’s a contributing element, but it’s not the main one for choosing Bray to succeed the late Keith Heyward.
According to Barnes, he and Bray started discussing Bray’s possible return to coaching as a position coach in addition to his head coaching duties in the middle of the 2024 campaign. Barnes thought Bray could manage the combined responsibilities of head coach and DC with an assistant as the conversation heated up. Robb Akey, the former head coach of Idaho, was named Bray’s right-hand man on Friday.
As our head coach, Trent will set the direction and goals for our program. But we got that, correct, with a little more Robb Akey knowledge. Barnes stated.
Barnes claimed to have been convinced by Bray’s idea that part of his worth is being on the field with those guys on some level, as well as the defensive end’s play calling and player development.
FBS college football programs are increasingly employing a general manager to supervise the tangle of personnel and revenue-sharing opportunities, which has an effect on the head coach as well. Barnes maintains that Trent made the decision that Oregon State does not have a football general manager.
However, Barnes is offering assistance by starting to reorganize the responsibilities of some present employees and assemble an athletics team to manage revenue-sharing programs. Justin Johnson, a former college offensive lineman, was recently hired by OSU to serve as the NIL business manager.
According to Barnes, the expansion of our NIL program will ultimately necessitate the hire of an executive-level role to manage everything.
On a different note, there have been increasing conversations over modifications to spring football. Concerns have been raised by several coaches over the team’s spring game and how it might be used as a scouting opportunity by rival coaches searching for potential transfers. After the conclusion of spring practices at the majority of schools, there is a transfer portal window in April.
Steve Sarkisian, the coach of Texas, even went so far as to declare that he is thinking of switching to the NFL’s offseason schedule of mini-camps and organized team activities (OTAs).
Barnes agrees that playing a spring game and broadcasting it on TV carries a higher risk, but it is Bray’s decision to make any modifications.
Barnes stated that our focus is on developing players, which is what we have always been about.
The contact information for Nick Daschel is 360-607-4824, [email protected], or @nickdaschel.
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