12 possible candidates (and one long shot) for the next Oregon State football coach

Oregon State football’s national coaching search is underway.

Trent Bray was fired Sunday morning, and Robb Akey will lead the Beavers (0-7) for the remainder of the 2025 season.

With OSU heading into the rebooted Pac-12 next season, who are some of the leading candidates to take over in Corvallis?

Top options:

Brent Vigen (HC, Montana State)

Vigen’s name is already being floated as a possible candidate for the OSU job. The former North Dakota State tight end began his career at his alma mater, and later served as offensive coordinator at Wyoming from 2014 to 2020 — including two full seasons with Josh Allen as his starting quarterback. He was hired at Montana State in 2021.

Vigen is 52-12 with the Bobcats. He was the favorite to take the Washington State job before negotiations fell apart. His organizational skills and track record make him an excellent candidate to reboot the Beavers.

Tim Plough (HC, UC Davis)

Plough, 40, was hired to lead the Aggies football program in 2024 and made an immediate impact, leading his alma mater to an 11-3 record and appearance in the FCS quarterfinals.

A former quarterback and offensive coordinator, Plough energized the UC Davis offense from day one. The Aggies averaged nearly 35 points per game in 2024 and put up 469 yards per game.

Jason Eck (HC, New Mexico)

Eck is a rising star in the head coaching ranks in college football, and led the Lobos to a dominant, 35-10 win over UCLA earlier this season. He might want his next step as a coach to be at a bigger program than Oregon State, but the Beavers would be remiss not to pursue the 48-year-old former Idaho head coach.

The Vandals somehow made Oregon sweat last season. And Eck’s teams have shown a consistent ability to punch above their weight. In an uncertain period for Group of Six programs in terms of NIL resources, Eck could do wonders for the Beavers’ competitiveness.

Jerry Neuheisel (interim OC, UCLA)

Speaking of rising stars, it’s been a fun couple of weeks for the 33-year-old former UCLA quarterback with flowy, blond hair. Neuheisel was named the interim offensive coordinator at UCLA and has turned the Bruins’ offense around the last two games: 40 points per game, and upset wins over Penn State and Michigan State.

Taking a chance on the young Neuheisel could pose a risk for the Beavers in a fraught time, but his impact on UCLA’s turnaround is undeniable.

Eric Morris (HC, North Texas)

Before a 63-36 waxing at home against South Florida this past Saturday, the Mean Green were one of college football’s most interesting stories. And it could still be a special season for Morris and company with a relatively favorable remaining schedule.

Morris had a similar, steady ascent at Incarnate Word, parlaying that into the North Texas job. Could the 39-year-old former Texas Tech wideout (under Mike Leach) help turn the page at OSU?

Jonathan Smith (HC, Michigan State)

This one would be divisive. Many Beavers fans are actively rooting against Smith and the Spartans after he left OSU in the lurch in 2023. But he could soon find himself in need of a job with how things are going in East Lansing. And he had proven success at OSU, albeit under different circumstances.

Two major things would have to happen for a Smith-OSU reunion to even be possible.

Michigan State would need to fire him and be willing to take on a significant bill: 62 monthly payments of $509,000 until 2031. And OSU athletic director Scott Barnes would need to mend fences with someone who, by all accounts, did not leave on good terms with this athletic administration.

Others to consider:

Robb Akey (interim HC, Oregon State)

Akey is an inspirational presence who has a chance to earn the respect of OSU’s roster these final five games. But he hasn’t been a full-time head coach since he was fired by Idaho in 2012 with a 20-50 record. Time for new blood.

Bronco Mendenhall (HC, Utah State)

Mendenhall is a former OSU safety who started his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Beavers, returning for a two-year stint in the mid-90s under Jerry Pettibone. He’s been a head coach since 2005, with stops at BYU, Virginia, New Mexico and now Utah State. But his track record of success has been a mixed bag since leaving Provo.

Sean Mannion (QB coach, Green Bay Packers)

The career leader in passing yards and touchdowns for the Beavers is just starting his coaching career after nine seasons bouncing around the NFL as a player. Taking on the mantle of leading his alma mater’s struggling football program would be a big task for the 33-year-old, but an interesting story nonetheless.

Matt Wells (OC, Kansas State)

They say it’s all about who you know, and Scott Barnes knows Matt Wells. He was Barnes’ second hire at Utah State after Gary Andersen left for Wisconsin. But his tenure at Texas Tech was a failure, and a connection to Barnes alone shouldn’t put him above the other candidates on this list.

Paul Chryst (former HC, Wisconsin)

The wheels fell off for Chryst in Madison after a Rose Bowl appearance in 2019. But it sure was a nice run before that for the Badgers. The biggest hangup for OSU: Chryst hasn’t led a football program since Wisconsin fired him early in the 2022 season, and it’s a new world in the sport.

Ed Orgeron (former HC, LSU)

Orgeron is a mercurial personality who left LSU with a lot of baggage. OSU would have off-field concerns to answer for if it made this move, if it could even afford the contract a coach of Orgeron’s pedigree would demand. But he was a national champion with the Tigers in 2019, leading one of the best college football teams this century.

The longest of long shots:

James Franklin (former HC, Penn State)

Franklin got the axe from the Nittany Lions on Sunday — a few hours after the Bray news broke — with his team sitting at 3-3. But bringing in a coach of this caliber is pie in the sky for an OSU program just trying to compete at this point.

With that reported $56 million buyout from Penn State, why put yourself through all that stress?

Next game: Oregon State (0-7) vs. Lafayette (5-2, FCS)

When: Saturday, Oct. 18

Time: 7 p.m. PT

Where: Reser Stadium

TV Channel: The CW (Channel 32 in Portland)

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