Oregon State’s firing of Trent Bray necessary ahead of Beavers’ move to new Pac-12

Trent Bray will not finish his second season atop the Oregon State football program. The Beavers fired their head coach and defensive coordinator on Sunday, ending Bray’s brief stint in charge amid an 0-7 start to a miserable season. It was somewhat of a bold move for a program that often gives coaches long leashes — especially given Bray’s deep ties to Corvallis as a former star Oregon State linebacker and his willingness last year to step into the role at a pivotal time for the program. But it also had to happen.

The collapse of the old Pac-12 hit Oregon State hard, and Bray took it upon himself to clean up the mess. He faced an uphill battle from the start. Not only did the Beavers face a mass exodus of star players, a dismal financial outlook and a relegation from the Power Four structure, but they also had to overcome the departure of a rising star on the sideline in former coach Jonathan Smith.

Smith bolted from his alma mater to take the Michigan State coaching job, leaving behind a pile of rubble for his old defensive coordinator to clean up. In hindsight, the move was catastrophic for both sides. Smith’s struggles with the Spartans have those in East Lansing facing possible buyer’s remorse, and his exit from Oregon State put Bray and the Beavers in the deepest of holes.

Many around Corvallis were willing to give Bray a long runway. His predecessor needed time to pull the Beavers out of a quagmire during his tenure, and there was little chance that Bray, a first-time head coach, would be able to overcome unprecedented adversity in short order. Frankly, that athletic director Scott Barnes pulled the plug before Bray could even fire offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson, is a surprise. He gave Smith more leeway than that, after all. And the offense was the Beavers’ most glaring weakness this season.

Perhaps it was as clear internally as it was externally that Bray was simply not cut out to be a head coach. He has a track record as a prolific defensive coordinator but made it clear during his DC days that he was content in his role and did not have head coaching aspirations. He took over the defensive play calling duties this season in a return to his more natural role and was coy about how much he actually enjoyed being a head coach. At times in his short tenure, he seemed in over his head.

Perhaps, also, this is the beginning of the end for those in leadership positions at Oregon State. It may be a last-ditch effort for Barnes to save his job. In fact, calls for his firing were louder in recent weeks than calls for Bray’s ouster. Perceived mismanagement of the school’s NIL operations, a spotty history with coaching hires and questionable handling of the Pac-12 situation put Barnes on shaky ground in the eyes of Oregon State faithful.

At the end of the day, things are rotten in Corvallis. Whether or not Bray’s firing is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to athletic department upheaval, change had to occur in short order. Oregon State cannot take an ailing football program and a downtrodden athletic department into the new-look Pac-12 next season.

Oregon State has the rich athletics history, recent across-the-board success, funding and fanbase passion necessary to thrive in the rebuilt conference. It should regularly compete for championships in numerous sports and has the upside to perennially hang in the upper tier of Group of Six football at large. Think about it; this is a power conference school in a non-power conference.

But instead of using its two years in purgatory to build towards that future, Oregon State fell further into the abyss.

The coaching change will set the Beavers back further, at least through the end of the season. With the right hire, however, it could be the kind of move that gets them back on the rails after the train wreck that was the last two years.