Gary Andersen and Oregon State have mutually decided to part ways, the school announced Monday.
“I thank Gary for his many contributions to our student-athletes, OSU Athletics and Oregon State University,” AD Scott Barnes said in a statement. “OSU football has advanced significantly in many ways during Gary’s tenure here, including in our facilities and student-athlete academic performance. This program is poised for success on and off the field.”
The verbiage here is important. By “parting ways” with Oregon State, Andersen has walked away from a contract that was guaranteed to pay him upwards of $2.5 million through 2021. Andersen congratulated himself for that decision in his own statement.
“After many discussions with Scott, waiving my contract is the correct decision and enables the young men and the program to move forward and concentrate on the rest of this season,” Andersen said. “Coaching is not about the mighty dollar. It is about teaching and putting young men in a position to succeed on and off the field. Success comes when all parties involved are moving in the same direction.”
Andersen leaving Wisconsin for Oregon State was a weird move from the start, which was proceeded by a weird move of its own when Mike Riley left Corvallis for Nebraska. (Cue those rumors.)
Oregon State was bad -- really bad -- this season, winning one of their first six games. The one win came 35-32 over FCS Portland State, and the five losses came by an average of 31.4 points, including a 38-10 loss to No. 13 USC on Saturday. The Beavers went 2-10 and 4-8 in Andersen’s two full seasons, brining his total record to 7-23.
Cornerbacks coach Cory Hall will serve as interim head coach. His first game as head coach will come Saturday at home against Colorado.