Gary Andersen is out as Oregon State football coach. He and the school announced that he would step down immediately, and forfeit any money the school owed him for the remainder of the contract extension he signed in January.
Oregon State has never been a Pac-12 powerhouse — the last time they won the conference title outright was 1956 — but the Andersen era was an especially dark one in Corvallis. Andersen's teams went 7-23 in his two and a half years at the helm and three of those wins were over FCS opponents.
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The school named cornerbacks coach Cory Hall the interim head coach. He had served under Andersen since the beginning of 2016. But who will be the long term replacement? Here are a few potential candidates.
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Cory Hall
Current Position: Interim Head Coach, Oregon State
It would be silly to start the list anywhere else. Obviously the administration has at least a modicum of respect for Hall, who was a third-round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft as a defensive back out of Fresno State. He played with the Bengals and Falcons until 2004, when he retired and took a high school job in Fresno.
He made the jump to the college coaching ranks in 2014 and joined Gary Andersen's staff at Wisconsin. After a brief stint as defensive secondary coach at Weber State he rejoined Andersen at OSU.
If he can lead the Beavers to some respectable showings to close out the season, he could remove the interim tag from his title. [divider]
Jimmy Lake
Current Position: Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach, Washington
Lake is the man behind one of the best defensive secondaries in college football. He's responsible for bringing eight 4-star defensive backfield recruits to Washington in just four years. He recruited Budda Baker and Sidney Jones, and is one of the shining stars in Chris Petersen's staff.
If not Oregon State, Lake will end up with a head coaching job somewhere sooner than later.
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Chip Kelly
Current Position: ESPN Analyst
This isn't going to happen. It's just not. Kelly is worth for more money than Oregon State has to offer, and it's not like Oregon slighted Kelly when they parted ways. He left of his own volition.
But how fun would it be? Watching Kelly's high-flying, speed-oriented offense in college would be a treat for everyone.
Then again, who knows, crazier things have happened.
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Mike Riley
Current Position: Head Coach – Nebraska
Mike Riley wasn't run out of Corvallis three years ago but they reportedly were not on 100-percent friendly terms.
Riley is now 64 years old and on the hot seat at Nebraska. If fired, it's unlikely he'd seek another high-pressure, high-expectations job or uncomfortable rebuilding effort. He's not going to win a national championship at Oregon State but, like his first run of stability with the Beavers, it'd be a comfortable fit.
