Oregon St. AD: Keeping coach Smith top concern

Nov 22, 2023, 10:43 PM ET With Oregon State football coach Jonathan Smith’s name being bandied about in connection with training jobs, Beavers athletic director Scott Barnes stated his top priority is retaining him.Barnes released

a declaration Wednesday as speculation grew about Smith’s future with the Beavers. The speculation accompanies unpredictability about the Pac-12 going forward.Oregon State and Washington State are the lone staying teams in the conference after the other 10 teams bolted in realignment. Together the Beavers and the Cougars have submitted a suit to keep the Pac-12’s assets.Editor’s Picks The No. 15 Beavers were preparing for Friday’s game at No. 6 Oregon, possibly the last meeting in

the storied competition in between the schools for the foreseeable future. The Ducks are headed to the Huge Ten next season.”Coach Smith and I have actually had continuous conversations for more than a month concerning his future at Oregon State and our path forward

for football specifically and our athletic department generally,”Barnes stated in the statement.” He has actually embraced our short and long term plans. My No. 1 top priority is supplying him with a brand-new agreement and ensured settlement that will help continue the success of the football program that has benefitted Oregon State University and Beavers ‘athletics.” Among the schools with training jobs are Michigan State and Texas A&M. Smith stated he was focused on the Beavers following last weekend’s 22-20 loss to No. 4 Washington. Oregon State is bowl eligible at 8-3 overall.Smith was a previous quarterback for the Beavers, leading the team when they played in the 2001 Feast Bowl. He returned to Oregon State as head coach in late 2017 and is 34-34 total considering that.