Smith told his team Wed before the game

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

I realize there was probably stuff swirling around, but keep your yapper shut until after the game would ya? I also realize it probably wouldn't have made a difference and you could argue if it matters when the team gets told, but personally I think he should have kept it under wraps.

 

[NMBRCRNCHR]

Huh?

 

[CougSinceBirth]

I realize there was probably stuff swirling around, but keep your yapper shut until after the game would ya? I also realize it probably wouldn't have made a difference and you could argue if it matters when the team gets told, but personally I think he should have kept it under wraps.

Lie? You're an asshole.
Tell the truth? You're an asshole.

I'm not saying either is right, but in Smith's case, that seemed like the options.

 

[Coug90]

Lie? You're an asshole.
Tell the truth? You're an asshole.

I'm not saying either is right, but in Smith's case, that seemed like the options.

Yeah if it’s already out might as well come clean. Stuff travels fast as soon as it gets leaked it’s gonna spread like wildfire.

 

[Cougini5591]

I know this isn't how it works, but when schools MAKE YOU then you f*cking owe it back to them to be real and committed.

To this day... Mike Price was a great coach, but still a bitch for selling out.

Everything always better somewhere else? F' that.

I just wish people would actually be up front about who they really are and what they really want.

Did Smith tell OSU they were just a stepping stone? Doubt it.

He's not a bitch, but he definitely earned bitch points.

 

[425cougfan]

I know this isn't how it works, but when schools MAKE YOU then you f*cking owe it back to them to be real and committed.

To this day... Mike Price was a great coach, but still a bitch for selling out.

Everything always better somewhere else? F' that.

I just wish people would actually be up front about who they really are and what they really want.

Did Smith tell OSU they were just a stepping stone? Doubt it.

He's not a bitch, but he definitely earned bitch points.

I normally feel similarly, even if I know that it doesn't work like that in practice. I also have more loyalty than is typical in my profession and value it in those who work for me.

In this case, though, while you can give him bitch points if you want, the situation really is a mess, with the prospect of it being a lousy situation to coach in and with strong pressures to slash coaching and other budgets.

If I ever was going to not fully blame someone for leaving their alma mater who had given him his first head coaching gig and had paid him well (in his extension), this could be it. That isn't to say I don't feel for their fans or understand why they would be pissed. There are, however, going to be a lot of painful adjustments, and probably a great deal of just flat-out pain, in coming years for people employed by, fans of, or otherwise associated with the WSU or Oregon State athletic departments. This is just one example.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

I don't blame Smith for leaving at all. As far as whether or not he should have lied to his players so they might have played better against the Ducks....I'd prefer a coach that isn't comfortable lying.

 

[How_did_this_happen?]

Coaches also are mindful that their school will fire them mercilessly if they don't perform. OSU gave Smith a long leash and smartly stuck with him through some tough seasons. But after what they went through before Smith, I'm not sure that was so much being charitable to him as it was being practical ($).

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Coaches also are mindful that their school will fire them mercilessly if they don't perform. OSU gave Smith a long leash and smartly stuck with him through some tough seasons. But after what they went through before Smith, I'm not sure that was so much being charitable to him as it was being practical ($).

He was following after a coach who was basically OSU's Paul Wulff. The Beavers were 7-29 in the three seasons that Gary Anderson was coach and they were getting worse rather than better under his leadership. OSU fired him halfway through 2017 because it was such a debacle.

Even with that hole to climb out of, the Beavers almost made a bowl game in Smith's second season at OSU. If not for a barnburner loss to the Cougs in 2019, they would have gone bowling. Everyone knew that the COVID season was a CF so nobody was going to hold that against him. I think that they kept him because it was obvious that he was doing the right things. That said, 10-3 last year was still a bit of a surprise.

 

[BSpike76]

Seems like there’s a curse in being associated with MSU. OSU played their worst game last week. WSU went in the tank when CJD was linked to MSU.

 

[roses04]

Remember the former Coug commit, Sam Leavit, that flipped to MSU, well apparently he's not happy with the new hire.

QB not happy with Smith hire

 

[95coug]

Looking at this from Smith’s career perspective, it’s a no-brainer. It will be for Dickert too if Indiana offers. Too much uncertainty at WSU and OSU, what their schedules, programs, and budgets are going to be. Possible pay cuts, nearly certain staff cuts and player losses. None of those things are at MSU and IU. They’re in a conference that isn’t going anywhere. Sure, the microscope is bigger…but so is the salary. So are the resources.

 

[BSpike76]

Seems MSU cheaped out on Smith. He’s getting $2m less than Tucker was.

 

[dgibbons]

Seems MSU cheaped out on Smith. He’s getting $2m less than Tucker was.

Well, the probably have to pay off Tucker and the gal he was harassing.

 

[Coug90]

Seems MSU cheaped out on Smith. He’s getting $2m less than Tucker was.

Not really unless A he wasn’t their top target and they couldn’t get the guy they wanted for the truck they were willing to dump or B. Smith didn’t have any other similar suitors. Or both. They probably paid about market price. Tucker was probably in higher demand at the time.

 

[BSpike76]

Not really unless A he wasn’t their top target and they couldn’t get the guy they wanted for the truck they were willing to dump or B. Smith didn’t have any other similar suitors. Or both. They probably paid about market price. Tucker was probably in higher demand at the time.

They added a year because they were afraid of the competition. Seems weird he’s getting less than Tucker, who hadn’t done much there. Less years, too.

 

[79COUG]

You coach in the here and now. You keep all of your focus on winning the game in front of you.
That game is as important to the Beavs as the AC is to WSU.
You take their focus off the game when you tell them that before the game.
My opinion? He f-ed up.

 

[Coug90]

You coach in the here and now. You keep all of your focus on winning the game in front of you.
That game is as important to the Beavs as the AC is to WSU.
You take their focus off the game when you tell them that before the game.
My opinion? He f-ed up.

Well they got their ass kicked so not hard to come to that conclusion now. As a Beav I’m sure he wanted to win the game and win it for the players. Maybe he figured they already caught wind of it and coming clean was the best option. Per the result you are probably right. Although Oregon is rolling and may beat UW worse on Friday.

 

[79COUG]

Well they got their ass kicked so not hard to come to that conclusion now. As a Beav I’m sure he wanted to win the game and win it for the players. Maybe he figured they already caught wind of it and coming clean was the best option. Per the result you are probably right. Although Oregon is rolling and may beat UW worse on Friday.

Yes, perhaps you are right.

 

[Coug1990]

All anyone had to do is listen to interviews Smith was doing the last couple of weeks with the national press. It was obvious that he was gone. Having your agent contact every opening kind of gives it away.

 

[PlutoDroid]

Cold hard facts rear themselves over and over again. It's rare to have a guy stay at a place like Oregon State. Heck it's hard to keep guys anywhere outside of about six gigs.

Truth is Michigan State could pay more, they have a stable future. Oregon State doesn't even know what conference they are going to be playing in down the road. A good chance it isn't affiliated with the power players. It sucks, you can't even enjoy your teams success because you know somebody is gonna come after your coach. Duke just lost Elko to A&M.

It's like how it used to be in baseball. You have the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Cubs. They just treat everybody else like their farm team. Luckily it seems like some of that is going away, but it's never going to be equal. The Orioles, Rays, or Mariners have to be better talent evaluators. Build better from within.

Oregon State is the same position Iowa State, Washington State, Duke, Cincinnati, UCF, Kansas State, Kansas, or many others are. Once Notre Dame, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Penn State come open. Anybody is fair game. $$$$$$$$$$$$$ talks.

Guys like Whittingham and Peterson are the outliers today. Same thing with the transfer portal and NIL money. It's why I only follow the sport in season. I don't care to hear about the other stuff anymore. Whoever suits up for my team, whoever is coaching them is who I'll root for.

 

[COUGinNCW]

They added a year because they were afraid of the competition. Seems weird he’s getting less than Tucker, who hadn’t done much there. Less years, too

I thought I saw something that he has more money for his assistants than Tucker had.