Former Oregon State Head Coach Trent Bray Shares Thoughts on Dismissal
Eleven months ago, Trent Bray fielded questions at the start of fall camp, ahead of his second year in charge of Oregon State's football program.
By September, knives were out. On the morning of Sunday October 12th, Bray's dream job was no more.
Last Friday, longtime Portland-area radio personality and former Oregonian columnist John Canzano spoke with Bray for a half hour, and the since-fired Oregon State coach spoke candidly about his dismissal. This piece highlights three quotes from that conversation.
Bray on what got away, and lingering regrets
"I think that the big one was the Fresno State game, and the App State game, because I think those were two that we had complete control over. You know, you could look at the Houston one too, but that was kind of an upset if we would have beat them, right? But the Fresno and App State games were [games] we should have won. We were in position to win, and we outplayed them for most of the game, so those were the ones I look at."
Bray on the impact of the transfer portal in December 2023/January 2024
"It was extremely difficult, and really almost impossible, because you had a lot of guys - that I'm still close with, the guys that I still talk a lot with - that [the decision to transfer] really had nothing to do with them not loving Oregon State, or not loving me and our relationship, but it was they wanted to play in a power conference, and they wanted to be rewarded like their peers were. You understood it, and I wished him [star running back Damien Martinez] good luck, and you know we just weren't in the situation at that time to handle that."
Bray on the day he was fired
"Yeah, I think I was a little bit all over the place. When you get fired, and its on you, you know, as opposed to being on a staff that gets fired, it messes with your head, and it messes with your confidence, and what are the things you believe in. So trying to get fired back up about that, yet [its] a complicated relationship with my university I used to love, and all those things. So it was an interesting time, and a lot of mixed emotions on a ton of stuff."
Canzano chimes in, "Cleaning out the office couldn't have been easy."
"No, it wasn't. It wasn't."
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Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.