REPORT: Oregon State Fires Head Coach Trent Bray
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After an 0-7 start to this season, the Beavers worst since 1991, the Trent Bray era is over.
Sunday morning. ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that Oregon State moved on from their head coach. The university has not offered comment to any outlets at this time, but the initial report has been echoed both nationally & locally.
Bray proudly attended Oregon State from 2002-05. Recruited by Dennis Erickson, and eventually playing for Corvallis legend Mike Riley, Bray was an excellent linebacker. He started 34 collegiate games. In his junior year, Bray's 122 tackles led to a Second Team Pac-10 selection, and his 10 tackles in the Insight Bowl versus Notre Dame earned him Insight Bowl Defensive MVP honors. In his senior year, Bray was a co-captain, and another 100+ tackle season swayed coaches to vote him First Team All-Pac-10.
Bray's coaching career began in 2008 as a graduate assistant on Dennis Erickson's Arizona State staff. The following year, Bray joined the upstart United Football League as Dennis Green's linebackers coach with the California Redwoods. The Redwoods struggled (2-4), and Bray returned to Erickson's staff as a linebackers coach in 2010. In 2012, Bray returned to his alma mater as Mike Riley's linebackers coach; when Riley left for Nebraska in 2015, Bray left with him, coaching linebackers until Riley's firing in late November 2017. Following Riley's dismissal, the Cornhuskers tabbed Bray to lead the program as interim head coach.
After the 2017 season, Bray returned to Oregon State; the Beavers hired 2001 Fiesta Bowl champion quarterback Jonathan Smith to be their head coach, and Smith tasked Bray with coaching linebackers once again.
Midway through the 2021 season, the longtime linebackers coach got a career break: when defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar was fired mid-season, Smith gave Bray a promotion. In his first game calling the defense, the Beavers smothered Stanford 35-14 (after going ahead 21-0 in the 3rd quarter). Momentum surged behind the interim defensive coordinator Bray, and soon Oregon State's alum earned the job full-time.
When Smith left for Michigan State following the 2023 season, Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes quickly circled the wagons around Bray. After a 5 win opening season marred by a quarterback carousel - three different Oregon State quarterbacks started games - the Beavers entered 2025 with optimism. 1.5 million dollar man Maalik Murphy would bring stability to the offense, and Bray's takeover of the defense would restore confidence to a side that tallied a nation-wide low in sacks last season.
Optimism began to sour over the summer. In July, a viral TikTok video appeared to show sophomore corner Exodus Ayers dragging a young woman by her hair. Pressed by reporters at the beginning of fall camp, Bray offered no comment. Through it all, Ayers took practice snaps, and the university tabbed him atop the cornerback position on it's official depth chart, but Ayers has been a healthy scratch all season. In September, the sophomore corner was cited in a local police report. On the field, Bray's struggles went far beyond a missing corner. Hope faded after early-season losses to California, Fresno State, and Texas Tech. Following a first half special teams debacle, Bray dropped an f-bomb on national television. Offensive and defensive lines shuffled week-to-week and sometimes snap-to-snap. Millionaire quarterback Maalik Murphy regressed: through 7 games, Murphy completed just 57% of his passes, throwing 9 touchdowns versus 8 interceptions, and accruing only 1653 yards passing yards.
Following Oregon State's seventh straight loss this season, a 39-14 hurtful homecoming versus Wake Forest, Oregon State has dismissed Bray. He went 5-14 in two seasons at the helm. His interim successor has not been named as of the time of this publication.
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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.