Who Will Coach Oregon State’s Defense in 2026?

Multiple outlets are reporting that Mark Hagen will replace Inoke Breckterfield, and Mike MacIntyre will replace Lance Guidry. Neither departing coach lasted a month. Learn more in this piece.

Oct 1, 2016; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Mike MacIntyre greets Oregon State Beavers head coach Gary Andersen following the game Folsom Field. The Buffaloes defeated Beavers 47-6. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Two months in, we can already rule out one take on the JaMarcus Shephard era at Oregon State: it isn’t boring.

Just days after the closure of the transfer portal, and the merciful pause to a growing list of thirty-plus departing Beavers, Shephard replaced two assistant coaches. This piece breaks down those changes, and what they will mean for Oregon State’s defense in 2026.

Defensive Coordinator: Lance Guidry is out, Mike MacIntyre is in

First reported last week by John Brice of FootballScoop.com, Oregon State defensive coordinator Lance Guidry took a lateral move to Memphis. That story has not been confirmed by either school at the time of this publication, but this morning Bruce Feldman at The Athletic reported that former Pac-12 Conference Coach of the Year Mike MacIntyre is expected to become the Beavers’ new defensive coordinator. 

Simply put, MacIntyre’s arrival confirms Guidry’s departure, because a coach of MacIntyre’s stature - still an FBS head coach just fourteen months ago - would likely not join the staff for a lesser role. 

The former position coach MacIntyre got his career break recruiting future NFL legend Patrick Willis to Ole Miss. In 2003, gold jacket head coach Bill Parcells asked MacIntyre to join his coaching staff in Dallas. When Parcells retired after the 2006 season, MacIntyre coached defensive backs for Eric Mangini’s New York Jets. A year later, he returned to college football as the defensive coordinator at Duke. His defenses produced two of the best seasons in Blue Devils’ history, and in 2009 MacIntyre was honored as the American Football Coaches Association’s (AFCA) FBS Assistant Coach of the Year. 

MacIntyre then began the first of three head coaching gigs. From 2010-12 he led San Jose State, turning around a 1-12 program in his rookie campaign into a 10-2 record and top 25 finish in 2012. Colorado hired the successful coach in 2013, but aside from an award-winning 2016 season that saw the Buffaloes win the Pac-12 South Division title, wins were scarce in Boulder. After five losing seasons in six years, Colorado fired him. Following effective stints calling defenses at Ole Miss (2019) and Memphis (2020-21), FIU gave MacIntyre his third shot at the big chair. From 2022-24, he went 12-24, never surpassing 4 wins in a season.

Unlike Lance Guidry, MacIntyre is not married to any one particular coaching scheme. When the recently fired head coach landed on his feet at Ole Miss in January 2019, he elaborated upon the many different experiences throughout his career.

“I’ve been 4-2-5, 4-3, 3-4. When I was with the Dallas Cowboys we ran a 4-3 with Mike Zimmer and we did really well. And then Coach Bill Parcells has always been a 3-4 guy and after switched it going into our third year. So I saw that whole development how they draft it, how they work it”

Defensive Line: Inoke Breckterfield is out, Mark Hagen is in

Last night Ryan Harlan of On3 reported that former Louisville defensive line coach Mark Hagen will replace defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield, who left for Utah on Sunday January 4th.

Hagen’s hire echoes a common refrain on JaMarcus Shephard’s first Oregon State staff: connection. JaMarcus Shephard’s last season at Purdue (2021) marked the start of Hagen’s second stint coaching the Boilermaker’s defensive linemen. The following year, he joined Shephard mentor Jeff Brohm at Louisville (2022-25). In late December, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Hagen would not return to the Cardinals’ coaching staff.

A bigger picture look at Hagen’s resume suggests a respected defensive line coach. He has worked in all four current power conferences - his aforementioned Louisville tenure in addition to Texas (2020), Indiana (2015-18), and Texas A&M (2013-15) - across a career which spans four decades. Notable Hagen pupils include Kansas City Chiefs' pass rusher George Karlaftis (an All-American in 2021), Washington Commanders' all-time sack leader Ryan Kerrigan (a first round pick from Hagen's first Purdue stint in the late aughts), and former Seahawks' Super Bowl XLVIII champion defensive end Cliff Avril.

Hagen’s 2025 Louisville defensive line featured a four man front in Ron English’s 4-2-5 defense.