Every time I leave Corvallis I’m always kinda bummed, for myriad reasons probably, but mostly because, well, I never see any beavers. I have a solution for that, for helping the Oregon State community be more beaver. The beaver is a darn fine mascot – underrated on many fronts – and it’s about time he transitions from his two-dimensional depiction on t-shirts and koozies to a role more in keeping with a rodent of his stature.
I have three boys who go to Oregon State. They’re hardcore football fans in every way. It’s totally genetic. They could care less about Beavers Football, have no interest in going to the games. It’s not only about wins and losses. The games aren’t any fun, the offense isn’t any fun. There’s no identity, no player or ideal or concept to identify with. There’s no high-level direction, there doesn’t seem to be a master plan. So OSU needs to be shopping for a lot more than a new head coach, it needs to be shopping for a vision, a football philosophy, a reason for being. And that will require starting from scratch – absolute ground zero – and asking the big questions.