Beau Baldwin Should be the next Oregon State Football Coach

After a week in which their coach walked out on them, the Oregon State Beaver football program is in a state of flux. You can’t argue that. The Oregon State Athletic Administration now has a job in front of them.

A job that they have to get right.

With the names that have been thrown out into the public sphere that last few days, there is one that I believe should be the first one on the list.

Beau Baldwin, offensive coordinator, for the California Golden Bears.

Oregon State fans know what Baldwin is capable of with coaching. When he was the head coach of the Eastern Washington he pulled off an upset of then #25 Oregon State in Corvallis in 2013.

Before Gary Andersen took the job for the Beavers, Baldwin was reportedly going to be offered the job.

Beau Baldwin has seen success wherever he has been.

While at EWU (Eastern Washington), Baldwin oversaw a football program that went 85-32. He also made the FCS Playoffs six times and finished as the number two team in FCS in 2016. In 2016, the first win of the season for the Eagles was a three point win over the Washington State Cougars.

Baldwin knows how to coach and he is exactly what the Oregon State Beaver football program needs at this moment in time.

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

For at least the past three seasons the Oregon State football program has been languishing at the bottom of the Pac-12 Conference. The football team and program need a major jolt of excitement. Attendance is down, the momentum from last year has been sucked out of Corvallis, and Gary Andersen just waived a middle finger to the program.

What will Beau Baldwin bring?

Aided by Luke Falk throwing five interceptions, Baldwin’s offense ran the ball for 106 yards. The Golden Bears also threw for 259 yards for a total 365 yards in a game against one of the best teams in the country right now.

In Baldwin’s head coaching at EWU, the scoreboard was always being lit up. The Eagles scored 42 points a game in his last year at the helm of the Eagles. The offense for Easter Washington was ranked #1 in the country in FCS in 2014 and was a top-20 offense in 2015.

Baldwin runs the spread offense and it’s predicated on the quarterback getting the ball out quickly.

The Oregon State offense has become a bit predictable and with a quick strike type of offense, the fans would buy into Beau Baldwin quickly. The excitement at Reser Stadium has diminished this season with the lack of wins, the offensive struggles, as well as the defensive struggles.

When Beau Baldwin gets the call from the powers that be at Oregon State he needs to be reassured about the commitment of money to the program. One of the reasons Gary Andersen got frustrated with things in Corvallis was that money was being frozen or held up for various reasons. That frozen money is supposedly targeted for improvement to the football facilities.

Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images

I believe that a coach can win at Oregon State. Granted it’s tougher to win in Corvallis due to various reasons that have been talked about before. However, it’s been done before. Dennis Erickson and Mike Riley have done it. Beaver fans want a return of a program that they were proud of. Right now, it’s a program that many people are shaking their head at.

When Oregon State makes the call to Baldwin, Beaver fans can only hope he picks up the call. The fans and school hopefully don’t miss out on him a second time.