Shephard is a passionate speaker and motivator with elite credentials.
The Oregon State football coaching search is underway, and several names have been floated as potential candidates for the job. It is early in the process as the coaching carousel continues to spin across college football.
As the search rolls on, barring a major announcement or change in the search dynamics, The Oregonian/OregonLive will examine some of the potential leading candidates for OSU’s next head coach.
Next up is a name generating a lot of buzz this week:
JaMarcus Shephard
Current job: Co-OC, Alabama
Head coaching record: N/A
Why it works
Shephard has a lot of titles at Alabama: co-offensive coordinator, assistant head coach, and wide receivers coach. That is a product of his breadth of experience with stops at Western Kentucky, Washington State, Purdue and Washington before making the move with Kalen DeBoer to Alabama.
Shephard is a passionate speaker and elite motivator who puts in a lot of work on the recruiting trail for the Crimson Tide. He was the pass game coordinator at Washington, and he’s coached elite players to high levels of production through the air in both Seattle and Tuscaloosa.
Washington had the No. 2 passing offense in the country and scored 36 points per game in 2023 on their way to an appearance in the CFP national championship game. This year’s Alabama offense is No. 13 in passing and scores nearly 33 points per game in the SEC, with the Crimson Tide ranked No. 4 and firmly in the national title hunt.
Why it might not work
Shephard has never been a head coach before. For all his credentials and intangibles, that is always a risk for a program looking to rebuild.
As is the case with other candidates who haven’t been head coaches, Shephard would need plenty of institutional support to get off the ground running. He would likely desire a chance to re-tool OSU’s stable of assistant coaches to fit his vision, and the opportunity to retain some of the young, promising assistants left over from the Trent Bray era.
Sweeping change hasn’t always been the Beaver way, though. If Shephard is interested in this job, he has to make sure there is a willingness to make the kind of changes necessary for him to succeed.
Is he interested in Oregon State?
Shephard is someone viewed around college football as a prime candidate to become a head coach. A job like Oregon State presents an intriguing opportunity, but there are a lot of jobs open right now — some of them closer to home for the Fort Wayne, Indiana product.
While there hasn’t been solid reporting just yet about Shephard’s specific interest in the Beavers, his name keeps popping up more and more frequently. He is someone to keep an eye on as this process evolves and interviews begin.
Know the other (possible) candidates:
Oregon State (2-8) at Tulsa (2-7)
- When: Saturday, Nov. 15
- Time: 10:00 a.m. PT
- Where: H.A. Chapman Stadium — Tulsa, OK
- TV Channel: None
- Stream: ESPN+
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