Oregon State AD Scott Barnes Issues Statement On Jonathan Smith Following Comments To John Canzano

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750 THE GAME STAFF

Tuesday, Oregon State head football coach Jonathan Smith raised eyebrows with his comments on his future at OSU during his interview with John Canzano on 750 The Game ahead of Friday’s rivalry game against Oregon.

“I’m not trying to be sarcastic here, I’ve got an agent that’s got a job, he best be finding out what is out there and people calling — right?,” Smith said in response to whether or not he or his agent have had contact with other schools. “I mean that’s how that works. I can tell you from his side, he best be working, just ’cause I’m paying him so much, right? They get a percentage, I’m making him a couple million bucks.

“I think any coach, they’re aware of what’s potentially out there if their agent is doing their job. And again, I’m not trying to dodge the question or anything but I’m also trying to be truthful here of how this thing works.”

Wednesday, Oregon State athletics director Scott Barnes issued the following statement.

“Coach Smith and I have had ongoing conversations for more than a month regarding his future at Oregon State and our path forward for football specifically and our athletic department generally. He has embraced our short and long term plans. My No. 1 priority is providing him with a new contract and guaranteed compensation that will help continue the success of the football program that has benefitted Oregon State University and Beavers’ Athletics. Coach Smith and I have also discussed our commitment to extending assistant coaches’ contracts and increasing the salary pool for his staff to retain the continuity of what they have all built together for Beaver Nation.”

Smith told Canzano he likes the direction of the conversations he has had with Barnes on Oregon State’s ability to compete at a Power Five level despite being left behind in the wave of massive conference realignment.

“I grow more and more confident, every time I talk to Scott, in regards to hey, this is how the plan we’re going to operate to continue to fund at the Power Five level,” said Smith. “Scheduling, trying to create a schedule that works and of course be competitive. And that’s not an easy task. You know the situation us and Washington State are in. But my confidence grows, listening to Scott more and more on the plan to fund it at the same level and how we’re going to get that done. Same thing on the president’s side, talking about a commitment to expand on what they’ll support athletically, so my confidence grows on that end.”

Barnes’s statement touches on the hope to extend the contracts and raising the salary pool for Smith’s assistant coaching staff, something Smith mentioned in his interview with Canzano.

“The big piece is just not about me,” Smith said. “We got a big time staff here. It’s not about me, oh the insecurity or uncertainty, well we got a staff here, same way, players same way, we want to continue to fund and support it so we operate like a Power Five level.”