Craig Bray, the defensive coordinator for Oregon State’s 2001 Fiesta Bowl championship team and the father of former Beavers head football coach Trent Bray, died Tuesday of a heart attack.
Bray, 74, died unexpectedly on Tuesday in Glen, Montana, where he and his wife, Kaprice, retired. He is survived by his wife and sons, Josh and Trent, who each attended Oregon State.
Trent Bray, who played linebacker for the Beavers from 2002-05, later coached linebackers at OSU from 2018-21, was defensive coordinator from 2022-23 and head coach in 2024-25.
“It’s the reason I do what I do is because of him,” Trent Bray said. “It’s why I got into coaching, why I first started loving football. I was always at practice and around the office. He was very instrumental in shaping who I am right now.”
As OSU’s defensive coordinator from 2000-02, Craig Bray was the architect of the Pac-10’s top defense, one that ranked No. 16 nationally in scoring and No. 20 overall in 2000. The Beavers allowed just 314 yards per game, including a program record for fewest rushing yards allowed per game at just over 80 yards.
In 2002, OSU was No. 9 in rushing defense and No. 11 in total defense nationally.
“He was always big on simplicity is best,” said Trent Bray, now the defensive coordinator at Washington State. “It’s not about what your know; it’s about what the players know. You got to have enough, but not too much to where you slow them down. That’s a core philosophy I still carry to this day. You got to let your guys go.”
Originally from Yreka, Calif., Craig Bray played basketball and football at Yreka High School, where he graduated in 1970. He played football for two years at College of Siskiyous before transferring to UNLV, where he started at receiver for two seasons and graduated in 1975.
Bray began his coaching career at UNLV, then spent four seasons at Nevada — two coaching receivers and two coaching the secondary. He spent four seasons coaching the secondary at Northern Arizona, then joined Dennis Erickson’s staff at Idaho in 1984.
Bray followed Erickson to Wyoming in 1986, then to Washington State for two years. He initially followed Erickson to Miami in 1989, but returned to Idaho through 1993.
“He got out of coaching instead of going to Miami, to not raise us in Miami and keep us up in Pullman,” Trent Bray said. “He was ready to get out to sacrifice for us, so I’m appreciative of that.”
Bray returned to Washington State ‘s coaching staff in 1994 and spent five years on the Palouse before reuniting with Erickson in Corvallis.
“That 2000 team that beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl was something special,” Erickson said. “They were disciplined. We didn’t do a lot of different things, but what we did was really good. As a group they played hard and played together and that doesn’t happen all the time.”
Craig Bray, pictured here in 2006 while an assistant coach at Minnesota, was Oregon State’s defensive coordinator from 2000-02.Star Tribune via Getty Images
He later coached linebackers Arizona in 2003, then oversaw the secondary at Colorado in 2004-05, Minnesota in 2006 and again joined Erickson as Arizona State’s defensive coordinator from 2007-11.
The Sun Devils led the Pac-12 in rush defense in 2009 and 2010, when they ranked 16th nationally.
“He had a great way of calling defenses, greats ways of preparing,” Erickson said. “He was so good on game day. He was tough on them now; he was tough on those players. They had to do the right thing or they would hear him. Believe me they would hear him. He had a lot of respect.”
A lover of the outdoors, Craig Bray took a fishing trip to Montana that eventually led to his buying a home in retirement. He consulted for Montana Western, where Kaprice was an assistant volleyball coach as recently as 2018, and helped train high school players. The couple grew a network of friends in the small community, according to their son.
“His best years might have been the last 10 years he was retired, the friends he made and the life he was living in Montana,” Trent Bray said. “He was very active and loved the people he met there.”
The family is finalizing details for a celebration of life.