Oregon State football aims to reset its struggling offensive line by bringing in a high-energy assistant coach from Alabama.
Kirk Barron — most recently an offensive analyst and assistant offensive line coach for the Crimson Tide — will be the Beavers’ next offensive line coach, multiple sources with knowledge of the hire told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday.
Barron, 30, played offensive line for Purdue, starting all 25 games at center for the Boilermakers in 2016 and 2017. New OSU head coach JaMarcus Shephard was the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Purdue during Barron’s senior year, and both were on staff for the Crimson Tide this season under head coach Kalen DeBoer.
Barron got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant for Oregon.
OSU announced Mitch Dahlen as its offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Thursday, and is set to hire Cort Dennison as its linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator.
More names are expected to be made official Friday and well into next week as Shephard builds out his staff and makes calls to his future assistants. The area around the Valley Football Center in Corvallis is getting busier.
That group is also expected to include football general manager Eron Hodges, defensive coordinator Lance Guidry, and defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield, among others.