Tale of the Tape: Cory Hall

Next up in the series of Head Coaching candidate breakdowns is our current interim coach, Cory Hall. It’s time to break down Coach Hall, and see if we should be #HallIn?

Coaching Career

Cory Hall started off his career as a safety in the NFL. He was drafted in the 3rd round by the Bengals, and spent six years in the league with Cincinnati as well as Atlanta. So Coach Hall boasts some NFL experience prior to his career in coaching.

After his stint in the NFL, Hall got his first coaching gig in high school football at Clovis North High School in Fresno, CA. Here, he worked as an assistant coach for four seasons before taking over as Head Coach for 3 seasons. During his time as the head coach of the Broncos, Hall amassed a 32-8 record and collected a CIF Valley Championship in Division I and Division II football.

After his time in high school, Hall was hired as a graduate assistant under Gary Andersen at the University of Wisconsin. After Andersen left Wisconsin, Hall followed suit and pursued a position as a Defensive Backs coach at Weber State University. Both positions at Wisconsin and Weber State only lasted one season each.

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In 2016, though, Hall was brought on as the Defensive Backs coach for the Oregon State Beavers. From here, most Beaver fans can figure out the rest of the story. Hall coached the DB’s all of 2016, and part of 2017 before Gary Andersen departed as the Beavs head coach. After Andersen’s departure, Hall was anointed as interim Head Coach, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Likelihood of Becoming Oregon State’s Next Head Coach?

We at BTD believe that the odds are fairly low on Hall becoming the next Head Coach of the Beavers.

How low, you ask? The same likelihood as the Pac-12 sending a team to the College Football Playoffs. Not impossible, but not great by any stretch. The consensus around media that are up to date in the OSU Head Coach pursuit also seem to think that Hall will not be the next head coach for the Beavers. Hall is a great motivator and a clear leader for this team, yet his inexperience as a coach has been seen quite abundantly over the past few weeks.

Hall commands respect and knows how to fire up his guys. It’s obvious that the players love balling out for this guy, this has been evidenced by tremendous efforts against superior teams such as Stanford and Colorado. In addition, Hall is a tremendous recruiter. He connects with the younger recruits and creates a welcoming environment for his players. Without a doubt, Hall’s recruiting skills could potentially be his biggest asset as a prospective Head Coach for the Beavs.

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However, there is a legit concern about his breakdown of X's and O’s for his team. His inexperience in coaching at an FBS level will draw concerns for Scott Barnes and the Oregon State administration. A prime example would include how Hall involved himself more than usual with the defensive game plan against Arizona State this past weekend, yet the team still proceeded to allow 40 points against the Sun Devils. Now, this isn't to say Hall can’t become a better handler of the smaller coaching details, but the slow progress of the Beavs football team can’t be ignored in this Head Coach hunt.

There’s even a great amount of debate amongst Beaver Nation of whether or not to bring Hall in as the next Head Coach. Our own writers here at BTD actually had a conversation after the Stanford game of whether or not Hall should be hired our next head coach. However, if Hall is denied the title of Head Coach, don’t be surprised if the OSU administration makes a focused effort to ensure he is still a part of the next coaching staff at Oregon State. It’s plainly evident to how much of an impact Hall has on his team of young men, so his contagious energy may still be seen around the Valley Football Center next season, regardless of the new coach.

While Hall has an outside shot at the Head Coach title, this author doesn’t expect the title to be bestowed upon Hall. The hashtag #HallIn is a fun idea, but don’t expect it to materialize into a concrete hiring anytime soon.

What do you think? Do you think Beaver Nation is #HallIn? Voice your opinion in the comments section below!