5 worst Oregon State football head coaching hires of all-time

No. 3: Jerry Pettibone (1991-96)

By the time that the 1990s rolled around, a losing culture had more than just set in at Oregon State, it had taken over every aspect of the program. Still, Jerry Pettibone must be included on this list.

A former Oklahoma running back, he was hired by the Beavers after a moderately successful stint as head coach at Northern Illinois. There he went 33-32-1 over the course of six seasons guiding the Huskies to three straight winning seasons to close out his time there.

That didn't translate to Corvallis, though. In fact, he would never produce a winning season with the Beavers.

What's more, four of his six seasons, he would win two or fewer games. The most success he ever had was a pair of 4-7 seasons in 1993 and 1994.

One reason he struggled was that he tried to implement the wishbone offense on the heels of the Kragthorpe era, which featured a pass-first offense. Thus, the talent to run Pettibone's preferred scheme simply wasn't on campus when he arrived.

Maybe Pettibone was better than his record shows though as within three years of his departure, Oregon State would finally put together a winning season in 1999 with many of Pettibone's players still on the roster.

Regardless, Pettibone's time in Corvallis was rather disastrous; just like so many of the men who preceded him. Therefore, his overall record of 13-52-1 (6-41-1 in PAC-10 play) lands him in the middle of this dubious list.