Oregon State Spring Football Notebook: Cavanaugh & McCann Settling In

With the Oregon State football team firmly entrenched in the first week of fall camp, BeaversEdge takes a closer look at two of the newest coaches, offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh and wide receivers coach Pat McCann!

Coach Cavanaugh Returns To The OL

Just over three weeks ago, on Friday, February 14th, it went public that former Oregon State offensive line coach Kyle DeVan was accepting an assistant offensive line coach job with the Chicago Bears.

The move left the Beavers, head coach Trent Bray, and offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson scrambling to find a quality replacement for DeVan with just two full weeks until the start of spring practices.

Luckily for the Beavers, Gundy had a first choice in mind, and he just so happened to be right down the road in Eugene.

Mike Cavanaugh.

The longtime (10 seasons) OL coach under former head coach Mike Riley has been an analyst for Oregon for the past two seasons, essentially serving as the Ducks' assistant offensive line coach.

Just how quickly did Gundy make the first call and things come together?

"Really fast," Cavanaugh said. "It was a Thursday. Gundy hit me with a text and said we had to talk. I knew another guy who was being interviewed for the receivers coach, and I thought it would be to talk about him. Then all of a sudden he's like, Kyle (DeVan) might be leaving, we want you to come back as OL coach. Then, an hour later, Trent (Bray) called and said Kyle was leaving, so there was a big scramble, and the rest is history."

While Cavanaugh was thrilled at the prospect of becoming an OL coach again and having one of the shorter commute changes as a result of the job change, it wasn't something he expected.

"It came out of the blue... I was a senior analyst down the street, loving what I was doing... My first conversation was with my wife, then it was pretty much let's go."

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So what's changed for Cavanaugh since he departed Corvallis with Riley for Nebraska after the 2014 season? In addition to Oregon, he's spent time at Arizona State and Syracuse since departing Nebraska but was thrilled at the prospect of returning to Corvallis. He's got a few more miles on the speedometer but still has all the passion for coaching ball.

"Obviously (older), yes," Cavanugh said with a big chuckle. "Older, and I told Gundy and Trent when I got the job I'm not that guy in 2005 that could job around, chase guys around. I had both my knees and a hip replaced. But I've got the same philosophy, same voice, and oh yeah, the voice is still there. Passion is still there and having fun."

In terms of how Cav's OL philosophy has evolved over the years since he departed Corvallis, he noted that some subtle things have changed, but his foundation is still firm.

"Always tweaking stuff here and there, but I've got strong convictions on how I teach. Repetition is the greatest teacher, and we're going to work hard every day on fundamentals and technique."

He talked about the type of coach he wants to be for his players and how he can be very demanding on the field, but off the field, he is very caring as a mentor.

"You have to get your kids to trust you, and that you love them, and are going to coach them hard. Personality-wise, I'm going to be demanding, but when you see me in the office, I'll probably be a different personality."