Just a day before the Iron Bowl, it was reported that the Alabama Crimson Tide associate head coach, JaMarcus Shephard will become the head coach for the Oregon State Beavers in 2026.
Just a day before the Iron Bowl, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer just lost one of the more important members on his staff.
Wide receiver coach and co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard was rumored to have been Oregon State’s top target for its head coaching opening, and those rumors turned to reality this morning according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
It’s reported to be a five-year contract as the longtime assistant gets to finally lead his own program.
The Beavers fired their coach Trent Bray after an abysmal 0-7 start to the season, and shortly after, they honed in on Shephard.
The 42-year-old was one of college football’s hottest commodities in the coaching world, known for his over-the-top personality, and his ability to not just motivate his players, but his ability to recruit at a high level.
In college football these days, a major part of the game has become based on relationships. It used to be that players would commit to the school itself, but now as we’ve seen, players are more inclined to go where their coaches go.
Relationship building has been a critical part of Shephard’s success as a coach. He knows when to be your friend, but he’s not afraid to rip you when you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do.
He was a critical piece in bringing back five-star wide receiver Ryan Williams to Tuscaloosa, shortly after Williams had decommitted from the program amidst Nick Saban retiring.
When Alabama brought in transfer wide receiver from Miami, Isaiah Horton, the first thing that Horton wanted to do was address Shephard’s impact in the room.
"Obviously, he’s a great football coach, but what I respect about him is he’s a great guy. He teaches us life lessons that are going to carry us for the rest of our life. I appreciate him for that, and I know the rest of the guys do, as well.
“He’s a great motivator. He’s honest. He’s genuine. You can understand where he comes from. He’s real and he’s never going to sugarcoat anything with you. That’s what you appreciate about him. He’s just a super cool guy. You got to get around him, man. You can’t be sad around him. He’s cool with people. He’s great vibes.”
That ability to not sugarcoat anything is huge for a player's development. Because as a kid, you think that everything is peaches and cream. Until it’s not.
Take this moment for example, where in the second half of Alabama’s game against the Missouri Tigers, Shephard was seen ripping into the redshirt junior receiver.
"It’s tough love," veteran wide receiver Germie Barnard said of the moment. "He has a standard for us, and we’re not playing up to the standard, and he’s going to let us have it. Obviously, people have seen that on Saturday during the game. We get that from him every day, so it’s not nothing new to us. We just know we have to play better, execute better. That’s all."
Shephard’s coaching career began in 2011 where he took on a volunteer coaching job with Willie Taggart and Western Kentucky.
After a few years with the Hilltoppers, Shephard had stints in Washington State and Purdue before joining DeBoer’s staff in Washington where he helped the Huskies reach the National Championship as not just the associate head coach, but the passing game coordinator and the wide receiver coach.
He helped develop the three-headed monster in Washington where Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja’Lynn Polk were one of the game's best wide receiver corps.
That’s when he followed DeBoer to Alabama and it helped him get to where he is now – leading his own program.
It’s unclear if Shephard stays on with the Crimson Tide until their season ends or if he goes right into Oregon State duties. Either way, it’s a massive loss for the Crimson Tide, losing one of their more valued figures in the program.