JaMarcus Shephard called himself a fighter this week in his introductory press conference as Oregon State's new football coach.
Shephard now is seeking to get all the right coaches in his corner for his inaugural Beavers staff.
Multiple sources tell FootballScoop that one of Shephard's staff additions is set to be Louisville defensive quality control specialist Dan Rowe.
Rowe is expected to join Shephard's staff also as a defensive assistant. He's worked closely with Louisville's secondary the past two years.
But his impending addition to Shephard's first-ever staff as a head coach marks a reunion for the two former colleagues.
Both Shephard and Rowe spent several years together under Jeff Brohm at Purdue in the late 2010s and earlier this decade before Shepard's star ascended at Washington and Rowe worked on Tyson Helton's Western Kentucky staff.
Rowe, a New Hampshire grad, also has coached at his alma mater as well as Washington State, Wyoming and Yale.
Shephard was named Oregon State's head coach earlier this week after 15 seasons as a college assistant and high school assistant coach in his native Indiana prior to that time. He's coached at Western Kentucky, Purdue, Washington and, for the past two years, at Alabama.
There, he's been the Crimson Tide's assistant head coach to Kalen DeBoer, as well as co-offensive coordinator and passing game coordinator.
Shephard has been revered for his work developing wide receivers, producing Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja'Lynn Polk for the Huskies and adding Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams into the mix for the Crimson Tide.
During his time at Purdue, Shephard also recruited and developed Rondale Moore, who earned both All-America honors and the Paul Hornung Award -- given annually to college football's "most versatile" player.
At Oregon State, Shephard takes over a program that has tumbled mightily since Jonathan Smith won 25 games from 2021-23 and then bolted for the job at Michigan State, which earlier this week fired Smith after just two seasons.
Shephard's predecessor atop the Beavers program was Trent Bray, who was fired last month as Oregon State meandered through a 2-10 season and a 7-17 mark the past two years.
The Beavers are part of the revamped Pac-12, along with traditional member Washington State. The league next year is welcoming in several new member institutions, including Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State among the football-playing membership.
Oregon State is slated to open the Shephard era Sept. 5, 2026, at Big 12 Conference member Houston before returning home to face Texas Tech and Montana in consecutive weeks before conference play begins.