Oregon State will spend Wednesday revealing $42 million in plans to renovate and expand its football operations building. But I'm more interested in how the brass spent Tuesday because it apparently began the heavy lifting in its search for the Beavers new football coach.

Mike Riley was Mr. Nice Guy. What Oregon State needs is Mr. Tough Guy. And if he hasn't already, OSU athletic director Bob De Carolis should call Pat Hill.

Hill would put the Beavers flags back on the porches of Beavers households.

I reached Hill on Tuesday. He declined to comment on the vacancy at Oregon State. But he sounded very much like a guy who is ready to coach in college again. The former NFL assistant and 15-year college head coach is a proven winner who won't make excuses and would draw immediate credibility to OSU. But most of all, what Hill would bring is what he always brought --- toughness.

I covered Hill for two-plus seasons at Fresno State. For a while, Hill kept a tank with piranhas in his coaching office. He also had his special teams player of the week run into the stadium on game nights carrying a sledgehammer, waving it around at the home crowd like a trophy. He announced, often, that he would play "anyone, anytime, anywhere."

In his tenure at the mid-major university, Hill won a record 17 games against Bowl Championship Series teams. In 2001, he beat Oregon State, Wisconsin and Colorado and rose to No. 8 in the AP poll. In 2005, his team nearly upset No. 1 USC and Reggie Bush, losing on a late Bush run, 50-42.

After that game, Hill crowed, "There's no consolation in losing. It's not about moral victories, it's about winning."

Talk to this guy. Please, Oregon State. Because on countless Saturdays I've driven into the parking lot at Reser Stadium, seen salt-of-the-earth people tailgating, and thought, "These are Pat's people." He'd lead them somewhere important.

Hill knows how to make a lot out of a little. He won't flinch at building a program in the shadow of a national power such as Oregon. He can fundraise, coach and recruit. And best of all, he'd bring a long overdue identity to Corvallis, challenging his players to stop talking and thinking as if they have nothing and to start tackling and playing like they have nothing to lose.

No. 1 overall pick David Carr and his brother Derek, now with the Raiders, both played for Hill at Fresno State. If you want to know how good Hill is in a living room, you're asking the wrong question. Hill starts his recruiting on the porch. He showed up at the older Carr's house the day he was named coach at Fresno State holding a plastic trash bag held together with duct tape. It was a makeshift suitcase, he explained to Carr. Hill told the quarterback that he was going to stay until he convinced him to join him.

Hill got Carr. Later, he got the younger Carr. Two-Carr guy, see?

Hill is good friends with Jack Del Rio, who's son, Luke is a Beavers quarterback. Hill has played Oregon State four times, and is 2-2 including that win in 2001 against Dennis Erickson. Hill also knows how to develop players for the NFL. At one point, the former Fresno State coach had 22 former college players in the NFL. He hasn't coached college since 2011 and still has 13 active NFL players.

I don't expect Hill would try to run the spread offense. He wouldn't try to be like everyone else in the conference, especially because he knows he wouldn't be able to out-recruit Oregon, so why run the same stuff? He'd go pro style. He'd go big, fast, and tough. He'd change pace by going no-huddle in unexpected spurts. He'd hire a staff that would prepare players for the NFL, and he'd get NFL-caliber players because of it.

Stanford would hate this hire. In part, because Hill would beat the Cardinal at their own game. Oregonians would love it, because it would create a two-headed monster in this state with the Ducks and Beavers forging 180-degree differences in style and identity. Oregon State shouldn't aspire to be like Oregon. The Beavers can never beat the Ducks at their own game. OSU should aspire to forge its own way, and Hill is the football equivalent of a guy on a horse, riding into the unknown, carrying a flag on his hip and a rifle in his hand.

One of Hill's former college linemen, Logan Mankins, could attest to how good Hill is at developing talent. Mankins was told in high school that he was too small to play major college football, and certainly not the NFL. Hill laughed at that, and told Mankins he'd make him a star if he was willing to work for it. All Mankins did under Hill was develop into the 2005 first-round NFL Draft pick of the Patriots and six Pro Bowl appearances later you understand what I'm talking about.

Too often people equate "tough" with shouting. Hill isn't a screamer. He's just tough. You know, like the quiet guy in the room that nobody wants to mess with. Oregon State could become that kind of team in the Pac-12.

All that In-and-Out Burger stuff was cute. Riley was a great guy. But Hill is a steak and potatoes guy. Also, a great guy. He'd probably eat the steak rare. And he'd go door to door in this state, challenging Beavers fans to put their flags back on the porch, stop whining and start becoming part of the solution.

Were you tired of complacency at OSU? Do you long to feel alive again as a college football fan in Reser Stadium? Do you wonder where fight went?

Hill would bring the fight to Corvallis.

It's why an NFL team is going to snap him up if Oregon State doesn't first. Hill is 62, and coming off a stint as the Atlanta Falcons offensive line coach. He has one more 7-season run in him as a college head coach. Someone is going to hire him. He's a, "Are you with me? Or against me?" guy. I'd sure like to see that act fill Reser Stadium again.

The Beavers started vetting candidates on Tuesday, I'm told. They should talk to as many qualified coaches are interested. But Hill has to be on that list, and I suspect if the Beavers administrators talked with Hill, they'd feel like runing through a brick wall with him.

Oregon State badly needs to expand the football operations building. Wednesday's news conference is a big moment for the athletic department. The 55,000-square feet will be a recruiting blessing. I can't help but imagine what a building like that and a program like this would be in the hands of Hill.

Please. Someone at Oregon State call Mr. Tough Guy.

--- @JohnCanzanoBFT