CORVALLIS - Players left the recently renovated Valley Football Center slowly, several in tears, during a sunny and stunning Monday morning at Oregon State University.

While some wiped away tears, others just stared out in shock, minutes after OSU football coach Gary Andersen announced to the team that he was leaving the job, effectively immediately.

He left the Beavers sitting at 1-5 midway through his third season, and in an unprecedented move, waived the remaining $12 million on his recently extended contract.

"Everybody was crying," said Baker Pritchard, a senior defensive lineman while in the parking lot outside Reser Stadium.

Players were told inside the team meeting room about 11:30 that Andersen and Oregon State had mutually parted ways. Just 15 minutes before that meeting, Andersen and athletic director Scott Barnes gave the news to the football staff.

Andersen became emotional as he delivered the shocking news to his players, while refraining from going into details of why he was departing.

"Guys were emotional," junior running back Ryan Nall said. "Tears were shed. Guys were upset. It was hard to understand why this was happening."

Three hours later, Barnes and interim coach Cory Hall spoke at a news conference. Barnes read a statement addressing the mutual departure before taking questions.

"I believe that it's a reset for this football program," Barnes said. "When the time comes that you don't want to continue moving forward - and that was Gary's state - we decided then sooner, better. ... He felt convicted that this was the right decision."

The exact tipping point for Andersen's departure remains unclear.

Barnes said the coach was not in position to be fired for cause, did not have any health issues or other family-related issues. Less than two weeks ago, Barnes said in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive that OSU had "the right leader in place."

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that Andersen grew increasingly discouraged as the results just didn't materialize and multiple sources told The Oregonian/OregonLive of internal dissension among some members of the assistant coaching staff. Andersen publicly said all criticism should come at him during a difficult season but also made numerous references to his assistants needing to coach better as the season wore on.

Andersen took up a greater role in defensive meeting rooms and scheme design after the Beavers gave up 80 points and more than 1,000 yards through two games.

"Certainly we took a step back. It's obvious to see that we had," Barnes said. "The ultimate decision had many, many factors in it. It wasn't just wins and losses."

The decision for Andersen to leave came Sunday evening, one day after the Beavers lost 38-10 at USC. Barnes repeatedly said he and Andersen have had ongoing conversations and weekly meetings that "evolved" over time but would not say who instigated the final discussion that led to Andersen's departure or divulge the content of those conversations.

Barnes called the timing of the decision difficult. OSU has six games remaining in the regular season and a Homecoming game against Colorado at 1 p.m. Saturday. But the athletic director, who hired Andersen for his first head coaching job at Utah State in 2009, also said it was the best decision for all involved and acknowledged that fan and donor frustration contributed in some measure to the decision.

In as surprising a move as his departure, Andersen elected to waive his right to the remaining value on his contract, which in December the university extended through the 2021 season while an interim athletic director was in place.

Oregon State University President Ed Ray, who did not attend the press conference, said in December that the decision was made because he wanted to send a clear message Andersen was "the guy."

Barnes, who Oregon State hired in December 2016, called the decision to wave the approximately $12.6 million on his contract "unprecedented."

"It speaks volumes about the kind of honorable person Gary is," Barnes said.

Barnes called the mutual decision very personal and emotional and briefly teared up 10 minutes into the news conference when asked about the difficulty of his conversations with Andersen given their lengthy history and friendship together. Andersen has said Barnes was one of two people he spoke with when making the decision to leave Wisconsin for Oregon State in December 2014.

Andersen finishes his Oregon State term at 7-23 after going 45-31 in six seasons at Utah State and Wisconsin. The long-time defensive coordinator built the Aggies into an 11-game winner and parlayed that success into the lead job at Wisconsin following the surprise departure of coach Bret Bielema.

Andersen stunned Wisconsin in December 2014 when he agreed to come to Oregon State before even stepping foot on campus, doing so only days after playing in the Big Ten Championship.

His arrival in December 2014 marked a dramatic departure from the Mike Riley era after the latter surprisingly left for Nebraska amid growing fan frustration about the program's direction.

Andersen converted the OSU offense from a pro style to a spread and shifted the defensive scheme. After a challenging 2-10 season, the Beavers were more competitive throughout 2016 and concluded with two decisive wins, including a victory over Oregon that snapped an eight-game losing streak to the in-state rivals.

But the Beavers regressed quickly this season after openly aspiring to reach its first postseason berth since 2013. OSU lost its five games by 157 combined points and barely beat Portland State, an FCS team currently 0-5.

Barnes said Oregon State will conduct national search and use a search firm to help appoint new coach and that Andersen's departure will help expedite making a hire.

"This is an unbelievable opportunity for the next head coach," Barnes said. "... I will not be confined to geography or a sitting head coach compared to coordinator."

Barnes said he chose Hall to be interim coach because there was a need to establish belief and trust heading into the season's final six games.

Players embraced Andersen after he addressed them Monday morning. Hall addressed the team after Andersen's comments and said the group would be playing for Andersen while preparing to settle itself for Saturday's game.

"Amidst all of this, we still have to regroup and we have to focus," Hall said. "We can't lost sight of that. But I think it's going to be my job to keep everybody together."

-- Danny Moran