As we enter what could possibly be our next adventure into the coach carousel, I just wanted to post a quick PSA about an interesting Twitter account that seems to be making some noise among Hokie faithful.
https://twitter.com/WalterKFriedman
He'd previously suggested that Shane Beamer was a top candidate to replace Fuente:
Florida #Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and Shane Beamer (Oklahoma #Sooners Associate HC) have been discussed as possible replacements for Fuente. Both have strong ties to the Virginia Tech #Hokies. https://t.co/bpeC4X0hrT— W. Keith Friedman (@WalterKFriedman) November 22, 2020
And now is claiming Todd Grantham is the top pick:
With Beamer being out of the race, @HokiesFB now turn their full attention to @GatorsFB defensive coordinator Todd Grantham to take over for Justin Fuente as Head coach of the #Hokies. https://t.co/Esxl7ztesK— W. Keith Friedman (@WalterKFriedman) December 6, 2020
Here's the thing.
Based on his bio:
"Semi-Retired journalist. 42 years media service. Contributor @knoxnews. Member of @newsguild. Father of 3 & PopPop to 8 grandkids. Retweets are not endorsements"
One would think there'd be *something* about this guy elsewhere on the web, right?
I can't find a hint of evidence that this guy is actually real, no articles, no awards, nothing. I'm fairly certain he doesn't exist, and I'd recommend everyone be careful with this account (and really, all other accounts claiming to have inside info!) this time of year.
Comments
Does not exist anywhere on the knoxnews website.
No by lines on articles. Not on the staff directory.
My guess: he's got a paid account to 247 or something similar and is passing it off as his own inside info.
Why someone would bother to go to those lengths to create such a random persona is beyond me.
I just did a pretty extensive search myself. Reverse searching Google for his profile pic brings up no other results, he's not listed on knoxnews.com as he claims, and has no other social accounts.
Prob fake, and he's getting plenty of retweets unfortunately.
the reverse image search was odd to me. Usually you'll find something somewhere, especially for fake accounts, as they tend to pull from some rando google image search.
So........ Grantham is our new coach?
Has anyone checked the flight tracker from Gainesville to corroborate?
I'm like 90% sure this is a satire account just based on his pictures. They're all stock photos with 30-40 total pixels.
Well they suck at comedy if that's the case...
As the gears of silly season really start turning, it's worth it to remind the community at large of the CGs regarding what is worth passing on here
It is a burner account used by Whit to feel out public perception. /s
I heard it's Grantham's agent trying to get more $$$.
one damn minute... beat me by one damn minute... either way we agree its an agent burner
You're welcome. To be fair your theory is much more fleshed out and fun.
Conspiracy theory - the account belongs to Beamer's agent. He knew the allure to go back to Tech was strong, but Whit wasn't going to have the money to make this a big payday, so he generated the account and the rumors to create an artificial demand for Shane. That drove the perceived market price up, and an athletic department that had a chance of snagging Beamer AND could pay for it just shelled-out a premium... result - the agent just padded his retirement savings.
Lets continue down the rabbit hole, shall we?
Beamer's agent is Jimmy Sexton of Creative Artists Agency. In this now-dated tweet from 2017 Sexton had a nearly monopoly on SEC HC representation with 11 of the 14 schools once Pruitt took the job, including Muschamp of USC. He knows where the money is at and knows how to get it, and he had an existing relationship with USC.
I'm not saying this is in fact what is actually happening. But plausible?...
If that's the case it failed because Shane is only getting $2.75M lol.
I guess in terms of SEC money that's not good, but Shane just landed a HC job in the SEC at a school not named Vanderbilt. I think all sides (Beamer, USC, and CAA) are pretty happy with the arrangement - Shane gets his first HC job, USC gets a relative bargain for a new coach, and CAA has another SEC HC to their client roster.
Don't be shocked if they try the Clemson route. Cheaper HC, pay top dollar for elite coordinators, and pour money into recruiting.
wow, i literally cannot believe that. i thought we'd never see a <$4mil contract at any school serious about football again. that is a serious bargain
It's a gut punch. It'll be even worse if he pulls Foster into some kinda advisory role.
http://www.healthfitnessrevolution.com/interview-with-dallas-news-anchor...
The real name of the person pictured is Richard Ray
Excellent detective work!
via GIPHY
My Google phone ain't good for much... But its one click Google lens was its time to shine
Hmm, just tried it with Google Lens on my phone and it was utterly useless.....must not be using it the right way
I highly recommend everyone flood his tweets with a link to this article.
Have no time for literal fake news. Pull the receipts and fuck his ship up.
I got blocked
He already blocked me for pointing it out
Makes sense he/she/they did. They are trying to make money off clicks... It's catfishing for money
Report the account for impersonating someone.
Specifically, @RichardRayTX
Richard Ray noticed.
I may or may not have actively aided in getting his attention on this.
It is like Ric Flair and Frank Drebin had a baby. Glorious.
Another thing you can do with an account with a lot of followers is sell it. The buyer then scrubs the account of all previous tweets/info and uses it to sell stuff or feel good that they have a lot of followers.
people have way too much time on their hands
the creator of the burner, or the researcher that went in to details to validate it was a burner?
the creator of the burner. The research to debunk is a public service to the fanbase.
whynotboth dot jpeg
W Keith Friedman anagrams to Rethink Mad Wife
BAG (At least I think its BAG) is blowing this guys shit up
Good work today FAM!
Random question, but what happened to BAG on here? Searched tried clicking his username in a random thread to see when he last posted, but it took me to an error page.
(Sorry in advance if this is some sort of sore topic)
he gone
I just spent way too much time researching and have found the answer you gave 1+ years ago on the matter, haha. Thanks.
Are we sure that's not Leslie Nielson? /s
1) It is a BS account
2) Todd Grantham is Fuente, but more surley. While he is a VT guy, he isn't a guy who is going to be out pressing flesh and evangelizing the program by everything I have heard about him.
If Grantham is an option, give me Will Healy all day.
Will Healy scares me just on his inexperience. He's definitely got a high ceiling and potential, and he could certainly come in and win the press conference. But I'm just not yet sold on his ability to coach and recruit at a high level at a P5 program yet. Agree though about not being super high on Grantham.
I think Fickell seems out of reach at this point, and Tony Elliott is probably the most realistic name left of those we have heard. Unless Whit has something akin to the Buzz Williams hire up his sleeve, I'm becoming a little nervous about the candidate pool personally.
His inexperience, and I haven't seen enough film to have a feel for his preferred systems, are concerns. But, they need an evangelist, and of the guys who may be in VT's price range, he has the energy, established relationships in the I-77 NC/SC corridor, and can effectively talk with the donors to build something.
WIll it translate on the field? I don't know. But, the one thing they can't end up with is someone who just wants to be a football coach.
Honest question: what head coach of a P5 school can we realistically hope to get? If a head coach at a P5 school is successful, do we think we can afford them or that they would even want the job instead of holding out for a B1G10 school or SEC opening? Im not trying to jump down your throat but i have seen this comment several times over and I am interested in some feedback. Healy, Napier, other G5's, and maybe some OC/DC's seem to be our realistic options.
There are plenty of P5 coaches making less than $4 million per year that would appreciate a raise.
A raise today is better than the possibility of a bigger raise next year
But how many of them are winning their conferences for that amount. Or challenging every year at least? I don't want to take some random other P5 coach just because they've been a HC in the P5. Was there a particular name you were thinking of or just some other P5 coach, and if it's just some other, why should we get rid of Fuente and pay the buyout for what is likely to get the same result?
Name 3 that would be enticing (I'll settle for one)
Exactly what would be different in a coach's day to day at a G5 versus a P5 school? I never understood this. If they are succeeding on an equal playground, they should technically be able to succeed on a bigger equal playground. The only difference I can really think of is that you are realistically targeting blue chip recruits and the pitch might be a bit different. But, I don't think a coach that has that covered at a blueblood would necessarily be able to do the same at a school like VT either. The pitch goes from selling past and present to only selling future. So, who is going to sell the next generation of Hokie Football to blue chip recruits? That is who I want and I do not care if he has P5 experience or not. And, remember that even slam dunk hires are only going to succeed about half the time.
I dont really know anything about Grantham but is that his only critique?
His resume seems pretty solid, Id imagine hed have a good list of connections of strong offensive coaches as well...
Only heard one interview and he sounded like Bud -
Why are people down on him?
#sauces and #juice are acceptable answers.
Hot Take Grantham's defenses haven't been that good with higher caliber players than he would have at VT.
Ask a Florida fan. They would be ecstatic if we took Grantham off their hands.
The piece of shit just changed his twitter image.
He just blocked me 🙃
DISCLAIMER: The following is not a political joke. It is simply a hilarious example of someone making up an identity on a fake twitter account and then forgetting to switch to said fake account before posting. He just happens to be a politician and posting about politics. If this will offend you, then kindly do not read on. You have been warned. Have a great day.
This is great. But who's to say how he really identifies....
And here is a non-political example
The Burner King himself
things said on Twitter aren't true?! I'm shocked. It's like it isn't a reliable source of news, facts or reality.
Buddy is back at it
please refrain from widening the reach of his platform by sharing here