Always A Hokie 🧡Congrats to Darryl Tapp on realizing his dream of coaching in the @NFL Go get that Super Bowl ring, D-Tapp!👉🏽 https://t.co/7ek6qKrXx1 #Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/3SVPWeATWa— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) January 27, 2021
"I view it as a compliment to our entire program when NFL franchises want to sign players, coaches or staff members from Virginia Tech," Fuente said. "Obviously we're disappointed to lose him, but I know NFL teams see the same kind of talent, potential and passion in Darryl Tapp as a coach that we've witnessed the past year at Virginia Tech. After the 2020 season, Darryl and I had discussed expanding his role in our recruiting efforts and we were both excited about that possibility.
"I know how much Darryl cares about the future of our program at Virginia Tech, but I also knew the day might come when an NFL team tried to hire him away," Fuente continued. "I speak for our players, coaches and fans when I thank Darryl for his many contributions to Virginia Tech. While I don't think either of us anticipated that an NFL coaching opportunity would come this quickly for him, we certainly wish he and his family the very best as he pursues his dream of coaching at the next level. I know he will continue to be a great ambassador for the Hokies and will make us all proud to say he's a Tech alum
Comments
do you believe it now lol
It wasn't a case of not believing it wasn't going to happen. It was a case of not thinking that stupid tweet was the official or even unofficial thoughts of Fuente and the staff. People whining about Claeys statement from Fuente when Tapp hadn't been made official yet are just looking for more things to be mad and miserable about, it's tiresome.
Almost as miserable and tiresome as you downvoting everyone because we don't feel like carrying this staff's water anymore.
I've downvoted one thing today, it now has 2 downvotes, so I wasn't the only one who felt it was uncalled for. But go off big guy.
"But Mom, all my friends are doing it!"
Even the beat writers going in on us now. Everything is fine!
It is so hard to watch. We aren't living in 2021. There are a TON of ways we can help better our selves that don't cost a dime.
What a wasted chance especially during COVID when you could have the coaches just talking about life doesn't even have to be football. When Fuente did his virtual tailgates this past summer and then Twitter Q&A it went over great and we barely talked football.
The real question is does this staff learn from their mistakes? I remember the first time J-Hamm got behind the mic and was really impressed. I don't think he has had a press conference since which is sad.
It's been five+ years now so I say nope.
What are you talking about? This is Year One.....
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Learning is for suckers.
We did a really good job of dehumanizing him.
pssssttt.. despite the tired excuses and dismissing of it on this and other boards- Fuente has ZERO loyalty/affinity/priority for former VT players that didn't play for him. Zero. A big reason we are beyond toxic in the state regarding recruiting. He hired JHAM because he had to, not because he loves former VT players. I don't know how much more evidence is needed.
Disagree with you there but no sense in beating this dead horse.
Sidenote: Jack Tyler, Goov, and Corey Fuller didn't play for him and are also on staff.
Goov and Fuller are not on field coaches. Tyler recently promoted. Again, that was who Fuente COULD hire, not who he wanted to hire
Thats just not a factual statement. If you really don't think Fuente could have hired someone other than Goov and Fuller to fill those rolls within the program then I don't know what to tell you. Ryan Shuman is also part of the strength and conditioning team. I've spoken with people inside the program. There is a priority to make a better connection to former players, especially pre-Fuente players. There are more moving parts to this than people think.
We COULDN'T hire a linebackers coach outside of the VT family? That is ridiculous.
This little sidebar feels noteworthy
Such a great point by Bitter. This actually really pisses me off. Why can't Whit lay some parameters to Fuente to make this program more marketable so we don't have to be an angry lynchmob?
Meh, mobs gonna mob. Access to more coaches would create more content for the beat writers and for us to consume, which would be great, but it wouldn't do a single thing to change the feeling towards Fuente. Winning is the only thing we care about, its just sport to complain about everything else too.
We revere Beamer for his folksiness and open door into the program. It helped VT football grow. Fuente sealing everything off and discarding an asset like Tapp's demeanor and salesmanship is total bullshit. And it's more bullshit that Whit doesn't step in and do anything about it. Media content (Tapp) = marketing for the football team = more fan interest (even if they suck) = more money for the football team and program = better everything for Fuente. I could eat 6 more edibles and still understand this equation better than he does.
Tapp put out quite a bit of content last year. Making him available at a press conference wasn't going to do any better. How many other programs are parading their co-defensive line coach out to answer questions? I am more upset that JHam hasn't gotten more air time than Tapp.
there are options other than press conference setting. how about giving access to national and regional media outlets to let Tapp tell his story about being a Hokie, going to the NFL, and coming back home to coach the next generation of Hokies? He's quotable and he's personable -- let that shine.
Jham has a similar path and is the defensive coordinator. Don't get me wrong, I wouldnt object to all the content. My point is Tapp did roll out some content and it was probably on a platform that reached the target audience better than some of the traditional outlets.
DTapp might be reaching the audience you think he should be. But he's not reaching the broader audience that is followed by the beat writers. I follow Andy Bitter on twitter. I don't follow DTapp. It's easier for me to follow one person who closely monitors the program than it is for me to follow a dozen different coaches. I don't want all the noise of 6 coaches posting the exact same tweet. I'd much rather see one tweet from Andy. But if Andy doesn't have access, I don't experience that engagement. This is about convenience. If VT were smart, they would make the program easily and conveniently accessible to everyone. That means opening up every opportunity to reach the fans. Give the media access to the folks they want access to. Befriend the media and they will help your image. Demonize the media and they will drag you through the mud. It's not that complicated. VT's PR strategy (if you can call it that) is awful. And as a fan who tries to follow the program without introducing unnecessary noise to my twitter feed, it seems pretty damn closed off. And that makes me feel that VT doesn't care about engaging their fans. Which, in turn, makes me lose interest in the program. I can't be the only one. And that can't be a good recipe for success. Winning would help. But Fuente doesn't win very much. We need a new, aggressive fan engagement strategy and/or a new coach who will win some games. Until then, fan apathy will grow, interest and support will wane and VT football will follow that trajectory. We're in a moment right now where we are headed in the wrong direction but there is still time to turn things around. If Fuente doesn't (or somebody else isn't hired to do so) VT football could very well be on the cusp of a long era of pain.
I don't disagree with anything you said. I have no idea why Fuente closes things off so much. But, I will almost guarantee Andy retweeted those Tapp videos, and you still saw them.
Maybe it would help publicity a tiny bit. But
1) Even most of the people on this site don't actually bother to watch press conferences. Recruits definitely aren't.
2) A press conference isn't just a cherry place to broadcast a message about the program anyways. Its where you mostly get drilled about things you know you can't say too much about. As a leader, Fuente is doing his job by sheltering people from that environment a little bit.
We revere Beamer for winning. If he had been a folksy loser, we would have complained that he was a simpleton and didn't know anything about the complexities of running an FBS program.
this is absolutely a fair point. Also, Fuente isn't even a folksy loser. He's just a loser.
Come on man. Criticism is needed and wanted on here. This is just playground namecalling from behind a keyboard.
Fuente has lost the fans. He's lost the coaches in Virginia. He's lost to almost every program in the state. He's lost all of our important recruiting battles. He's lost 18 games in 3 years. He's lost his most talented players. He's lost our bowl streak. He's lost our win streak over UVA. He's lost his opportunities to catapult his career to the next level. He's lost his reputation as a QB whisperer and offensive genius. He's lost a lot. I'm not calling him a loser because I don't like him. I'm calling him a loser because he came to VT to make us better and we have steadily gotten worse. You cannot convince me, or anyone who doesn't wear O&M lenses, that VT is better now than they were in 2015.
Not defending Fuente and I agree with you but without Fuente and Evans do you think we still have the same success in making the ACC Championship game in 2016. Or if Beamer were still coach would it have been another 7-6 season?
this is a really good question and I'm glad you asked.
First of all, we're NEVER going to know for sure what this team would have looked like with Evans coached under Beamer and his staff. But I do think it's fair to say that the teams which struggled towards the end of the Beamer era struggled because there was a lack of talent at the QB spot. Tyrod Taylor was the last great QB we had in Blacksburg and we were pretty successful with him. Beamer proved that with a really good QB he could have a 10+ win team pretty consistently.
That said, Fuente was expected to be a QB guru of sorts. Andy Dalton and Paxton Lynch were his crown jewels. Part of the expectation for Fuente was that he would bring in good-to-great QBs and develop them into P5 caliber talents capable of winning in the ACC. Evans is the only QB Fuente has brought in over the last 5 years who lived up to that billing. Fuente has, unfortunately, struck out ever since. How much of that is on Fuente?
Every season that goes by with pretty poor results, particularly with mediocre QB play, leads me to believe that the success in 2016 should be attributed more to Evans than to Fuente.
In 2017 I would have told you that Fuente knew what he was doing with the QB position, brought in the talent that Beamer couldn't get, and coached him to be a P5 caliber winning QB.
But here we are in 2021 and Fuente has largely failed to bring in a capable QB (or develop one to be more than just serviceable) so in hindsight I think Evans' raw talent was the biggest factor in 2016. Fuente's "QB Whisperer" moniker was a red herring, apparently.
And sadly the two QB's that he was really known for have effectively flamed out.
Fuente was entirely responsible for Paxton Lynch's development. He flamed out in the NFL about as fast as you can go.
How much of Andy's development was he really responsible for? That said Andy was passable to okay for his NFL career.
Thanks for answering. In the 2015-16 off season Evan's and Fuente were attached at the hip and if Beamer stayed and Fuente didnt leave Memphis Jerod would have went to Memphis and I believe that would have left us with Brendon Motley and Motley is a great kid but he is NOT a P5 QB. Although our Defense would have been phenomenal I kinda see 2016 going the way 2003, 2008 or 2013 went without Fuente bringing in JE4.
I think you are right. I doubt very much that Beamer would have pursued a different QB, particularly in the form of a transfer. Even if he did, I don't think he ever would have gotten Jerod Evans. I would only chalk that up to Fuente as a recruiting win, rather than a coaching win. In some alternate universe where Jerod Evans comes to Blacksburg to play under Beamer I think he's talented enough that Beamer's team also wins 10 games in 2016. I really believe that the success of 2016 had more to do with Evans than Fuente. Credit to Fuente for recruiting Evans in the first place but that's pretty much where the credit stops at this point. And I say that in the context of the lack of recruiting/development at the QB position in the 4 years since Fuente brought Evans to Blacksburg
It isn't a mob when it's true. If you compare Mike Young's approach and the Men's BBall social media to Fuente's approach and the football social media, you'll have all the answers you need. If another program at VT is capable of engaging the fans, then I can only assume Fuente has chosen not to. That makes me think less of him because a real leader will use ALL of the tools to get the job done even if one of the tools isn't natural/familiar.
Hopefully Fuente can spin this NFL "connection" in some sort of way so as to sway some recruiting wins. That's only potential positive I can see coming from this unless we can find another VT alum who can coach and recruit at this level (this part is sarcasm).
Bring back Cornell!!! Tweedy, its Whip!!!
Sounds like per the nterview with Laze Fuente has a replacement already, so probably another in-house hire
Betcha it's beau elevated to on-field coach
Well he was co-defensive line coach with Bill Teerlinck so I assume they'll just make him the only defensive line coach and use the opening to bring in or promote someone at another place of need. That's 100% assumption though. Don't know if Teerlinck was ever listed as Co-Coach on hokiesports but he is now just listed at defensive line coach.
I watched Tapp talk to Bud Foster for 15-20 minutes about his desire to coach now that he was done with the NFL and that he wasn't getting a chance with any NFL teams. Fast forward a few years and he is off to the league for the chance he has always wanted. Good luck.
Now that's a true Hokie! Go get your ring DT!
This makes me even more of a Darryl Tapp fan.
One of the all-time greats at Tech. Good Luck!
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