Virginia Tech Director of Recruiting Beau Davidson is expected to resign and take a position at Texas Tech, per source. Davidson had been a member of the recruiting staff at Virginia Tech since 2018.— Mike McDaniel (@MikeMcDanielSOS) August 24, 2021
Another blow to the off the field staff who already lost three others in the last 12 months.
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wait....VT2TX?
too soon. but good
Can confirm, Tx is a great place to be.
This is a less than lateral job move. Someone help it makes sense please. We cannot possibly be that stingy.
We don't know what position he is taking could be on the field coaching. He also is from Texas, played in Texas and coached high school
In Texas.
Yeah it is hard to make any sense of it until more details come out. He could just want to be closer to home, change in role, who knows.
I think he may have overlooked the fact they may be G5 soon. Oof.
The human being in me:
The VT alum & Hokie football fan in me:
can't embed the tweet on my work computer but Bitter just confirmed that Beau is taking the same position at TT
gotchu
And his wife is from Texas.
Happy wife, happy life.
No wife and going fishing and doing whatever the hell I want, happy life.
And whoever you want... amirite?
well, don't let consent get in your way. sigh.
consensually, of course
As someone who lives in TX and has been considering significant "less than lateral moves" to get closer to home..... I get it
He wants to go home.
FTFY.
This could be best for both parties. If Fuente wants to completely commit to recruiting the Mid-Atlantic + Carolinas, and Beau's network is based in Texas, it makes sense.
This is pure speculation btw.
Going to middle tier school in a conference that is a ship that is half sunk already. Clearly he hasn't heard about the forthcoming B1GPACC41.
oof
I don't understand how people are so surprised by this. This will allow him to be closer to home and provide job stability. The unfortunate reality is that at VT he was 1-2 injuries away at key positions (BB, Luke Tenuta) from being jobless. I think if we're being honest, if any of us knew we had a marketable skill set and had just been promoted to a good position at a company that was otherwise teetering on bankruptcy, we'd make the move as well. This is a no brainer. If VT goes 7-5 this year (quite likely), he is fired and looking to go back to Texas anyway. And if he got a pay raise as has been rumored, then that's just ice cream on the pie. It's not like recruiting directors make a fortune like the other assistants.
I can't agree with this more. If I thought my boss was getting fired in a few months and I would no longer have a job, I'd be jumping ship ASAP. Add in the fact that he's making more money and is closer to home, it really is a no brainer. From everything we know, he did a fantastic job of building a recruiting department out of almost nothing. Hopefully the next hire can build on top of that foundation.
this is what we said about Fuente taking over from Frank :0|
and MY taking over for Brent......
I understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure how much job stability there is in the big12 or TT right now.
Fair. Though at the very least, he is in a better position between now and 2025. People keep acting like Texas and Oklahoma are joining the SEC tomorrow.
If there was a chance I was going to lose my job, I'd much rather be closer to family to help with difficult times. For example: I was laid off in February b/c of Covid (all good now with a new job), but if I had kids, I can't imagine covering the cost of childcare when one salary was taken away. If you're near family, problems like this can often be less of a burden if you have family to help out during hard times.
Good luck Beau! I'm gonna miss the Beau signal :(
He represented VT well, and hope for the best in his career!
This is the correct answer. Leg to you my Hokie amigo.
this is a Bleau for sure but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do. I have no ill will towards him. Best of luck in Texas!
Seems like a good move for him to maximize his relationships. Good luck Beau!
This is not a good sign.
I understand wanting to be closer to home but leaving VT for the same position at TT is pretty nonsensical at this point.
You're moving to a Conference that is about to implode. Best case scenario, they add some G5 programs but are still constantly going to be looked at as 2nd tier. And as hot as Fuente's seat might be, Matt Wells certainly isn't much (if any) more secure.
The consistent hemorrhaging of players and personnel from the Program has unfortunately become the calling card of the Fuente era.
Didn't he recruit a bunch of 4*s from Texas only to have them decommit or hit the portal. Seems he's really plugged into the Texas recruiting circuit and is probably more valuable to a program that can keep kids closer to home. Long term it makes sense for him.
I am on a great career path at a great company in tx. I have been applying to jobs at shitty companies on the east coast for a 30-40% pay cut just to get closer to family. Covid made a lot of people shift priorities in their life.
Sorry but not every person leaving is an indictment of Fuente or the program and this take is tired.
There are dozens of possible reasons why he chose to leave and go to Texas Tech that have nothing to do with the program or the people running it.
Lubbock sucks .
Minus the Blue Light.
Great opportunity to hire somebody with the same fire as Beau but with more local roots. There has never been a big secret that his heart was in Texas, but he worked his tail off for VT. I am happy he is happy and we need to take this opportunity to revamp recruiting from the ground up.
The move back home makes sense to me. The only thing I blinked at was the timing. It's mid-cycle. Though there's never really a great time to shift jobs. Hopefully Tech has already begun the hiring process because that takes time. Best of luck to Beau.
I mean, if things go tits up this season, we'll have a coaching change before the end of the recruiting cycle. If you're a coach who honestly believes your job is so perilous that you're 50/50 on whether you'll be able to see your current work to completion, it absolutely makes sense to take a lateral job in a more secure spot now rather than wait it out.
If we don't get off to a blazing start this season, I would not be shocked to see this kind of talent drain ramp up as the season progresses while everyone scrambles for their own lifeboat.
I mean hell, its no different from any typical work environment once you know a team or group is circling the drain. Happened to a team I was on a few years ago where we all ended up fleeing in the span of about 3 months.
There's no arguing he might've gotten ahead of a possible regime change at Tech. Without being at his family table, it's hard to know what the exact rational is.
Given how many Hokies are in positions with the football program, and how staff members have been retained in the past, I'm not so sure about this.
I'd be curious for you to expand on this point a bit. I take it that you mean if Fuente is fired that doesn't necessarily mean that there will be a scorched earth approach to rebuilding the program (i.e. firing everybody and starting with a completely clean slate). There are lots of Hokies on staff (mostly, if not all, on defense) and we kept Bud and most of his defensive coaches when Fuente was hired so, yes, there is a precedent there.
However, I could also see Whit look back at that approach and see failures or flaws in the strategy. He may be inclined to run everybody, yes - even Hokies - out of town in the name of letting a new HC come in and bring his entire own staff, no Hokies-strings attached. I think that if coaches on staff really feel there is a chance that Fuente will be fired it would be more prudent for them to assume they will be looking for work than to hope they may be retained because they are former players (or something). I don't necessarily know if Fuente's football program is really a sinking ship (though, I think we'll find out this season) but if other folks on staff believe it is, why would they stick around to see what happens? You're not so sure Alum is right. I'm not so sure he's wrong.
Alum said he wouldn't be surprised to see the talent drain ramp up in the middle of the season... I would be surprised if the Hokies on staff cut bait in the middle of the season.
Maybe history of staff retention doesn't really play into it, but I'd be surprised if say JHam or Jack Tyler quit on Fuente.
eh...reading it again I don't think that JHam or Jack Tyler are necessarily the folks Alum is talking about here. He says he wouldn't be surprised to see the talent drain ramp up as the season progresses. That could mean that other recruiting staff, or lower level coaches (not coordinators) may be looking for other opportunities by November. In any case, I don't think it's an insane take.
It sounds like, at least publicly, the staff are all 100% behind Fuente. We can't know for sure whether or not anyone on staff has doubts about his future at VT. I hope VT starts off 4-0 and we're not talking about this in October. Alternatively, if the team starts off 2-2 or worse, there likely will be quite a lot of chatter about what will happen in December (whether we like it or not) and although I wouldn't like to see other folks jump ship I wouldn't be surprised by it.
The "other recruiting staff" is almost all Hokies or have strong Tech connections... only Lino Lupinetti (who moved here with Diethorn) doesn't have Tech connections outside of having worked here. Mark Diethorn, Pierson Prioleau, Jeron Gouveia-Winslow, Kyshoen Jarrett are all Hokies, and Leah Joseph's father played football at Tech
The coaching staff is either all Hokies, a Fuente guy, or Ryan Smith.
put a different way if I think my boss might be fired I'm not going to rely on my previous connections or allegiance to the company for job security in the event that he gets fired. If I am proving through my work/effort that I am valuable and some other employer comes and talks to me before my boss is fired (if I think he will be) I'll listen.
None of us knows what is going to happen. I'm sure some of the coaches on staff aren't even sure what will happen. Even if they are die-hard Hokies they have to realize that there is no guarantee that a new head coach would keep them on staff. If any of them are truly concerned that Fuente might be on his way out I don't think it would be crazy to think that they would be looking for other opportunities...if for no other reason than having some options
do you think "coaching staff putting out feelers to land on their feet if Fuente gets fired" is very different than "see[ing] this kind of talent drain ramp up", in which position coaches leave mid-season? i do
yeah, maybe. IDK. Maybe Alum was being a bit hyperbolic but you're also putting words in his mouth too. He never said "position coaches" nor "mid-season". All he said was he wouldn't be surprised if more dominoes fall. What's wrong with that?
We're getting into a bit of a spiral here, I think. It sucks to lose a guy who dramatically improved our recruiting once he was put in charge of it. I'm not surprised that folks see that as yet another blemish on Fuente's record. When things aren't going well people want someone to blame and he's the easiest, most logical, choice. So every time something goes south, somehow, its his fault. Fuente really badly needs to win this season. He needs to win early, often, and big.
Definitely in a spiral here lol.... Alum (who is definitely prone to hyperbole) said "as the season progresses", which if that's not a pretty good synonym for "mid-season", i don't know what is. your reply to Joe talks about coaches specifically as part of generic "staff". I addressed both in terms coaches and support staff.
I too wish Beau didn't leave. I'll leave it at that
I agree with Joe. We don't have the resources to go pluck a Hugh Freeze or Gus Malzahn, and all his coordinators. In fact, it wouldn't shock me if JHam is first in line to take the HC job.
And, to emphasize, all these former players and staff have to prove themselves this year, too. Whether they get retained or not, they are auditioning as well.
I'd be quite shocked if Whit fired Fuente to hire JHam to the head coaching job.
But I agree with your other point, that everyone is auditioning all the time.
That would be a JJ move and we know how that worked out.
Please no. TKP might not survive if we select a coach who has only been a Coordinator for 2 years and has yet to prove himself.
Except many of them wanted Shane.
yeah? And a lot of people who are done with Fuente were happy when he was hired (or even advocated for it, in some cases). What's your point? If JHam is hired as the interim HC (or even full time) TKP will almost certainly be split on the decision (just like folks were split on the Fuente hire and just like folks are split on whether or not to retain him now)
True, but you're missing a big difference. Shane was the Associate Head coach and had actually coached a game as a head coach.
I'm not saying we should have picked Shane instead of Fuente, but IMO there is a big difference between Shane and JHam.
Shane had a decade of experience at the P5 level, including stints in the SEC and at playoff-bound Oklahoma.
J-Ham went from UVA-Wise, to VMI, to Tech. He was here for a *year* as a position coach before being handed the keys to the defense. He hadn't sniffed P5 level football, let alone FBS, before arriving.
It's not remotely the same situation.
I don't think this is what Joe is saying. But even if it is, lets unpack that for a second. If we don't have what it takes to go out and hire people to do jobs that we're currently paying other people to do, what are we even doing here? Is VT not a serious football program? If we're not paying competitive salaries (admittedly, I don't know whether or not we are) then it would make sense why we're not competitive. I would expect Virginia Tech to have the money to pay assistant coaches competitive salaries, especially for the ACC. If we're doing that now, there's no reason we wouldn't be able to do that for another coaching staff. I don't think any coaches, particularly Hokies, are working for peanuts just because they love VT. Hamilton is getting paid $600,000. For a guy with one year of experience as a DC, that's not too shabby.
It would shock me. He's still wet behind the ears as a defensive coordinator. The only way I think any P5 program would consider him as a potential candidate for the HC gig would be if he fields a top-ten defensive unit in 2021. If he manages to get our defense to be that good there is a really good chance we win a bunch of games and Fuente keeps his job anyway.
Yeah, I agree with this - every coach has to approach the job they do as an audition or resume builder. These guys are in the positions they're in because they are competitive and they want to win. It is absolutely in their best interest to do the best they can given the circumstance they're in.
Hopefully Beau is faithful to his wife and doesn't want to have an Orji in TX.
Plaid material.
Sooooo close
I got you.
Proud moment in my young TKPC career!
Shocked this has anything less than all the legs. Upvote.
In there some magical 200+ leg vote that the moderators can give? Heck, in my real life career, I am a professional healthcare-focused moderator and I'd like to do that here.
Unlike with some posts that require significant and and immediate moderator input, better to get upvote plaid organically.
Guess he wasn't #HARDSMARTTOUGH enough to stay. Takes #GRIT to not be actively applying for jobs at the end of a recruiting cycle.
Is he from West TX? Because if he is from say the Houston area or something the moving back home thing is not a good reason. There is not much around Lubbock TX.
Still early in the thread but I need help with this one - we've had a less than stellar showing on the recruiting front for the last few years, and the guy that responsible for the overall recruiting program that was responsible for that less than stellar performance departs and we are upset???
I think it just fits the narrative that everything is going wrong with the program and Fuente is getting fired. I have no idea if Beau's departure is that or just him and his wife are homesick. We just need real football to talk about so we can break out of this rut of rehashing the same tired arguments ad nauseum.
he was promoted into this role at the end of last football season. since the end of last football season, our recruiting has returned to previous levels after an awful two year blip.
ok - that clarifies things for me. Thanks!
So, are you saying that he left because he would've been passed on the depth chart? ;^)
texas tech big dogs
He worked his tail off, and happened to be on one of the smallest recruiting staffs in the country. His work alone was probably that of 2-3 different people at other schools.
So yes, there's a worry b/c the staffing of our recruiting department is poor. We need about 3-4 more bodies for support roles. If they can be more than a body, capable and creating results, then we've already gotten better.
So yes, we're upset cause there's added uncertainty, and Beau was one of the most certain pieces of the puzzle we had.
***Edit: oops, wrong thread***
Here are my thoughts on Beau leaving: it's possible that he both wants to be closer to his and his wife's family, even after calling Blacksburg home in the recent Hokie Pod episode. It's also possible he's getting a lifeboat early. Lot of speculation to go around that isn't necessarily going to be conducive to anything helpful. I'm more interested in seeing how he is replaced in the interium.
Do we promote someone like Lino who is well-liked, but never really held any position like this before - or do we go out and poach someone who can stay for a decade regardless of the coaching staff?
I think this sounds way cooler than interim.
Turns out typing up a quick edit after you've already fucked up once is a surefire way to get typos. And I forgot to copy my original point to repost in the ACC/Big Ten/Pac-12 alliance thread. What a day!
I blame Buzz Williams
If we connect enough dots I'm sure Mack brown and UNC have something to do with this as well
Whit is behind it all \s
Wit surely is behind it all in the Stormlight Archive, but that's a big non-sequitur.
Also, Fuck Pat Narduzzi
I will always leg this statement. Always.
Thanks, Brent.
Interesting hastag of #WeUsOur...
As a grammar Nazi, I prefer #ThereThey'reTheir
That's just their preferred pronouns.
via GIPHY
Ok, enough of debating why he left, who has the sauce on the next person up?
No real concrete info being tossed around yet which worries me as to how sudden all of this may have come about, with the importance of this position I would rather take a little longer to fill it and nail the hire then hire someone quick to fill the spot.