I've had three different screen names during my TKP career: My current one, ChoppinWood (after Aaron Moorehead's Twitter catchphrase after landing a recruit) and StineyFTL. So this one feels a little weird.
It's time to bring Bryan Stinespring back home.
With the announcement of a 32-year-old offensive coordinator, we badly need grizzled veterans who know the recruiting footprint and can help guide a budding star-in-the-making. Bowen needs his Tom Hagen. Stinespring can fill that role without posing as a threat to Bowen (unlike the Claeys/Hamilton dynamic).
There quite honestly isn't a position coach in the country who knows our recruiting footprint better than Stinespring. He recruited his ass off for us and was instrumental in bringing in some of the biggest stars of the Beamer era.
There isn't a position coach (not on our staff) in the country who loves Virginia Tech more than him. Stinespring was a fantastic position coach under Beamer.
I know for a fact if Pry makes the call, Stiney is packing up all of his shit and driving down 81 south that night.
It's time. Bring Stiney back home.
Comments
Before there were Jet Sweeps, there was running it to the short side of the field ...
Lol. There used to be a firebryanstinespring.com if I'm remembering correctly
Pretty sure someone on TKP owned it.
Paging Illinois Hokie.
I still have my "No BS" t-shirt somewhere.
I had a "You Can't Spell INEPT without sTiNEsPrIng" one.
Alright, so who's going to register hirebryanstinespring.com now?
Dunno, but I've registered www.bringbackbryanstinespring.com already
Im just looking forward to the Bring Back Cornelsen thread in ten years.
I know you jest, but when you look at VT's history of offensive coordinator ineptitude - and just how long those OCs managed to keep their jobs - your tongue-in-cheek prediction feels frighteningly plausible.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Corny offense didnt quite live up to the hype, but it was far from abysmal. It was, on average, a slight improvement from the latter part of the Beamer era. Although the offense had some wild swings from 2005 to 2015.
1. Well before the fans cursed at Corny, they were cursing at Stinespring. Of course that was over playcalling, not recruiting. The guy was a good recruiter.
2. Is football recruiting really the same as it was 20 years ago?
3. I feel better about letting the folks who have been highly successful at doing it over the past decade give it a try. Pry needs to be able to do this his way.
No, it's not. In fact, we fell behind as a program bc we were behind on social media. We never had support staff like at other schools. We stayed within 6 hrs drive of VT.
The internet has made the world smaller, camps have made it easier to reach coaches, and there's hella support staff, even at lolUVA.
A guy like Tyler Banks could get a last minute scholarship from VT in 2006, and be our diamond in the rough. But in 2021, everybody knew who he was, and all the schools were after him.
I think there are a lot of folks who think that Mack Brown has done pretty well at unc brining the recruits in there.
He's done well bringing in recruits. Not so much at winning football games.
I think the point was, even if you're older, it doesn't preclude you from still being good at recruiting. I think general consensus is Stiney shouldn't be coaching, preferably recruiting, unless there's certain things he's good at coaching (so not a whole offense and most likely not O-Line).
Brown's recruiting with his name. Not sure Stiney can do that.
But how much is his name worth at 70? You gotta figure the guy will be retiring any time now. I mean, clearly he's being successful at recruiting, but if there aren't guys negatively recruiting using Mack's age, they aren't doing it right.
Or how about that fact that on the sidelines he looks like someone's grandpa who got lost at the mall.
The unc sideline during a game looks like a metamucil commercial
I don't think you're giving Mack the credit he deserves... Most the kids he's recruiting were 5 or younger when Mack and Vince Young won a Natty. It's been 10 years since he coached at Texas.
Mack is excelling at recruiting because he (and his staff) have (1) built relationships with high school players and coaches in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Mid-Atlantic, (2) they have a clear strategy around who they offer, and (3) they align their 'product' with the needs of the players they recruit.
Now, can Stiney do that? Maybe. Players always loved him. Does he still have the connections to VA high school coaches? Is he willing to drive all over VA/NC to network with coaches and talk to 16 year olds? Maybe.
Is he the best person for that job? I dunno. Personally, I think he's capable, but I don't think that means we should hire him again. I also don't assume he'd want to come back to Blacksburg. No insider info, but I imagine things were tough for him and his family for a few years here. I also think it would be a tough sell for a majority of the fanbase.
Me seeing Stinespring at VT and associated with VT football:
I understand that he was not bad before becoming OC. But good lord the thought of Stinespring is just ... ugh.
Based on my Facebook memories every week where I'm cursing him for not playing his all conference RB's or running some stupid play inside the 20 I'm not sure I do want him back as a coach, staff maybe.
If he gets some more of those here for, I am for it
In what position/capacity?
So, for example, if he were a position coach, then which position? Is there a positional fit for him that would work with the new offensive staff?
Or are we talking about one of the support staff roles to keep him off the field? Support staff might not make enough dough to lure him back.
OL
How much credit does Stiney get for Cavanaugh's recruiting and who did he actually recruit?
We did recruit after Cav left though. So some while some of that might be riding on the coattails, it was still better than last year by a wide margin.
While people mention that recruiting has changed then you give him a role that hasn't changed, high school coach outreach. Get some one whose sole job is to make the high school coaches happy. Make sure they are invited to camps, go to the school, talk to them, be the connection from the on field coaches to the high school coaches. While that might no be as important as it once was, its still important and having some one to manage that would be a good thing.
High school coach outreach doesn't sound like a high-paying job.
Not sure you leave an assistant head coach job for that.
Oh I agree with that, but I think he'd be great doing that role. And depending on where some one is in life, kicking back with low stress to basically wine and dine people isn't a bad gig.
Not to mention getting to work with a guy who he knows for what's essentially forever at this point.
I'm open to Stiney coming back without playcalling/heavy influence on it. We have a staff that looks pretty recruiting heavy, but still have an uphill battle anyway, so if we can get a guy like BS working to bring guys here, it will hopefully help with Pry getting us the guys we need to succeed and repairing in state connections
Ha. I like this... Incentivize him by tying his pay to recruiting/stars. Would never happen, but interesting to ponder
Yeah I'm not anti-Stinespring (well, except as OC) but anytime something becomes conventional wisdom (i.e. Stinespring was a great recruiter), my spidey senses go off... so just curious. Personally I think it could be great to get him back in Blacksburg. By most accounts he's a very likable guy and a loyal, hard worker who really liked VT (and Frank).
Stoney always was a fantastic recruiter. And even though recruiting has changed per some of the posts above, I still think the ability to sell a school and/or vision is a better asset to have than someone who can't who is just good about posting stuff on social media. Jones is clearly good with Twitter, so if some of the other coaches get on board, I'm all for having Stiney being something like recruiting coordinator. I think he could be good as a position coach as well, so could probably pay him more than he's making now.
Same vein - how much of Stiney's failure was due to Newsome???
Ho man that's the question that launched 1000 ships.
Nobody, and I mean nobody will ever convince me that he had any degree of success in his time at VT. Study our performance in the years preceding his arrival and those that followed and there's no question there was a massive drop-off in OL performance. A lot of people gave Sean Glennon crap about his play (and still do), but you can't be a pocket QB when your OL coach doesn't know how to coach his line.
Yeah his coaching style was pretty aptly described as a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing... But he did sign TT! And thank god for that because the o-line wasn't great Bob. Probably would've been better for VT long term had they just paid Newsome his salary over that time period for landing TT and hired another coach.
I dont know, Tyrod is great and all, but if him going somewhere else got us a competent OLine then all I am saying is Russell Wilson was right there ....
whats crazy is that we had a future all-pro Duane Brown on that line
... who was recruited as a TE if I recall correctly
Coach "Quick Feet" Newsome may be the single worst OL coach in the history of college football.
He more than Stiney was the biggest single contributing factor to VT's decline.
Stiney was not a good OC. His play-calling was ridiculously predictable.
But nobody, not even a Michael Vick, could have succeeded behind an OL that couldn't dependably give the time for even a 3-step drop against even marginal defensive lines.
Before Newsome, I'd never seen an OL have 3 guys blocking nobody multiple times a game almost every game while the QB is running for his life behind them.
I mean, it's one thing if they get beat by a swim move from the guy across from them, and that happened plenty too. But we'd see them drop back to block, a couple stunts or twists from the defense, and the OL would just sit in their space and block air.
They ought to make a statue of him, fit it with cement galoshes, tie a boat anchor around its neck, and put up a dunk-stand attraction outside Lane.
I'd empty my pockets every home game playing that.
Let's not and say we didn't.
I would be supportive of this if it were a small role on offense (TE-OL) with a bigger role in recruiting. The guy is still LOVED by VHSL coaches and families he interacted with.
As a recruiter? Sure
As a consultant for our OC? Sure
As someone who has any influence on playcalling? GTFO
Sorry, the Orange Bowl vs Kansas where we ran the ball right down their throat to end the first half to get ourselves back into the game only to go pass happy against an Aqib Talib led secondary in the second half was insanity. Every bit as insane as the crap we saw out of Cornelson the last few years.
This feels like pinning for an ex and you only remember the good stuff and block out the bad...
I remember a Miami fan telling me we ran a ridiculously simple offense, but ran it so well, with such efficiency that it was dangerous and effective.
Lethal simplicity? I hear that gets you run out of FSU
Well-executed game plans aren't just effective. If the Defense knows it's straightforward and uncomplicated, it becomes demoralizing when they can't stop it.
He was bad as OC, not as a recruiter. Don't make the mistake of discounting someone's strengths, especially if they are very good strengths, because of their weaknesses, especially if you can bring them on board as something in which their weaknesses are irrelevant.
Son of a bitch ball why don't you go to your home?! Are you to good for your home?!
Is that what Fu heard Corn yelling on all of our & goal situations?
I gotchu, Jander75.
Well, then...here's a thread I never thought I'd see on this site
Stiney is a good dude. I don't remember any details of his recruiting, obviously wouldn't want him calling plays (but who is even suggesting that?), but on a personal level he's good people. I wish him well regardless, but I think it'd be hard to find someone who loves VT as much as he appeared to.
I was on the FBS train for a long time, but when I met him and spent time with him outside of the football arena, I instantly regretted the vitriol I often spewed in his general direction on game days. Out of his depth as an OC for sure, but definitely didn't deserve some of what I said.
I find it odd that we had whole websites dedicated to firing him when we were winning championships, and not a single fire Corny website when we were going 6-6.
As with the old SNL skit - Lowered Expectations.
Lol. I think it was Mad TV, but your point stands.
How about in a support role?
Former Glenvar HS coach Brian Hooker raved about Stiney. When I asked about him Brian said he came by the school EVERY year to check-in regardless of whether he had anyone worthy of a offer. Said he was just a great guy
And that is why coaches used to steer recruits our way instead of another.
I dunno. I like Stiney more than most, but I think we need to move forward in the new(est) direction.
I want a QB coach that can coach a QB. I want a receivers coach who can coach receivers. I have seen what happens when you don't have that that. If he wanted to come enough be support staff in recruiting, self scouting, etc, with the pay that comes with that type of position, then I'm all for it. If not, then no.
He coached TEs when he was here. It seems like a lot of times TE coaches also coach ST. But Jones has experience with ST. Maybe have Stiney coach TEs and heavily focus on recruiting. Or maybe make a job like VP of recruiting that pays more, but oversees all recruiting and all recruiting support staff. As someone else mentioned, I think he brought in some of the best players we had under Beamer.
Y'all do know that the HC at Delaware got fired at the end of November, right? He was making something like $400 k.
Also, as if 2019, JMU coordinators were making $150k and $140k.
That gap between an analyst position at VT and a fired coach at an FCS school might be smaller than you think. Depending, I guess, on how much we decide to pay them. Publicly available current salaries, as of 2020, seemed like they were in the range of $55k and $70k, for things like Director of Video. I didn't see any "analyst" type positions.
BOV Faculty Changes Report
No. Just no. Why take two steps backward to attempt to go one forward? Has he been a Power 5 program recruiter in today's environment? No. Was he a good recruiter over a decade ago? Yes - VT was much more of a name brand then. Didn't HS coaches in the 757 (Stiney's area) say VT was getting arrogant and burning bridges in the area with their attitude and that's why recruiting started to slip there (under Stinespring)? Total Bruce Arena vibes here, and everyone remembers the steaming pile of shit that was. NO. Burn this thread and never let us speak of this again.
P.S. NO!
If I remember correctly (which I may not) they actually took Stiney off the 757 in an effort to free up some time for him to focus on the OC responsibilities and that's pretty much when our recruiting in that area went downhill.
Could very well be the case, reaction is still an emphatic "No". From the mountain tops - Nooooooooooooooo
With all of this speculation is anyone even sure that he would be interested? Given his relationship with Pry I would assume the subject potentially came up between them. I don't think things ended well for him here, and give that we had firebryanstinespring website up and everything maybe if offered he was just say "Nah, I'm good man. Thanks but no thanks."
At one point, I liked Stinespring. I actually thought his O-line's were decent, and he was a pretty good recruiter. I have no idea if he'd adapt and still be a good recruiter today, though. FBS recruiting has incorporated so much in the way of technology. But I wonder if a retread like him could adapt and figure out how to navigate today's recruiting landscape to still forge good relationships with HS coaches, parents, player candidates, etc.?
I agree his offenses left us all wanting, I always wondered if it was Newsome, or even Saint Beamer, influencing things too. After all, I'm sure he ran what Beamer wanted. And there were some games he actually called pretty good. The game where Glennon's jersey got stolen at GT, and one against Maryland where we destroyed them by like 30 points or something come to mind. At the same time, I also remember overall a few seasons with Randall at QB, great RB's, and receivers like Royal, Morgan, Hyman, etc. - all guys that played in the NFL in some capacity or other - and over the course of seasons, what should have been a light you up offense seemed stuck in first gear most of the time.
But, yeah, I've wondered if a guy like Stinespring, in the right role, would still be able to contribute as a coach at a P5 FBS program. I know he's a top notch guy chararcter-wise and I'd honestly love to see him break back in and do well somewhere. Then again, the lower levels, and with a bank account I'm sure is plenty comfy even if not $millions - something to be said for lower pressure at the lower levels. You get to focus on the love of the game instead of big $$$ program politics and media.
I imagine he has had recruiting responsibilities at the jobs he's had since leaving Tech. You aren't the first to imply that he could have challenges adapting to modern recruiting, however he's likely never stopped recruiting. Granted much of that wasn't at the P5 level outside of 1 year at Maryland, but I see no reason to believe he isn't fully versed in the modern recruiting landscape. I mean, it's not like he's been frozen in a block of ice for the last 6 years.
I'd allow it, but only if he's kept away from the Xs and Os
This coaching staff needs a star, so I say bring Springsteen back, and give the ESPN announcer dudes something to talk about in 2022.
Trying to relive some glory days?
By all means, go with Springsteen.
That guy's born to run.
I'll go dancing in the dark if they bring him on board