I'm continuing to drop some posts evaluating guys on my radar who could potentially be the next guy for VT. This is my sixth post, and my first post about someone who is not a sitting headcoach. Check out the previous five:
- WKU coach Tyson Helton
- JMU coach Bob Chesney
- UNLV coach Dan Mullen
- Iowa State coach Matt Campbell
- Southern Miss coach Charles Huff
This week: Glenn Schumann
Who is Glenn Schumann?
Glenn Schumann is the 35-year-old defensive coordinator at Georgia who has quietly become one of the most successful assistants in college football. The Valdosta, Georgia native has been part of six national championship teams across stints at Alabama and Georgia, making him one of the most decorated coordinators available.
Unlike most coaches, Schumann never played college football. Instead, he showed up at Alabama as a student in 2008 and asked Nick Saban for a role as a student assistant (side note: how wild is that). Saban brought him on, and Schumann quickly became an in-house expert on defensive schemes. When Kirby Smart left Alabama for Georgia in 2016, Schumann was Smart's first hire.
The coordinator-to-head-coach question: Is Schumann the next Lanning, or the next Pry?
The most important question for any coordinator-to-head-coach transition is simple: can they replicate their success when they're fully in charge? Georgia's recent history provides one data point. Dan Lanning served as Georgia's co-defensive coordinator alongside Schumann from 2019-2021 before taking the Oregon job. Lanning has since gone 35-6 in three seasons, won the Big Ten in his first year in the conference, and earned an 'A' grade from CBS Sports for his first three years.
But Virginia Tech has a much more relevant—and sobering—comparison: Brent Pry.
Like Schumann, Pry was a highly-regarded defensive coordinator at Penn State who spent years coordinating elite defenses under a defensive-minded head coach (James Franklin). Like Schumann, Pry's defenses consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally in total defense. Like Schumann, Pry was patient about taking a head coaching job, turning down multiple opportunities (or not pursuing any interest? Believe what you will) before accepting the Virginia Tech position. Like Schumann, Pry had zero head coaching experience at any level.
The result? Pry went 3-8 in his first season at Virginia Tech and has struggled to recruit at the level necessary to compete in the ACC. While he's improved to bowl eligibility, he's nowhere near the trajectory Virginia Tech hoped for when they hired him.
So which is Schumann: Lanning or Pry? The honest answer is we have no idea. Lanning had more diverse experience (Arizona, Memphis, Alabama, Georgia) before becoming a head coach. He also took over an Oregon program with significantly more resources and recruiting advantages than what Pry inherited at Virginia Tech—or what Schumann would inherit. Marcus Freeman offers a third data point—promoted to head coach at Notre Dame after just one season as a P5 defensive coordinator, he's gone 30-9 and reached the CFP. But Freeman had previous coordinator experience at Cincinnati and Purdue, and he's coaching at a blue-blood program with elite resources.
The pattern isn't as clear as it seems: elite coordinators from elite programs can succeed as head coaches, but they can also struggle mightily when they don't have the same talent and resources. For every Dan Lanning success story, there's many more Brent Pry-esk cautionary tales.
His defensive track record speaks for itself
As Georgia's co-defensive coordinator along side Lanning, Schumann's defenses have been nothing short of elite. From 2019-2022, Georgia led the nation in combined scoring defense (13.6 points per game) and rushing defense (75.7 yards per game) while ranking second in total defense.
As sole defensive coordinator in 2023, Georgia ranked 5th nationally in scoring defense (15.6 points per game) and topped the country in third-down conversion defense (25.7%). The 2024 season saw some regression, but context matters. The Bulldogs were unusually young, particularly up front, yet still fielded a competitive unit that propelled them to the CFP semifinals.
He develops NFL talent at an elite level—but is it recruiting or development?
Schumann's inside linebacker room has become an NFL assembly line. Since becoming position coach in 2016, he's produced three Butkus Award winners (given to the nation's best linebacker): Roquan Smith (2017), Nakobe Dean (2021), and Jalon Walker (2024). That's unprecedented for a single position coach over such a short span.
But here's the critical question: how much of that success is Schumann developing talent versus Schumann recruiting elite talent that would have succeeded anywhere?
Let's look at the data. Roquan Smith was a four-star recruit who Schumann didn't actually recruit—Smith was already at Georgia when Schumann arrived in 2016. Nakobe Dean was a five-star recruit, the #1 inside linebacker in his class. Jalon Walker was also a five-star recruit. Of Schumann's drafted linebackers, five were four-star recruits, one was a three-star, and one was a two-star (who was recruited as a running back and later switched positions).
Could Schumann land five-star linebackers at Virginia Tech? If our lord and savior Bud Foster couldn't do it, I doubt that Schumann could. Dean chose Georgia over Alabama, LSU, and Stanford. Walker was the #1 linebacker prospect in his class. These are elite recruits who had their pick of any program in the country—and they chose Georgia.
Schumann clearly develops talent well—you don't coach three Butkus Award winners by accident. But it's impossible to separate his development track record from the elite recruiting classes Georgia brings in. At Virginia Tech, Schumann would need to develop three-star linebackers into NFL talent, not polish five-star recruits into first-rounders. That's a completely different challenge.
How much is Kirby Smart vs. how much is Schumann?
This is the critical question that makes evaluating Schumann difficult. As a former coordinator and co-creator of the pattern-match defense, Smart is intimately involved with Georgia's defense. Even with Schumann calling plays, Smart's fingerprints are all over the operation.
Schumann himself acknowledges this: "There's a whole staff input in everything that we do. The base structures have carried over from all the years that I've been involved with Coach Smart going back to Alabama."
However, several factors suggest Schumann deserves significant credit: First, he's been the defensive play-caller since 2022, giving him three full seasons of in-game decision-making experience. Second, Smart trusted him enough to make him sole defensive coordinator over more experienced candidates. Third, NFL teams have shown interest—the Philadelphia Eagles interviewed him for their defensive coordinator position in 2023. You usually don't get NFL looks if you're just riding coattails.
It's impossible to separate Schumann's impact from Smart's. But, the same was true for Lanning, and he's thriving at Oregon. The question isn't whether Schumann can replicate Georgia's success at Virginia Tech; it's whether he can build a competitive program with fewer resources.
His recruiting is strong, but not elite
Schumann has proven he can recruit at a high level, particularly at the linebacker position where he's landed five-star recruits in multiple recruiting cycles. The top-rated linebacker prospect in the 2024 class, Justin Williams, came to Georgia largely because of Schumann. He was ranked #12 nationally in 247Sports' 2019 recruiter rankings, serving as the primary recruiter for five-star edge rusher Nolan Smith and playing key roles in landing other elite prospects.
What does this mean for Virginia Tech? Schumann clearly knows how to evaluate talent and has deep ties to the Southeast. But there's a massive difference between recruiting five-stars to Georgia versus recruiting three- and four-stars to Virginia Tech.
Schumann is a good recruiter at an elite program. Whether he can recruit well enough to build a winner at Virginia Tech is completely unknown.
Schumann's drawing some head coaching
He's been patient and selective. Unlike some coordinators who jump at the first opportunity, Schumann has turned down multiple chances to leave Georgia. He interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles DC job and drew interest from North Carolina's head coaching search, but stayed put.
But does that suggest he's waiting for the right opportunity or does it suggest he's not interviewing well enough to land better jobs? It's worth noting that Schumann interviewed for the Eagles job and didn't get it—they went with another candidate. He drew interest from North Carolina, but they didn't offer him the job (same was said of Somrall). His patience could be strategic wisdom, but it could also be that programs with more resources and better situations simply aren't offering him positions.
He's highly regarded across the industry. On3's Andy Staples ranked him as the third-best defensive coordinator in the nation. ESPN's Adam Rittenberg put him at the top of his list of coordinators poised for head coaching roles, noting his "high-level success" across six national championship teams.
Players vouch for him. Georgia linebacker Raylen Wilson praised Schumann's daily coaching, saying he provides "a new nugget every day" that helps with development. That kind of consistent, detailed teaching translates well to head coaching.
The concerns are legitimate
He has zero experience outside of Alabama and Georgia—two programs with elite resources, recruiting, and institutional support. Those are the only two places he's ever coached. Can he build a winner at a program that doesn't recruit in the top 10 every year? We don't know.
He doesn't exactly have 'rizz', as the youths say... Schumann is known for his laid-back demeanor and monotone voice—so much so that Georgia tight ends coach Todd Hartley joked about him "lowering the energy" when speaking to media. Co-defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson calls him "Rain Man" for his intelligence and attention to detail.
I'm split here... I don't think that you have to have a big boisterous personality to be a good leader, but when we look at the new archetype in the post-NIL era - your youthful, exuberant coaches like Dan Lanning, Fran Brown, Marcus Freeman, etc - Schumann just doesn't seem to fit that model. That's not a bad thing... but it's not nothing.
Finally, Schumann has never been a head coach at any level—not high school, not Division III, nowhere. He went straight from student assistant to graduate assistant to position coach to coordinator. For a program like Virginia Tech that needs immediate results, a first-time head coach with no experience outside the SEC doesn't really feel like the answer?
The realistic assessment
Glenn Schumann would be one of the highest-ceiling hires Virginia Tech could make, but also one of the riskiest. If he's the next Dan Lanning, Virginia Tech gets a coach who could lead them to ACC championships and College Football Playoff berths. If he's another Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech doesn't just waste another 3-4 years, but digs ourselves deeper into the pit of dispear.
Schumann is making around $2.1 million per year at Georgia, meaning Virginia Tech could realistically double his salary and still be in a manageable range with the new athletics investment.
I have no idea whether Schumann sees Virginia Tech as the right opportunity. Industry analysts predict he'll leave after the 2025 season, with potential destinations including Florida State, USC, and Auburn. Would Virginia Tech be compelling enough to pull him away from waiting for a blue-blood opening?
Would VT even be compelled to chase him?
Comments
copypasta whoops
Freudian typo.
It's okay, I'm leaning towards Huff being the best choice the more I read your breakdowns.
I am too. I would love Sumrall. Haven't dove into golesh yet. But I think Huff is gettable and has the right resume, experience, and disposition for the job.
oof. great write-up, Bar. Thanks again for doing these
I don't think I'd hate the Glenn hire. I wouldn't love it. But given who we will probably end up with, I'd probably prefer the Glenn hire. I'm losing faith pretty quickly that VT is going to hire a legit football coach.
anyway, I thought this was funny
If he started as a student at Bama, I think it's extremely unlikely he'll ever end up at Auburn in any capacity. Either that, or everything I've heard about how much Bama and Auburn fans hate each other is completely false. (My reference point: no amount of money would ever be enough for me to work for UVA in any capacity. NONE. - and I love money)
Yea, of all the write ups I've done, I think he'd be my last choice.
Do you listen to Phantom Island? Godfrey gave me some confidence on the single wing today.
I do not listen to any podcasts, actually. TKP is my primary source for all VT football related content. I get a few scraps from my twitter feed but my twitter feed is mostly local news, chess, and soccer with a little bit of VT and personal finance stuff sprinkled in. And that's my social media in a nutshell.
I might make a post about this if I have time to transcript what he said. But he basically said 'ignore the search committee stuff - there's a lot of people who want their name in the press, and the search committee is a way for them to sound important. The search is going fine. Just focus on raising the rest of that $50m'
This is good to hear. Despite my own personal pessimism that I've expressed in different places before, there is another part of me that's going "can we just give these guys a chance to not totally cock this up before we decide they're going to?"
Based on what the people in the media are saying... sounds like the biggest concern should be making sure that we actually raise the money that is pledged.
I had heard there was a big lump sum donation that had already been secured but we were waiting on a strategically opportune moment to announce it, which is where that philanthropy money was coming from.
But, the longer this goes the less I am inclined to believe it is happening. Which is the only part about this I am truly worried about, I would really hate it if we had that dog and pony show of the big announcement and all that over nothing more than hopes and dreams.
Do you ever walk into a car dealership and yell out "I have $90,000 to spend, what can I get?" No, you go find what you want and then talk the money numbers.
I like keeping any of those money concerns out of the public. Privately, you reassure the agents/candidates that you have secured the money and will be able to pay them and give them the resources they will need/want.
I don't understand how this is remotely analogous to hiring a head coach?
"I'm prepared to donate up to $20M, depending on how much you are able to raise for the coaching transition. I don't want to have to, as this may impact future donations."
I mean I don't pay 90k for a car but how else do you buy a car?
Yeah, I did that.
Dealership advertised a car for $9,999. I walked in with a check for $10,000. They latched on but thought I did not know they would advertise 2 cars and then make them unavailable and upsell.
I told each salesman that I wanted the model car they advertised, Do not care about color and the only options I needed was a radio and a heater. First one to find the car gets the check. They argued it couldn't be done.
I explained they could order the car and I'd wait but play up front. They still insisted it could not be done.
One guy asked questions and took me up on it. 2 days later I payed $10,230 and got the car but with more options..
I tend to agree. It's extra embarrassing if we admit we're broke, say we're going to fix that, then are unable to.
This sounds a lot like all of the "silent commits" we had during the Fuente era
I did chuckle when Godfrey was doing the exercise of where the fired coaches should go and he packaged Franklin and Pry to NC State initially and then a minute later said something along the lines of if they could get into an ACC program like NC State or Virginia Tech and hit the ground running that would be great for them because of the jokes I've seen on TKP of Franklin coming here and keeping Pry as DC
What did Godfrey imply about our search?
I wouldn't be too disbelieving that a student at Alabama - essentially a kid when you start school - wouldn't consider going to an archrival school 15-20 years later as a grown man with a family. Sure some people will never consider transitions like Alabama-Auburn, Army-Navy, Yale-Harvard, VT-UVa New York-Boston, Edmonton-Calgary (my wife's influence there) ... but it's not like people's views do not adjust and mellow. I mean life is more important.
Downvote me all you want, but for $10M a year, you bet your ass I'd coach for any of VTs rivals.
Yes, I am for sale :)
Oh I'd jump at the chance to coach football at UVa. Since I'd have no idea what I was doing, I'd set the program back x-many dollars and they'd be even worse than usual for the week or two it would take them to fire me even if I was trying to do well.
I would even be willing to stay at a Holiday Inn Express while coaching the Hoo's. That makes me a competent coach right?
Exhibit A: Fontel Mines
Our wrs haven't exactly been great
Maybe he was a plant
I read a while ago that Kirby told UGA that Glenn was coming with him i the interview. He is more than the DC because he has been the right hand man of Kirby. He was also assisting Saban with odds and ends of being a head coach at Bama so he might have a unique outlook on being a HC that other coordinators don't have.
Working closely with the two best ones in the last decade will do that for you.
It's actually two, if you think about it
In addition to Smart, Will Muschamp has also been in the building since 2021.
Couple things here. First you didn't include that he was Alabama's director of football operations under Saban in 2014 and 2015, years that they were a #1 overall seed in the playoff, then #2 overall and won the title. He has exposure to the CEO side of running a program, and the X's and O's side.
The Pry comparison isn't accurate because there are many differences. First something that Shelton pointed out, Schumann is a very young up and comer, whereas Pry was much older and far above the age most coordinators usually become head coaches. Data shows that older coordinators who do not have HC experience almost always do not work out. Whereas young up and comers are split, but account for nearly all of the coordinator to HC success.
Another theory Shelton had which I agree with, is coordinators for CEO style HC's generally don't get experience in the other parts of the job and get siloed off into coaching X's and O's. Whereas if the HC is heavily involved in the scheme, he'll delegate some of the other responsibilities to his staff and they'll be better suited to learn the HC role. Just a theory but Saban and Kirby assistants seem to lend credence to this.
I'm not sure if Schumann the man has the personality type and know how to run a successful program here, but as far as experience and accomplishments he has to be a top candidate for this job (I have him in the top 3). If he does lack some of the qualities, maybe we could get him a Jerry Kill, or AHC/OC Dave Clawson, who says no. Whoever it is, they need to be a winner and have a support staff that 1. Knows how to run a winning program, 2. Can coach em up, get the most out of players, 3. Knows how to recruit and effectively scout the area, 4. Understands getting effort out of guys who you've already paid and building the best roster for your budget
My neighbor is a big Georgia fan and I mentioned the possibility of Schumann to VT and he said that he wouldn't be missed in Athens. So, take that for what it's worth. He said the game-planning has been atrocious and that every single team they've played has scored on the opening, scripted drive and they give up a bunch of points in the first half. I countered that at least his halftime adjustments must be good and he retorted that there is a feeling among the fans that Kirby, himself known for his defensive genius, is actually the one drawing up the adjustments at halftime and Schumann is simply executing them. He didn't think highly of Schumann's football acumen.
I guess if he has the right skills for a HC role and is able to hire good Xs and Os coordinators he'd be a decent candidate but that conversation with a Dawg fan really soured my view of Schumann.
I've seen this multiple times in my career where people thing there is a correct path between jobs when really the jobs are different skill sets.
Position coaches should be teaching techniques, like WR running routes, or DE doing a swim move, etc. A coordinator doesn't need to know how to teach the route thry just need to know how the routes work so they can use them. They should know what a bad route looks like and it's better if they know so they can help the position coach but the OC doesn't need to know how to teach every technique. Depending on the HC you don't need to know the X's and Op's like the coordinators, that's their job. They head coach needs to know clock management, they need to know if their offense can go for it, they need to recruit and manage, and they need to know how to hire people that know the things below them, but those are all different roles and it's weird that they are seen as a ladder than different skill sets.
I have a ton of dawgs as friends as a natural result of growing up close to Athens, and I can assure you this is very much recency bias, AND anecdotal. Most of my dawg friends who really know ball like Schumann, and realize they do not have the level of DL and edge play right now to expect results from teams that had much better players (early 2020's defenses) in those difference making spots. The Kirby making the adjustments line sounds like message board rumors.
Yea... I think there's lots of reasons that Schumann shouldn't be our HC, but 'doesn't know ball' ain't one of them.