http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls14/story/_/id/12073271/frank-be...
Just wanted to share what I wrote in the comments section of the article after some people were saying Frank needs to go...I realize many people here feel the same way about that.....and i totally respect those opinions......i really do.....but i also respect my opinion...which is posted below.....take it for what it's worth...simply the opinion of a fan who will never have any effect on what does or does not happen in the grand scheme of VT football
Frank Beamer has done things the right way for almost thirty years. He is an example of what a coach should be at any level of athletics. He is universally regarded by his peers (other coaches) as knowledgeable, honest, fair, patient, gracious in victory or defeat, a good husband, father, grandfather, and a mentor both on and off the field to his players. He doesn't take liberty with the rules of recruiting as some other FBS coaches (and some universities as a whole) do. He fights for his staff to be properly compensated. Every team has cycles of down years (hello FSU just a few years ago), and I would rather suffer as a VT Alum & fan through some sub-par years with a guy who does things the right way, than to have success at the cost of the collective soul of our athletes, students, faculty, and alumni. Frank has EARNED the right, both as a coach and an alumni, to retire when he sees fit, not to be shamelessly undermined and shown the door as Bobby Bowden was. Football is a fickle game, with a ball that bounces in the most unpredictable ways, just as recruiting does, and a bad year or two of recruiting can change the landscape of a particular team for more than just a year or two. I for one have faith in Frank's ability to coach VT back up from some down years, and I also have the utmost respect for Coach Beamer as a person. In the long run, it is the latter of these two things that is more important to me.
BTW - Merry Christmas everyone.
Comments
Well said. I agree 100 percent.
You said what I believe in a way I couldn't. Well done. Merry Christmas!
I remember going to games in Lane as a kid in the 80s when the stadium barely held 50,000, usually was barely half full, there was one extremely crappy scoreboard, no conference affiliation, a game against ECU or Southern Miss was a big deal and a 6-5 season was reason to celebrate. And You couldn't find any VT merchandise outside of Blacksburg.
Since that time, Frank Beamer has taken VT football from the level of a UAB type program to a football-crazed town on par with SEC fanbases.
I mean, in those days we could have easily gone the way of UAB. Before Frank, VT had gone to six bowls in 94 years. Now our fanbase is so spoiled we are upset with a .500 season after the man just led us to our 22nd straight bowl. Just think about it in those terms and let it sink in what the man has meant not only to the program, but to the school as a whole.
Sure, like everybody, I'd like to see us winning the ACC, winning 10 games and competing for the national title every year.
But ask Tennessee or West Virginia how running off a legend has worked out for them. In my opinion, the majority of our fanbase has no idea what the program was like before Frank and has little appreciation for it.
Wait... Are Phil Fulmer and RichRod considered legends? Tennessee fans are still glad Fulmer is gone. Fulmer had great coordinators on his staff when UT was in their prime, but they struggled when Cutcliffe wasn't there. And RichRod, well, he was a good coach at WVU but I'm not sure legend would quite apply. I almost think it's shorting Frank to use those two as a comparison.
I was referring to Don Nehlen, not RichRod.
Not only that -- but I remember one fall day walking to Newman in the early 80's counting the Penn St and Notre Dame sweatshirts and not seeing one VT sweatshirt. I was barely a teen and by the time I got to the library, I was seriously pissed off.
Exactly.
I was a freshman in the fall of '88, and living in Cochran Hall (it was still NUF (New Undergraduate Facility) then...), and it was amazing how little most of the other athletes thought of the football program. We all pretty much just accepted that they were one of only two revenue sports that paid for our sports. Most home games were no where near a sell out in those early years, and usually by halftime we were loosing so bad that many of the students left to go to the river. I knew a lot of the football players at the time, and most thought very little of Frank and his ability to coach and motivate. But the university stuck with him through those rough early years, and look what that loyalty led to. I do believe that Frank is nearing the end of his effective coaching career (if he's not there already), but he has absolutely EARNED the right to decide when it's time to hang up the clip board. And I can only hope that when that time comes, that we are able to find someone even half as great of a person/mentor/head football coach as Frank Beamer. He has made VT football. Period. End of story.
Or ask FSU.
Great post. This is my first year closely following the Hokies, but I'm old enough to remember Frank's introductory press conference and have always been a fan of him. I would say he's old school in the very best sense of the term.
Meanwhile, his repeatedly stated optimism about next season doesn't seem manufactured. I'm looking forward to the bowl game tomorrow but the 2015 season holds so much potential. If that turns into 9-3 or 10-2, he'll go back to being very experienced.
well written but I disagree with your opinion of he has earned the right to leave when he thinks its time to retire.
Although I do not agree with the way Bobby Bowden had to go out, I do think it was his time, and I also do believe it's Frank's time. Both situations are actually very eerily similar, except we knew Bowden's last game would be that Gator Bowl against WVU before it was played. FSU was 6-6, WVU 9-3. Tech is 6-6, Cincinnati 9-3. Bowden went out with a win, retired (not under his own power, though; I hope better for Frank), Jimbo Fisher took over, turned around recruiting, led FSU to a national championship, and has the chance to lead them to one more.
Whit Babcock is no Jim Weaver, and will hire the right man to fill the head coaching vacancy if need be. Bud just signed a 5-year extension. I do not see Frank making it another 3 years, let alone 5. Whit was thinking long term, and will probably bring in an offensive minded head coach, perhaps Rich Rod (sources say they are good friends).
Frank Beamer took Tech football to places unimaginable, and I don't want him to be thrown out of Blacksburg the way Bowden was at FSU or Nehlen was at WVU. But, I also don't want him overstaying his welcome. Recruiting has seemed to fall through the cracks, this season and the 2 prior have been subpar to what we believe the team is capable of, and his health also is something we should be concerned about. Will he make a full recovery from this throat surgery? Probably. That's what the doctor said. But, any surgery at an old age has long term effects, and throat surgery for a head coach just doesn't seem all too comfortable.
I want Frank to go out the way he wants to really bad, but more than that I want to see 10-win seasons again. I want to see Tech be a regular contender for the ACC championship again. I want to see Tech crack the top 10 again. I may be wrong, but I don't think Frank can do this.
all fair points......just threw up in my mouth a bit at the idea of Rich Rod as VT coach.......
I will march on Merryman if Rich Rod takes over.
Do you really think Rich Rod will be a better coach at VT than Frank Beamer?
Not to pick on you but I see lots of people mentioning coaches and I don't see then doing better than Frank.
I think given the personnel right now, Rich Rod could be very successful. He seems to take whatever offensive talent he's been given and make it successful. WVU wasn't very good until he took over. He almost took them to the national championship in 2007 until that Pitt game, and then bolted for Michigan (I'm not going to base anything off of what he did at Michigan. That program has been a mere shadow of it's former self since the loss to Appalachian State). He's also taken Arizona and made them very successful. You have a Bud Foster defense and Rich Rodriguez offense and who knows?
Disregarding Michigan ruins your argument that he is successfull with whatever offensive talent given.
Michigan lost to Appalachian State before he got there, and the offense was missing pieces like Mike Hart, Chad Henne, and Mario Manningham. It's tough to reach success the first 2 years given those circumstances. When he took over at WVU, though, he beat Tech 2 years straight in a series almost dominated by Tech during the 90s and took them to the Sugar Bowl and beat Georgia in 2005 with a freshman quarterback and running back. A coach can't be successful everywhere he goes, and that Michigan situation was a disaster.
Rich Rod's won just one outright conference championship over 13 seasons in I-A. He has a 63% winning percentage. His offense is effective, and aggregates a bunch of yards, but it has fallen on its face in big spots (see WVU-Pitt, 2007 and Arizona-Oregon, 2014). His entire tenure at Michigan, including trying to adapt Michigan's offensive talent, was a complete disaster.
He played at West Virginia.
DO. NOT. WANT.
This is my opinion of richrod
Speaking of falling off in big spots, see almost every top 5 game Beamer has coached in. Rich Rod seems to have a knack for winning big games. Yes he blew the 2007 Pitt game. In reference to the Oregon game this year, he did beat Oregon during the regular season. Expecting any college to beat the Ducks twice in one season is a mighty task. I'm not even sure the Oakland Raiders could do that (I kid, I kid). Bottom line, I think Tech has the defense in place to compete for championships, and has for awhile. All they're missing is an offense. Is Rich Rod a definite answer? No. Is he an option, though? Yes. I respect all opinions though.
And somehow two wrongs (or in this case shortcomings) make a right?
Again, Rich Rod has one outright conference championship in 13 I-A seasons. I hope Whit is thinking bigger than a guy who left his alma mater high and dry and whose most successful seasons came against a watered down Big East.
I'm curious to see how WVU would have faired had the Big East had a conference championship game. But Rich Rod is still young (in relation to Beamer). Am I absolutely 100% advocating he is hired for head coach? No. There are clearly better options. Is he realistic though? Yes. But you can't really base his success off of whether or not he outright won the Big East when there was no conference championship game. Tech did win the ACC outright in 2004 and in 2010 (maybe could have made a serious run for the national championship game had JMU not have beaten them), but the 2007 and 2008 seasons had teams with the same conference record as Tech.
Can we also apply this sentiment to Mark Richt? Or does he get the SEC pass?
EDIT: Not an endorsement of RR, but while he was at WVU, it was probably harder to win the BE than it was to win the ACC.
It's beyond me why anyone would want Mark Richt at Virginia Tech. He coaches one of a few elite college football programs and has yet to win a national championship. Winning a national championship is tough as nails, but Georgia has the talent and resources to expect a national championship--or at the very least an appearance in the BCS championship game / playoff over the course of a 14-year tenure. Their last two seasons, in which Florida was down, are disappointments.
Agreed. He also lost to Rich Rod in the Sugar Bowl for the 2005-06 season. Hehehe
No Pass for Richt.
I still can't wrap my head around Mark Richt's name being thrown around to come to Tech. Why would a big time SEC coach ever leave his post to come to Tech? A current run of the mill ACC team just can't be that enticing.
Because his time at UGA is probably oming to an end soon. He has been there 15 years and UGA fans are beyond tired of him.
And had we not played in one of the weakest conferences in the country over our first 10 years in the ACC Beamer likely only has 3 conference titles in his 28 years coaching.
I don't want to get into a pissing contest about how many ACC trophies we won because every time we have faced someone with legitimate national aspirations we have turtled. Really, the only 3 times we knocked off someone like that was the 1995 Sugar Bowl, the 2003 Miami game, and Ohio State, and of those wins, really only 1995 can be viewed as a non fluke, as the other 2 wins were followed by a complete collapse. We've been a paper tiger playing in a bad league for a while and it caught up with us. The second Clemson and FSU got their act together we have been nationally irrelevant.
So let's not throw too many stones about how a coach can't win the big games. Right now his team was rolling and knocking off big boys and putting up bunches of points and playing for conference titles. We haven't even sniffed that level of play in 3 years. The way he has Zona playing would be a massive improvement over what we are dealing with.
How is Arizona beating Oregon not a fluke but VT beating Ohio State is is a fluke? Look at that green grass on the other side of that fence would ya.
I don't think either is a fluke. But I agree with Alum's overall point. Frank gets way too much credit for rolling up 10 wins and Dr Pepper championships in a Charmin-soft-MAC-tastic ACC.
Here are just a few of the highlights from that 'special' decade:
1) the Bobby Bowden "death-rattle" @ FSU
2) the junior Bowden "Clemsoning"
3) Miami's annual "backness"
4) UNC hiring Butch Davis, holding their breath and shutting their eyes until basketball season
5) NC State firing "The Chest" and replacing him with TOB
6) Chan Gailey
7) Ted Roof
8) John Bunting
9) Wake Florist wins the ACC
10) BC is back-to-back Atlantic division champion... let that sink in
11) This...
I could go on, but I'm not a complete sadist.
It takes some luck to win. Our luck was the ACC was down for a significant period. It doesn't change the fact that Beamer and Co. coached the shit out of some of those teams. 2004 was one of my favorite Hokie teams. It wasn't a great team, but it sure gave you 100% every time. Then the year we lost to JMU and still managed to right the ship...that took leadership to keep that thing from sinking.
I never tout Beamer as being the greatest coach to walk the earth. But what he has built is a solid program held together by consistency and lunch pail mentalities. The whole idea of Rich Rod being mentioned as somebody that could make this program better makes my skin crawl. I also have a hatred bias against Rich Rod and I'm not afraid to admit it.
My biggest fear is that we won't know how good Beamer was until he's gone. I could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong.
I refuse to have a pity party about dominating a weakened ACC. If we had not been there to hold the damn conference up, it might not even be here today.
Luck is the Iron Bowl kick six or Auburn/UGA 2013. WFU winning the ACC is something else entirely.
There's no pity party here, just some perspective. I loved the 04 team, thought they should have and could have beaten USC and Auburn both that year. They didn't though.
Well VT beating Ohio State was certainly a fluke in my opinion. Lost to ECU the following week followed by 5 other losses, including the debacle at Wake Forest. Arizona plays in a much tougher conference that doesn't, in my opinion, get enough credit because nobody on the east coast watches their games. I would not write down Arizona beating Oregon as a fluke. Oregon did handle them the second time, but can you expect any team to beat Oregon twice in the same season?
"I don't like my coach that can't win big games, but let's not knock the other coach who can't win big games." -- Your argument.
I'm offering a counterargument to your "but Rich Rod only has one conference title". You provided that argument, not me. I'm saying, if you're going to blast him for that, you must take a step back and legitimately put our successes in perspective as well.
How is this for perspective: 10 other millionaire coaches were trying to figure out how to catch up to the hokies during that time period.
Frank has 5 outright conference championships in 28 seasons (17.8%), Rich Rod has 1 in 13 (7.7%).
I'm not in the Frank gets to stay as long as Frank wants camp, but I don't want him replaced with the flavor of the week that's had an otherwise spotty record.
Yes but how many of those were with a conference championship? And how many of those still would have stood as outright if there was no conference championship game?
Three.
Two. (2008 would have had us in a tiebreaker scenario with FSU, BC, and GT, and GT would have won out according to the tiebreaker procedures.)
Horse hockey.
How us it that it seems the entire fanbase has unquestioning faith in Whit and no faith in Beamer? Which one is it that is the new kid on the block?
Recruiting is as good as its ever been. We are having a slump that was purely miraculous it didn't happen sooner. Great qbs like MV1, Randall, and Tyrod could hide some other flaws.
If Whit brings in Rich Rod, this fan won't be happy about it. I don't care if they are supposed friends or not.
What if we see an immediate turnaround like WVU and Arizona did?
What if we don't? I was never a fan of his offense. While completely different, I group it with Paul Johnson's triple option for being a pain in the ass for everybody but beatable by anybody.
When given the correct talent, though, it could see a lot of success. Georgia Tech had a tremendous year this season compared to what was expected out of them.
Georgia Tech's offense is brilliant. But it is not adaptable to game situations. If you take Georgia Tech out of their game plan, they fold up. it's not easy, but it will happen several times a year, giving them a defined ceiling. I believe that Loeffler's system could be GREAT if you're willing to wait for the talent to catch up, which it appears that you are willing to do for a different type of offense.
I've been on the fence ever since our offense somehow managed to not score on Wake Forest. I don't care how long it takes for your talent to catch up. Drawing a blank against Wake Forest is unacceptable.
Rich Rodgriguez lost 13-9 against a bad Pitt team in 2007 with arguably one of the best teams he had at WVU when a BCS National Championship was on the line. It seems that you focus on only the bad with Beamer/Loeffler and only the good with other coaches. It's classic grass is greener syndrome.
I really don't think it's fair to base a coach's success off one game. That Pitt game shouldn't have happened, but given the circumstances it wasn't completely inexplicable. Pat McAfee missed 2 easy field goals, Pat White broke his thumb and didn't play for a majority of the 2nd half, and Pitt had a great running back in Lesean McCoy. Now, had Rich Rod had a defensive coordinator like Bud Foster to slow down McCoy, McAfee nails both of those kicks, and Pat White doesn't break his thumb, you have a win. Maybe and ugly win, but a win's a win and they're playing for a national championship.
Again, you're saying Rich Rod shouldn't be judged by only one game, but that is exactly what our fans do when they are quick to point out Wake Forest. All I'm saying is that both sides should be judged equally. You can't assign blame or make excuses for one side and not the other. I'm not saying Rich Rod is a horrible coach. I'm just saying he would not cure what ails the Hokies overnight....and I think I hate him.
Okay. The train wrecks that were 2001-2003 seasons, the 2005 Miami game, the 2006 Boston College game, the 2007 LSU game, the Orange Bowl against Kansas, the 2009 UNC game, the 2010 JMU game, both 2011 Clemson games and the Michigan game, and then these last 3 years. That's more than one game.
Sir, did you see the dumpster fire in Michigan that was RichRod? You love him I get it. I don't want him as the next Vt coach. He is not as good you like to paint.
Thank you. I'm giving up.
I don't think you realize how big a leap of faith that is. You don't just go find guys who are capable of turning programs into national contenders overnight at Wal-mart (place kickers are a different story). There are probably 3-5 coaches I KNOW could turn VT into a legitimate title contender in two years time. None of them are EVER coming to Tech. This is real life. Any hire Tech makes will require a leap of faith. It is way more likely that the next coach gets fired after a few years than it is the next coach wins a national championship.
Let's not forget... an immediate turnaround is possible NEXT SEASON. Look at the injuries and the talent coming in. The only way this program won't be better next season is if Frank and the rest of the staff have completely lost it. If we don't see significant improvement at the end of next season let's have the discussion then, not after the arguably the most injury plagued season of Beamer's career.
Couldn't agree more.
Let's also not forget that Arizona did not have immediate turn around in the way that you (Jwillhokiealum) think. And that Mike Stoops actually brought in some play makers in 2010 and 2011 recruiting classes. RichRod was not burdened with a nearly bare cupboard at skill positions and OL that he had to recruit out his way out of. He merely had to install his system with an above average talent pool to find success, and I don't mean to say that he didn't do a great job coaching, rather to illustrate that it is no where close to the situation at VT.
Totally agree. Rich Rod is not who this fan wants.
I'm just going to come right out and say it: why does everybody and I mean everybody hate RichRod? I've listened to multiple interviews he's done either through ESPN or others and the guy is just honest. But anyways, back to the point (and I'm certainly expecting some serious backlash on this post) I just don't get why everyone seems to absolutely hate the guy. Jerry Jones, I get. Woody Hayes, I get. Heck, Paul Johnson, I get. But I don't understand why it seems Rich Rod is almost everyone's biggest antagonist in college football.
I don't hate him but I look at Michigan and realize his downsides are deeper than CFB and I look at the rest of his coaching, don't think his upsides are higher.
I don't think Rich Rod would be an improvement at all.
I agree he comes off as a fine guy in interviews. But he went to WVU, coached at WVU, and then he didn't leave in the best way to take the Michigan job. Most Hokies aren't fond of people associated with WVU (our biggest football rival for decades) or people who leave their alma mater the way he did. Also, the baggage he has rubs people the wrong way. The Legends of Blacksburg was supposed to start building while I was at VT.
I was actually wondering why he was so hated too, until I started looking up his track record. Then it all came back.
Awesome post! Perfectly stated....agree 110%
Naysayers intentionally, unintentionally, or ignorantly seem to regularly diminish the fact that regardless of when Frank leaves, Hokie football and Virginia Tech are exponentially better than when he began because of the integrity Coach Beamer operated with over the course of his career.
Rich rod should NOT be VT's next ouch. That would be a dumpster fire. I would like yo see someone like Cam Cameron. Strong NFL and college pedigree is what I would like o see ol low Zfrank if nog Bud.i think that will bring the stability needed to transition to the next guy.
Much like the stability in t his ost.
Yeah I don't understand why this auto correct behaves this way. Thank you for ackknowledging.
Yes, stability has gotten us far, and I don't think going after Rich Rod is the way to remain stable.
Frank truly does deserve the right to walk away when he is good and ready...also he won't leave the program on a down note...he is just too damn smart and proud to do so. I am about 95% positive that Bud will take over the job when Frank does decide to hang em up and I will be happy if/when that does take place. Let Frank go out when he is good and ready...let the coordinators run the show and let CEO Frank enjoy from the press box.
I agree with you 100%. Very well said.
If the next head coach is Rich Rod and not Bud Foster
I'm going to burn every single piece of VT clothing that I own. I'll replace those items with clothing from whichever SEC school is willing to pay Foster to field elite defenses on an annual basis.
I am with you. Burn it all. Let's just bring Sandusky in...ok that's too far. Going back to the ice maker.
I will be moving on with Foster too if that piece of WVU trash is allowed to coach at VT.