Not sure how official this is. It's from the Richmond Times Dispatch so take a read and rejoice with me!
http://vtsports.blogs.timesdispatch.com/2013/01/17/virginia-tech-fired-q...
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really?
O'cain says he had no idea he was going to be fired but really? I may be a first time poster but even I knew he wasnt going to be on the team next season
key is /during the season/ O'Cain had no idea. Says something of his obliviousness perhaps. Or maybe like a good coach he didn't waste time thinking about getting fired, and instead focused on doing the best he could that season.
Beamer probably didn't start talking about the changes w/ the staff, encouraging them to look for other work, etc. until December.
O'Cain knew long before that final conversation, he's been interviewing for FCS jobs all winter.
*Insert awesome GIF I can't upload on my phone here*
Hallelujah
Praise Jesus!! This makes me ecstatic! I hope we get the official news soon, like the article said. And I do hope Mike O'Cain gets a job in the very least. I wish that much for him. At an FCS school in the very least :P
how can he possibly expect not to be fired. he had no clue? it appears to me as though he's trying to show his positive points on his way out so that he can get a job elsewhere
Stats
His stats quote shows just how out of touch he was. Wish him the best but I'm glad he is gone.
Really?
After watching Lance "come clean" I think we need a one-on-one with Oprah and O'Cain. It would go something like this... Oprah: "So Mike, you really didn't expect to be fired after the rough season you had?" O'Cain: "No I did not." Oprah:"Now mike, we agreed to tell the truth...."
Welp
It's been a while since Beamer's fired anyone, so naturally I'm interested in what O'Cain, or any former member of the staff really, has/had to say. In O'Cain's case, it wasn't that much.
Statistics are most certainly overblown. Trends, correlations, and conclusions backed by stats, however, are not. In 2011, 2010, and 2009 when Tech was 3rd, 18th, and 51st nationally in time of possession, they were also 35th, 41st, and 50th in total offense. By comparison, in 2012, 2007 and 2006 the Hokies were 81st, 100th and 99th in total offense, and 57th, 67th, and 83rd in time of possession. Yes, Beamer wants a crew cut offense that methodically gobbles up yards on the ground, but when effectively executed, it does exactly that, and the numbers add up.
I don't think the average fan pores through statistics. They consume snack food, what's in the paper, or on the scoreboard. The eye test isn't quantifiable, but it's how most people judge the team. The heat was turned down in 2009-11 because the offense was palatable. This year, O'Cainspring's lipstick-on-a-pig offense was mostly sloppy, out of sync, overly complicated, unproductive, and brought back memories of the 'O' prior to '09.
Finally, is this O'Cain just shooting straight? Or a knock on some combination of Stinespring and Beamer? I honestly don't know.
HOW. DO. YOU. NOT. KNOW!? I just can't...
I'll take O'Cain at his word. Here are my thoughts:
With all that said, O'Cain part of a staff that won a bunch of games, consistently beat UVa, and contended for ACC Championships. I wish him the best.
I really think that he blamed George Whitfield and screwed up what GW had taught Logan. Constantly getting O'Cain's quaterbacking 'wizardry' in your headset during a game as well as trying to remember what you've learned 6-9 months ago is a recipe for disaster.
I'm a big MLB fan, and part of that is....
...the statistical analysis. I'm surprised that football hasn't come as far yet, seems like the equivalent of WAR, FIP, ERA+, OPS, etc should be part of the everyday parlance at this point.
And that's what I would look for in an OC. Somebody who isn't saying, "Well, we went into four corners when up 2 scores." THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN BE INEFFICIENT. It's like that 8th inning at bat when you're up by 6 runs, it's still your job to see pitches, work the pitcher, and (the key to baseball): find someway to not make an out.
it's like the criticism of Pep in context to VT. "Well, his YPG was about exactly what VT's was this year." Yeah, but his efficiency on offense was 60 slots higher...with a QB mess.
I'd like to point out
That it also requires you to be up by 2 scores... which only happened thrice all season:
Home against Austin Peay
Home against Bowling Green
Home against Dook
THIS
...
Football Outsiders is getting there
They have FEI, S&P, etc. Baseball's statistical community has a huge head start on the other sports- Bill James started his work in 1977, while FO started in 2003. Plus baseball lends itself to statistics better than the other sports and has done a better job of tracking stats over time with box scores.
FO had VT's offense at 76th in efficiency this year. Last year they were 26th. In 2010 they were 11th.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/feiplus
SSS - small sample size. Baseball has HUGE sample size, football does not. Also, batting and pitching is so isolated, 1 on 1 battles. It's easy to get so many statistics that prove individual worth. Football requires so much reliability on teammates, it's harder to prove individual worth. To me, the only statistics that are significant in football are QB efficiency/rating, Redzone efficiency, and TO margin. All the others simply indicate what one team does well, but does not necessarily correlate to wins and losses, since they're not directly related to points scored.
I say
Beamer had to fire him. Newsome and Sherman 'left', and O'cain was openly courting other positions, but couldn't get hired (maybe because he isn't very good at his job?). And you KNEW Beamer wasn't going to get rid of his second son BS and he just moved him to another position. So, to make way for the new OC to bring in his people Beamer had to get rid of O'Cain.
The average fan who watches a fair amount of football, even if they don't pour over stats every week, could use the ole eye test (while not quantifiable but verified by relevant statistics) and see that the offense stunk on ice in 06, 07, and 2012.
No hokie wishes ill for the departing coaches
Hope they wind up fine. It was time to end.
As far as O'Cain being unaware, I'm happy he was focused on the game, but he has to be lying; this had to be in the back of his mind at the very least.
Anyways, best of luck to O'Cain, Sherman and even Newsome in future endeavors.
Yesssss!
It's happening!
Drink!
Somewhat strange...
O’Cain said he was aware of growing fan unrest surrounding the offense’s productivity, but said he did not know changes were coming until the offseason.
“There was never any indication during the season that anything was going to happen,” O’Cain said. “I’ve been in this profession for 36 years. You know when things aren’t going good and you’re struggling and there’s a disgruntled bunch out there, for whatever the reason, that that could happen. But I had no inclination that it was going to happen.”
Does Frank not give his coaches feedback? What did he say after those poor offensive showings to his coaches? Good try? Your doing your best, keep at it? Maybe he was not going to do anything and felt some pressure from his superiors as the season was coming to a close.
Then there is Stinespring. Does he get a pass because he is a nice guy and a good recruiter? In 2011 when O'Cain was in the booth alone one could argue that he did a better job calling plays then the years Stinespring was handling those responsibilities.
I am glad change is finally here, but it is well overdue in my opinion. Stinespring remaining is my only issue. That being said if we can not be better without his recruiting I guess I can deal with him still being there. Here's to a successful future. Go Hokies! BEATBAMA!
Stinespring is akin to Al Groh (minus the lack of success). He's a good personnel coach, but not so much a coordinator. Groh was a good coordinator (GT just sucked at running his style and needed a scapegoat) but sucks as a head coach. Stinespring's lines used to be solid when he was the OL coach and not the OC. He will do fine at TE coach with more recruiting responsibilities.
Might I suggest
The next episode of "Adventures on Whiskey Lane" be done in the style of SNL's "REALLY?! with Seth and Amy" skits.
REALLY, Mike O'Cain, you aren't a "stats" guy in a heavily stats-reliant industry?
REALLY, Mike O'Cain, you had "NO INCLINATION" it was going to happen???
REALLY, Mike O'Cain, have you never met the internet?
But seriously, best wishes to Coach O'Cain and many, many thanks for his service to our great university.
So what gets done with this....
www.firemikeocain.com
My guess
Is that he was fired only because he wasn't able to secure a job for himself before the formal announcement. This makes me think we'll hear something today.
I never knew he was a head coach. He actually has a nice résumé. Glad he is gone but he will be ok.
MOC is the unusual bird....
who went from QB Coach to HC. He wasn't an OC until after his 10 year stint as HC @ NCSU.
And Clemson hated him as OC (and he's a clemson alum).
Awesome!!!
This is a great day.
Now we know why O'Cainspring didn't play up to their potential
“We’d go into the four corners, Dean Smith offense,” O’Cain said. “It’s about winning the game.”
He obviously thought that they were coaching basketball.
I can't disagree with the decision...
but why does BS constantly get a pass??!! I would say MOC and KS were our better to offensive coaches. MOC developed TT and made LT3 a QB (instead of a TE). BS has 11+ years of disastrous offensive (un)coordinating. CFB didn't even fire Newsome...who was a total dumpster fire.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're making the changes. But why FIRE him? Give him the chance to retire or resign on his own...CFB gave everyone else the chance.
To me this just looks like CFB covering up for BS yet again (execution, talent gap, system, OCain's play calling, etc.).
O'Cain has had the same opportunities to secure other jobs that Sherman and Newsome have had. He just didn't land anything, and Beamer sat him down and made it clear that he wasn't going to be retained @VT.
Lets be clear. Sherman was fired. Newsome was fired. O'cain was fired. When your boss is helping you find a job at another company that's a lateral move or a demotion, YOU ARE BEING FIRED.
Developing is one thing, but continuing to make adjustments both on the fly and in between games is crucial and I'm not so sure that was taking place. People can speculate all they want as to whether or not Whitfield screwed up LT3's mechanics, but the truth of the matter is a strong QB coach should be able to understand the basic mechanical fundamentals and make the necessary adjustments. It is very similar to a pitching coach in baseball; its not like Phillies Coach Rich Dubee looks at Roy Halladay in between starts and says, "Yep, you're good!"
There were clear, well documented errors surrounding LT3's throwing problems that you or I could point out from Row LL in the East Stands, yet all we saw & heard from MOC was how much GW might have effed up Logans mechanics not, "We're reviewing the tape and making adjustments during the week." Hopefully Loeffler brings that to the table.
And in regards to MOC vs. BS, MOC doesn't really bring much to the table outside of coaching QBs. BS is a phenomenal recruiter, and to my knowledge MOC has done diddly in terms of recruiting. So why bother keeping him around?
I was pointing them out from row 4K.
If 3 days spent with a Quarterback Specialist, who has shown great work in the past, can "ruin" a quarterback so bad that you can't fix it in NINE MONTHS, there is no way you are doing your job right.
He got fired
aka he couldn't find another job in time aka he sucks.
He knew, he's just trying to play the Manti Te'o "victim" card.
It's called
a positive spin.
So in the O'Cain-Te'o analogy
Our offense was deceased and completely fictitious? Sounds about right.
REALLY?
Anyone else picture this guy with O'Cains face when they read that article?
Office Space
The Bob's: "Frank we discovered that O'cain was let go over a year ago but because of a pay roll error he was still getting checks and thought he was coaching games"
Frank: "So you fired him?"
The Bob's: "We called pay roll and fixed the glitch. We dont like to fire people its too confrontational."
I know a guy that works for the athletic department and he said O'Cain is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. I feel bad for him, but we all know it was time to move on.
Best of luck to him in the future.
The Surprise
I'm surprised O'Cain got the hook while Stinespring was spared. When describing the offense, they were inseparable to the point we called the OC O'Cainspring. Severing off one without the other seems like they are making O'Cain to be the scapegoat, while Stinespring was free of error. If I'm O'Cain, that would make me upset.
Used car salesman
That's the difference. Stiney can sell any kid VT pretty much
Mike O'Canned?
Ha just kidding. Good luck to him.