The Colts have fired offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, who was a strong candidate for the Virginia Tech offensive coordinator position a few years ago. Think he gets another look this winter?
The #Colts are firing OC Pep Hamilton, source confirms (as @MikeWellsNFL said).— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 3, 2015
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I just came to report this.
Oh boy, things just got interesting.
Kirby, Pep, Bud. Please.
Gonna take a lot of HokieClub donations for that...
Fuente, Pep, Bud?
/swoon
Orrrrrrrr.... Bud, Pep, Torrian?
Oh man this should be fun
DIBS
I don't know how much of Stanford's success is due to Harbaugh or Hamilton, but I assume it was mostly Harbaugh.
That is a safe assumption.
or it could have just been Luck...
#PEP4VTHC
Just like Frank is one of the best Coaches to never win a National Title, Leo is one of the best actors never to win an Oscar
But what if they made a movie about how Leo has never won an Oscar and then that movie won an Oscar? *gasp*
...Oscarception?
I'm gonna so ahead and predict he finally lands one for The Revenant.
I say Leo goes big and buys the movie rights to "Let Me Be Frank" in which he plays Frank Beamer and wins an Oscar and shares the stage with Frank Beamer....
I know, but for the rest of this season, my Maroon and Orange goggles are just staying on.
Go on......
Any flights from Indy to Roanoke yet?
DO NOT WANT HIM. Have you watched the Colts offense this year? No HC experience anyway. Never seen people get so excited about a candidate that was just fired. SMH
Who said anything about HC ;)
Seems like a mighty fine OC hire to me :)
Watching the Colts offense, I am convinced that Luck is hurt. The pass protection has been good, Luck just has not played well.
Do you think an NFL team would let a good OC go knowing that their QB is injured and the direct cause of a putrid offense?
Most NFL teams do a lot of stupid things, especially when the head coach is starting to feel the burn.
At least half the teams in the NFL are poorly run. It's not hard to turn a profit with their setup, but the team part of it they are just bad.
That has some truth to it. He doesn't have any outstanding results as a coach since he was at Stanford. Not good enough. Hiring a guy to be HC with the rationalization that he was fired because of others around them is way too much like the federal government for my taste. Pick a better candidate please.
im not wanting him as a head coach but offensive coordinator is definitely an option. I think the offensive ineptitude that is the colts is more on Chuck Pagano than anyone. That dude cant coach his way out of a freaking box. Notice how bad the team was before Arians took over Luck's rookie year. Look how good the team got after Bruce took over. If I'm a colts fan I am thrilled that Pagano doesnt want to play for my GM anymore. That being said I dont think the GM is particularly good either
I meant more as an OC hire.
But I also meant that I have seen nothing from Pagano that leads me to believe he helps put people in the position to succeed or is a particularly effective leader of that franchise.
That can have the same effect on employees as it does in any other line of work. The Colts were #1 in passing and #2 in points last season. Hamilton didn't forget how to coach. Just seemed like a panic move by a coach who is in trouble, and I would gladly see the good guys land him in some capacity.
I mean nick saban was FIRED from the dolphins. just because he didn't have great results in the NFL doesn't mean he is no longer a good coach. everyone is clamoring for chip Kelly are they not?
There's always a list of coaches at both college and NFL level that get fired every year and everyone is fighting to hire them immediately, sometimes at the same level, sometimes at the other level.
Saban wasn't FIRED. He left
I thought he quit the Dolphins.
EDIT: an hour late. That's what happens when I leave a browser window open all day without using it.
This whole thing is sad, exciting, terrifying, and thrilling. Twitter is awash with different opinions. This latest news about Pep being released has been retweeted by almost every beat writer. French is over there waging his #JustSayNoToRichRod campaign. Bud just retweeted this.
I have no idea what I want to happen. All I can say is I trust Whit.
Good quote by Bud....couldn't be more spot on. My heart really wants him to get this shot so bad. My mind doesn't agree so much. I am with French on No Rich Rod though. Way too many other good candidates to take that on and everything that would come with it.
If Bud was paired with a stud OC who can recruit, as well as other offensive coaches who can recruit that would be the ideal situation for me. Plus, let CB go, since he isn't a great or even good recruiter and coaches a position that we hardly use now... just sayin'.
Bud was loyal and just as responsible for our success during the Beamer Era as Beamer himself. I would be sad to never see him get a chance to be head coach of the program he helped build himself.
That makes me laugh but it also makes kind of sad. My heart wants to give Bud a chance because he did help build the program. My mind says hire someone new. Conflicted over here...
Yep. Mike Barber did an interview with an Arizona radio station today that I thought accurately summed us up. We're sad to see Frank go, but we are ready for a change. Bud (or Shane) is viewed as keeping the status quo. If Frank retired after being carried of the field of a big bowl game, Bud would be a lock.
It's unfortunately some bad timing for Bud as well. As you said if Frank's last game was a New Years bowl win, or Bud's defense had looked like Bud's defense as of late, then I think there is no way Whit can go against the fan support to move him up.
As it stands now, outside of diehards on a message board, I can't imagine the response will be much of anything when he is not the next HC.
The worst possible scenario would be to hire coach X and let Bud go.......and for Bud to go to.......let's say Syracuse and completely crush it. He takes them to a National Championship.....We fall into mediocrity......
Reminds me of the Stephen Curry deal......ughhhh
Well if he does that I will be cheering my ass off for that team. But ideally Bud Foster stays.
This ^^^
If we decide to part ways with Bud, I have a hard time imagining he goes anywhere and doesn't succeed.
I'd rather deal with the regrets & downside of keeping a mind like this here than watching him turn another town into a strange new Blacksburg.
Hypothetical quandary: Pick your favorite head coach recruiticorn and have them hire away Bud as their new HC. Do you think we come out on top? Where are these programs sitting in 5 years?
Damn, I should've checked this thread before starting another about this. I feel awful for Bud.. He's not usually one to express this kind of emo stuff.
No worries, and after reading other posts on your thread, we are probably reading WAY too much into it.
Looks up "Fall Guy" in the dictionary.... Sees Pep's face.
Seriously, Luck is the reason they suck this year. For 50 minutes yesterday he was straight awful despite plays being called with receivers wide open.
It's a lot easier than firing the franchise QB, that's for certain. The Colts have too much invested in Luck (in many ways, not just $$ upcoming) to put his poor play on him just yet.
Hamilton really should have not thrown all those atrocious picks. He might still have his gig...
Luck is clearly injured. I'm not sure why he is playing, and if the Colts aren't careful he might never reach his full potential.
He still has stretches of dominance, but there are some stretches where it looks like his body is about to physically give in and he makes poor decisions as a result of it.
I'm no expert by any means, but from reading articles here, one of Frenchs big knocks on Lefty is that his complex schemes and focus on exploiting match-ups is better suited for the NFL... will we have the same complaint about Pep also? There's no sense changing OCs to just get in on the ground floor of another Lefty
I don't think Pep is looking for an OC role. He wasn't selected for the Raiders and Bills because he didn't have enough experience. Also, he turned down Vandy, but that's a hard job. From his resume it would be safe to assume he just wants a quick turnaround and then bolt. Maybe Stanford's offense was more Shaw then Pep?
Crazy theory...
VT hires Pep as HC, figuring his NFL experience plus Stanford OC experience is a good enough substitute for the head coaching experience everyone says is a prerequisite. (Remember the Whit comment about not believing everything you read from last night's Tech Talk Live discussion) Bud's understandably heartbroken about being passed over for the promotion and finally decides that if he wants a shot at the big whistle, he'll need to accept a second-tier job someplace like Temple. Three years from now, after reinvgorating VT's program and leading the Hokies to an impressive New Years Six bowl victory over Ohio State, Pep predictably bolts for an NFL head coaching opportunity, leaving the door open for the triumphant return of a now-proven BUD FREAKING FOSTER, who finally leads the Hokies to the promised land, filling the trophy case built by his friend and mentor so many years ago.
The long con boys...it's all about the long con.
Who would Frank want to be our next head coach? Realistically, I would have to say Bud. I 100% want Bud as HC. He deserves it. If things don't go well, then make a change, but I think it is the right thing to do. New coaches that don't have ties to VT will always be out there to hire, but if we pass on Bud now, I worry we might regret that.
THIS!
Frank has said several times that he wants the next coach to come from our staff. The only names he's really mentioned have been Bud and Shane, but I appreciate that Frank has said that he wants no part in picking his successor. He knows Whit can get it done and that he will be around to be an advisor when needed. I think people might need to start trying to accept the possibility that nobody on our current coaching staff might be around next year. It's frightening, but Whit is smarter than to hamstring our next coach by forcing him to keep coaches he may not want to keep.
Yeah, I'm with you on this. I've loved the continuity and "family atmosphere," but that doesn't mean it's in VT's long-term best interest to retain current coaches. Almost all the contracts expire this year anyway, and a new coach should have the latitude to get things done his way. That includes, with people of his choosing - which might (but very well might not) include people currently on staff.
We were all excited about the possibility of Pep Hamilton a few years back, because of how successful the Stanford offense was. Pro-style, will-crushing power running, with a respectable passing structure. Classic Hokie-style football.
But....
Bud has said on multiple occasions that if he was the HC, he would want to run a wide-open spread attack. I've heard the argument that the mid-Atlantic talent pool is much better suited to such an offense; the 757 produces a lot of silly-talented skill position players, but not a lot of beefy road-grader OL.
So, if the HC-mandated offensive identity isn't necessarily going to be the ball-control power game, do we want Hamilton?
(For clarity, my answer is "sure," because I *like* that kind of offense. But I don't think it should be a foregone conclusion.)
Is he bringing an Andrew Luck type QB with him if he comes?
Has he done anything that didn't include Luck, ever?
Played QB at Howard University 1993-1996.
1997–2001 Howard University (QB)
1999–2001 Howard University (OC)
2003 New York Jets (Offensive QC)
2004 New York Jets (QB)
2005 New York Jets (WR)
2006 San Francisco 49ers (QB)
2007–2009 Chicago Bears (QB)
2010 Stanford (WR)
2011–2012 Stanford (OC/QB)
2013–2015 Indianapolis Colts (OC)
So, he's really only had 3 and a half years coaching Luck, most of it in the pros. Luck was at Stanford 2009-2011.
Yeah, he was the OC when Stanford won the Rose Bowl in 2012. That was with a raw Freshman version of Kevin Hogan. Finished #7 in the AP Poll. That was a really good football team.
HC = Bud Foster (because he's done the most to earn first crack at replacing Beamer)
OC = Pep
DC = Torrian Gray (No way Kirby Smart leaves DC of Bama to be DC of VT under Bud)
I've been on board the Fuente hype train basically since all of this started picking up speed. But Damn if that isn't exactly what my heart wants to see happen.
This would be a great scenario. Also give young beamer an option to go be HC at a smaller school and possibly return later after Bud. Or move Shane to primarily the special teams coach and (Associate Head Coach) which I think he would be great at.
How exceptionally convenient.
Are the stars aligning?