Don't know much about his credibility, but this is definitely suggesting Morris to VT...
Whit did it! Great QB coach, recruiter and spread coming to VT! HokieFootballIsBack— Bill Lawson (@Bill_Lawson_TX) November 20, 2015
#Hokies, get ready to end the message board speculation. Announcement coming as soon as Tuesday. #WhitIsTheMan— Bill Lawson (@Bill_Lawson_TX) November 27, 2015
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Comments
Yea I
wouldn'tcan't read much into this...Is the tweet not showing up for anybody else? Just me?
just you i think
https://twitter.com/Bill_Lawson_TX/status/667832070526275585
Awesome, thanks man.
+1
His website seems legit
Couldn't that also be Hernan? I wish
I was just going to say that it could be Herman as well.
Houston just approved a nice pay raise for Herman, who I'm not so sure it'll be him.
But, God, wouldn't it be nice.
Don't look now but Memphis put together a nice package for Fuente too...
Don't look now but Memphis put together a nice package for Fuente too...
Last I saw Herman hadn't signed his new contract.
this picture is even more funny given the guy "saying" that has some serious camel toe going on
Am I the only one on here old enough to recognize Frank Gifford?
He kinda reminds me of a better looking Blake Griffin.
Houston is a long way from Dallas-Fort Worth. If this tweet is to be believed, it's much more likely to be referring to Chad Morris.
Pfft...piker.
Until I hear it from this guy, I'm a skeptic.
It's my money, and I need it now!
It's my money, and I need it now!
877-CASH-NOOOOWWWWWW
Where's my Viking hat, honey? They need me on the internet!
I would think the one most known for QB coach would be Fuente given what he is doing w current QB. Either way with that info it could be Herman or Morris as well. All great hires.
Herman turned a former wide receiver into a beast at QB this year
But can he convert TEs?
only if he's got dork magic
Just out of curiosity, of the billions of tweets sent out every day, how did you stumble upon this one? Not bashing or anything, just such a random account to find
OXVT, the statistics Twitter account for Tech Sideline, retweeted it.
Aah ok. I follow ox, but must have missed this one. It is interesting, I wouldn't be against seeing Morris in Blacksburg
I'm guessing this would indicate Morris, right?
With news coming out that Herman and Fuente have received big counter offers from their respective schools, I'm starting to think less and less that it's either of those two. Could be wrong, but we have been hearing way too much smoke the past day or two about it being a done deal and already signed. If that is the case, why would Houston and Memphis publicly be trying to keep them if they know they've already signed a contract elsewhere?
Don't know if this tweet is credible at all, but that could be a few different people. I'm starting to have a feeling it's someone that hasn't been talked about much publicly. Could be in for a surprise.
Or maybe nothing was ever a done deal and we just made offer(s).
There have also been reports about Charlie Strong wanting out. He's a Miami alum, but maybe VT has offered him more money and he's considering a move to Blacksburg? It could also be Gary Patterson if we're continuing with the under the radar thinking.
I was under the impression that both Strong and Patterson are defensive-minded coaches. I've really been leaning toward Richt lately, but the spread description doesn't really fit with him. Chad Morris would definitely fit the bill.
Maybe. As in a 0.1% chance.
I highly doubt Strong leaves Texas. The AD wants to keep him and he has been adamant about staying in Austin.
If one believes in the simplest inductive inference, the cumulative data out there (although somewhat speculative) suggest Morris.
Morris has a very strong VT connection (I argue the strongest). Morris is on record on his admiration and desire for the VT HC job. Probably has no real reason to stay at SMU. If it's already a done deal (or virtually done), Morrison has the easiest way out (no bowl, not as many hard feelings). And as you pointed out, Houston and Memphis are trying to entice their coaches to stay. All other major coaches are not leaving their jobs unless they're fired.
Hiring Morris looks good on Whit's end. Morris's offense beat up VT pretty bad the last times they competed. Morris has proven he can improve an ACC offense from mediocre to elite levels. Little Beamer and Bud have GREAT chances to stay on staff.
Damn. Autocorrect is a bitch.
All fixed. Not sure why had Morrison on the brain (besides the fact my wife works for a firm called Morrison & Foerster)
No offense, but your wife works for a bunch of mofos http://www.mofo.com/
I have a friend in IP, Mofo is one of the top firms.
Technically, my wife is MoFo. My wife helps Patent lawyers file with US Patent & Trademark Office, thus I know a lot of MoFo IP attorneys (although in San Diego). I am actually in law school now to become a patent attorney (but not for MoFo). It's pretty good gig if you want to use your technical degree on a non-traditional platform.
Yeah, several of my friends have been gearing up for the LSAT or the Patent Bar. Sounds like a pretty good career. Good luck on your studies!
I just don't see Fuente and Herman staying at their respective schools. They have a lot of better programs that would throw Brinks trucks at them to pass down on.
If we wanted Fuente, I'm not sure Memphis could pony up enough cash to compete with us. Houston is probably a different matter.
He definitely doesn't seem like the most credible guy, but the official Tech Talk Live Twitter account follows him, so that could mean something.
For whatever it is worth, he tweeted the Loeffler hire four days before the official announcement.
My memory isn't sharp enough to remember when the hire became public knowledge. I don't have a basis for comparison.
Looking back, January 14th is when the news was leaked to the media
Okay, this tweet was posted almost an hour after Bruce Feldman broke the story and we reported it here.
I am looking through his history to see if he implied Loeffler prior to the Feldman story.
For what it's worth I believe he married a hokie. Although this could be untrue!
If he had no qualms with naming the new coach then why does he not now? Either he's just blowing smoke or he's gloating in his insider knowledge. It's kind of like how I torture my kids with the fact that I know what they are going to get for Christmas each year.
I just looked up where his company is located. It's in Hurst, TX. The only notable football guys from Hurst are former NFL QB Tommy Maddox, former NFL DB Ron Faurot and former Raiders head coach Dennis Allen (defensive guy). So there's that.
As a Steelers fan, I remember that magical season with Tommy Maddox. I never thought I would hear his name again, but #TommyMaddox4HC
I'm also a Steelers fan and chuckled when I first saw Tommy's name.
There can only be one XFL champion ... ever
The XFL was the best. I watched a show on it once, I think it was the failure to get a TV deal between Vince McMahon and a network that led to its downfall
2 Thoughts:
1. They had a major screw-up by holding zero preseason games before their much hyped NBC Saturday night debut and that game was awful, as could be expected. By the end of the season, the games were quite good to watch but the damage was done.
2. They should have NEVER said the letters "N F L" on their broadcasts. They wanted to appear like a cool and tough alternate. Alas, Joe SixPack was watching at home and kept hearing the announcers knock the NFL and thought "This isn't as good as the NFL" I really think that was a tactical error.
They were the nWo to the NFL's WCW
It is interesting how many broadcast innovations the XFL fathered. The cable camera (over the field). Camermen running onto the field, practically in the huddle. Both first used on XFL broadcasts.
Not to mention the cheerleader locker room cam.
Vince McMahon is truly a genius. Definitely the biggest alum to come from our permanent rival ECU
It's right outside Dallas, so I'm assuming he has some sort of connection to SMU/ Chad Morris if the tweet is indeed true.
There's also these tweets in his recent past.
Those two, to set up the context for this:
And you know, he doesn't specifically say HC....so it could be Bud getting his wish.
His wish being HC @ VT?
Lawson's tweet does not indicate anything like that:
"Whit did it! Great QB coach, recruiter and spread coming to VT! HokieFootballIsBack"
Bud as HC, Morris as OC.
So Morris steps up from OC at Clemson to a head coaching job at SMU to then step back down to be OC at tech? That makes no sense...
No, it doesn't. Unless there's some long term scenario where Bud is coach for 5-10 years and then Morris would easily take over after that.
And I'm not advocating or believing that. I'm just pointing out the vagueness of the tweet, and how it doesn't specifically refer to the VT HC position.
That scenario still makes no sense... Just sayin'
LOL...some people just live in fantasy land.
yea I see a 0% chance of that happening. Morris wants a big time HC position
Sumlin?
There is this tweet from last year:
Would love to replace ECU with Texas A&M....or anyone else for that matter
This could actually give me nightmares.
NO KILL IT WITH FIRE
He seems to have broken the Scoreboard upgrade back in 2013 as well. Interesting. Very interesting.
http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2013/february/17/new-scoreboard
Edit: Broken may not be the best word. Whatevs. You get it.
I read that as he literally broke the scoreboard.
Folks over at this other place seem to be dead set that it's Fuente...
From a Scout.com article on Wednesday:
To sum it up:
-Charlie Strong wanted Chad Morris or Tom Herman as his OC
-Gary Patterson was also interested in Morris
-Morris wanted to get back to Texas (which may suggest he doesn't want to leave)
Even if we were able to lure him away from SMU, it sounds like there would be a big risk for him to go back if Texas or A&M were to open up.
Being that his son Dwayne plays football for VT his insider info does seem legit!
From what I'm reading, seems like Tom Herman may in fact be our next coach #sauces
Herman has been reportedly linked to Mizzou and USCe. I haven't seen him linked in a report to VT, which would be similar to how Whit hired Buzz.
Mizzou report: https://twitter.com/DavidCMorrison/status/667110894598537216
USCe report: http://collegead.com/university-south-carolina-20/
Of course, he did just get a raise at Houston. It's just a guessing game at this point.
He didn't officially get the raise. The president and AD were approved to offer him the raise as a part of a new contract. Same with Fuente. As far as I know, neither have signed new contracts.
Correct. I was just going to correct that point.
No worries. I've seen a couple of other people say this not realizing it. Regardless, the timing of these two coaches getting pay related news in addition to the smoke coming from some boards is very curious.
These are my conclusions as well.
I have heard enough misinformation in the last 24 hours to know that I don't have a friggin clue who this is going to be.
I think it's going to be someone that was born at some point in the past. That's about as far as we can narrow it down.
I hope it's not Hitler
Me too Buddy, me too...
But that Blitzkrieg Offense.... I'm ashamed to admit it, but it make me drool...
Early pioneer of the spread attack
Stinespring
Isn't this guy, in that area, looking for a job? Maybe he'll start his HC career at the college level:
QBs have put up phenominal numbers when he has coached this year. You may be onto something.
He used to go into my favorite bar in New Orleans after Saints wins and buy drinks for the whole bar. I'd be ok with this hire
If you were a college kid looking for free drinks, that would be fine.
Heard a stat the other day that the Saints defense has been so bad that only 1 team in NFL history has ever been worse. A team from the 1930s that was so bad that the NFL disbanded them mid-season that year, ouch.
OK....looking back at this: Great QB coach, recruiter, and spread.
The recruiter part probably rules out Fuente.
The timing part would have to rule out Fedora along with likely the QB part.
Everything but spread rules out Rich Rod.
If it were someone who has been a winning HC for awhile it would rule out guys like Richt, Patterson, or most any other big name coach ect. I would think he would have mentioned something about winning or experience in his decription.
Really that just leaves Herman, and Morris...maybe someone like Sumlin but I would have to think its one of those two.
The description fits Herman more than anyone, to me at least.
From what I am reading it may not be a done deal, but that it is very close and that it is believed that Houston made that offer in attempts to keep him there.
When I first saw the Herman reports, this was my first thought.
Yeah. Im not sure this guy was that concerned with defining them perfectly. All we have is that little bit of info to over analyze. Given what Ohio State did in the playoffs last year you would have to think Herman would be considered a very good QB coach with just that alone.
Don't forget about his WR turned QB and working with a backup QB this year. It does make a lot of sense.
Yeah I didn't realize that one
Not sure which I would like better:
PeeWee all the way. Jambi for OC, Cowboy Curtis for DC.
Upon further thought, the tweets that French posted earlier seem to suggest this is a guy with VT connections rather than Texas school connections (SMU, Houston) He may know who our future coach is, but I think the fact that he is from Dallas is just a coincidence.
Just please don't be RichRod.
I am digging that fishing logo. Saltwater any?
Strictly bass fishing for me. Living in Chesterfield and still in high school so my options are kinda confined to the local reservoirs and ponds. I do enjoy hitting the bay sometimes to do some Striper fishing though!
We have officially entered crazyland. All I am sure of right now is that it isn't Curt Newsome. I sure hope I am right about that.
DUDE. Knock on wood.
Another note: Tom Herman is from Cincinnati, Ohio. Perhaps Herman would want to move closer to home to a P5 school. Virginia Tech will be the best job available no matter what that's close to Cincinnati.
James Franklin could also be an under the radar candidate. But he's already in his home state at Penn State. But he's an offensive-minded guy. Just another name that popped in my mind.
James Franklin has done nothing to deserve the VT job.
Franklin is a terrific recruiter and a horrible in-game coach. His offensive coaching staff is not very good at all.
I agree that Franklin isn't deserving, but it was just another thought that crossed my mind. I don't even know if he'd be interested. I personally don't want him.
Tom Herman may have been born in Cincinnati, Ohio but he was raised in Southern California. IMHO, if there is any place Mr. Herman would call home, it would be where he grew up.
True, but pairing it with coaching at Ohio State? Obviously OSU can recruit anybody from anywhere, but there were a good amount of offensive recruits from Cincinnati, Columbus and quite a few of recruits from Virginia and Florida too. I think that would bode well for recruiting at Virginia Tech.
Houston... We have a coach ;)
But will he be 12-0 or 0-12?
Oh please please please........
I can neither confirm nor deny....
Actually, I really can't, I've just been wanting to say that for a while. Who knows? Maybe I'll be right.
100% sure it's a coach
100% sure he's been born and still alive
100% sure the contract is or is not signed
100% sure it's not Beamer
99% sure it's not me
In summary. 499% sure.
Times infinity
His math checks out!
Lol! That's like asking
What if all this is really a hoax and Frank is actually coming back to coach next year?
What if the sun was blue?
#Jayne4HC
#HeroOfCanton4HC
While entertaining I can't imagine we'd actually win too many games. Besides, he'd never keep Bud. You can't have these two guys on the same sideline without some sort of spontaneous combustion taking place
If we get Herman, Whit deserves a statue and a huge raise. I will lose my ever-loving mind due to the excitement.
If we hire Herman, drinks are on me.
I'll remember that.
I hope that's not a body shot type of comment.
One rail please kind sir
Herman is the homerun hire...
Bud had a pretty good strike out against him last year though...just sayin
I just spent some time on another VT sports site. I now know that the next coach is definitely going to be Herman, Morris, fuente, right, miles, or some other coach not named. Everybody is positioning himself for the I told you so comments without actually saying anything at all.
But, more importantly, the formatting on that other site sucks. Thanks Joe for making such a user friendly atmosphere at TKP.
Too bad Brewer is a Senior. Him having his old high school coach as VT's head coach would have been cool. But...nothing is in "Hokie Stone" yet.
Here's a leg for using Hokie Stone the way you did! #InventTheFuture
I don't think this guys location has anything to do with his knowledge of the next coach. He may just have insider information.
I also like all the Herman references. He's my top pick.
So is Bill Lawson from Texas related to John Lawson, the WB Jordan CEO from Va in the #Flightracker2015 thread?
I talked to someone about this earlier. We couldn't figure it out, but it could be possible.
Bill went to VT from 85-86, then went in the Army. John graduated in 75. Johns father was a VT grad and founded WB Jordan.
Supposition: Bill is the younger brother, went to VT and it didn't go well. His brother was moving up in the family biz. Dad sent Bill to the military to get his shit together. Bill gets shit together, has a nice career in litigation finance. John has a great career, CEO of biggest GC in VA, rector at VT. Younger bro Bill is the loose lips of the family.
What if I told you the next head coach will be in the stadium tomorrow? Not saying, just saying.
So, who fits the description in Lawson's tweet AND could be available to be there on a Sat? ...(eyes bulge)... Chip Kelly.
Well then that'd be obvious like the answers to these celebrity Jeopardy categories
I'll take The Rapists for $200
The Pen is Mightier!
Anal Bum Cover for $400.
I assume Bud Foster will be at the game
It should also be noted that Larry Fedora played college ball semi-close to Dallas and coached High School in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in addition to being from College Station, TX and coaching at Baylor for a few years.
I think this guy may have found similar qualities on three major coaching possibilities and is trolling us... But he does have some credibility
Disclaimer .. 4th hand info haha
Take it for what it is. A guy I trust posted that he heard
the exact same thingdifferent things from THREE very reliable sources who "would bet on it"Herman, Morris or Jones
reply to one of the posts above:
The fact that Herman and Fuentes were offered big raises .. There's a very good chance that implies that they both have offers in hand and are vetting their options .. I made the mistake of accepting a job offer once without extending a courtesy to my current employer and allowing them to make a counter offer .. Made an assumption that they wouldn't counter enough or at all. Will never make that mistake again. The fact that Herman and Fuente have neither signed the new contract could also imply that it wasn't good enough. Even if they haven't taken calls for HC jobs YET, it would be in their best interest to hold off as long as they could on signing the new contract
I assume you are referring to Butch Jones? I live in TN and I've watched him rebuild the UT program. It's still a work in process, but he's put a lot into it. His recruiting success is well publicized. I just don't see him jumping ship now.
Yes .. Butch Jones .. I think he is doubtful too though. Not sure how reputable that tweet is .. Based on it, I'd say Herman, Morris, or Fuente ... But who the hell really knows???
Herman would be the buzziest hire of the offseason I think...the best? That's yet to be seen
Jones is a season or two at most away from possibly winning the SEC East. I don't think he's going anywhere.
There is no way it is Butch Jones. He has pulled in a couple of top ten recruiting classes at Tennessee and the team was within a few 4th quarter last minute losses from having an excellent record. The team is very young and should see a breakthrough back into the top 25 next year, based on players returning, players maturing and greater depth. Bristol will probably set the tone for a very good season for Butch. UT is in the best SEC division, right now anyway, to make a run at the playoffs in the next few years. Oh, and Tennessee could easily top any offer Va Tech puts on the table, in the event Butch is even interested. Unfortunately, financial support from Hokies is below where it should be compared to our peers.
I hope we snag a young rising star if the choice is not Foster (+ a new O staff).
raise your hand if you're tired of all this and want to know who the flippin coach will be already.
So impatient...
Could this be describing Gary Patterson instead? Seems like it would fit the bill
That would be a hell of a hire if Whit could pull that off.
No, Patterson was a renowned DC before becoming a HC.
Gotcha, didn't know his background before becoming HC.
Gary Patterson's QB coach was....
Justin Fuente.
Also, I hope it's Herman and not Morris. Even if he can't beat UConn.
The way Ohio State's offense went from incredible to average with pretty much the same players, at the same time Herman took Houston to new heights in both on-field performance and recruiting in his first season, has me convinced he should absolutely be at the top of our list right now.
Ding Ding Ding! Winner!
This is what I've been trying to say!
I agree but hold the phone for a second...
Houston tends to hire good people and maintain some semblance of a strong organization, including having a history that includes Art Briles and Kevin Sumlin as coaches before Herman.
They might just be a great program that develops coaches. Houston also has some history being at the plus ten-win mark (see link above) prior to Herman, including in the old SWC with Texas, Ok, et. al.
So 'new heights'? No, not really. But 'big success', yeah, except for UConn yesterday. Herman is quality, no argument there.
There is a lot of buzz about the Big 12 expanding. If so, Houston would be a logical choice. Even more reason for Herman to stay.
Welcome to the club.
Awesome, our next coach is Carl Weathers!!! There is no way this doesn't work out.
Unless we play the Gators...
Wish I could give you multiple legs for this brilliant post.
True story. That one took a second for me to put together.
Not gonna lie, after posting it, I immediately had to go to IMDB to make sure it was actually Carl Weathers and not Billy Dee Williams that played Chubbs.
Bud
WF, MD, Duke , NC / 0-4 in overtime games, when a defensive stop would have won the game.
Man, this is a sobering reality -- look at that list of teams. We lost to them all in OT. I remember when we could pretty much chalk each of those up as an easy win. Maybe not UNC, but certainly the others. Sigh....
I mean if you're gonna include MD you should include Marshall which we won, same with BC 2012, GT 2012,. So 3-4 from 2012. 1-4 from 2013.
To be fair, it's hard to get a stop in overtime, Ideally you'd like to hold to a FG, which we did in more than one instance in the games you mention
Wow, talk about irrelevant stats...
Anyway we can watch highlights of SMU and Houston games? Would love to see those offensive highlights without going through ESPN replays on their site.
Matt Rhule still continues to impress me. Fairly sure this tweet wasn't about him, but I wouldn't mind that hire one bit.
If you guys want a dark horse, completely under the radar hire, look up Mike Bajakian. Butch Jones' OC at Cincinnati and Tennessee. Left last year the coach QBs for the Tampa Bay Bucs. He was a missed phone call away from being HC at Central Michigan this year. He had already signed with Tampa. Knows Whit well, and runs the offense he likes. Obviously an outside shot, but a lot of times, these things end up being someone that you least expect.
HC or OC for Bud?
Won't happen - Whit won't hire anyone without HC experience, unless he whiffs on 7 HC's and Bud Foster.
Ugh, the rest of this guy's Tweet history is seeping with cringe.
Multiple sources have confirmed...Thanksgiving will be Thursday.
Monday, Wednesday and Saturday were up for consideration with Friday getting the nod to kick off the Christmas shopping season!
Wow, a major snub of Tuesday to not even be considered.
yeah, f**k Tuesday. worthless day IMO /s
FTFY
Shoot, on Black Friday, noon is like a primetime game, or even one of the Pac-12 nightcaps.
Heck, it might actually be closer to Hawaii's midnight kickoff.
Or..."spread" refers to the caterers for Thanksgiving.
This whole time I never realized #sauces were referring to cranberry sauce.
Fwiw, have been told it's Morris, and we are keeping Bud, TG and Charley. But, that will probably change tomorrow !
Did your source claim to have been told this by Bud? Btw I love the caveat at the end, lol.
Edit: I just saw you edited. Disregard the question.
Actually the answer is yes, but thought that was too much info.
Seems like the most logical scenario right now. Herman would need to hear what other jobs open up, Morris can be feel assured that this is the best gig he's going to be offered right now. Richt or Miles aren't available yet. Fuente doesn't meet the "great recruiter" description. Rhule isn't a QB guru like mentioned in this tweet.
Why.....why does VT seem like a ceiling for Morris but Herman can have any job he wants?? Plus VT is one of the best jobs available so why wouldn't Herman look here. What other school is he waiting for that is a better job than Tech??
LSU
Herman is from an established coaching tree. He has coached on a national championship team, and after leaving that team, he had success elsewhere. Morris's resume just isn't as pretty, but I think he would be a great hire.
All depends on who USC and LSU firing/hiring. If LSU hires Jimbo or Strong or someone like that, then FSU or Texas become available, and then dominoes start to fall.
Getting a bit off topic, but this could be the year that a legitimate P5 head coaching position opens up for Bud Foster. The type where he can win. If he doesn't get the HC gig here, he might one elsewhere.
I don't think Jimbo leaves FSU. FSU is a brand name team that, while a short stint out of the 25 during Bowden's final years, is easy to recruit to and usually at least in the conversation for the title. Plus FSU has a pretty easy slate to the playoffs, really just need to beat Clemson and win the ACCCG. While LSU is another brand name team, they do have a tougher road to hoe to the playoffs. Plus LSU isn't doing that bad. Although they have 3 straight losses this year they are what 9-3 now? Not too bad, although I know LSU fans and boosters are wanting SECCG wins and playoff trips.
If LSU does open up I think Miles is a good hire for a lot of teams and LSU becomes an equivalent school in terms of "better jobs". LSU may be easier to recruit to and be a "bigger name" but, as mentioned, they have a tougher road to the playoffs than VT. Plus LSU fans and boosters look to be a little fickle and if whomever doesn't produce wins right away it's easy to see them clamoring for someone else.
Plus, LSU isn't open right now. And neither is FSU so we can talk about what jobs are better "if" this school fires their coach or that school fires their coach. But as of now there are certain schools that are currently looking for a coach. I don't think he waits to see what other coaches get fired and possibly lose out on a deal that he likes.
If you think LSU and VT are equivalent jobs, you need to take the orange and maroon glasses off. LSU's operating budget is ~$30 million more than VT's. I'm not sure I buy the 'tougher road to the playoff' argument. Urban Meyer is the only coach to do this - and OSU is a blueblood school. Don't forget UGA could also potentially open up.
I think he has his choices. Right now, he is the prettiest girl at the bar. He can wait until last call if he wants and still find a suitable option.
EDIT: I wouldn't bet on Jimbo leaving FSU either, but it's far from unrealistic. Regardless - LSU/UGA will target 'made' coaches from reputable P5 programs. If either of these coaches are replaced, dominoes will fall.
EDIT #2: regarding 'tougher road to the playoff' comment:
I was trying to say that Urban Meyer is the only coach I can think of who left a university on his own terms for an 'easier' opportunity. I think most coaches want to play/beat the best teams in CFB.
I think LSU and VT have different qualities that make them on par in terms of coaching job. As I said, LSU is a branded program however their fans and boosters seem to be fickle. Maybe it's just their inability to beat Saban lately. But if the next coach that comes in can't be Saban then what?
How does LSU have an easier road to the playoffs than VT?? I mean if VT wins out I would have to believe they would be in the playoffs unless their wins looked lackluster and not convincing. But LSU has tougher teams to play to get to the SECCG than VT does to get to the ACCCG is my main point though. Plus if our next coach gets us back to the ACCCG and a good bowl and 9+ wins I think we'll be happy. LSU has 9 wins and their coach is on the hotseat for whatever reason.
He does have choices. However, when do we decide? Does he wait so long that other schools start making decisions to get the recruiting started again with the new coach and get things going and he misses out on a school that he would have preferred over another just because he was waiting to see what other coaches get fired?? I don't think that's likely. I'm not saying he jumps at the first offer, and he has time but waiting to see if other coaches who may not be fired get fired I think is a wrong move. I'm sure if LSU or UGA are considering firinig Miles and Richt then they need to start reaching out now and not wait until the announcement of the firing at some point and time. So unless he's heard from those schools as to interest in the coaching job that gives him a feel that they may fire their coach then maybe but I don't see it.
How long do you put that nice offer in what would be a step up from where you are on the shelf while waiting for your dream job to come open and offer?
The only benefit of being in the SEC West is that having 1 loss doesn't necessarily knock you out of the playoff (depending on who it is to). Every school that is not in a super elite conference/division with an elite schedule (ie. everyone not in the SEC West) is probably not going to make a playoff with 1 loss. The question is whether or not that 1 loss cushion is still worth the juggernaut that is the SEC West? I would agree with you and say no.
Can someone please explain to me why Morris seems like a good hire? He's 2-9 at SMU, he's no Herman. Culturally the fit makes some sense but I don't see any results behind his coaching to back that he can rebound this program to be successful.
SMU is not equivalent to Houston.
I'm a huge fan of the offense he implemented at Clemson. It's a run based, physical, spread offense that can change tempo and still has big play potential. Their receivers always block like champs and I love it.
Something that doesn't get mentioned - when he left, his two assistants/position coaches under him assumed offensive coordinator responsibilities, and led the offense without missing a beat - this tells me that he knows how to train a staff. He brought his GA's from Clemson to SMU with him, and has continued to teach them his system.
Last year, SMU won 0 games. Three games were one score games, seven games were by more than 30 points. This year, SMU has won 2 games, and only two 30+ point loss (against undefeated Navy, and highly ranked healthy Baylor). I know that's not exactly fantastic, but the improvement really is dramatic. I have no doubt that if Morris stays there a few more years, they will compete with/beat Houston and some of the P5 Texas teams.
Finally, (and this is short sited, I know) I think his offense fits the players we have right now. I really see McMillan, Ford, and especially Lawson flourishing in his system (not that they wouldn't in Herman's).
EDIT: also want to add (for comparison) that last year's Houston Team was 8-5, and all but one loss was a one-score game. It's beyond unfair to expect Morris's results to be similar to Herman's.
Excellent points! People forget that the first job of a coach is teacher. The success of the heir says a lot about the coach. Morris was an innovator and embraces change, combine that with his natural teaching abilities and he could do very well for us.
Chad Morris looks like a good recruiter too. Despite the 2-9 record, he's got the 2nd ranked recruiting class in the AAC.
Thanks for your detailed response (as well as others who replied to me). I admit to not following SMU at all so from the surface it looks like Morris hasn't done much, but looks like there have been major improvements. I feel better about the hire now.
Just as a comparison between Herman and Morris, a few things can be learned from SMU and Houston's Phil Steele page.
Last year, SMU was 1-11. They beat UCONN in the last game of the season, 27-20. (UCONN won two games last year, including a 19-16 win over Stony Brook). SMU gained 269 yards per game last year. Phil Steele has created his own equation for "Game Score," which is all encompassing. SMU averaged a 54.4 last year, which was 127th in the country. 54.4 is awful. To put that in a VT perspective, the worst game score we ever recorded was a 60.2 against JMU. Even the Wake game last year was a 65.1. SMU had a game in 2014, against aTm, where they lost 58-6 and got a 36.2.
This year, SMU is 409 yards of offense, a 140 yard increase. Their average game score is now 69.7. They only have one game, a 26 point loss to ECU, that was worse than last years average of 54.4.
Houston averaged 414 yards off offense last year and a game score of 78.5. They were 8-5 and beat Pitt in a bowl game. This year, they average 495 yards a game, a 81 yard increase. Their game score is 88.1. They are 10-1. That's a pretty good improvement for a team that wasn't bad last year.
But Morris really was taking over a historically bad program. He's shown significant improvement on the offensive side. Their defense is still awful (actually giving up 5 yards more per game this year) and they have only won 2 games. They lost to JMU. But they have been competitive. Their halftime scores demonstrate a team with limited depth. Down 28-21 to Baylor, down 28-17 to TCU, leading ECU 23-21, down 28-21 to Houston, down 21-17 to Houston. They got blown out in all those games, but they were close at half.
Would it have been better if Morris didn't take the SMU job? Maybe, if he hadn't taken it, he would still be a hot-shot coordinator. You can hire a coordinator for a VT level job, happens a lot and is often successful (Mullen, Fisher, Narduzzi, Swinney (not actually a coordinator), Shaw, Fitzgerald, Helfrich, Whittingham). But it doesn't hurt Morris that he took this shot, in my mind. He's certainly learned something that's valuable.
I don't love Morris, definitely like Herman better (may actually like Smart better as well). But he's a good fit for VT. Knows Bud, can recruit this region, will immediately make our offense better. And I trust Whit, if he interviewed Morris and thinks he's our man, then he's got my support.
+1 good post. thx
Great stuff. I really wouldn't mind if we got Morris as the HC and kept Bud as DC. Andy Bitter put it well...he was a hot commodity as an OC and now he isn't after getting a year of HC experience? Personally, I think it is impressive that he took a job at SMU (a terrible program) to get some HC experience, build his resume, and prepare for a bigger job.
Crap, are we really hiring ANOTHER coach that can't beat ECU? /s
Finally.....a #marinade.....since this all began I've been told it's.....Morris, RR, Richt, Herman, and maybe Fuente.
All from this site.....love it.
I haven't been told anything. But my sources tell me that I don't know any less than those who claim they do.
Sounds like your sources are the most credible.
completely nonsensical. Thus, probably right.
I've been trying to turn this constant stream of conflicting #sauces into a "My dad works at Nintendo" joke. but I haven't been able to make it work.
#sauce: Your dad works at Nintendo and can confirm that Mario has not received any calls from Whit. Luigi, however . . .
Morris consistently fielded great offenses at Clemson, he's a great recruiter. If he were able to have Bud beside him, I feel he could be successful.
I'll throw the best comparison I have, Buzz's first year at VT.
I'm sure that if Morris becomes the guy that French will educate us on his offense more. But from what I've read, it's very efficient and probably pretty easy to learn. Smash mouth spread is a Gus Malzahn derivative and we have a lot of the pieces in place to be successful immediately from a personell standpoint
From what I've heard Morris is working with next to nothing at SMU. D3 type talent, and loaded with high school coaches who probably couldn't recruit their way out of a wet paper bag. Rumor is if we hired him, he would probably try to and successfully be able to grab Tony Scott, the wide receiver coach and Co-OC at Clemson, Who I think is a very good recruiter too. I think it would be a very good hire personally
If Morris could grab Tony Scott as the OC that would be awesome.
I'm not gonna lie, if it's Morris I'll be a little disappointed cause I really want Herman. I'm sure I'll get over it quickly and will still be excited but you know how it is.
yeah definitely. I've already decided that the new coach is going to be somebody nobody is talking about. I really want it to be Tom Herman (and the homer in me still believes there is a better than good chance we get him) but I'm going to have to get used to the fact we probably aren't going to snag him. I'm just going to have faith in Whit and hope the next guy is good, no matter who it is. I'll still show up and support the team no matter what. That's all that matters anyway.
Go Hokies!
This is funny because you combined the names of Clemson's current Co-OC's. It's Jeff Scott and Tony Elliot.
If Morris comes in, it would make it real easy for Brewer to stick around as a Graduate Assistant to help with the QB's and get his coaching career started.
Let the rest of the world fight over the HC's!
We have our next one on our staff already and it's Bud. Let him find the next hotshot OC that everyone will salivate over in a few years!
#TeamBud
#TeamCoCo
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Chad Morris is a great offensive mind, no doubt, and Bud alongside him sounds deadly.... But, is he a good recruiter? I read above that he has recruiting the second best class in the AAC. Not bad. Will he dominate the state of Virginia, though, the way Beamer did in the late 1990s and early 2000s?
Also, is he a good leader? A good mind is nothing without leadership skills. Frank Beamer said that his 2003 team was the most talented he had ever coached (via a friend), and I can believe that. The reason why their season finished so bad, though, was because of a lack of leadership. Not only does that fall on the players but the coaches as well.
Under Morris, we would have the potential to merc teams early in the year between the high powered offense and always solid defense. But, when we enter the bulk of the ACC schedule, will Morris be able to lead the guys in those games against Duke, UNC, and whoever our cross-division opponent will be that year? Whit will have to take this into serious consideration, or we will see a repeat of the latter part of the 2001-2003 seasons.
Not a shot at the OP but you know we're desperate for information when we're trusting that guy.
A 10 second look at his twitter feed and his website reveals a whole lotta nope.
HC: Morris
OC: Scott
DC: Foster
DB: Gray
DL: Wiles
If Witt pulls that off then I just really don't have words for his strategic ability. I would take Morris with Bud over Herman without Bud 100 times out of 100.
Morris + Jeff Scott = Significant and immediate impact on offensive recruiting. Defense will follow suit.
I think Morris could be the Dabo Swinney type closer that the defense needs to lock down some recruits. A few key commitments at DE, LB could have Bud's defense back firing on all cylinders. Plus other teams can't use the uncertainty of a Beamer retirement as negative recruiting.
Was nervous for which 'Scott' you were referring to....
Here's a hint: Scot Loeffler is 'Scot with 1 't'...'
My mind quickly read 1 t, and then it was much better when i realized it was a nice set of t's.
I thought it was fairly obvious"
This. Talk about unpredictable play calling.
So
QB/HC: Morris
WR/OC: Scott?
LB/DC: Foster
DB: Gray
DL: Wiles
leaves 5 vacancies to fill ST, OL, RB, TE?, and a D coach (whip? safeties?).
So, the best options to fill vacancies are poaching from Clemson, on staff at VT already, SMU staff that comes with him, or the leftovers after the end-of-the-year HC firings.
Looking at his current SMU offensive coaching staff, they almost all have little to no experience collegiate coaching. Some, like his OC and WR coach, were Clemson graduate assistants. Some, like his RB coach, were HS coaches. Maybe he brings Claude Mathis (RB), a TX HS HC, along with him. He played for the Vikings and TX HS head coaches have done well in college football recently.
Looking at VT: I would imagine the connection between Morris and Shane Beamer will lead to him being retained, hopefully as ST coordinator. I would think Searels is also a contender to be retained as OL coach, because Morris runs zone and power runs, which works well with Searels style (don't quote me). It would not surprise me to see Stinespring retained as the roach that never dies (not in a negative way, but he just finds a way to keep at VT somehow).
Looking at Clemson: Both Offensive co-coordinators (Scott (WR) and and Elliot (RB)) are Clemson alums. Thus, to lure one or the other, I would imagine it would take promotion to the sole title of OC and a nice raise in salary. Caldewell (OL) joined Morris at Clemson the same year, has an extensive resume (including Vanderbilt HC). If he's loyal to Morris, maybe he'll defect, but I'm guessing his loyalties are to Swinney.
It's too difficult to predict which coaches will become available after the HC is let go, but maybe some position coaches at UGA/LSU or wherever might hop on the VT coaching train.
In sum, I don't really see any coaches that have loyalty to Morris. At Clemson, he was essentially hired as OC without bringing any coaches with him. At SMU, his offensive staff was assembled using graduate assistants and TX HS coaches. Thus, he will pretty much have to assemble his coach staff from a mishmash of what's available.
HC: Morris
OC: Jeff Scott (OC/WR coach from Clemson)
WR: Jeff Scott (since he's the OC/WR coach at Clemson now) or Someone New
QB: Someone New or Jeff Scott
RB: Morris's current coach
OL/TE: Someone New (note - Neither SMU nor Clemson have a dedicated TE coach)
ST: Someone New
LB/DC: Foster
DB: Gray
DL: Wiles - Wouldn't be surprised if Wiles retired and we got some new blood here.
I would imagine there would be 5 Offensive coaches including Morris, 1 ST, and 4 defensive coaches. It would be really hard to conduct practices with only 3 defensive coaches.
A good read on coaches to watch from Bruce Feldman.
51 Coaches To Watch
#RichRodtoMiami
#RIchRodtoAnywhereButVT
My God, RichRod to LSU would be epic! Can you imagine how many years it would take them to recover?
Someone is trying their damnedest to get Rich Rod a raise at Arizona, because I can't believe for a second that LSU would even consider giving the man an interview.
I could have missed it, but is it interesting to anyone else that Morris is not on that list?
Yep. Not on the list. He would have been on the list last year for sure. Probably just an oversight? Or does think the lack of any real success (wins/losses) at SMU killed his chances.
My thoughts as well. Reread the list to make sure he wasn't too.
Another day and another serious candidate.
After watching SMU vs Tulane highlights...I need to see Lawson, Run TMC, and Ford in Morris' offense right now. AND THEY BLOCKED A KICK FOR A TD. BEAMER BALL YALL.
I love how the tweet could still be like 75% of the coaches to that have been speculated.
So I heard some #sauces about the guy with #sauces today. Apparently this Lawson guy is very connected to the program, and there is probably a good chance that what he is saying may end up being true.
Well what he said was pretty vague....
Yeah that description fits like 4 or 5 of the guys we've been talking about
I mean I'm happy that the guy is credible but I'm about all done with vague #sources haha. I am too impatient for this waiting game.
Sorry, I should have elaborated some more. What I was told is that he may in fact actually know who the next will be and has a history of being told these types of things (ex. Buzz hire and the Loeffler hire) well before they were released to the public.
Yea I didn't doubt your information I'm just impatient when it comes to information being available but not to me haha. It's like watching a sporting event on delay.
On a related note, I was so used to my feed being slightly behind that on Saturday I was checking Twitter while in the stands during timeouts to see if anything had happened the next play.... Which hadn't happened yet because there was no appreciable delay from the field to my eyeballs.
My girlfriend gets mad because when we watch the games on WatchESPN I spend the entire game on Twitter checking to see what happens. Sometimes it's hard to contain my gasps or sighs and she gives me the look. You know the look.
I didn't have service on Saturday probably because the princess sitting next to me was browsing instagram and facebook the entire game so I couldn't have checked twitter even if I wanted to. I tried at one point to see if Facyson was ok after that split he did but didn't have any service so I gave up.
Haha I feel you. I'm as ready as anybody for this search to be over and the rumors changing from one guy to another every day.
I'm in a love-hate relationship with this whole coaching search. On one hand I live for the #sources people that post, no matter what goofy/semi-legitimate claim they make. On the other hand I feel like we're at the point where a deal is probably done/really close to done and I want to know some final information.
All he said is that Whit hired a guy who runs a spread, recruits well, and coaches up qbs. The only real takeaway, if you believe what he's saying, is that Whit already has someone lined up. Really could be anyone. The only names who have come up which would be eliminated are Kirby Smart and Les Miles. Both of whom were extreme long shots anyway, IMO
Them and possibly Fuente as well. Not saying that he can't be a great recruiter, but he doesn't exactly fit the "great recruiter" bill at this moment.
IDK, I think Fuente still fits the bill. The recruiting prowess is kind of subjective and we're not sure what this guy's definition of good recruiting is. Fuente might be an ace recruiter in his mind even if he isn't in the minds of others. I think that the QB Coach / Spread Offense tags indicate that this guy doesn't have as much of a defensive background which is why I think it eliminates the defensive coaches (Smart, Miles)
I'm fanning the flames a little bit here too but we can't necessarily rule out Bud either. He didn't specify the capacity in which the "recruiter/spread/QB Guru" was going to be hired/working. It could mean that Bud is the next HC and he's lined up an ace OC. (FWIW, I seriously doubt this scenario but can't discount it)
If you look at Whit's track record for hiring coaches Dan Mullen probably makes the most sense. I still think Tom Herman is going to be in Blacksburg come January. One name I haven't seen yet (probably due to his lack of HC exp.) but who might be an interesting hire IMO is Lincoln Riley.
Ok so now my tie for top two is Herman and Mullen. Just like the college landscape my rankings change weekly....or in this case daily.....
NEW PHONE! WHO DIS?