With so many threads getting so much information from so man sources I thought we could have one thread to collect information, whether from #sauces, tweets from the coaches or people close to them or any other source. Let's see if TKP can start putting together a list of who will be on the staff for the Fuente era.
I'll go first and take a stab in the dark and say Justin Fuente will be the Head Coach.
The coaches and their positions are starting to take shape:
HC- Justin Fuente
Offensive side
OC- Brad Cornelsen
WR- Hollman Wiggins
RB-Zohn Burden
OL- Vance Vice
TE- James Shibest
Defensive side
DC- Bud Foster
DB- Torrian Grey
DL- Charley Wiles
LB's- Unknown
special teams-James Shibest
Forums:
DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Comments
I've got #sauces that Bud will be the DC
There is no better sauce than the official announcement by the university, amirite?
It's the mustard BBQ of #sauces
So crappy and no one really likes it? Only one step up from that weird Bama mayo BBQ sauce.
I have many #sauces saying that Bud Foster will be retained. Huge home run by Whit if true !!
#sauces Brown will not be retained. Wish him the best.
... Yes, and the #sauce in that case was Brown himself.
That would be a brown sauce...
That would be....
via GIPHY
Haha /s
#sauces Holman Wiggins and James Shibest will follow Fuente
In what positions though?
hang on, gotta pull out the #marinades for that one
Wiggins coached WR's at Memphis. However, he is a former running back, and coached RB's 2006-2010 at Illinois State and then spent a year coaching RB's at Tulsa before joining Fuente at Memphis in 2012. Also, Fuente was the OC for Illinois State for 2006 (when Wiggins was coaching RB's) so Wiggins has coach both positions under Fuente in the past.
In the Bitter article on him and Shibest, Wiggins was non-committal on which position he'll be coaching despite being the Tigers' WR's coach most recently.
Shibest is Special Teams and Tight Ends
Yes I know that's why I'm not 100 % he will be the WR coach. That's why i started this thread to get real sourced material and informed opinions.
Thank you for starting it.
I think you could be right. Burden is somebody I could see being retained for various reasons but mostly he's a good coach. If Fuente has his guy, that's cool too. but hopefully this thread will be the place to find out!
This seems promising. Didn't know this award existed tho...
Edit: I read this as coach of the year, not week the first time. It's early I guess
Mascot:
So one of these three? It will be interesting to see how that pans out.
I'll take the long odds on the short, turkey-looking one. I mean the tall one looks like it might rob a liquor store. Amirite?
The tall one was the mascot while I was in school, and I think it was my final year when they switched to the weird middle one. Thankfully, that didn't last long.
I don't know why, but the middle one gives off a creepy, molester vibe...
More of a creepy clown vibe to me.
Just stopped by to wish you guys congratulations. A home run, there in Fuente! A great hire and seemingly a seamless fit with your culture. Just a note - when Urban Meyer was hired, he and our previous defensive coordinator & interim head coach for a year after Tressel was Luke Fickell. He & Meyer hit it off, Meyer retained him, and it was a huge plus for us. Fickell provided continuity on the defense & connections in recruiting. Keeping Foster could be just as huge for VT.
So, what do you say to a home & home again in 2018 & 2019? Or maybe let's just meet in the playoffs!
Thanks man. I don't know about anyone else but I'd love another home and home. We need a good ooc occasional rival.
I agree 100% with you. Would LOVE to play the Bucks on a regular basis.
Did you forget about ECU???
(throws up in mouth)
He said good, and occasional.
Key words, they'll get after ya.
FTFY
I would consider ECU to be a good team. Since, y'know, we've lost to them twice in a row.
Doesn't mean they're a good rival.
Just taking the chance to voice my annoyance with our repeating schedule with ECU. According to hokiesports.com we don't play them in 2021, but the other 9 out of 10 years we unfortunately do.
I assumed they are an intra-divisional opponent. Are they not?
see i like your fans to much...cant we just beat the shit out of michigan and you guys beat UVA for us?
FTFY. It should be pretty clear by now that we don't need help on this front.
touche my mistake. But yeah just tack em up for 2 losses every year, thats a quarter of their season allotment for never making a bowl
So far we have seen Cornell post about being done, someone posted about Gentry the strength coach being out. Could someone embed those tweets?
I didn't realize the axe swung as far as Gentry, but I will say I have started to lose faith in him with all the injuries we have had in the last 3 years.
I heard the same line of thought on Greg Roberts Live the other night. And granted, the windbag that he is, we all take a grain of salt with his commentary.
BUT.
One of his guests was a former coach (Phil Elmassian) under Beamer and he insinuated Gentry being gone. However, this makes no sense at all. From what I gather, based on what hokiesports.com lists his position as, that he is NOT the S&C coach for football, he is the S&C guy for the whole athletic dept. J. Ferg is the S&C coach specifically for football.
Elmassian indicated that Gentry was a SIGNIFICANT reason as to why the Hokie program is where it is today and it would be a huge blow to lose him. They made it sound as if this was basically a done deal, but to me that doesn't make sense considering his position of "Associate Director of Athletics for Athletic Performance" (per hokiesports.com). This to me would indicate that he's beyond the reach of Fuente's sweep of the current staff.
I do not think Fuente could get rid of Gentry on his own, but he could request Whit make a change if he felt it was warranted, and my gut says that Whit would oblige a request from his newest and highest paid employee. I believe you are correct that Gentry's purview extends beyond football, but he is still heavily involved in football since it is the biggest sport. He is on the sidelines for games and travels with the team to away games.
Cornell's goodbye message was on his Facebook page, his tweets aren't really specific but we obviously know the context. Someone posted a screenshot in another thread I believe.
It's Here
Also, on his website/resume, his coaching experience at VT is 'ending' in 2015
Those might be the only two tweets of his I've read that I didn't need to be high to understand. Dude could come from left field sometimes.
So I guess he won't be coaching the bowl game?
Why would you think that?
As Whit and others have said repeatedly, we have two staffs right now, one for on-field coaching, one for recruiting. Current coaches are in their offices prepping for whatever bowl we go to, and any of them expressing disappointment that they won't be retained is not indicative of them just heading out before their team's last game.
The other side of the coin, though, is that if Cornell (or any other coach that finds out he isn't being retained) gets a job offer, but the school extending the offer wants him to report immediately, what is the incentive to stick around for the bowl game? I get loyalty to Beamer by the staff, but that's over now. No reason not to go if an offer is extended.
If be surprised if the entire coaching staff coaches the bowl game. At least one coach is sure to get an offer and leave prior to that.
They probably wouldn't earn their bowl game incentive bonuses to start. While there isn't a huge amount of incentive, I would imagine any of the coordinators we have left aren't likely to land high pressure HC gigs either, so their need to be with a new job ASAP is likely much lower than say if one of them was offered a HC position.
Plus I imagine many of them want to coach their last game with the kids they've recruited developed spent years with as well before they have to leave.
Sounds great! But only if you promise to let us win in the Shoe?
Only if you PROMISE to reciprocate!
Can we all just promise to beat UVA?
Deal. You beat UVA every year, and we'll beat Michigan every year!
And a good time will be had by all.
Sounds like a great deal to me!!!
As a graduate of VT AND OSU, Saturday was a fantastic football day. It does not get much better than that!
I would love a another home and home series between the Hokies and the Bucks.
Ouch. But, well played sir, well played.
Too soon bro. Much too soon.
Dang. I'd love that move so much more if he'd have saved it for Michigan...
Or Michigan State. Still smarting from that loss. Cost us the playoffs. But I was sincere about hoping for another home & home OOC series. I'd love to see the atmosphere at Lane.
Go buy you some turkey legs. I just gave you one, and as I'm sure has been explained to you, those are redeemable.
I'd like to get up to the Shoe myself. Let's campaign our respective ADs and make this happen. We almost got #gameday4frank by bothering the crap out of people on social media. It can work.
@AGR575 -
I think you're on to something. I'm going to have to start rabble rousing a bit.
Isn't it ironic that a loss to a (it is what it is) pretty poor vt team last year didnt keep yall out of the playoff, but a loss to a really good msu this year did?
Ohhhh college football!
Some things never change, it's all about the timing of the loss. You can survive a loss to an unranked team if it's early in the season, but a late loss (even to a top 10) is disastrous. Or, if you're an SEC team you get a mulligan, apparently.
How's that school of thought treating UNC?
Probably just fine if they beat Clemson.
I wouldn't be so sure. I could still see the committee bumping OSU up in there to join Bama, OU, and BIG winner over UNC.
I agree with HokieBone12 here. I don't think the ACC gets a team in the playoff if UNC beats Clemson. As it is right now, if Clemson loses ND will take a spot in the playoff with OU, B1G Champ, and SEC Champ (most likely Bama).
which part is ironic? seems logical.
I think what we're seeing is the committee really valuing conference championships. OSU's early loss to us last year didn't keep them from running the table and winning the B1G in dominant fashion. Same with Oklahoma this year; they had an ugly loss to Texas earlier, but they are the undisputed Big 12 champs and have impressive wins over Baylor, TCU, and Oklahoma St.
If you lose, you better lose early and out of conference. A late loss to an in-conference rival that keeps you out of a conference championship game can be very costly. I think allowing a team that didn't win their conference into the playoff against the team who beat them and did win the title would really devalue the regular season. MSU, should they take care of business against Iowa, shouldn't have to prove themselves again vs. OSU in the playoff. Barring really unusual circumstances, I think you will likely see the four best conference champions from the Power 5 in the playoff each year. Had Notre Dame beaten Stanford, I still don't think they would have made it in.
I'm not so sure of this. The ACC and B1G are the only P5 conferences that could potentially have undefeated teams. The Pac 12 would have, at best, a 3-loss Champ so IMO they would get left out. Then it comes down to whether ND would be favored over a 1-loss OU team which doesn't play a conference championship game. ND's 1 loss (by two points to the #1 undefeated Clemson team on the road) looks a heck of a lot better than OU's 1 loss to Texas.
So does the committee award ND and punish the Big12 for not having a championship game? Does the committee award OU and punish ND for not being part of a P5 conference?
Do they look at the two teams on level ground without any bias regarding conference affiliation and championship game results and just look at SOS and quality of wins? I think it would be a really tough argument to select 1-loss OU over a 1-loss ND team with their 1 loss coming to #1 Clemson on the road
Notre Dame definitely could have made it interesting. I just look at where the committee had Oklahoma (#3) and Notre Dame (#6) ranked before last weekend and who they played. Would you view the #11 Oklahoma St. victory as that much worse than #9 Stanford had Notre Dame won? I don't think they would have punished OU for winning, especially considering how dominant the victory was. ND likely would have jumped MSU and Iowa for #4, but then what do you do with the B1G champion (either Iowa or MSU)? I don't see how OU could fall from 3 to 5, and I don't think the B1G champ gets left out. So ultimately, I believe ND would have been left out. Probably would have been #4 this week and then jumped by the B1G champ after this weekend.
I understand the better loss argument for ND over OU, but I don't think that would have justified punishing OU by moving them down after beating Oklahoma St. and clinching the Big 12 title. Like last year, Baylor and TCU had better losses than OSU, but I think all else being equal, that outright conference title was the tiebreaker.
It definitely would have been interesting to watch it play out. Part of me is glad ND lost to Stanford because I hate ND.
On the other hand, it would be interesting if you are correct and 1-loss ND (I'll remind you their loss was by 2 points to the #1 team in the country on the road) got snubbed out of the playoff by a P5 conference member with a very similar resume but an arguably much worse loss.
I don't ever see ND becoming a full member of the ACC (or any conference, really) but if they had a magical season and were left out of the playoff for being independent that might make them reconsider. I'd like to see the hell that a decision like that would unleash in South Bend.
Just try to minimize the Civil War references while we're at the dinner table, please.
Come to a good game in Lane sometime. You will not be disappointed!
Hmm... I don't seem to remember this part of the game. All I remember is this?....
To Hokie20:
Signing off, my frenemies. See you later.
Again - a great hire, done with class!
To BuckeyeVet:
You have lurked, you should know we're all about the gifs here on TKP
But yes, well played my good sir. Until next time!
IF you come back, let's say Florida shocks the world and beats Bama, Stanford wins the Pac12, and Michigan St knocks off Iowa, who takes Bama's spot in the playoffs: Ohio State, Stanford, or ND?
Same scenario but UNC also happens to upset Clemson, which is more likely, 2 ACC teams in the playoff or no ACC teams in the playoff?
no ACC teams in the playoff
with 4 spots and 5 P5 conferences I think the likelihood of any league getting two teams in the playoff is really really low. If any league does it, it'll be the SEC (perception is strong)
Torrian and Wiles were the only current staff at the Fuente presser (besides Bud).
Hopefully suggesting they are both retained. Foster was quoted in the Andy Bitter article as saying that Fuente will have the final say on all his assistants, but that he obviously believes he has the people he needs in place and that he lobbied for them.
I think he will obviously retain Gray and Wiles. My only fear would be if Torrian wanted to leave, but he and Wiles at the presser is a good sign.
I think this Fuente hire means that we need to get used to the idea of losing Torrian Gray in the not-too-distant future. He's too good a coach to remain a position coach forever. He's going to be a defensive coordinator somewhere, and it's starting to look like the position at VT will not be available anytime soon.
Or maybe, and I'm just guessing here, the same argument that everyone had about Bud Foster being a head coach, could be applied to Gray being a defensive coordinator. OR I know it's wishful thinking but maybe Gray only wants to be a DB coach.
At least I don't recall of a time where he has stated he wants to be a defensive coordinator. (any sources?)
I've never heard him speak to the issue one way or the other, but it's highly unusual for a guy like that to have no ambitions beyond coaching defensive backs. Two of the primary personality traits that lead to the kind of success he's had as a player and a coach are competitiveness and leadership. I'd be completely shocked if he doesn't have a desire to prove his abilities to lead an entire defense or an entire team. A doubling or tripling of his salary as a DC (with the potential to double or triple it again as a HC if he's successful) would be pretty hard to turn down as well. It's certainly possible that his loyalty to VT exceeds his (hypothetical) desire to advance in his career, but even Bud Foster, whose loyalty to his boss and his university are practically unheard of in this business, openly stated that he'd leave for the right opportunity, and even actively pursued a couple jobs (Pittsburgh comes immediately to mind).
I certainly hope I'm wrong, but I have a hard time believing that (barring Bud Foster's unexpected retirement/departure) Torrian will be on VT's staff in a couple years.
I am quite positive that Gray has stated in the past that he is content to coach VT football in any capacity that he can until the end of his coaching days. I remember that quite clearly and it may have been when that picture of him in the shorts was taken at his home, if others remember. Something about him having the job he wants and not interested to go anywhere but coach here. If there were opportunities here great, otherwise he would remain DB coach. Not sure how accurate that is. I don't have time to search through to check. Anyone else remember that?
I may stand corrected, then. I have some recollection of that picture and comment you mentioned. I think it was during the time that we were all freaking out about Foster to aTm last year. I interpreted it as an indicator that he wouldn't be following Bud to College Station if he left, not that he wouldn't consider going elsewhere for a promotion. Thinking back on that, I seem to recall a teenage daughter in the picture. Perhaps it would be wise to amend my prediction to "Torrian probably won't be here for long after his daughter graduates from high school". He strikes me as the kind of guy who wouldn't disrupt his family's life like that just for a promotion.
We really need to accept the fact that some of our better younger coaches may leave for other opportunities. We have had MUCH more stability through the years than most coaching staffs. If Torrian Gray leaves, it will hurt, but we'll find a suitable replacement, just like we did when CFB retired.
Past tense...
Ouch! That just got real!
via GIPHY
TG and Wiles were the on;y assistants at the Press briefer, unless he has a DC offering I think TG stays Fuente would be crazy to lose him
I hope TG coaches at VT for a long time, but we have a lot of candidates to pull from for VT DB Coach... and that's just with alums. Anthony Midget and Loren Johnson come to mind quickly.
As expected, we retained both of them
Torrian is every bit a part of #DBU as anyone else, Bud included
Wiggins/rb, vance vice/ol, brad cornelson/oc, Mike locksley/te, burden/wr and ricky hunley or galen scott/lb
You don't think Dickey is following Fuente after the bowl game?
locksley has said he's leaving MD if he doesnt get the HC gig. He's not going elsewhere to coach TE. He's also not the type of guy I'd see Fuente hiring
#SayNoToLocksley I know people who knew him personally in New Mexico. Believe or not, but do not let this man in the doors.
Have heard lots of not so great stuff swirling around him and usually where there's smoke there's fire.
Locksley's reputation doesn't seem to match the community tone of the current staff.
So not worth it, even if he's the recruit-whisperer.
I'm on board the #SayNoToLocksley. Everything I've read says this guy is not someone we want at VT. To be polite, he isn't a cultural fit here at VT.
yeah but he's an elite recruiter... i don't really care about the kind of person he is...
Screw that idea. You think it's ok if a coach punches another coach because he is good at his job?
Wait wait wait, he punched another coach just for being good at his job?
Syntax, it'll get after ya.
Far too much emphasis is placed on the belief that some coach is going to magically come along and bring in all the 5* players. The best programs (by achievement) basically recruit themselves, consistently. The individual coaches are secondary in that discussion and it makes little difference either way. Assistant coaches make even less of a difference in that discussion.
We already have Shibest coming to coach ST and TE's so the Locksley discussion is irrelevant
Sheibest is TE/ST
Shibest is the best, at STs coaching. Very impressive everywhere he has coached. STs are important and can be the difference in close games. Just ask that Frank Beamer guy.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7020067/embattled-coach-m...
No way in HELL that man should be anywhere near the team.
Here's my take...
HC + QB - Justin Fuente
OC + QB - Brad Cornelsen (would be surprised if Darrell Dickey leaves Memphis.. he may be next HC)
OL - Vance Vice
TE + ST - James Shibest
WR - Zohn Burden
RB - Holman Wiggins
DC + LB - Bud Foster
DL - Charlie Wiles
LB - Ricky Hunley (would be very surprised if Galen Scott leaves the DC position at Memphis to coach LB under Bud... even if he is he best in the business)
DB - Torrian Gray
I know Hunley was a great college linebacker and is an NFL guy now, but why would Bud stop coaching the ILBs when their role is so unique in his system? Is Hunley primarily a recruiter?
Hunley is their D-line coach in his 2nd year......loved him when he played for the Broncos.......
Are there any former Hokie LBs who've excelled in Bud's system that would be candidates to fill Brown's role? I'd love to see someone like Cody Grimm come aboard as a position coach.
Ben Taylor has been coaching LBs for a few years now at a high school level and a small college here in VA. He'd be ready to take the next step. Cody would be good too, but Bud already coaches the LBs. The whip spot could be absorbed into either DBs or LBs, making room for another coaching position. Maybe split the DBs into corners and safeties like some schools do and have a coach for each. That way we could bring someone in for TG to groom to take his place if he's looking to move on to a DC position somewhere in the future.
Bud does already coach the inside LB's but recruiting seems to have gotten a bit stale there. I was thinking a guy like Grimm or Taylor might be able to help us on the recruiting trail.
Oh, I agree with you that it'd be nice to have some fresh young faces on the D to help reinvigorate the recruiting on that side of the ball, i just don't want to shoehorn someone in for the sake of recruiting at the expense of filling a needed coaching role.
"Fresh young faces on the D" is probably not something you should just google.
Not at work anyway.
Taylor has been coaching at Bridgewater. Ewwwwwwwwww.
If we are looking at FCS/DII/DIII coaches, Jeremy Overfelt at Shepherd has better football IQ than just about anyone I know and is very strong recruiting NOVA.
At one point, Bridgewater had a connection with VT. In the early 2000's, maybe they were running our defense?
Maybe Taylor would be interested in one of the "Quality Control" positions at VT. Would a guy like Overfelt do something like that?
Hey French. Great question!
And to be honest, I tried to read the bios of all Memphis coaches quickly and did a gut check. As you said, he was a great college LB and also coached LB / DL in the NFL. Born in VA. And would give Foster a fresh set of eyes on a position which has lacked elite talent in the recent years (eg Adibi / Hall). I agree that Foster would still be involved with LBs across the board, but with Cornell Brown leaving there is a "outside linebackers and assistant defensive line coach" opening which Hunley has the skillset for... just my 2 cents!
I agree, except change Hunley with Scott and replace Burden with TBD.
Scott has been a Fuente guy for a long time. Although he would be "demoted" in title, he would get paid equal or more, have an opportunity to work with one of the greatest defensive minds, and continue to work with Fuente. Hunley has only worked with Fuente for two years and has similar resume to Cornell Brown. Thus, I don't think Fuente would replace Brown with Hunley, but I do think he would replace Brown with Scott.
I don't think Burden will be retained, simply because this is Fuente's team. But, I do think the 10th spot is a wild-card, and maybe Burden fills it. If I were Fuente though, I would search the college landscape of recently let-go coaches and lure the best recruiter in the South or Mid-Atlantic. Mike Locksley is a guy that fits that bill, but his name may not be clean enough for a Fuente program (hitting assistant coaches will follow you for a long time). Maybe WR coach/recruiting coordinator Bryan McClendon from UGA.
Yeah, we're looking at this from the standpoint of "can he coach", but CJF was all about hiring the best recruiters at the presser.
CJF really threw me off so used to CFB
I think we need to keep in mind that Whit may have given Fuente a few talking points for the press conference. I believe he thinks recruiting is important, but there has to be a balance with real coaching ability.
I would be very happy with Scott and while the money could/would be better I'm not sold on the move from a career development standpoint. It all really depends on what Scott is looking for (ie career progression vs stability)... If he feels that he will be retained at Memphis in the DC capacity I feel that would be a better resume builder than moving back down the totem pole (even to work at a better football school).
It was reported yesterday that Burden may get an interview to retain connections to the 757. I was hoping SS would be retained as recruiting coordinator but that doesn't look likely
If Burden is getting an interview, that would point to Wiggins moving to RB, which would point to Dickey not coming over. But thats all conjecture right now.
Isn't Dickey the interim HC? Didn't seem likely he was coming over anyway
I think I saw a quote from Fuente yesterday that strongly implied more of his staff will be joining him in Blacksburg after their bowl game. He didn't want his departure to be any more disruptive to Memphis than it had to be. Class act.
Obviously if he gets promoted to head coach, he won't be coming here, but the rumors I've been reading seem to point to Missouri's DC getting the job, so I wouldn't rule out Dickey yet.
This has been my understanding as well.
Uhm, yes please!
That would be sweet but would we even have a shot an nabbing him? Seems like he has a pretty cushy position already.
Maybe with a new staff at UGa he will be outta there.
Rumor has it that Shane is also being retained. If that's the case, then where's he going? Back to defense maybe?
EDIT: apparently that's not the case?
Full sweep on offensive staff, Burden may get an interview
If Shane doesn't leave for another coaching gig, he will be retained in an administrative capacity.
So he won't be anywhere near the running back rotation?
In all seriousness, I like the fact that he could have an admin position so that he doesn't have to move. I want him off the coaching staff as much as anybody, but at the same time, I don't want him to have to move his family out of the only home they've ever known and away from their grandparents.
Not to be a complete douche canoe (and I actually like Shane and don't wish him gone), but I'm pretty sure he didn't commute to Columbia everyday when he was at USC-e...
He hasn't lived in Blacksburg his whole life, but he did live there from the time he was 11 until he got his first GA gig at Tennessee if I remember correctly. And he got to come back, which I'm sure he loved.
Is this just your prediction, or something you've heard/read?
Vance Vice confirmed:
SOLD
Something tells me Vince and Wyatt are going to get along very well.
We need to talk to Wyatt's mom into letting him grow the mullet back out. I think him, Vince and your avatar could exchange hair care secrets.
That's ol' Joey Phillips, our fullback before Sam Rogers came on board. He did that mullet for shits and giggles before he graduated and had to go out into the professional world.
Oh, I know who it is. Miss that glorious mullet. He took one of the best pictures any Hokie has ever taken in this...
Have to be honest, his salute needs work. Bit high. That's just an Army guy nitpicking though.
Didn't I hear/read somewhere that Shane Beamer is also being retained in some capacity? Recruiting, perhaps? I could swear I heard that he's staying.
I believe ESPN was the only outlet to report it (Brett McMurphy) but unlike Bud there has been no other evidence to suggest he's staying.
Shane unfollowed fuente on twitter, pretty lame.
You don't think this is an emotional time for him? He is leaving the town and school he grew up at, where he spent 20 plus years of his life. He wanted to raise his family, have them grow up with grandma and grandpa. Now that isn't happening and he has to find a new job and move his entire family just after Christmas, find a job and tell your kids well guys Merry Christmas but we are moving. Cut the man a break.
yeah I agree with this. Breakups are never pretty. I feel for all of the coaches who are going to be displaced. It really sucks for them but it's part of the business and I'm sure they understand that. I genuinely hope they all land on their feet somewhere. I'm sure they all will. Despite the challenges they've faced and some of their shortcomings they're all stand-up guys and they will do well to carry what they've learned from Frank with them in their careers. I can appreciate that this is a particularly challenging time for Shane but he's going to be just fine. I could see him becoming a head coach somewhere some day. That being said, I think he would be wise to use this over-lap time to begin building a relationship with Fuente. I think, even if Shane doesn't work for him directly, that he could benefit greatly from getting into Fuente's circle. I want to see Shane succeed and I believe being friends with a guy like Fuente could be monumental in his success. Having a guy to bounce ideas off of and consult who might have a little bit of a different perspective than you're used to can't be a bad thing.
I think all that's true but isn't shane in his 30's now? Sounds pretty high schoolish to me, I haven't seen stiney throwing temper tantrums and I know he's pretty worried and upset about what he will do.
I'm sorry I must have missed where Shane has "thrown a temper tantrum" he stopped following a guy he isn't going to work for end of the story. When Shane makes a public comment or even a semi private comment that seems out of place and character then maybe we can call into question his maturity. Until then cut the guy a little slack.
But as of now isn't he staying at tech? He hasn't left yet is my point. When he is gone that's a diff story.
Shane is part of his father's staff and his obligation is to work with the team to prep them for a bowl game. Manufactured drama about who he follows or unfollows on Twitter seems absurd to me.
It's not a big deal, alot of people just thought it was pretty weak if he is planning on stickin around for another yr or so esp when coach fu doesn't have to keep him, I'm sure its out of respect for frank, how bout some respect for coach fu while your still here.
Don't see any of the current coaches on Fuente's follow list. Is that disrespectful, or do they just have bigger fish to fry? Is Shane planning on sticking around? In what capacity, if any at all? Has there been any statement on this beyond the initial #marinades that Shane would be retained? Given that we've heard nothing of the sort since the weekend, I doubt it's true.
I hope shane does well in his next gig and I doubt he sticks around either its early in this whole process and things change daily, can't see him sticking around to be a recruiting coordinator or whatever it may be.
To be fair, money is not much of an issue for the Beamer clan at this point. So while he may WANT to find a new job to advance his career (which is normal), he by no means HAS to. He could just retire and raise his family wherever he dang well pleases.
To be clear, I'm not downplaying the emotional roller coaster that occurs when you're let go from a job. I've been there and it sucks. I'm just pointing out that, unlike most people who get fired, the monetary issue is not an issue.
How do you have any clue the Beamer family's financial situation? Not trying to be a douche, this a serious question.
Frank Beamer has a net worth of $10 million, and Shane has spent the last several years with a salary well into the six figures. It stands to reason that Shane and his family can weather the storm, given that with Shane's resume he's basically guaranteed to do no worse than another position coach job at a P5 school.
I understand that Shane has made a decent salary the past few years, but the original poster suggested that Shane could just retire and live off what he has made to date. I know nothing about Shane's financial situation but, I have to imagine raising three kids and then sending them to college (assuming none get scholarships) without any full time income is not something Shane had in the plans.
Obviously we all know Frank is a very generous person and he isn't going to let his son and grandchildren go broke but I don't know how someone can just say Shane can retire and live off of his past earnings. I mean he is only 38 years old.
Whose wife doesn't work, like most major college coaches spouses.
I don't know why we're even talking about this, given that Shane is still employable, and still has a bright future and career.
Coaching staff make decent money, and having time off between gigs is a part of the deal.
Shoot, I've even seen a few sites linking Shane to the USCe head gig.
This is true...
I can't embed right now, but Joe tweeted an article last night about this
edit: I found the article here
I interpreted OP's reference to "the Beamer clan" as being more inclusive than just Shane's spouse and children. Obviously Frank is in a position to help Shane ease any financial burden incurred by a change of employment status. I never got the vibe that the implication was that Shane could retire on his own salary, but rather that Shane, if he wanted to, could become an "employee" of his father.
There's exactly zero chance this happens. Shane enjoys coaching too much. It's in his blood. But I do think the original assertion that money is essentially a non-issue for Shane during this transitory period in his life is accurate.
Okay, let me try to walk this back a bit. I was responding to a post that stated:
I have lost my job and had to move to find work. My child will grow up far from its grandparents. It sucks and I hate it, but it is a financial necessity. I would be THRILLED to be in Shane's situation, with a salary that great and a parent who is a millionaire. While I am sure that he will move to a new job elsewhere, it will be to advance his career and not because his family will not be able to eat next month if he doesn't. If I were in his situation, I would probably stay put and get a job doing something different.
Sorry, I know you were just calling out my hyperbole about the retirement, but this all hits rather close to home for me.
yeah, but there is a lot more to it. First of all, people like to work. It makes us feel whole and contributing members of society. Nobody wants to sit around and not contribute if they can work. Maybe coaching football doesn't seem like work to us, but that's Shane's craft. That's the family business. Shane wants to succeed in his own career, not live off his Dad's.
Secondly, if you are making $200K+ a year, you get used to that income. It's not easy to go to $25K a year just to feed your family.
Thirdly, If you can make $200K+ a year working, you probably want to do that. It's the same when talking about Mark Richt, he doesn't need to work anymore, but if someone wants to pay him $3M/Year to coach, something he has done his whole life, he probably should do that. For Richt, he may give it away, but at least he earns that money so he can funnel it where he wants. Same for Shane, his $200K being an assistant coach at...say... Texas Tech may not be fulfill his optimal family goals, but it's $200K that he now has to pass on to his kids or give to his church or spend on jet skis.
Finally, the Beamers don't strike me as a family that rests on their laurels. It's hard enough for anyone to decide to retire. You are saying, 'I've got enough money, time to chill.' It's much more hard to say, 'Dad's got enough money, time to chill.' That mentality seems very anti-Beamer to me.
I appreciate your struggle and personal connection to the issue. I've been though similar issues myself. I'm just sensitive to anyone saying "That person has enough money!" Maybe they do, but that's their decision and its a very personal decision.
Wrong- if you paid me $100K a year to not work, I would take it and go fishing.
No doubt
...about this time of year I'd be sitting on a 40 footer, hook down, sails furled, somewhere near Georgetown, Bahamas with a cold Kalik.
Charlie Weiss seems to have figured out how to execute this plan.
Couldn't agree more. Not sure why people think working is a necessity. Money is the necessity -- if I got paid and didn't have to work, damn right I'd do that!
Lame? I dropped Moorehead when he left, not out of disrespect or trying to make any statement, his updates just were no longer relevant to me. It's all a matter of parsing what information and communication you want to have. If Shane is moving on, he's not going to pay attention to anyone at VT that wasn't already a friend. He certainly won't need to hear updates from Fuente about how things are going with football, I suspect he already has another connection.
Yea I agree, big diff tho moorehead left, shane is staying in some form for now. When he leaves, hey whatever.
Folks, I think people are reading way too much into a single action. I realize not everyone on this blog is in the same age bracket, but for people who were born before 1985, like myself, un-following someone on a social media platform is not a big deal nor is it indicative of an ulterior motive. As someone famously once said:
BTW, why can't it simply be the case that Shane started following Coach Fuente to get a sense of whether or not he might accept the VT HC position. Now that he has, why keep following him? Especially as they are in the same building now and can communicate face to face...
This could be why Shane unfollowed Fuente
Holy shit that would be HUGE. Talk about coaching tree. Basically planting one of these.
Angel Oak! That's 10 minutes from my house.
that would be an amazing opportunity for Shane. He could easily be a Dabo type orchestrating a top notch staff. USCe is a big jump, but that would be awesome.
This could be huge for Shane. USCe is high and dry right now without a coach and seemingly all of the viable previously identified candidates are heading in other directions. If Shane gets an offer for this job, he should jump at it with both feet.
It would certainly make speculation about Bud's career all the more intriguing.
Bud's not available.
That's not what I was saying. Replace "speculation" with "retrospection". Bud's been at VT all these years winning awards, waiting on a P5 job, and here Shane gets a shot in the SEC just like that. Would be intriguing.
I think that is an awesome opportunity for Shane if he that is what he wants. I think Shane could be Dabo 2.0 at USCe and it would really be great for his resume. And I have to admit, it would be really neat to see how Shane performs as a head coach in the SEC. That article made a lot of really good points.
247 is the only place (according to Google) reporting this. GamecockCentral.com popped up in the search, but it was referencing the 247 story and looked like it had been deleted (or pay walled).
Several references dating back to Spurrier's retirement or before have named him as a candidate, but no one else has mentioned the "contact".
For others, here is the 247 article:
http://southcarolina.247sports.com/Bolt/The-case-for-Shane-Beamer-at-Sou...
I think Shane going to another school is a necessary path for him. He can get more experience and then down the road could come back. If the position is open and he does, win win right.
Actually your comment is very lame and uncalled for. You don't KNOW what happened there or his heart or motives. Seriously
Shane is not staying, it would be a miracle if he does stay
I'd fully expect Shane to take a new job somewhere else to continue to progress his career, potentially picking up a HC role at one of the non-P5 schools that are impacted by the coaching carousel - (i.e., Memphis, Tulane, Temple, etc.).
If there is anything for Shane to learn out of this situation is to see Fuente's (and others') success came from taking a chance on a "coach-killer" HC job - similar to Houston, Temple, SMU, etc. Contrasted with long-term P5 coordinator approach hoping to get called up to a P5 school without HC experience. Hopefully Shane can go run his own show to demonstrate his capabilities vs. trying to find another x's and o's job that may not suit his strengths.
Worst case scenario is if Shane gets picked up by the new uva staff - not sure he would take that - but cannot fault him if he did.
I keep reading on twitter that Shane and Kirby Smart work well together...I didn't know they ever had before.
I bet Shane and CSL are doing a lot of bonding right now. It really has to be hard on Shane, but he's fortunate to have had the run and fortune that he has had.
I would be pretty bummed if I were told that I had to leave this area for a strange, new place.
"You had a good run, Shane, but it's time we tried someone else. Maybe you can come back in a few
playsyears. Surely you understand that."I thought burden pulled in some nice guys on short notice, when he has more time I'd say he would probably pull in some big time recruits plus you get a guy that knows the 757 and got us back in the door at ocean lakes.
What about some other names from recently demolished staffs we should keep an eye on? Chris Beatty and Chip West from UVA? Elliott and Mangus at USC'e? Locksley has been mentioned previously, I hope all washed their hands thoroughly after typing his name.
Former VT assistants: Was Tony Ball still at UGA? Whammy Ward at USC?
In particular, we need to add at least one key mid-atlantic recruiter.
Ball is now at LSU
There are some big mid-atlantic recruiters who are available. I like Burden but it may tempt Fuente to go with a more established guy.
Bryan mcclendon at uga was 1 guy I'm watching for, stud recruiter, he owns georgia.
Yea, I'd love that. Gurley was rated as only his 6th best recruit he was lead on in the last few years. Insane
No doubt, gurley is a beast to, if we could pull that kinda talent outta Georgia we would once again run the coastal. I really think getting better on offense will help us get better talent on d, it goes hand in hand.
Im hearing some twitter rumors that Fuente/Foster have retained Coach Gray.
I have a feeling well know officially by the end of day today if not sooner.
Yeah, I think many of us have heard that same rumor
Fuente said that last year was the first time he gave up play calling duties to allow him to focus on the program as a whole. I believe he had an OC and co-OC. Is one of them more "the guy" than the other regarding Memphis's offensive prowess? What happens if one of the OCs doesn't come with Fuente to VT? People are giving Fuente credit as a QB developer, but he has stated that he began to look at the program from the 50,000ft level. Won't his position coaches now be the people developing QBs, packaging plays, and calling plays?
I know no one probably knows this save Fuente himself, but anyone know the chances of lower tier staff staying on? Specifically thinking about Jarrett Ferguson for personal reasons (Mrs. APFOW is a HS friend of his) and GAs. Are GAs more tied to the school than coaches? I have no idea.
Huh.....just spent about 5 minutes googling AFPOW only to realize its a misspelled acronym....psssst its supposed to be Apfow as in his name...
Im getting olllllddddd, I dont know what's an acronym and what is not anymore.
Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed it. Geez you'd think I could spell out my own acronym.
Maybe the whiskey is to blame?
^^This guy could be onto something.
When Coach Greenberg got the axe not all of the student managers were kept on JJ's staff. Not sure if that applies to football — just FYI.
HC: Justin Fuente
OC/QB: ???
OL: Vance Vice
WR: Holmon Wiggins
TE/ST: James Shibest
RB/Recruiting Coordinator: Shane Beamer
DC/LB: Bud Foster
DL: Charley Wiles
LB: ???
DB: Torrian Gray
I'm assuming Brad Cornelsen is going to become our OC/QB when Memphis' season is over...a name that would be awesome to see would be Jack Tyler to fill the LB spot. He's currently a defensive assistant at James Madison and would probably jump at the opportunity to become our inside linebackers coach...I know he's obviously a little green but it would be cool to see.
EDIT: I didn't realize Shane was up for the USC-e job...holy crap what a coup for him if it works out.
Rumors are that Burden could be retained which would move Wiggins to RBs most likely. Our ILB coach is Bud though, so I think you'd rather him coach the OLB which in that case, I'd rather not have another coach there. Cornell was Whips and DEs and really, the Whip shrunk in its role. What I would LOVE to see is just Bud, Wiles, and Gray on D coaching LBs, DL, and DBs respectively. Then have Shibest go to exclusively ST, Wiggins on RB, Bruden on WR, and Stiney on TE/Recruiting. To me, that might be one of the best combinations, but my knowledge of coaches at Memphis and other position coaches around college football is limited.
This is the first i have seen that Shane is up for the USC-e job. That would be a HUGE risk for them to take. Hiring a position coach to be head coach is a massive jump for a position like USC-e. I expect him to land on a staff and then take a Group of 5 HC gig in a year or two.
http://southcarolina.247sports.com/Bolt/The-case-for-Shane-Beamer-at-Sou...
Pretty sure that Dabo was the wide receivers coach at Clemson when they showed Bowden the door. That worked out pretty well for them.
That was a different situation though. Bowden was let go midseason, so Dabo had a 7 game audition as Clemson's interim head coach before they hired him as the permanent HC.
True. Just sayin' though, that it's not unheard of to take a guy who's tagged as a high pot and give it a swing even if he's "just a position coach".
Isn't Shane the Assistant Head Coach or something like that? Don't forget that he was the lead coach during the bowl game last year when Frank had to sit in the booth. I realize that this is pretty weak, but it may be the stretch that USC-e is looking for to justify that Shane is more than just a position coach.
I might be alone here but I think it will be really weird without Shane...
HC: Justin Fuente
OC/QB: Brad Cornelsen
OL: Vance Vice
WR: Zohn Burden
TE/ST: James Shibest
RB: Holmon Wiggins
DC/LB: Bud Foster
DL: Charley Wiles
Whip/Rover: TBD (Cody Grimm come on down!)
DB: Torrian Gray
Recruiting coordinator: TBD
Sorry everyone:
Crootin' coordinator: Bryan Stinespring
Why sorry I think he has a good reputation in that position.
Hmmm except the coordinator is an assistant coach. At least historically has been. Is that not a requirement?
If not, then Stiney's ok by me as the coordinator.
Too many coaches if you have recruiting separate, but other than that, this list looks like what I think it will end up being.
yeah it wasn't clear in the post - I meant the recruiting coordinator would be one of the listed coaches but I didn't know which it would be.
What are the thoughts on Cornelsen as OC? He was co-OC at Memphis, right?
people today seeing that he is coming to the staff
Man, I'm still thinking Dickey. Dude doesn't seem to want to be a HC anymore based on his resume. Probably medical reasons as to why he doesn't want to be "the man". Anyway, I'd love to have him here as well. Helped running game everywhere he's been. I think Cornelsen stays on as OC with Memphis and Dickey comes to Blacksburg.
Correct. He took over the co-OC job this year when CJF decided to focus on HC duties. I'm going to assume he'll be co-OC here with CJF for a year or so before CJF relinquishes the reins.
From Coachingsearch.com:
Virginia Tech: Memphis co-offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach Brad Cornelsen will join Justin Fuente's staff after Memphis' bowl game, according to Rivals.com.
Good to know thanks for the link. Either way between Cornelsen and Fuente, they did an excellent job developing Lynch, which makes me happy, but really helps Lawson, who it would seem better fits the spread. I'm not sleeping on Motley either, but It would be nice to see what could be drawn up for his skill set. Just my opinion, but it sure seemed like there wasn't much succession planning after Brewer went down in the OSU game.
In all honesty, grooming a backup QB is not something VT has ever done well.
So far I'm batting 100% from my prediction post-JF presser! :)
*pats self on back*
So far I'm batting
100%1.000 from my prediction post-JF presser! :)*
pats self on back* *Leaves room*Sorry, couldn't resist.
Haha leg for you my friend!
That's the fourth Memphis assistant coming over. Plus, the three VT defense coaches. That leaves two spots open.
Rumblings of Zohn getting an interview and possibly staying with the new staff.
It looks like a safe bet that Loeffler, Stinespring, and Searels are gone.
I just can't figure out what they're doing with the spot being vacated by Brown. Leaving it on defense or shifting to offense? Is Shibest going to be ST exclusive and we get another TE coach?
Sure seems like they would move it to the offensive side of the ball, but that's the million dollar question of the day. I know I just really appreciate the fact that Whit got as many of Fuente's guys here as soon as he did. Has to give us at least a smaller edge in recruiting just based on the amount of time they will be able to dedicate to recruiting vs having to prepare for a bowl game.
At what point does moving defensive coaches to offense hurt the defense though? Offensive staff already outnumbers defensive 5-4, not including the hc
In addition to Gray, Wiles will also return:
NICE!
coachingsearch.com reporting that burden will be retained as well
No, actually the story said he was under consideration. He has not been retained yet unless someone has confirmation on this with no offense intended. I hope he is as WR coach.
It said will be retained when I saw it also, as far as burden goes.
So our asst staff budget went up from previous year, I believe 3.4mil total. Do we know what Memphis's's'(sp?) asst coach budget was?
I guess what I am asking, the budget CJF had at memphis increase to here, plus 200K(right?) should be more than enough to retain the good guys and bring in the new guys.
The new guys are going to make out pretty well it seems.?.
Memphis' (english is stupid)
or Memphis's - when it's a singular noun, can do it either way.
At least he's had enough education to realize it doesn't sound right. That's all I've got going for me sometimes.
-misssspelled
-definitely, definetly, def...whatever.
According to USA Today 2014 index Memphis salary total was $2,043,178
(post fail - was supposed to be under DoseDiggety's post above)
edited to add: this number did not include Fuente - it was just assistant coaches
Then there was this:
Memphis reportedly offering Justin Fuente even more than Houston's $3 million Tom Herman offer
That was just Fuente though. No statement I saw had more $$ for assistants. Not that there wasn't any, just none reported
Fuente's assistants will receive $3,400,000 per year, total. Bud Foster is scheduled to make $925,000 in 2016, so that leaves $2,475,000 for the other eight assistants. Virginia Tech paid assistant coaches a total of $3,217,190 during the 2015 season.
Assistant coaches will receive 1.5 months of their base salary as a bonus if the Hokies make a Tier 1 bowl. They will receive one month salary if the Hokies make a Tier 2 bowl.
The University will provide a budget of $420,000 for four positions: Director of Operations, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Video Coordinator and Director of Recruiting.
Virginia Tech will pay for the housing of up to nine assistant coaches for three months as they transition to Blacksburg.
Sauce?
Edit. Im assuming you are saying each coach is not necessarily making more.
Either way, this leaves room for a bigger staff or a better paid staff
Wires getting crossed left and right :)
I was responding that Memphis offered 3 million to Fuente, but nothing was said of the assistants salaries at Memphis.
The Memphis guys should be getting decent raises moving over to VT.
I found 2015 amounts for the VT staff...
The assistants that we know are staying:
Foster: $925,000 (per contract)
Wiles: $308,990 (2015 amount)
Gray: $275,600 (2015 amount)
That totals: 1,509,590
The leftover amount from budgeted is : 1,890,410
The 2014 salaries for incoming VT coaches (that we know) were:
Shibest: $260,094
Wiggins: $208,075
Vice: $208,075
Cornelsen: $150,854
Their total was: $827,098
For comparison if we look at salary freed up by coach that have, may, or are expected to be released we have (2015 amounts):
Loeffler: $424,000
Stinespring: $337,080
Searels: $280,900
S Beamer: $252,810
Brown: $252,810
Burden: $185,000 (I think he stays but now official word)
It sure looks like their is room for some nice raises for the assistants
Great Jorb! That the stuff i was searching for and couldnt find. I loved beamer putting asst pay first and im loving that we are continuing to spend for the remaining staff.
Even with Burden, still concerned about recruiting.
Again no offense intended, but where has it been reported Burden has been retained. Coachsearch..com said he was only under consideratio as of yesterday?
So now with Shibest officially announced as the TE and ST coach and Wiggins announced as the WR coach we have 2 open positions on the staff based upon the Memphis OC and OL coach coming over.
Edit: I thought the Wiggins position was common knowledge.
http://www.hokiesports.com/football/coaches/
By Highins did you mean Holman Wiggins? If so, where did you see/hear the WR coach confirmation?
Hokie sports coach page.
Wiggins was announced as an assistant but not what position. There were (are?) thoughts that he might switch to RB since he was a RB.
There was, I was one of the first, since he played and coached that position previously. But it lists him as WR on the coaches roster.
If we are going to have a LB coach other than Foster, I wouldn't mind seeing Fuente bring in a new face from outside the current Memphis/VT staffs. A guy I really like is John Papuchis, LB coach at UNC. Here's why:
1. He's a Virginia Tech grad (although he never played football for VT)
2. He has worked with some of the best Defensive minds in college football: Saban, Muschamp, Pelini, and now Chizik. Why not add Bud Foster to that list?
3. He is very well rounded - DC experience, coached DL, DE, LB, and Special Teams (was one of four finalists for the FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator-of-the-Year Award in 2010), as well as Recruiting Coordinator.
4. Very solid recruiter with ties to the mid-atlantic region - grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
5. Exclusive Power 5 experience - Kansas, LSU, Nebraska, UNC
6. I would love to steal a quality guy away from Fedora/Chizic. Look at how much improvement they have made on defense in just one year.
7. Did I mention that he is a VT grad?
this is a fantastic idea
Wow, yeah, this is a great idea. Someone get him on the phone
He coached at Blacksburg High School but didn't have a role in the VT atheltic dept? Is there a reason why?
Just taking a guess but I'd assume he wanted to go to Tech but wasn't good enough of a player for D-I ball but could coach. Kinda like Buzz situation.
But he didn't become a student manager or anything else in the athletic I dept?
Some people place greater value in developing a diverse professional network over staying home.
I mean while he was at the school. I'm happy to see more coaches who didn't play the game I'm just surprised he didn't take his obvious skill at the job to Frank and Co while he was already a student.
I'm sorry about a slow response to your original question. I have no idea why he either was or wasn't involved with VT's athletic dept. I remember reading bios or watching interviews were he was said to have tried to walk on the foitball team 3 times, but did not make it. He said that he had no hard feelings.
He could have been a student manager, it isn't clear. It is clear that volunteered at BHS and that he GA'd elsewhere.
I just learned about Papuchis this week as well. I was looking through Rivals recruiting database to see which coaches from other schools were recruiting Virginia. I was really surprised to learn about everything you listed about Papuchis. VT grad, great experience, now working at UNC but is recruiting VA/MD.
Another guy I'm interested in is Lonnie Galloway, WR coach at WVU. Played at Western Carolina, coached at Elon, Appy St, ECU, Wake and WVU. Recruits VA/NC/MD for WVU now. They just gave Holgersen a one year stay, so if I'm a guy like Galloway, time to freshen up that resume.
Then there are the two UVA coaches we should be interested in: Chris Beatty and Chip West. Most know Beatty's name, he was a HS coach in VA in the 757, has coached WR and RB at WVU, Vandy (under Franklin), Illinois, Wisky and UVA. Chip West is the guy credited for all those good UVA commits (Brown, Blanding, Harold, Smoke, Nicholson). Has been recruiting coordinator and CB's coach at UVA since 2010. Before that, came up through the FCS ranks, including JMU and ODU*. Probably the best 757 recruiter out there. To get him, you let him coach Rover/Whips and name him recruiting coordinator, pay him $300K. And it takes him away from Bronco's staff, where he would be very valuable.
(*of note, West background is similar to Burden's. If you think Burden can become West, then you roll with him)
It seems the likely scenario for these last two slots is Burden and Scott. But one of Galloway/Beatty and one of Papuchis/West may be a better recruiting staff.
What we *officially* have so far, judging by the team's website:
Hokiesports.com :: Football :: Coaches
Other reports, but not yet here/pictured/official:
-Vance Vice, OL
-Brad Cornelsen, OC & QB
Rumor(?):
-Galen Scott, OLB & AHC
TBD, based on <2015 coaching roster:
-Running Backs
-Recruiting Coord.
-ILB (Bud?)
-Other staff ("Director of...")
Vice was just added. No picture, but adding his name makes it official.
Not sure of what Fuente said. Maybe someone can add some insight into this.
Coach Fu was with Luther Maddy at the awards banquet in Richmond last night. It may not have been recorded.
One possible option for finishing up the new staff that I don't think I've heard would be to have Wiggins at RB coach, Shibest at WR, and retain Stinespring for TEs and as the recruiting coordinator. People have mentioned Wiggins coaching the RBs coach and retaining Burden since he played RB and coached there initially, but Shibest played at WR and has coached there before so it's not a stretch to picture him moving to coach WRs. .
Out of the three current coaches, I would rank them all about the same. I think Stiney has done the best job of the three coaching (TEs, not coordinating) and a good job with recruiting. Shane has been one of the better recruiters on the team, though a little underwhelming the last couple years compared to the first couple years he was on staff; as a coach he has done a pretty good job teaching but his rotation at RB through much of his coaching tenure has left much to be desired. Burden is still unproven and hasn't had the chance to get his own recruits in and coach them yet and has the potential to be a very good coach and recruiter in the future; I would rate him as an above average recruiter but only an average coach since he hasn't been able to develop a 3rd and 4th receiver this year.
From a salary standpoint Stiney is the most expensive to retain, while Burden would probably take the smallest chunk from CJF's assistant budget, but realistically it is possible for any of the three to stick around with coaches that are currently on staff or likely to be brought in from Memphis at this point.
IMO, Shibest will stay on Special Teams. Wiggins I think will be at RB and Burden retained at WR (as per Guitarman's post above). Stiney may be on team but moved up to Recruiting Coordinator unless he takes job elsewhere. He could go for FBS level HC gig.
Given the recent news that Mike London is now on staff at UMd, which shares two very important recruiting areas, I believe that it is imperative that we either retain Stinespring as a position coach or move him to director of recruiting. We cannot ignore the coaching upgrades/changes that have occurred to all the FBS programs along the East Coast, but especially in the Mid Atlantic region.
One out of the box idea, get/hire Ruffin McNeill for the open Defensive Coaching position. He was a former DC, former HC and knows the area.
If we are not going to retain Stinespring for recruiting purposes, then we need someone either on the football staff or support staff with strong recruiting ties to the Mid Atlantic region.
I really hope the news about retaining WR Coach Burden is true. He was brought on board to improve our recruiting efforts in the 757.
I think director of recruiting, if there is space, would be a great spot for Steinspring.
I am a Stinespring fan and would love to see him retained in some capacity. At his age (52) I can't see him hanging up his whistle just yet. So, I fully expect to see him coaching somewhere in 2016.
I never thought I'd say this, but I hope Stinespring stays....as a recruiter. The Rufin McNeill idea isn't a bad one, but egos might get in the way there. I want to say Mike London would be a great recruiter for us, but that guy just seems like too much of a doofus. I really think he lucked into the Thoroughbreds via their bitterness towards VT and basically told any other kid whatever they wanted to hear just so they'd sign on.
I hear that, I think the Stinespring staying as a recruiter makes sense because he has those connections, you never know though if those connections have gone stale.
What is clear, is if they do bring in someone new, without connections, you hope he can be an Aaron Moorehead type that can bring some rejuvination to areas we seemed to have lost.
Unless they give Stiney the TEs to coach, I disagree with having a coach who is only responsible for recruiting. That's a position that is better used to develop talent. If Stiney were to get the Director of High School Relations, the position that Thomas Guerry has and is doing well at, I would not agree with it, but I would understand. The thing is though, Stiney is restricted to communications from campus and no visits in that role. I don't know enough about assistant coaches out there who would be good recruiters. I liked some of the ideas people mentioned of Chip West and Beatty from UVA, but if we keep Shane or Stiney, they need to have a position responsibility as well. Whether it's Shane with the RBs or even ST or Stiney with the TEs, they can't only have recruiting as their responsibility.
Looks like UVA just stole your crazy idea.
shit.
What we learned from this is Littlepage uses TKP for all his football related news and information.
And doesn't even donate.
He certainly isn't getting any football related information from the "grounds".
Yeah.... That really blows....
Oh #LOLUVA...
Just throwing this out there, but if the continued talk about Shane to ECU become true, Stiney could end up going with him.
Still not official, but Teel retweeted this from Icon Sports Consulting (Burden's representation?), saying that Burden is being retained as the RB coach now.
A flip from what we were expecting I guess
This is an interesting development. Ok French or anyone else have any informed thoughts on this?
Burden is probably a very valuable asset to recruiting parts of Virginia. He's young, energetic, and ambitious. Fuente probably trusts Wiggins to coach his WRs the way he wants them to be coached but wants to keep Burden on staff in some capacity. RB coach was a position that needed to be filled. Add 1 and 1 and you get 2. Right?
My #sauces are confirming that 1+1 does in fact equal 2.
In a surprise twist, Zohn to coach RB's?
More at 11.
Ok so here's my theory.
CJF arrives and he is either unsure of Burden at first or he just plans to wait to announce Burden for whatever reason. There's one problem. We have a huge class of WR's committed with more that we're still going after and we have no WR's coach in place. To address the issue CJF goes ahead and names Wiggins the WR's coach for recruiting purposes even if that's not where he was going to stay.
Now this may be a long shot but I'm predicting that here in the near future Wiggins and Burden flip roles as to better suit their collective experience (unless Burden has RB experience I don't know about).
Disclaimer: I'm probably just a complete crackpot but if I'm right then I claim #sauce status (as we learned with the coaching search anyone can be a #sauce no matter what they claim).
One more position to fill more than likely on the defensive side of the ball.
It's Galen, they are combining Whips/LB's most likely and giving him the entire LB position. Source: 247
I hate combining them. Whips are one in the same with our Rovers and that's why they are coached separately.
247 boards are hardly a credible enough source for you to seem so sure. I've seen nothing from anywhere reputable even mentioning Galen Scott to Tech. Single sourced material is always suspect, especially when that #source is a message board.
Not to mention why wouldn't they announce it by now? They have announced other staff members who are coming over.
Teel also mentioned it a few days ago...
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-vt-zohn-burden-p...
"Memphis...linebackers coach Galen Scott (is) expected to complete Fuente's staff."
You won't have to wait that long to find out now. I know this board doesn't like 247 cause it's a "subscription" board but they definitely give the best info on the Hokies athletic department. Czy and Evan have very good sources not to mention TCB, Willard, Dwight Vick, Matej(who is on the board of visitors), 4bird and RangerHokie. They have never given a scoop that was very far off. So I think I'll take their word for what's going on over yours or anyone else on this board who isn't a Mod that is in the know.
It's not true that TKP doesn't like 24/7 or any other subscription service. The connected people at 24/7 report good information, just like the insiders at TSL have their own connections. Some guys know what they're talking about. There is, however, a false narrative that gets perpetuated that anything behind a paywall is somehow instantly more credible. Saying something is from 24/7 means little; saying something that the reputable sources are reporting carries more weight, otherwise it could just be people passing around random stuff.
That's funny, tweets from Mods here saying stuff about paying for bolts had been posted over there and even commented on b by CZY. So i guess that was just taken out of context. So that's neither here nor there. Well I'm not going to post anything from behind a pay wall however it has been said by multiple people in the know that GS is indeed the plan.
Bartelstein replaces Ballein and Bost replaces Tom Booth.
Boys and girls, I got another idea! Don't worry, #LOLUVa already have their full staff. Okay, here we go:
Besides VT and #LOLUVa, UMd also have a turnover amongst the coaching staff. Among the coaches who will not be retained is this gentleman, one Chad Wilt. He coached the D-line for UMd. He was also their primary recruiter for Montgomery County, MD. Since we still have one more coaching hire to make, and it is on the defensive side of the ball, this could be really good for us. What do you all think?
Here is his bio on 247Sports:
247Sports Link
Here is the article that inspired my idea:
SB Nation - UMd Article
Galen Scott has been mentioned as the LB coach. It just hasn't been completely confirmed. There is a link in article above mentioning it.
Hmmm.....
I hope he is a better coach than he is a recruiter. Also, from what I read, it looks like Coach Fuente is grooming him to be the next VT DC after Coach Foster retires. This is just conjecture on my part so don't read to much into it. Hope I'm wrong. Would love Coach Torrian Gray to be our next DC.
Bud and Fuente have yet to coach a game together, and Scott was underwhelming to say the least as a DC at Memohis. I'd say it's quite a bit too early to say he's being groomed to take over for Bud.
Like I said, pure conjecture on my part, but why bring anyone from the Memphis Defensive staff. He, Scott, didn't impress as DC this past season and he stayed when the previous Memphis DC was hired to be the DC at Missouri. Not exactly getting a great feeling for this particular coach. Then there are the personal connections that he has with Fuente. Probably wild speculation, due to football season being over, but it sure seems convenient. ;-) Take it for what you will. Happy New Year.
So if Galen Scott is really coming like football scoop says the Memphis fans seem really happy to see him go. That is a little concerning.
the difference is that he is not coming here to be our DC...he is coming here to work for Bud.
Right. Maybe he is a better fit as a position coach and not a coordinator. Kind of like that guy on our previous staff named Steinspring. He was not a good OC, but did well as the TE coach.
Fuente seems to be very loyal to his coaches. Where have we seen that before? :-)
did any of the 9 coaches come from somewhere other than Memphis or VT in 2015?
No, but at least we didn't scramble and hire a GA to his first coaching job after getting burned by an announced DL Coach hire deciding to stay at his G5 school after all...
LOL. i mean, from a fan POV, we retained some coaches, but i guess from Fuente's POV, he went out and hired some great new assistants from an ACC football program to add to what he considered the best of his current staff. I just would have thought we would be bringing in some fresh faces from varying backgrounds. i'm not disappointed, just surprised.