Ive seen it being talked about a lot in the other threads about TG being on the move and im interested to get everyone's thoughts on who the next DB coach should be.
I have seen Anthony midgets name thrown around from the Texans and would love him but can we afford him?
Nick Sorensen another name ive seen.
and Pierson Prioleau another name.
all these are ex hokies. is there anyone outside of ex VT players we could bring in that's hot right now?
I for one wouldn't mind Cody Grim being the DB coach. a grad assistant last year and from what it looked like a lot of work with DBs, with NFL experience as a safety, hes got a TON of coaching ties through family. We already know about his work ethic. ties to the area. I don't know if he could recruit but my instincts tell me he can do pretty much anything he puts his mind too. does he have Florida ties with his time with bucs?
Comments
First call: John Papuchis, UNC.
Bring him in as LB coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Move Galen Scott to DB's. Or keep Scott with LB and put Papuchis on DB's. Papuchis has been a DC before (at Nebraska), so he may be better suited to handle DB's.
I would check in to see what Chip West has been doing. Good contacts in the 757 with UVA. It always seemed that UVA got more than they should have out of DB's under West.
Robert Prunty isn't a great fit, he's been a DL/OLB coach in his career and is currently the co-DC and AHC at Cincy. But he's also two time recruiter of the year, former Hargrave coach.
Really on West? While he recruited well I always felt his "stars" both at the position he coached them and the ones he recruited didn't live up to their potential and hype once in college. Maybe that's just my OM glasses though.
A few of his players have received All-ACC honors, freshman All-American honors by Nicholson in 2011, and All-American honors for Blanding last year. Dowling was a 2nd rd pick in 2011 under him as well. His recruit list on 247 is impressive, and he was named ACC Recruiter of the Year twice and once a finalist for national recruiter of the year by 247. I have to take my O&M glasses off and say he would be a great candidate.
I understand that, but it seemed like UVA only really cared about the stars next to a kids name, they had a lot of transfers and non factors, how much of that is on him not evaluating kids?
I think a lot of that speaks to how poorly the program was run under London. I can't pretend there is no talent at all at UVa. Brown, Nicholson, Blanding etc would have all been welcomed here. Most all of West's gets were/are major contributors and were their best recruits.
London's player development was a shit show.
That's the discussion here. VT and Fuente have both valued player development over recruiting over the years. With the mindset that if you win, you can recruit. And you can recruit well as a group. Other schools have valued recruiting over player development, Al Groh's UVA staff was a great example. Nobody ever got better at UVA under Groh.
The best schools have coaches who are good at both. That's the difference in money, those $350K assistant coaches who are great recruiters and great at player development.
So is a guy like West worth it? If he brings in 5 good players every year, for other positions than his, that we wouldn't get. Give Wiles a better DE than we normally get. Give Wiggens a better WR. Give Foster a better LB.
My opinion is that West is at least a solid position coach. Guys like Dowling should never have been anything, but was a 1st round pick (2nd round?). Who was the guy who led the NCAA in interceptions two years ago? Harris? Blanding was a 5* who plays like one.
Edit: That said, I can't find where West has been picked up by anyone. Which is a red flag in itself.
We don't know how long VT has known about TG leaving. Maybe Chip West hasn't been picked up because a deal is already done for him to come over to the good guys......
Agreed. I seriously doubt Fu and Whit were not aware of Gray leaving before yesterday. It's not like he walked into Fu's office yesterday afternoon and said "well, since we got our class inked I'm going to peace out."
Hokie Sports put out a release yesterday for Lynchburg Hokie Club recruiting night, tonight at 6 pm. The speaker was to be TG. Me thinks Fuente and the program had no idea what was happening.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CaUVAjPUYAA2f6Q.jpg
FYI - You don't "peace out". It's not an act, like "chill out". It's a short form way to express parting blessings, and to let someone know that you are leaving. Long form might look something like this... "Peace be with you. I'm heading out." Due to apparent serious time constraints, the cool cats say, "Peace. Out."
Just looking to help. Not judging, or berating.
Uh actually, people do say that.
"I'm gonna peace"/"He's peaced out" is a common phrase.
irregardless
just because people use it and it's a "common phrase" does not make it correct.
What you did there....i see it... ha ha! i HATE that word.
Unless it's part of a regional or cultural dialect.
Oh, for goodness' sake. Are we having linguistic debates about the proper usage of slang terms now? lol
what else are we gonna talk about? It's the off season. I'm tired of hearing about our recruiting class. Torrian Gray is gone. It's a shame but we'll move on. Not much more to say on those topics.
Until French's Memphis film reviews come out or a new DB coach is hired I'd rather talk about the intricacies of the English language than our recruiting class, or speculating on the future of the program, or debating whether wins or donations are more important to the growth of VT football, etc etc.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind linguistic discussion at all. It's kinda my job when I'm not on TKP.
Here's one for you. I've seen and heard "peace out" as an infinitive and in the simple past "he peaced out" and the pluperfect "he had peaced out a long time ago." But I've never found it used in the present -- either simple "he peaces out" or progressive "he's peacing out" -- or the future "he will peace out." Until a salient number of attestations can be documented, I think we can safely consider "peace" out to be a defective verb.
(Too far?)
as someone who has a background in Engineering I'm in way over my head when it comes to language. But f*** it, I'll give it a shot anyway.
I think it's probably hard to assign parts of speech to slang. I think the original post arguing that "Peace Out" isn't an act but rather a contraction of a phrase would support your conclusion that it is a defective verb. It's not really actually a verb at all.
My head hurts.
Language does that sort of thing though. Sort of how "inbox" used to be simply a noun, but with the advent of Facebook it's become a verb as well. Same with "fax" which started out as a slang abbreviation of "facsimile" but now is so widely used as a noun and a verb that I bet you'd be hard-pressed to hear someone use "facsimile" in the same manner.
It's not so much a matter of assigning parts of speech to a slang or nonstandard form, but rather observing how it's used in speech communities and how members of said community deem those uses acceptable. The attributions follow the acceptability judgments of users.
I've never heard "inbox" used as a verb...I'm struggling to contrive a situation where that works.
It's become a buzzword in business and sometimes social media. "Hey, inbox me those results ASAP." Ridiculous how it's become a surrogate for a perfectly good word: send.
it makes no sense. Like so many things in this world. I guess it's fitting.
I've spent most of my 15 years in the corporate world trying to stamp out the use of "ask" as a noun, e.g. "what's their ask for this?". Makes me want to commit brutal murder every time some asshat says it in a meeting. If I was CEO I'd make it an act resulting in immediate termination and a security escort off the premises.
That being said, I've never had anyone ask me to "inbox" something to them. I know I've never heard it because I'm not in jail for murder.
Ask is a noun - see http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/ask :
Ask is much more valid as a noun than inbox as a verb. It is the technically correct term for the lowest amount a potential seller will accept to sell. See 'bid-ask spread', etc. It is the most common way to signify that concept in financial markets (although there are other ways to say it). I've never heard it used outside of financial applications, but it doesn't seem like much of a stretch.
If someone is using it to mean something else other than that, that would possibly be annoying, but it's not easy to tell from your example.
C'mon man. It's a message board.
Yeah, I know. I'm messin around.
yeah ditto. This is a message board, sure. But I'd much rather talk about linguistics and semantics than recruiticorns and coaching changes. Maybe that's just me though.
I dunno about discussing linguistics but I actually enjoy editing. I lived with VT Engineers Junior-Senior year and did a ton of editing for their papers.
They're brilliant guys: one works for Tesla building their battery factories, another earthquake-proofs buildings in San Francisco, the third works at the Lake Anna nuclear power plant and the last guy is a Nuke engineer for the Navy (about to head to Pearl Harbor, poor guy) -- but man did they need help writing.
I took the beer brewing class with one of them and he legit dropped the class because he didn't want to write a 10 page single spaced essay.
Having taken that class, he definitely shouldn't have stressed the paper. I'm pretty sure they weren't even read because I got a 100, and wrote it the night before it was due, while drunk on Jameson and having a mini-stroke.
I'm more of a sociolinguist than a semantician, personally.
ha..ha
have a leg
I was going to comment on this, but I have a tendency to be condescending.
(That means I talk down to people)
That's easy for a horse to do. How many hands high are you?
Regular or Boykin?
Ok this needs to be a measurement from now.
No, no. Condescend. Go for it. There's no football on for a few cold months. :)
Oh you silly kids!
Can confirm. A relevant example to us Hokies:
I definately have heard and said to people "I am about to peace out, ..." or "I am going to have to peace out about 11..." Definately used interchangeably for leave
You've convinced me he may be a good candidate. Call up Raz-Eye Dowel-Rod and ask him if West was a good coach.
Midget and Sorenson likely are well within our price range. They're only assistant position coaches, which I believe pays in the 150-200k range, though I can't find actual salaries.
really? hmm I didn't look it up either. but seems to me that an NFL assistant would be making more than a college assistant. maybe just a bad assumption by me.
He's saying that he's a DB assistant coach, where in college he'd be the DB coach.
Isn't he only an assistant position coach? I doubt they make as much
If we are looking at high school coaches, how about T J Jackson , a top football coach with one of the best high school teams in Florida, former Hokie linebacker/safety. Delray Beach Florida.
On Midget! On Fuller! On Sorenson and Prioleau! On D-Lo! On Carpenter! On McCadam!
Just say no to D-Lo. Loved the guy as a player, but he did not strike me as the kind of person you want as a coach. Very me-first. Plus he's been with the Redskins so long, I don't think it'd be possible to scrub the stench of failure (the team's failure, not his personal failure) off him.
I didn't downleg your comment (though I do feel it was a bit too harsh AND completely disregarded his accomplishments).
plus I think Dhall while he may have came in a very selfish player has matured a lot over the years. would you take Deion sanders to be your DB coach?
No, I would not have taken Deion Sanders at a similar stage in his life to where DHall is now. I'd be ecstatic to see him coaching my team today, though. He has become exponentially more mature and likable in the years since he retired. Maybe he was the same guy all along, but his public persona during his playing days was not that of a guy who'd be a good coach.
My understanding is that Hall is very similar, i.e. his on-field persona does not reflect his real-life personality. I think that's not uncommon among DBs.
I can say this is not a new development for DHall.. I was with my family at a deli in the ATL area when Hall was just out of school with the Falcons. He was there, with his significant other and they were meeting with someone about some business and eating sandwiches (my assumption through general observation as I did not eavesdrop). As they were leaving, he noticed my daughter wearing a VT sweatshirt and flashed a big smile to us. I spoke up and said we were all excited that he was in ATL and looked forward to seeing him on the field. He was very polite and teased my daughter about getting a Falcon sweatshirt too. Great kid, very humble and well spoken. Personally, I consider him a true credit to our school. Don't forget, he committed to the Hokies early too and actually helped in recruiting KJ to join him in the class... Too many people got turned off by his on field bravado and judged his emotional style too harshly.
I didn't disregard his accomplishments. He was a great player here, and a good one in the NFL. I just didn't believe he had the traits to be a good coach. I may have to walk that back just a little after a bit of research. I always belived he succeeded due mostly to freakish athletic ability and not necessarily because he was smarter than the other guys on the field, which is fairly typical for corners. After looking it up, I see that he had the highest Wunderlic score among CB's in his draft class (23, and second place was just 19). That said, I'm still not convinced he has the right attitude to be a successful college coach. It takes time to erase a prima donna reputation, whether deserved or not. Maybe he'll get a chance and prove me wrong, though. Who knows?
And the stench of failure comment was entirely a jab at the Redskins organization, who I've despised my whole life, not a personal attack on DeAngelo.
From all accounts the D Lo of today is a upfront first class person. Does a lot for the community. He's been a great cb and now a safety... Sure he needs experience as a coach but Not fair to think he's the same person he was at age 20
That's good to know. I don't follow the Redskins (or the NFL in general, really). I know that he has long had a prima donna reputation. If he's grown and left that behind him, good on him. It's still going to take more to convince me that he (or any other successful NFL player) would be a good DB coach at the collegiate level. I'm reminded of the old adage that "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." Doing a thing well and teaching others to do that thing well require completely different skill sets. He's demonstrated the first set. To my knowledge, the second set is a great unknown. All the more reason we should all be glad that I'm just a dummy commenting on the internet, rather than making these sorts of decisions.
Isn't Hall still an active player?
Yes, and has revitalized his career with a move to safety.
Randy.
Shannon.
Are you trying to get someone to throw a stick into your treadmill?
Then again, he had a good reputation as a defensive coach before Miami tried to use him as a HC.
He would cost a pretty penny.
We do need someone who can coach and recruit. If we had the money, this would have the side benefit of taking a prized possession from Florida. But you'd also likely have to make him an associate head coach, which I don't really see as possible.
The idea, though. I've got my eye on you.
Would he cost a lot? Isn't he still being paid by Miami not to coach there? Could be a bargain.
I don't think you'd have to make him associate head coach, either. Someone already has that title. Bud and (I beileve) Galen Scott have already been named associate head coach and assistant coach, although I can't remember which one got which title.
What about Loren Johnson? He doesn't have any college coaching history, but he played at VT, and is the head coach at Highland Springs High School.
I could totally dig Loren Johnson.
Perfect. He would be my first call, even without college coaching experience.
EDIT: He was named the Coach of the Year in the VHSL for 2015.
Loren Johnson named 2015 VHSL Coach of the Year
Excellent Quote here from an interview with Dwight Vick a couple years ago:
Link to full article here via 247.
He could be sort of a 'TGray 2.0' since he was a so-to-speak protege of TGray's in college.
Wait so Cornell Brown, who Fuente did not retain, is still trying to help us out with finding a new DB coach?
I. LOVE. THIS.
#hokieforlife
Cornell Brown is Hokie to the core!
Quick story on Loren Johnson:
Stonewall Jackson (near where I grew up) hosted camps for middle/high school kids and he was the head coach there. They had two camps: one for lineman, one for skill players. Well, I accidentally signed up for the skill player one. I informed him of the mistake and he said I could a refund, but my parents were already gone so I went ahead and went through the day. I must say that a linemen running and doing drills with exclusively skill players is a funny sight. I was miserable, obviously. At the end of a group chat he pulled me aside and said: "I see you have some great hands but you have some of the slowest feet I have ever seen. I see you're working hard, keep it up" He said it in a joking and light hearted manner and got a laugh out of both us. He made that day not only bearable but fun. I really hope he gets the gig. There might be better DB coaches, but it will be hard to find a better person.
He was a pretty great Substitute Teacher at Lord Botetourt when I was there, this was two years removed from his Hokie days.
An update on Loren Johnson, who Dwight Vick and some others have been high on for quite some time:
This year he led Highland Springs to their second consecutive 5A State Championship (over Stone Bridge). It's great having a former Hokie become a premier HS football coach in our state. Hopefully it helps with Becton and whoever else he produces.
edit: I'm sorry, I didn't TKP hard enough here.
Loren Johnson has been mentioned in other places. Would definitely help with recruiting Richmond and NOVA
Someone who can recruit the region like there's no tomorrow.
I mentioned Kirk Callahan in another thread. He was the DB coach at Florida. He had success at UCF before his one season at UF. Don't know what happened at UF but he is a great coach with Florida ties.
Word on the street was he got cut because he didn't recruit that well this year.
Also, the product he put on the field was apparently not where McElwain wanted it. Basically he's just a little too green for P5 right now.
Weren't two secondary players all conference of some sort?
Yeah. Exactly. I'm just passing on what I read on a Gator website. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to me either.
hargreaves was essentially a lock to be a top player this year, he's a kendall fuller type talent. not sure about the other player
Jalen Tabor was the other guy
Also a big time 5* recruit that probably has a pre-punched ticket to the NFL
well hargraves was a 1st round pick no matter who coached him so....
We're going to have a hard time paying for someone with extensive P5 experience though.
This guy got a lot of the players to UNCheat that we recruited hard.
http://247sports.com/Coach/Charlton-Warren-783
He coached under Papuchis at Nebraska.
Can I just say, even though I don't agree and don't want this guy anywhere NEAR our staff, I love your signature AND the fact that it is directly below the phrase CarolinaSucks.com
Then we could fire him and pull a Bob Stoops... But no
I've heard Nick Saban is a good DB coach.
How about the Fridge? I thought Ralph played Defensive Back?
hey frank beamer was a Great DB back in his day and a heck of a coach I heard he is available!!
Which further illustrates the point that we don't have the faintest idea of who will be considered targets for this position. It will be interesting to see how long it takes Whit/Fu to make a hire, and for sure it will be interesting to see if that hire has ties to VT, or if they go in a totally different direction. The way Whit has worked so far, you'd think he and Fuente are working together on this and likely have a successor picked out. We'll see. Until then, I'd say Saban is my choice of conjectures so far.
AAR from Maryland would be a hell of a steal. He was a support coach under Saban and widely considered one of the best recruiters in the DC/Maryland area
Que?
Azzaar Abdul-Rahim. Was the head coach that founded the Friendship Academy (DC) football program and then took it to high school powerhouse. Then accepted a job as a defensive analyst for Alabama and was then the assistant director of player personnel.
He is now currently the Assistant DB coach at Maryland.
With a background in working in player personnel (recruiting) directly and being a productive football coach, he would be a pretty good candidate.
Torrian Gray
Darrell Green knows the NOVA region pretty well.
Darrell Green's son went to UVA as a wide receiver. I don't think he has any love for Va. Tech.
I like how everybody jumps on the bandwagon to hire a former Tech DB. We've become so accustom to having former players and long-tenured coaches at Tech. Now that Beamer is gone, we're on the coaching carousel like everybody else...
Fuente's staff was entirely guys he had previously worked with or Foster's guys. He didn't take a risk at all in hiring someone he didn't know very well.
That's not entirely different than Beamer's insistence over the years to hire VT guys or his golf buddies. Guys he knew would value staying at VT when or if someone else came calling. But rarely did other teams come calling because we settled for coaches. Stability over ability? Maybe.
I'm not sure what Fuente will do, I really hope its not another Memphis guy but I can understand why he has done that so far. Maybe he lets Foster pick a former VT guy like Midget. But, IMO, I hope we look for a little more of an unknown and someone with a strong recruiting background.
Agreed. Not another Memphis guy!!
Even with that said, I wouldn't mind seeing Anthony Midget get a Tech coaching gig. Not because he's a former Hokie, but because I think he'll be a hell of a coach. It'd be hard to pry him away from NFL money, but Whit has magical powers.
Someone with P5 recruiting experience.
Rule out Jon Gruden? Ok.
He worked at Tennessee, man.
Fuente made a statement with bringing Galen Scott over and inserting him into the Defensive Staff. My guess is this decision will be dominated by Coach Fuente. The list of available/approachable candidates that would accept $260k will tilt the decision and could result in a VT grad/linked DB coach. BUT, I doubt that is his primary direction.
He is going to establish that this is HIS staff and he makes the dominant staff decisions. Bud will be consulted and included in the process, but he will not be the primary decider.
I bet Fuente and Babcock have had this discussion already and Whit will largely support it.
My guess is that we go in another direction. Look Westward for candidates, fellow TKPers.
I surely hope NOT. I mean what does El Fuente see that is wrong, incorrect or needs fixing with the job Foster and Gray have done (other than crootin)? Does he honestly believe or even think there is/are superior coordinators coaches to them (other than crootin)??
See French's comment immediately below. I agree with him. I think my sentiments are not that different.
I also hope not, but when a new sheriff is in town - or in any organization - the org chart is his and not his #1 assistant...
Foster's defense has been sorely lacking for the past several years. Take off the rose tinted glasses. I am super happy that Fuente inserted one of his own on the D side. I have no problem with a non Hokie being the new DB coach as long as he has P5/NFL coaching experience and can recruit.
This season was the first time in years that the defense wasn't ranked in the top 25, making your statement inaccurate.
He was probably referring to the fact that Hokies D has been among the worst in the nation at giving up explosive plays for the last several years.
AND why can not Foster come up with a scheme to slow down running QBs. That has been a PIA for the last 4 years at least. AND how many games have we lost in the last few minutes over the past 4 years due to going into a "prevent" defense? Answer: a lot!
Prior to last season, the issue wasn't scheme. It was DL getting out of their pass rush lanes and leaving huge holes.
In 2015, i +t was simple math-
(Use formation to get Bud to line up in Bear) + (Injuries force Bud to play man with a deep safety means no numerical advantage in the box) + (Counter-block to key DL to slant away from the play) + (Without numbers advantage, DL and LBs have to dominate physical battles. They didn't) = QBs running for big yardage.
For more granular detail: http://www.thekeyplay.com/virginia-tech-football/2015/10/10711/blue-devi...
The reality is, when teams have good scheme to run the QB and have a good athlete playing a position, they spread the D out and then outnumber them in the box. 6 D in the box, vs 6 blockers and a runner- the O is going to win a bunch. ECU and Duke did exactly that.
My opinion: whoever is hired will be a pretty clear indicator on Fuente's opinion about Bud Foster. If the hire is someone who is familiar with Bud's coverage system and has the experience to teach it, then Fuente believes that Bud can pull the defense out of the tailspin we saw last season. If Fuente brings in an outside guy or another coach with ties to his own coaching tenure, to me that is a red flag that they don't have full confidence that Bud can adapt his system to turn things around.
What if they hire a recruit first guy not connected to either? (I doubt they do that)
With Bud's defense demanding numbers in the box (hence forcing high risk coverage), I don't think Bud can run his defense without an excellent teacher of DB technique that funnels WRs to places of strength for the defense. It is a tricky balance. If an excellent recruiter can also do that, all the better.
Imagine Paul Johnson hiring Trooper Taylor to be his QB coach. Trooper Taylor (I realize I am dating myself here but he is the first name that popped in my head.) Taylor is a great recruiter (even if a bit unscrupulous.) However, Johnson's offense requires such a unique nuance in terms of fundamentals that it wouldn't work no matter how good a recruiter he is.
I don't know what direction this will go. I do know that if the primary focus is finding "an ace recruiter here in Virginia," then we are being short sighted.
Hopefully Fuente sees this like French said it above so succinctly. Under the circumstances VT is in, I'm not 100% sold he sees that or that is his #1 priority - but it should be. The decision will tell us a lot.
Loren Johnson or Anthony Midget would seem to check most of those boxes.
I agree, but I also can't stand when people homer for former VT players who have little to no recruiting experience, after they complain about recruiting lately. That's not directed at you French, however.
Understood. I am not one of those folks. And, I am not necessarily advocating a former player. I want someone who can teach the system correctly and establish a good learning report with his players first, a recruiting ace second. In an ideal world they could get both, but a good football coach should always be priority one.
I agree 100%. I would love to have a VT guy who checks the teaching ability box and recruiting ability box. I'm just baffled at the amount of people who homer over VT guys with no track record of either of those things.
Do you think that Foster's system is so unique that it would really narrow our pool of candidates down to people who have worked under or played for Foster? I think Loren Johnson and Anthony Midget would be an ideal situation, but Johnson has never coached at the college level and neither really have a great deal of college recruiting experience. Is it possible that a good D1 DB coach and recruiter could come in and learn Foster's system? Or are we really looking at limited options for a good fit with the scheme? I'm sure Foster's system has evolved significantly since either of those two were players in the 90s.
No. But it will narrow the pool of candidates to folks who pick up the nuance of the system quickly and can communicate it effectively. That takes out some of the folks like Beatty, who are excellent salesmen but can't coach their way out of a wet paper bag.
I assume you mean Chip West
I agree. One of the reasons we hired Newsome was recruiting. We see how that worked out for us.
Not well but he did secure Tyrod Taylor for VT. That goes a long way.
Almost one year later, was Brian Mitchell the right guy? I for one thought we saw a vast improvement in CB play this year, but I don't know if that is more scheme adjustment by Bud or CB play improving (ie coaching by Mitchell). Care to weigh in?
Start a new thread for this.
via GIPHY
Um...
http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2016/december/13/brian-mitchell-almost...
Is it bad when you misspell the name of the subject of the thread?
I would guess that people misspelling his name is probably why he left, you know, since it wasn't about money...
oppssss corrected! thanks lol
Frank
Do you guys really think he'd be the right fit for us?
That's Nick Swardson...
Good eye!!!!!
What about Chris Scott? He coaches at Bishop Sullivan and it would definitely help attract all the studs from that area. That would be a huge approach to 757 recruits.
My mind immediately ran to Loren Johnson. He's got a pretty good thing going here in the 804. He's a players coach. The community loves him. And he's developed quite a bit of talent. That Cornell Brown, who was recently let go, is openly vouching for him on twitter says a lot about Johnson, Brown, and Fuente.
I did like Mich State's DBs, but that guy is next in line behind Dantonio. Might be a step down for him.
Ike Charleton would be another one that I would go after. He is currently the DB coach in the CFL for the Ottowa Redblacks, since 2013.
Like Gray, he too is from Florida, and would be a young hire, as he is only 38 years old. Very solid coaching resume, and playing career. Not to mention, he'd be coming home.
The Head Coach is only 39, man did we get used to someone over 55.
Choo Choo all aboard the Loren Johnson hype train. I'm hearing rumors that Sam Rogers seeks Lorens advise on ways in which to be most like Chuck Norris.
No sir. Sam Rogers constantly checks facebook for updates on how Chuck Norris is looking for ways to be more like Sam Rogers.
I wonder if there's any chance they move Zohn Burden over to coach DBs and hire a RB coach?
I really dont see that happening but I wonder if they consider it, Im not sure what kind of defense ODU ran 2007 - 2010. I thought Justin Harper off the top of my head but I dont see him leaving an interim head coaching job. Cody/Chad, I cant remember which ones which, is still a grad assistant? Hed be extremely risky, but hes got the coaching lineage.
I also wonder if they look into anyone with TCU experience running their 4-2-5???
Why would we do that?
Zohn coached DBs at ODU for 3 years and would at least be somewhat familiar with Buds concepts...
Sounds like what they ran at ODU in those 3 years was similar to formations under Bud...they at least used similar personnel.
Wasn't one of the stated reasons for moving Burden to RBs to round out his experience?
That was the stated reason, In reality it was because if you have a coach you aren't sure of but is a good recruiter you put him in as running back coach
Or perhaps coaching different positions isn't nearly as much of a leap as many fans think? Particularly going from one set of skill positions (say, receivers) - which share a number of similar responsibilities, requirements, and drills - to another (say, RBs)?
I don't disagree with what you're saying. I do think that Fuente liked Burden and wanted to keep him around but he already had a WR coach so he put Burden with the RBs because that is the opening that needed to be filled. A lot of position coaches have experience coaching positions different from what they played. Some head coaches have coached multiple positions on their way up the ladder to HC.
That being said, I also agree with HokieBen87 that the stated reason probably isn't the actual reason. Maybe a happy side-effect. Possibly also how Fuente sold Burden on the move. I think the coaches felt like they needed a better reason than "well, we needed a RB coach and Burden needed a job...sooo....." for PR purposes. It's a little bit on the lazy side but there is also some truth to it so it made sense for them to sell the move as more of an experience builder for Burden.
I agree that's it's a little bit of everything. I suspect his recruiting chops were important, I suspect Fuente saw potential, and the transition from WR coach to RB is hardly a quantum leap or unusual.
yeah I don't think anyone in this mini-thread is suggesting that a move from WR coach to DB coach or RB coach would be an off-the-wall type of move. I think the question is why move a current coach we have (who was just announced to the RB coach position in the last month or so) to a different position to make room for a new RB coach when we can just go ahead and hire a DB coach?
I think everyone in this mini-thread understands that a football coach can coach multiple positions. The theme seems to be that RB coach is kind of near the bottom of the totem pole. Whether or not that is really fair, I couldn't say. So if we moved Burden to RB coach because Fuente liked him and wanted to keep him around (for whatever reason, be it recruiting or something else) that's not necessarily because he's not a good coach but because it's an easy fit. Anybody can be a RB coach. Now we just need to go out and find a real DB coach.
I wonder if Burden could be a DB coach. As in, I wonder if it is easier to transition to another position on offense (WR coach to RB coach) or to take the position that would allow you to coach your opposition on the defensive side (WR coach to DB coach).
I don't actually see them doing it. But I was just throwing it out there. I wonder if it crossed there minds.
It sounds like there's plenty of DB coach demand for the position. I heard Chris Vaughn's name thrown around this morning. Hes the Texas DB coach worked with Fuente at Memphis for a few years, been at Ole Miss and Arkansas and a few other stops.
Anyone know anything about Texas defensive scheme? Ive never really paid attention to them.
I mean, I don't think it's a bad suggestion (question?) at all. I never knew he actually had any history coaching DBs but apparently he does. That's a plus in my book. And it would make sense that a receivers coach may have some insight that would be helpful for coaching up DBs. I wouldn't be surprised or even upset if they moved him to DB coach. I just don't know if it makes sense. VT (thanks to Foster and Gray) has become known for defensive backs and I think the DB coaching position is a particularly attractive position to up-and-comers. I think the interest in the position has set the bar at such a level that it would make more sense for Fuente to pursue DB coaches rather than moving Burden into that role and trying to find another coach to handle the RBs.
It would only make sense to move Burden to DB, if Bud felt he could be a great DB coach and if some ace recruiter was interested like Locksley
this is a good point...and as far as I'm concerned, not outside the realm of possibility. I'm actually a bit surprised we haven't heard anything yet. With the narrative that Whit/Fuente knew this was coming I would have thought they would have someone lined up already. Perhaps this came as more of a surprise to them than we thought. I'm sure that VT will make a solid hire. I just hope it happens soon.
Fuente said tonight they would have someone in next couple of weeks. Apparently this is vacation week for all of the other coaches but Fuente, Bud is in Costa Rica and other new coaches are moving into Blacksburg.
"Oh boy....."
I heard they were going to move Zohn over to coach tight ends and be the head QB recruiter.
Why should they be worried? You're their #1 best seller!!!!!
Something something Well I slept with your wife
Something something something dark side.
I couldnt go on with the rest of my day if I didnt finish it...well played.
It was: "George, his wife's in a coma."
Hermitage and LC Bird have been the far and away top dogs in Richmond the past few years before this year, this year Loren Johnson and Highland Springs didn't just surpass those two schools, he and the team steamrolled past them and ran away with the state title. He would be a good hire.
Holmon Wiggins said at Recruit Night tonight that a ton of people have been calling making it known that they are interested.
Not surprising at all but its always nice to hear the love.
It's always entertaining watching one of the great message board rituals in action...which former players/local legends will be suggested as the perfect fit for the [fill in the blank] opening?
Fuente has no particular emotional attachment to former VT players and former VT players have no particular emotional attachment to Fuente. The old bridge is gone.
It could be a former player/local legend, but odds are it's someone like a Stacey Searels who brings a lengthy resume with a number of stints at successful programs. Foster has shown his ability to adapt and I don't think he necessarily has to have someone with an intimate knowledge of his system. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked if he sees this opening as an opportunity for a fresh set of eyes.
I think the part that makes it plausible for a VT alum to fill the vacancy is that they would feel a emotional attachment to VT, not the other way around. The fact that people that played under Foster have a working knowledge of what he likes to do, added to the fact that we don't have a blank check to write for the hire and it's really anyones guess at this point
How many position coaches are at their alma mater? A pretty small percentage. A whole bunch of stars have to be in line for that to happen - and one of those stars just retired.
These guys are doing what's best for them - on both sides of the equation. Coming back to their alma mater is a very minor factor - especially when it's to work a new coach who doesn't give a hoot that they are an alum.
That's just silly. Why would he come back, and why on earth do you think he could coach DB's?
/s
The Searels family just got a house down there and moved down this past weekend. They sublet the place they were in while living in Blacksburg until their lease runs out. Stacey had been down there, but his wife and youngest were still up here.
Are you serious or just joking?
Isn't that one of the reasons Galen Scott was brought in?
Word is Chip West was on campus today for an interview
Interesting, if thats true - huge win, taking away LOLuva's recruiting coordinator in 757 and picking up a quality coach.
Did he not get fired with London?
Bronco only retained Hagans. So yeah, he isn't employed by UVA. I wonder why he hasn't been picked up... Unless he has already and no one knows
Interesting, indeed. I'm not of the opinion that recruiting trumps coaching ability, but the top programs consistently value recruiting experience as significant. If you're losing one of your best in Gray, I would think that would be a consideration. Hopefully Bud is involved with the process to assess fit/ability as French suggested.
Very interesting. He has recruited Hampton Roads very well for UVA.
DB coach, great recruiter... Score...
http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/west_chip00.html
Turned Anthony Harris into an All-American defensive back, recruiting is obviously stellar and a 1st and 2nd round draft pick on his resume (with Quin Blanding on track to become one).
But he coached at UVa.
Meh.
Yeah I know... the stench of that. But, this reminds me a little of '95 when UNC threw Coach Cav (known at the time as a great recruiter) to the gutter, Frank picked him up and the next decade was pretty darn good.
I think that this would be a nice slap to LOLUVAs face. If the guy can coach and work within Bud's D and recruit his butt off in VA.
Serendipity is the word that comes to mind.
Did anyone suggest Mama Fuller?
I suggest Mama Fuller.
I think this is a great suggestion. After all, she did literally produce 4 (3 of them corners) of the best athletes VT has had for football.
Yeah but can she recruit? All her best talent was developed in-house.
She did bring in Papa Fuller. Arguably the best recruiting grab EVER.
Hire the best guy! #HotTakes
Hire a guy who's a good football coach and can recruit #evenhottertake
So? Any color on how it went with West yesterday?? LolUVa and all that jazz, but that would be a pretty great hire.
So, but, yeah - how did it go? Or did anything else happen?
I have no #sauces. You lot ARE my #sauces.
Anyone else read the thread title and think of this?
I've heard rumors that Kermit Buggs, ODU's DB coach is in consideration.
I have also seen Derek Jones name mentioned
Raiding the Duke coaching machine is always a good idea. Ole Miss grad, works the Gulf States (incl. Florida) for Duke. Could be a very good fit.
good interview but would be extremely disappointing if he ends up being the one.
Kermit Buggs is a silly name. But that's none of my business.
with a name like that he's gotta be an Ace recruiter. I mean, who wouldn't Kermit to play for him?
No. Not again.
killjoy
Holmon a second. Are you saying that you're annoyed someone Fuent there earlier and started a pun chain? Sometimes our only Vice to get through a long day at work is to Foster up some amusement and, great Scott! I think that may have been Shibest one yet!
I don't think anyone can compete with you Wiles you're in the Zohn.
Ah! there we go. I couldn't figure out how to work those two in there. lol
Frankly, I just don't think you tried hard enough, Bud.
Puns are fun either you CANTOR you can make good ones.
2 part question:
Who do you think we should get?
Who do you think we will/can get?
The moderator on gobblertown, who often has insider info, is saying it looks like Galen Scott will coach safeties and either West or Buggs will coach cornerbacks
Seems like an odd choice considering how fluid our DBs need to be between the different secondary roles
Ooohhhh. This is actually intriguing to me. It seemingly would make a much better use of Galen Scott. There are plenty of teams that split the coaching responsibilities between corners and safety's. IMO, Wiles can handle the DL. With all the young, raw talent in the secondary I think that focusing more resources there wouldn't be a bad idea.
Lou Brown.
Forget about the curve ball ricky. Give him the heater!!
Don't know if he's available or not, what with a load of whitewalls comin' in.
- "Tire world"
- "How would you like to be the coach of the Cleveland Indians?"
- "Ohhh, I don't know..."
Not to be all doomsday about this, but...
It's a bad sign that this thread is buried in this site, and when new comments pop up they're mainly jokes, OT comments and general BS. And I get it - since it's all we have to talk about.
But no hire in sight? The optics on this shituation (not a typo) get worse every second. Pretty obvious that TG caught Whit & Coach with their pants down. As ugly as the "sign'em & peace" scenario is/was, I'd take it easily over what we are dealing with now.
Thoughts? IMO, no news is bad news in this instance...
Fuente is interviewing candidates, he discussed the process and his timetable: http://www.thekeyplay.com/virginia-tech-football/2016/02/11626/listen-ju....
He also mentioned there's a possibility Galen Scott coaches part of the secondary with the new hire.
Bud is on vacation in Costa Rica, there won't be a ton of news until he returns. Fuente spoke to ESPN about the search http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/90947/virginia-tech-in-the-market-...
Cheers fellas. Been traveling a bit lately and completely forgot to listen to the Fuente interview. Will do.
Any expanded thoughts from either of you (or anyone else ftm) on how the TG sitchy went down?
Undeleted deleted post to say that if you haven't found it yet, Joe covered TG leaving in his Hokie Tracks article today.
I agree, I too don't mean to be negative or sound critical but it seems like a lot of silliness, jokes, and just posting to be posting or funny and although there is a place for that and time, would be great to see more posts of substance and information or keeping in context with the original OP. Not trying to offend anyone, just what I see and agree with the poster above would like to see more actual posts related to OP title and questions.
Umm... This list of currently open positions was updated Feb 15.
Here is a short list of major openings:
Optically, I think VT is fine.
Well, Chris Vaughn is available-ish. Texas didn't renew his contract, but it had to do with him being at Ole Miss during alleged recruiting violations in 2008-2011. So he's an option, but there would be risk.
Depending on what comes out about the allegations he could potentially be a very good fit. Of course it all depends on how things shake out.
We need someone stat. Like within the next couple weeks. I think he'll be tied up in the investigations for months.
He would be a STRONG candidate though. I'm not sure why all of the Texas coaches are dipping when they just landed one of the best 2016 classes possible.
There is no way we would hire someone that the NCAA is potentially investigating
I generally agree. That's why I said he's available-ish. He is on the market, but buyer beware. Now, if he could definitively end suspicions, MAYBE he could be a candidate. I don't think he can, so I don't think he will be in consideration, but I saw that tidbit, and knowing his name had been thrown around, figured I'd share.
Oh, come on Fireman, I don't deserve that. Wasn't advocating for the guy, merely sharing info with you fine people. And I didn't even mention your all-time favorite head coach.
http://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/396593#comment-396593
His name was added to the list.
Hadn't seen that comment till now. Do we have a gif ready in the event that Richrod somehow ends up adding Chris Vaughn and Lane Kiffin to his staff?
And he's not Rich Rod. Fireman has besmirched the sacred gif!
This is a little dated but I haven't really seen anything similar around here. Gobbler Country put out view names with some career synopsis
DBwho? Replacing Torrian Grey
ugh Gobblercountry is such a shit site
True, but these seem like the obvious choices and the career summaries are satisfactorily written.
Personally, I'm fine with Midget, Jones or West. All offer something different and would add value in their own way.
I'd prefer Jones personally, but I think the others would be okay at least
I think Jones is the least likely of this bunch. For a guy to already have a Power 5 job with the Coach he has significant history with to leave for an in-division rival, not likely... Loyalty runs deep in coaching, not only as CFB clearly showed during his tenure, but throughout coaching across all boards. Sounds like Jones' agent may be busy putting his name 'out there' to leverage for a raise from Duke... He may be a good hire, but personally I'd be floored to see him leave that post.
Really? If anything I would say there isn't much loyalty in college football, Beamer was the exception not the rule.
Honestly, I think there's a lot more than you think. Unless there are personal or professional differences, folks are going to stick with folks they know and trust. Case in point, most all the hires CJF made. Coaches make hires of people they are familiar with or ones that are given high regard by someone they fully trust. I agree that it can become a bit clouded when moving from job to job to further your own profile, but Jones is an example of making full circle and is now working for the guy who basically got him into college coaching as a GA. If he were to move on to an in-division rival, that would signal some internal issues with DC and Jones, IMO. He'd definitely be a solid hire, but like I said, I'd be shocked if he was the guy.
I'd be surprised too, but I see very little in the coaching world today to indicate that their is much loyalty in the coaching world. Especially in the more competitive programs it is almost a merry-go-round
The said, merry-go-round is more attributed to the win now or get out mentality, especially at larger programs. Coaches now are barely given the chance for a class to get all the way through before they're shown the door. If a program is trending upwards, then the carousel slows dramatically. Yea, you'll have some leave for here or there, but if a program is stable from the top for an extended period, it's hardly a continuous shuffle. Jones has been at Duke since '08 and was a major part of their upward swing. Considering they've been to 4 straight bowl games.
There have been hints/rumors that WVU Cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell interviewed for the job yesterday
Ok Ok my attempt at humor was wrong. good points all around
Why is that? Because he was a WVU guy?
I saw that about West as well, like anyone who has ever coached at a rival can't coach here. I don't get that. Didn't seem to matter to Jim Cavanaugh or Seth Greenberg, both former UVA assistant coaches.
Or, you know, Whit Babcock?
I think the objection is because he IS a WVU guy, rather than WAS a WVU guy. In big-boy college sports, it seems that most coaches have worked at a ton of places, so you can't just ignore someone because he happened to work for your rival at some time in the past. If he's currently working there, I can understand where such a decision would be unpalatable to some fans. In my opinion, I'm all for poaching a coach from a rival if that rival is better than us at what he does/coaches. You win twice: getting a good hire and weakening the other team. I'm not sure that applies here. Sure WVU's defense was quite good last year, but it was an unusually good year for them and an unusually weak one for us.
I guess we do play WVU next year, but they have fallen into that category of "emotional rival" for me, not "actual rival" like UVA and Miami. I don't like WVU, but I don't like Florida, Notre Dame or Tennessee either. I want to see all those teams lose every game and their stadiums burn to the ground (once all women and children have safely dispersed.) But the hate level I have over them is a notch below UVA and Miami.
Your taste in emotional rivals is impeccable. Well done.
Experience:
1995-05 - BYU
2006-09 - Texas Tech
2010-12 - East Carolina
2013-present - West Virginia
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