I know I don't post here a lot but I just wanted to share this article that a good friend of mine wrote. If you ever wanted to know everything about how the coaching transition took place and all the relevant details (Including how things went down with keeping Bud Foster) this will be worth your time.
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These are the kinds of stories that make me proud to be a Hokie, even in the tough years.
It also helps that our tough years still end in this:
But I understand your point, and agree that I'm proud our institution is one with a history of high quality people.
Especially with all of the scandals out there in college football. Nice to be with the good guys.
Granted this was written in 2011, but the sentiment is still there. So proud to be a part of such a great community, school, culture of the right things given what has transpired around us.
FRANK!!!!
Outstanding
Thanks for the link. I expected that it would be a re-hash of the events, but it was a good read.
Wonderful article!
Damnit, who started cutting onions at the end of that article. Blacksburg is a special place. Thanks for sharing.
I got sad way before the end of the article
Coach Beamer was smart about it. He probably saw how things ended for Bowden and Paterno and realized its better to get out sooner rather then turn into the bad guy (He was never going to be the bad guy, but before the fanbase turned on him). He also saw how he was a negative on the recruiting trail.
It just goes to show that Frank loved Virginia Tech, and he wanted what was best for the program the entire time.
The genius part of it though, was announcing it with 4 games left on the year. That was a win-win-win. Beamer got a victory lap, ticket sales got a bump with "Come watch Coach Beamer's last (fill in the blank), and like the article said, Babcock got a jump start on a coach search.
Coach Beamer's departure should be the blueprint on how to exit a long time coach.
So fitting... Beamer started out as a pioneer and left as a pioneer.
I still wish he had made it to 30 years. Or retired after 25 seasons at the end of 2011 season and gone out off of a 10+ win season.
Beamer retiring after the 2011 season would have meant Weaver would have hired his replacement. Not sure we would've liked the outcome of that.
Weaver would have either hired Bud, or a younger offensive minded coach and paid a fraction of what we are paying Fuente. But we could have had a Frost.
And then lost Frost as well...
They're stories that I think we all know pretty well by now, but the way that they were woven together kept my attention until the end. Well done. Liked the artwork quite a bit as well.
Incredible article.
About halfway through but really like how it's written.
I liked the content and writing style. I can appreciate that is was absolutely chock-full of quotes instead of having the author rehash or paraphrase the general point.
The user experience was a little odd tho, I was using chrome web browser from my PC. It took me a little while to figure out some of the images had transitions and timed aspects. I found myself trying to scroll past that one image where Frank pulls an Obi-Wan and disappears into some ball-coach-force-spirit shit only for Fuente to fade in.
ive heard all these little things before at one time or another from different sources but having it all put together in one story got me teary eyed. I cant tell you how appreciative I am to be a part of Virginia tech and the way things are done here. the wins/ losses are only a small reason of why #THISISHOME for me. thankful for frank, bud, whit, and Fu for always representing us the right way and building something that we can be proud of.
Didn't think I could have more respect for Bud Foster, but damn that guy is awesome. Tech is incredibly lucky to have a guy as good as him, who cares more about the success of the program and team, than his own personal gain.
What a wonderful article. We really did get something special with everyone involved. Especially with how the previous AD handled Seth Greenberg.
I have way under appreciated everything about this transition:
1.) Whit for being able to pull this off
2.) Foster for staying
3.) Fuente wanting to keep a coach who wanted his job
4.) Beamer being Beamer
You would be lucky to pull of 1 of those, but no way should all 4 have happened.
Give me a helment and let me run through a wall for these guys! As mentioned by another post, we've heard this before, but like the best folk lore, it's great to hear it again and again. A midnight meeting turns into a natty! That would turn this story into legend.
Thanks for sharing, that was a wonderful read. Its nice to finally get the whole story. Foster is the man for being able to set aside his expectations and give a relationship with Fuente a shot. I'm not sure many of us could do that
The whole time I'm reading this, I keep thinking how I couldn't have done what Bud did and worked so well with a guy who just swooped in and took a job I wanted and in all honesty, deserved. But, Bud's a class guy, and I'm really petty.
Sport is a great vehicle to teach young people life lessons in an environment where there isn't much at stake beyond the outcomes of a game, match, meet or tournament. What makes the Hokie nation so great? We have athletic department coaches and staff in place serving as postive examples and role models. Glad we're getting it right in Blacksburg.
I love this article. Makes me so proud to a Hokie! Great job Tadd Haislop!
I love the culture of this football team.
I love the culture of VT.
Any time I read something like this about both Bud and Fuente, it really makes me feel like both of those guys are in it for the long haul
And people really think that Bud is going to leave
And really, reading those quotes, I don't get the feeling Fuente is going anywhere, either.
Yes, people really do think Bud is going to retire sometime in the next decade. The man is 59.
I'll start a GoFundMe to raise the money before I let compensation be the reason Bud leaves.
Man that was the most comprehensive article I've seen written, which is crazy to think that its coming up on 3 years since it happened. Foster's humility and Whit's personnel management are second to none, and the drive to get back the Ship is definitely evident!
Reading this gave me the feels..
And the transitioning photos too.
How lucky and blessed we are!
Right in the feels...
I couldn't imagine a worse fit than UVa and Bud Foster. That surprised me that he was a finalist for that job.
You gotta hope he was just trolling them into wasting time and resources.
UVa going for that old 'if you can't beat em', hire em' train of thought.
They should have just hired Lefty then. "He was in Tom Brady's wedding" would have been the new "Mike London used to be a cop".
Loved the article. I think what made the transition easier, is that it really feels like Frank never left.
Didn't know Notre Dame and Miami had recently offered Bud. Kind of a joke for them to think he'd leave for another DC position at this point.
Weird how the intrepid beat writers didn't catch that story.
I think the only DC job Bud would seriously consider is 'Bama. He would still turn it down, but he'd at least think about it.
I doubt it... Alabama's defense is pretty much Saban's system. I can't see Foster giving up the autonomy he has now to run the defense he wants to run.
Great article, but I don't think it's a new one. I feel like I've read this exact article months (years even) earlier.
That'd be a weird way to start an article that was written years ago
See original quote:
I'm pretty sure it is new. The guy who wrote this is a close friend and he has been updating me throughout the entire process. I actually grabbed lunch with him in Blacksburg right after he got done with the first round of interviews (Beamer and Babcock) and we discussed a few ideas for how he might go about using the information to put in this article.
Most of the anecdotes were rehashes of prior interviews, but it was nice to see a long form article combining them all together while adding a bunch of quotes I hadn't seen yet.
I'm a bit bummed Bud never even had the opportunity to present his case. When I spent the day with him in 2014 for the feature I wrote on him, he laid out an impressive vision.
Shabutie, thanks for the share, hope to see you around these parts this season.
I, for one, would like to know more about Bud's vision.
It mostly has to do with lasers and daggers.
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Yeah can you elaborate on his vision?
Man, that would have created some conflicting emotions in a lot fans
"I wish Bud Foster success in draining the Hoo's bank accounts as he throws gasoline on their tire-dumpster-fire of a program and then drops them like the deadweight they are on his way to a better position."
See, it's not hard.
via GIPHY
Very, very good article. It's incredible that Fuente and Foster get along so well.
Also found it interesting that Bud wants to be paid more.
Surely Fu and Foster had a tug of war over who got Caleb Farley, and that's probably how his ACL broke.
Link Here
Bud is the 17th highest paid coordinator in America. He easily the biggest bargain in college football.
And that list doesn't even include private schools, since they don't have to disclose employee salaries. Meaning he's probably a lot lower than 17th on the full list.
Welp, he has a legit gripe then.
I'd take another 25 years of Fuente with periodic 10 win seasons over a sleazeball coach like Saban or Urban and a natty or two.
The one thing I always wanted for Beamer was to win the National Championship, if only to show that you can win without being a sleaze.
When Fuente does win it all, that will be another source of pride for VT.
Um....I'd take Saban in a heartbeat (assuming he just wanted a change of scenery, not driven out of Bama). I like Fuente, but Saban is Saban.
This has always summed up Coach Foster and Virginia Tech for me. Its from after the 2014 bowl game where Beams was coming off of health issues and was up in the box while Shane and Bud took over on the field. End of the interview shows what Frank was to him.
https://m.soundcloud.com/img-audio/virginia-tech-img-bud-foster-post-game-interview-12-27-14
Oh Bud....I love you
erhhhmmmmmmm...dont you do it...must. stay. strong...
Great article, really makes you appreciate what we had with Beamer and Bud, and what we now have with Fuente and Bud. I do wish Bud had gotten the opportunity to at least makes his case, but it seems to have all worked out. If Bud sees Fuente as a "Beamer, 30 years younger", then we are in good hands, hopefully for the foreseeable future.
I know I'm maybe in the minority, but I'm ok with the way things turned out. I think Bud as DC is much more potent a brew than Bud as HC would have been. Kind of like diluting a really good bourbon, why mess with success?
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with how things turned out, but I think Bud had earned the right to at least pitch his case.
I understand, and don't disagree with you there. I've always wondered what lead to that approach. Did Whit and Frank discuss this? Did Frank actively and strongly advocate for Bud to become HC? Could they have somehow agreed that the best approach was the one they took? You know there's a ton of stuff we aren't privy to in what went on there. I guess, though, since it worked out so well, I'm willing to think they mollified Bud enough for his disappointment not to turn into losing him. I'd love to hear the REST of the story, but I won't hold my breath.