Recent Comments
I've got eight dollars.... how close am I?
Other than wishful thinking and a magic wand, what makes you think a new coach and staff would be able to get any -- let alone a bunch -- of those guys to Blacksburg? And which guys wouldn't have come here if the current coaching staff wasn't here? Let's say VT gets 2 or 3 of them but doesn't get the Fullers...how much better off is VT?
I strongly suspect you're going to have no problem coming up with a similar list of woulda, coulda, shoulda recruits 5 years from now.
I thought this had been addressed a while back when there was a perceived "coach-in-waiting" status with Bud and he came out and said he didn't want the position.
Man I was excited to read their comments over on their site but I just checked and right now there's only one. I guess they frequent their fan site about as much as they frequent their stadium.
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10 years 8 months
# | A.J. Hughes Wraps Up Prolific Punting Career, Walking Out the Door with Mentor Frank Beamer I'd say it's also a product of Hughes punting for 4 years. Despite punting the ball far more than anyone else since 2000, he's still averaged almost 42 yards per punt.
Here's a look at our punting stats since the year 2000, for those interested:
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/virginia-tech/punting.html
Here is my old research post:
Here is a list of National Champions since 1999, with each champion's total offense and total defense rank.
Year - Champ - Offensive Rank/Defensive Rank
2013 - FSU - 6/3
2012 - Bama - 31/1
2011 - Bama - 31/1
2010 - Auburn - 7/60
2009 - Bama - 43/2
2008 - Florida - 15/9
2007 - LSU - 26/3
2006 - Florida - 19/6
2005 - Texas - 3/10
2004 - USC - 12/6
2003 - LSU - 31/1
2002 - Ohio St. - 70/23
2001 - Miami - 8/6
2000 - Oklahoma - 18/8
1999 - FSU - 12/19I researched this data out of curiosity to see how each year's champion ranked on offense and defense. These are my takeaways:
Every champ but 3 had a top 10 defense
Only 1 champ had a top 10 offense and not a top 10 defense (Auburn 2010, defense in NC was clutch)
The worst offense was ranked 43rd (Edit 2002 Ohio St. was 70th, but that's dumb)
The #1 offense never won
The #1 defense won 3 times
Defense still wins championships
We need to get our offense into the top 50 nationally to be contenders, the defense is there
Every team on this list is a Big Boy Recruiter
I'd be OK that, too, as long is it isn't the Terps.
Bud a candidate for UVA job too. Don't forget that suckass scenario
I would love to see Bud rock the BIG if he doesn't stay at VT
Nice.
As did a RB from Pennsylvania that we keep waiting to show up for us, though I have no clue how close he and his OL teammate were. Someone failed to project how big this kid would get as a 247 pound lineman doesn't have much of a shot at contributing.
Whit gets the big bucks to make these high pressure decisions. The majority of Hokie Nation, not necessarily this board, would agree that Bud as HC would be supported for 3-4 years because he is the backbone of the FB team. A new guy with no Bud that has a losing season would make things uncomfortable/ unpopular for Whit.
I know that's mostly gut-feel opinion, but I'm inclined to agree with it.
Right now its just Illi-Noise. Hopefully nothing comes of it
Do they?
He certainly has a grip on the defense, but is he that much more capable of attracting a top offensive coordinator than some of the other candidates being mentioned? He's been at the same school 29 years, so he may not be as well-connected as some of the other candidates.
I think Whit has to look at total packages. Hiring Bud has both pros and cons.
Very interesting. Any idea if Mullen would replace all staff including Bud? Thanks for posting. I really really hope it's Mullen.
Shane as DC? you cray cray.
Just saying... you are wrong. You cant hold a coaching search hostage with that phrase. It's Whits job to get the best coach he can for the school. And that's not going to happen by using that mantra conveniently because the guy you want isn't chosen.
Looking at this from the other side, I am not really sure the Illinois job is something I would willingly sign up for. They are in the wake of firing a coach and an athletic director over a scandal. Foster would have no way of knowing what he was truly signing up for without an established Athletic director.
The fact that Bud's name is out there though I think probably tells us a lot about what is ultimately going to happen with Virginia Tech's staff. I'm not sure this is the job I would take but we know that before this is all said and done we could be looking at 30 open coaching positions. If there ever was a year to take the leap into a Head Coaching position this is the year. Best of luck to him when he likely makes the jump. Going to spin this in a positive way for him because I'm not ready to emotionally process that on top of Beamer hanging it up.
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10 years 8 months
# | A.J. Hughes Wraps Up Prolific Punting Career, Walking Out the Door with Mentor Frank Beamer Him and Slye
I think if Bud is hired as HC we will end up with a top 15-20 defense and a top 60 offense. That will get us pretty much to where we are right now plus about 3 wins.
If Bud is retained as DC and we bring in an offensive minded coach we could be looking at top 10-15 defense and top 25 offense. This will take us to the heights we want to be at. I also think this is the most unlikely scenario. I don't think Bud stays if he isn't HC.
If the new HC comes in and has to hire his own DC we could be looking at a top 25 offense and a top 50 defense. I think this is the most likely scenario and while it's not as good as retaining Bud, it's better than handing Bud the keys. A top 25 offense in the ACC will get us 10 wins pretty regularly. With an offense like that I have to believe we'll improve recruiting and that could go a long way towards making VT more of an elite program. We might not get a rock-star DC off the bat but in this scenario but we're not guaranteed to get a dud either. I think Whit is smart enough to realize he needs to hire a guy who understands defense is important. We're not going to turn into a big XII team where defense is optional. The next Coach will bring in a competent DC if he can't retain Bud. I have confidence in that.
TEEMING WITH INTEL
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10 years 8 months
# | A.J. Hughes Wraps Up Prolific Punting Career, Walking Out the Door with Mentor Frank Beamer Gonna miss AJ Hughes, hopefully we can hit another home run like him. You never know how important a punter is until 2011 happens, although that terrible punting situation strengthened the legend of Danny Coale when he took over as punter and played great.
Let's get one thing straight. Tech will not have a better defense with Bud leaving. If he's not our next HC, he should go try to be a HC elsewhere. If he doesn't get hired, Whit should do whatever necessary to retain him. If the new HC doesn't try to retain Bud and his staff, they are fools.
Also, bagels and pizza....
You're all assuming that Bud is going to be able to bring in a stud OC. I'm not so sure about that, TBH. I think our chances at drastically improving our offense are much greater if we hire a HC who is a proven offensive mind as opposed to hiring a DC and hoping he can find an OC who will turn this offense around.
The trouble with stud OCs is that once they're a known quantity they're not going to be looking for other OC jobs. They'll be looking for HC jobs. If Bud is hired he'll have to take a chance on an OC who is unproven and hoping he turns out to be a rockstar. Is that a risk you're willing to take with a defensive guru who has 0 years of HC experience?
Me personally; I'd much rather a guy who is a known offensive mind and has some HC experience. In my mind, he's much more likely to find a competent DC to pair with his offense than Bud is to find a competent OC to pair with his defense.
And before you make the argument "What kind of OC wouldn't want to come into a situation where Bud is the DC backing them up?..A good OC would be crazy NOT to want to work with Bud."
Well, I'll pose this counter point to that argument. 1. Why couldn't we snag that top flight OC 4 years ago when we made changes? 2. Why would a stud OC want to work for a HC who has no HC experience. He would be coming into a situation that is completely unknown. Being a DC/OC is much different than being HC. Just because you're good at DC/OC doesn't mean you're going to be good at HC. I think that is why HC experience is so important to Whit. If I were a stud OC I'd rather work for a guy with HC experience and a defense that is in the 20-50 range than a new HC with no experience who has produced top 10 defenses as a DC in his past. Much fewer question marks with the guy who has been around the block. And, if I'm a stud, I don't need a top 10 defense to back up my high flying offense.