Recent Comments
All I can come up with is... EMOTIONS.
In the interests of full disclosure, I am an incredibly indecisive person. So it should come as no surprise that I am simply conflicted about all of it.
This is a lot, you guys. Not just Stiney-for-O'Cain, but the whole mess of it. Beamer took the etch-a-sketch displaying the renderings of VT football and shook the hell out of it.
Hite/S.Beamer: Lets be honest with ourselves here - theres no way Hite is thrilled about this "elevation". That guy loves the team and wants to be on the field, in the dirt, working it out with those boys no matter what. Hite has dedicated DECADES of his life to the team, and one would (idealistically) hope that he would be able to determine his own exit strategy. The whole thing seems forced. Buuuuuuut I am thrilled to have Shane back in Black. He's going to do wonders for us in terms of recruiting, and I think this is the start of a long and happy marriage. So, I'm conflicted: Hite isn't ready to go, but its exciting to have Shane on the sidelines, regardless of who his father is.
Cav/Brown: I don't even need to get into this. Rumors are already going around that Cav is pissed about his own "elevation" and will reject it to go coach elsewhere. Can't blame him. Again, I'm excited about Cornell Brown coming home, as he has a decent resume and I think the D-line could use an infusion of new, young ideas (in terms of coaching; Jesus knows we've had our share of youth in the players). In the end, Cav is an incredible mind and we'd be exceedingly lucky to keep him in any position with the team, but it doesn't look good.
O'Cain/Stiney: UGH. YOU GUYS. LOOK WHAT YOU'VE GONE AND DONE. FireBryanStinespring frequently makes me want to dropkick kittens. YES, FINE. Stinespring can be predictable and unproductive and everyone hates him. Got it. But I believe he made significant progress this year - he became less predictable, threw out some new fun and most importantly SUCCESSFUL plays, and generally looked like a competent OC. And all that progress just had a big brick wall set up in front of it. I know most of you don't agree with me and think Stinespring is the devil incarnate, but he certainly held it together this year*. (*"This year" does not include the Stanford game, as there is far too much suck involved for me to dissect the OC's performance specifically).
As for O'Cain, I know Tyrod loves him but I haven't been entirely impressed. He was handed a significant amount of talent in Tyrod, and I think more could've been done with him. We had a shakey few years there, and had a tough time getting Tyrod both mobile and throwing well at the same time. That would have been O'Cain's job, y'all.
Perhaps this was done as a way of tailoring the offense to a new QB. The change from Randall to Glennon was significant, but the change from Glennon to Tyrod really wasn't all that drastic as they had been sharing playing time anyway. The change from Tyrod to Logan is going to be a swift kick in the nuts compared to what we've experienced in the last 8ish years (fuck I'm old). Optimistic HokiESQ hopes this is a way of getting O'Cain - the one with the greatest exposure to and most intimate knowledge of Logan's abilities - involved in the offensive play structure. Pessimist (realist?) HokiESQ thinks this is another way of pleasing the bitchy, whiny boosters.
And whats this business about Stiney probably retaining the title of OC while O'Cain is conducting the play calling?? We have figureheads in the coaching staff now? As the BF said, if we really wanted a new OC, we should've called up Kevin Rogers before BC got to him. This decision is a half-step... I haven't decided if it's a half-step back, or a half-step forward.
At the end of the day, as I said on Twitter, Beamer has done what you all bitched and moaned about for the last few months/years and has completely shaken shit up - especially with this Stinespring change. Absolutely no bitching or moaning will be accepted if it doesn't work out the way you hoped, because they were largely YOUR IDEAS afterall*.
*I will continue to remind you of this throughout the season. Ask the BF, I NEVER pass up the opportunity to say "I told you so." You should probably just go ahead and unfollow me now.
With all these changes. It should put us in the news, hopefully in a positive way.
Isn't this a little puzzling after Stinespring comes off his most successful season to-date as an offensive coordinator?
If we're going to run a more pro-style offense with LT, I guess it only makes sense for the QB coach to be the one calling the plays.
Rumors are that Cav is actually turning down the admin job...anyone know more about this?
|
15 years 4 months
# | Former Hokies All-American Cornell Brown will be joining the coaching staff. He and I share the same birthday (different age) and we were both born in NJ!
Posted it because it corroborated what you said.
Loss is 100% on Seth, no excuse for playing so poorly against inferior competition.
Friggin ruined my hangover....
first half.
did not come that article or from TSL ... from a source who is pretty close to the parties involved.
I HAVE SPOKEN to Cavanaugh, whom I’ve known for more than 30 years. I know he’s hurting. Let’s leave it at that.
...
SHUMAN SHARED A STORY involving Cavanaugh and a former Fork Union defensive lineman, Jim Davis, who signed with the Hokies in 2000 and later was named the top defensive lineman on the 2004 ACC championship team.
“I picked up James Davis at the Richmond airport [after a recruiting visit] and he had a Tennessee jacket on,” Shuman said. “His parents were happy. I’m getting a little serious. It was Cavanaugh, Tennessee, Mississippi, Virginia. They’re all coming in on Friday for one last pitch.
“We had a 15-inch snowstorm. Cavanaugh was up in New Jersey. He drove all the way through that snowstorm. I think they were closing the roads; they were pulling him over and telling him to get off the road or else.
“He was the only coach who made it in that day and James Davis looked at me or I looked at him, too, and said, ‘Dude, this guy just risked his life for you. You need to go to Virginia Tech.’
That's doing work right there.
i am worried coach cav might not stay in the position. he still wants to coach and his pride is hurt a bit. stay tuned.
I was surprised by this actually, it didn't get much press, and I thought he was just hanging out and finishing shool. The 1-2 punch of Hite/KJ should help ensure we don't get any "drop off" in performance due to the fact that Shane hasn't coached that position very much, in fact I would expect things to get better if thats possible with all the help around.
Also big time shot in the recruiting arm too.
I used to yell at people who said Beamer was getting senile. Now i'll just punch em in the face.
I think having KJ on board is going to be huge in terms of helping us land a top running back this recruiting year. It's one thing to say a successful guy went through the program, but quite another actually have him coaching you up.
As far as recruiting territories go, it makes sense that Brown would take over Richmond/Peninsula/Fredericksburg from Cav. Hite was in charge of the I-81 corridor, which has very talented cops, but that seems like more of a tailor made area close to home. It would be nice to see Shane comb the SEC, and Carolinas like you said BCO, but I'd like to see what he could do in the 757. I don't know if that would be helpful or counter-productive to Newsome's efforts there.
Would love to see us go with Tariq Edwards and Dominique Patterson being moved to the new whip/will type linebacker. I'd like to see us play more linebacker type players at outside linebacker instead of strong safety type players there.
The nickel defense worked well for us this year and with the way our DB recruiting/development has been going with Gray we should have quality depth to employ it with confidence.
not only in recruiting strategy, but apparently scheme. a base 4-3 heavy, whip turns to more of a true OLB, but i expect a lot of nickel too in passing situations. that will help with recruiting disadvantages about scheme.
a very, very interesting spring coming.
will share with the 7 followers of @hokiebarek who dont already follow @thekeyplay
VT traditionally has operated under a light recruiting budget (in comparison to most other big-time schools) but Beamer always got the money he requested for recruiting. I have heard him say that if Beamer ever requested a larger recruiting budget, he would get it. Keeping those costs down is likely what allowed Beamer to make the moves he made.
However, in addition to funding these two additional positions, I suspect that Shane, in his overhaul of VTs recruiting "business plan" (and make no mistake, Shane will be behind the overhaul) will get Pops to request some additional funds in the recruiting budget.
Good article.
|
15 years 4 months
# | Former Hokies All-American Cornell Brown will be joining the coaching staff. With these 2 moves this is the most excited I've been about hokie football since about 7:59 PM Sept 6, 2010.
PUBLISHER
|
15 years 4 months
# | Shane Beamer is expected to join the staff. (UPDATED, It's Official.) Everyone also said "Hite had health issues" but never gave specifics. And I had also wondered why he was always wearing the sunglasses, most notably at night like at the ACCCG this year.
I heard his son would be a walk-on caliber player as well.
Whatever happens I wish Coach Hite the best, like you said he was a key cog in Beamer Co.
|
15 years 4 months
# | Former Hokies All-American Cornell Brown will be joining the coaching staff. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Brown
think there's some buzz around this?
|
15 years 4 months
# | Former Hokies All-American Cornell Brown will be joining the coaching staff. that they must have read a few months ago, about how Nick Acree was going to be our next transitional player aka Cornell Brown at DE, where we start attracting bigtime SEC DT talent. Who better to learn from then the original transitional- This is great!
|
15 years 4 months
# | Former Hokies All-American Cornell Brown will be joining the coaching staff. I guess Beamer finally agreed with all of our rants on the coaching staff. Hopefully Newsome / ol Stiney are next on the "Promotions" list!
PUBLISHER
|
15 years 4 months
# | Former Hokies All-American Cornell Brown will be joining the coaching staff. BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech head football coach Frank Beamer announced more changes to his staff Wednesday, elevating Jim Cavanaugh to the administrative position of director of recruiting and high school relations. Beamer also announced that former Tech All-American and Tech Sports Hall of Fame member Cornell Brown would assume Cavanaugh’s spot on the coaching staff to work with the Hokies’ outside linebackers and help out with the defensive line.
Earlier in the week, Beamer named long-time assistant Billy Hite as Tech’s assistant to the head coach and senior advisor and added Shane Beamer, another former Hokie, to his coaching staff.
Cavanaugh has played a major role in Virginia Tech’s success since joining Beamer’s coaching staff in 1996. He has worked the past 15 seasons as the Hokies’ strong safety and outside linebackers coach and has also served as Tech’s recruiting coordinator during the past nine years.
“Jim Cavanaugh is the most capable, hard-working recruiter that I know,” Beamer said. “Under his direction, I expect us to be even more successful and efficient as a staff. I think sharing his expertise and knowledge can help us be the very best that we can be.”
No one has been more instrumental in bringing top-notch talent to the Tech program than Cavanaugh. He was ranked the second best recruiting coordinator in the nation this past season by Sporting News and the fourth best nationally by ESPN The Magazine. Over the past 13 years, his recruiting skills have helped the Hokies attract, among others, prep All-Americans Michael Vick, Nathaniel Adibi, Victor Harris, D.J. Coles, Bryan Randall, Jonathan Lewis, Marcus Vick, Mark Shuman, Xavier Adibi, Dyrell Roberts, Chris Ellis and Corey Marshall.
Along with his success in attracting talent, Cavanaugh also has been instrumental in helping players develop their talent once they join the Tech program. He has helped in the development of highly successful players, such as Pierson Prioleau, Cory Bird, Kevin McCadam, James Anderson, Cody Grimm and Aaron Rouse.
Tech’s appearance in the 2011 Discover Orange Bowl marked Cavanaugh’s 27th postseason game as a coach and 19th in a row. A former star receiver at William & Mary and a 2001 inductee into the W&M Sports Hall of Fame, he is a veteran of 41 years coaching, including 37 as a full-time coach on the collegiate level. He has been a part of 11 conference championships.
“I would like to thank Coach Frank Beamer for the opportunity to coach at Virginia Tech the last 15 years,” Cavanaugh said. “I will always be indebted to Billy Hite and Ralph Friedgen for recommending me to Coach Beamer.
“Coach Beamer has asked me to come off the field and the road to become director of recruiting and high school relations. Having coached for 41 years, I do believe I have experience in these areas. I will rely on John Ballein’s expertise as an administrator to help me through any new learning situations I encounter.
“I look forward to overseeing the entire recruiting process at Virginia Tech, and to mentoring our new coaches,” Cavanaugh added. “Together we can continue our success both on and off the field.”
Brown, who was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, comes to the Hokies from the Canadian Football League where he served as the defensive line coach for the Calgary Stampeders the past three seasons. Calgary’s defense was ranked the best in the CFL in rushing and scoring defense on the way to the Grey Cup Championship in Brown’s first season (2008). The Stampeders reached the conference semifinal game each of the past two seasons, and three of Brown’s four starting defensive linemen were named Western Division all-stars in 2010.
“I’ve always said that Cornell was the recruit who got us going because he was an instate recruit that could go anywhere in the country,” Beamer said. “He chose Virginia Tech at a time when our record wasn’t very successful, and I really felt that a lot of recruits said, ‘he chose Virginia Tech, I need to look at it’.
“I think we are fortunate to bring back a great player that meant so much to Virginia Tech. Cornell had great success here and now wants to help us have more success. He has been here as a GA … he’s been around our defense. He also has a lot of good experience from working in the CFL. I think his experiences will be a great asset to our program.”
The Lynchburg, Va., native joined the coaching ranks in 2005 as a coaching assistant working with linebackers for the Cologne Centurions in the NFL-Europe League. Brown became a full time defensive line coach for the Frankfurt Galaxy the following year and helped the team to back-to-back World Bowl appearances, winning the league title in 2006. While coaching the defensive line, he helped develop free-agent tackle Remi Ayodele of the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints.
NFL-Europe’s schedule allowed Brown to also work as a graduate assistant coach at Virginia Tech during the Hokies’ 2006 and 2007 seasons. He helped develop defensive units that led the nation in total defense and scoring defense in ’06 and were ranked third and fourth, respectively, in those categories in 2007. He had a helping hand in developing draft choices Chris Ellis, Carlton Powell and Jason Worilds.
Brown attended Virginia Tech and played defensive end from 1993 through 1996, helping the Hokies to a bowl game each season. He earned consensus All-America honors and was named the National Defensive Player of the Year by Football News as a junior in 1995. He gained All-America recognition again as a senior despite missing three games. A sixth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens, Brown played seven seasons in the NFL and was a member of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XXXV championship team.
“I’ve had a lot of great days and great experiences at Virginia Tech, but this is the biggest day and biggest accomplishment to date for me,” Brown said. “It’s extremely exciting to be able to say I’m a part of this program as a coach and will be able to help carry on the legacy that coach Beamer and this staff have built. It is just a great honor and privilege to say I’m coming home to help build on a great tradition.”
Look, it's pretty safe to say there was a general saltiness towards Coach Bryan Steinspring's play calling. Had it gotten better in 2010? Sure. But, aside from the OL, he was working with what I felt was the most talented offense in VT history.
Overall, I lost my sh** too many times just watching our offense sputter and go in reverse.
So, come on down, Mike. Let's see what you can bring to the table.
If it doesn't work, we'll hire Mron Woch - Norm Chow's evil twin.