Per SI's Thayer Evans:
Va. Tech secondary coach Torrian Gray expected to be new DBs coach for Florida coach Jim McElwain per source.— Thayer Evans (@ThayerEvansSI) February 3, 2016
Today keeps getting worse and worse.
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This is terrible terrible terrible news. I don't blame him though, he was clearly underpaid before and then had to swallow a pay cut.
Worst Signing Day Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This can't be real. But I'm sure it is.
Unreal
Pay cuts will get after ya.
Edit: sorry for the language
Edit 2: all in
Warranted.
Should have noticed he didn't tweet anything today during the signings. Come on Hokie Twitter we have to be better detectives.
So this is why Durr chose Minnesota....
No
Oh, well then never mind. Wonder how many DB commits know.
The blown loss to Syracuse. Couldn't flip like anyone. Now this!!! It can only go up from here.
And the hits...
...just keep on comin'.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Things that concern me:
1. We just signed a bunch of recruits who were all likely led to believe the staff was set. I dislike the timing.
2. Florida recruiting pipeline is now up to...Wiles? Not great, Bob.
3. The Dean of DBU has departed. And the coaching carousel has largely stopped spinning. Who do we get to take Torrian's place?
Regarding point 3-It sucks for the DB that just signed, especially Ladler who came here specifically for TG and could have gone to any school in the country. However it is best for the program as a whole
I think we'll have to see who we hire to decide if it was best for the program.
Best for the program that he announced once signing day was completed.
I don't know if that's the best thing or the shadiest thing. I mean.....what is going on?
Well yeah, in that one sense, but it's still underhanded. It sucks that coaches can come and go as they please, but now all those kids that signed their NLI today to play for DBU and VT's (traditionally) vaunted defense are locked in. Now, that's good for us in terms of available talent, but how do those kids feel right now? Are they going to come into a toxic environment, or create one? Lots left to play out, and much of it depends on who we hire and how they integrate into the staff and relate to the players. Huge number of variables.
This. Besides being pissed the timing just felt wrong. Kept it hush hush until signing day was over?
Who in the hell do we hire?
Foster is a nationally known name and I am sure that he and Fuente were told. Hopefully whit is willing to open the wallet and get someone good
I'm confused, cause if TG took a pay cut as part of Fuente's staff, how can Whit suddenly open his wallet. Maybe he should have opened his wallet to keep TG, unless it was obvious TG wanted out to go back closer to his Florida roots.
Please elaborate on your last sentence. Because I am searching for anything positive to take from this news
If he had announced a few weeks ago,we would have lost DBs in the current class. Yea it sucks but it could be slightly worse
So you're not expecting any attrition from this?
And also: the idea that he stayed until today in order to make sure kids sign - and then peaced out - is... I'm going to put this nicely... underhanded.
It happens, Shane did it at USC. Who knows regarding attrition, but easier to convince a kid to stay once they have signed their LOI than before signing day
Maybe I'm too touchy-feely. Or maybe I'm just so unaccustomed to coaching changes.
Yeah this news trumps anything we've been hemming and hawing about today. Jesus, the timing. And I was just starting to feel better.
But never mind that now. Because this is awful.
Possible replacements could be IMO:
1. Anthony Midget (obviously former VT DB who is currently an assistant with the Texans, would clearly have an understanding of Bud's defense)
2. Trooper Taylor (played DB at Baylor in the late 80's, early 90's, has coached at Tennessee and Auburn, known as an ace recruiter.)
3. Chip West (probably not a popular choice, but he is good at recruiting the 757.)
Midget is in a similar role as TG was when he came on to VT, hopefully we pony up the cash
If I'm not mistaken, Galen Scott is from Florida so I don't think it is all on Wiles. Definitely not trying to discredit how much losing TG sucks. Who knows? Maybe he saw Stinespring going to FCS gig after 28 years of work in one place and Bud getting passed up for HC jobs and wanted to make sure he had a rounded enough background to keep him moving up on the coaching ladder. Best of luck Torian except when it comes to recruiting against Tech.
Cue some of that Attrition I've been hearing so much about.
Yeah I can't see Terrell staying. Hopefully that doesn't mean Tremaine leaves too but I would say so
They have too much time invested in the program. Plus they would have to Sitout a year. I don't think they leave. Plus who says Florida has room for them?? If they can't follow tg then why leave to somewhere else
Are we mad at Coach Fu over this?
Personally, I'm less mad and more sick to my stomach over it. What a gut punch.
Gray was underpaid period. He should have been making 300K+ with his resume
A little bit. Gray was one of "us" and the new coaches still need to earn that place.
It's irrational, I know, but if I'm being honest emotionally, that's how I feel.
(I realize that I didn't feel that way about Cornell).
If Gray left because of his pay cut, then yes, I definitely blame Fuente, and I'm disappointed in him. You don't give pay cuts to workers who create results.
Guess we get to test that theory about Bud being able to easily replace Torrian. This is bad.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Wouldn't be shocked if Gray started shopping himself the minute he heard he was taking that pay cut. Good for him. We lost Moorehead this time last year and upgraded in my opinion. Let's do it again.
Only real problem is that upgrading from Torrian will cost some $. With our pay structure already set, unless Whit finds a way to re-structure the money, we don't have the coin to really get a top-flight, proven DB coach. Moorehead and Burden didn't cost us much.
Yes, this is true. But I think we paid less for Burden? I could be wrong but it doesn't really matter.
We did, but it was still a huge pay raise for Zohn relative to what he made at ODU, so we could pull that off. To replace someone of Torrian's caliber, this late in the game, is going to hurt.
Well that seems most likely. Gonna/gotta pull from G5 or a really bad P5 team.
How about Anthony Midget? Texans assistant with Florida ties.
Really hard to pull from the NFL. Kirk Callahan would be a good option even though Torrian is replacing him. He had great success at UCF.
Isn't that the guy that Florida just fired so that they could hire Gray?
Yes haha that's what I said.
The irony would be strong.
It would be quite strong. And I'm not a fan of retreads but he has a decent track record.
http://footballscoop.com/news/2014-defensive-backs-coach-year-finalists/
yeah as bad as Florida has been lately I thought this was an interesting move for them because their secondary has been exceptionally good. Weird.
Not opposed to it. I like people with chips on their shoulders and something to prove.
Maybe we found a spot for Scott?
This was my first thought.
Unless Whit is really able to pony up we won't hire someone with TG's resume.
Why wouldn't we just pay Torrian? If it's about money this god awful. I guess he just wanted out, thinks he can do better elsewhere as far as advancing his career
"Signing Day is like Christmas for college football fans"
Meanwhile Hokie fans feel like...
via GIPHY
In Fuente We Trust...
Pro Tip: If you're going to use the Giphy embed code, just paste it directly in the comment, you don't need to use the link button. That's exclusively for linking URLs.
Oops... Thank you for the pro tip, though!
It has been a terrible 7 days or so
Anthony Midget to replace him???
Is it possible that Fuente and Co knew about this move and we have somebody already lined up to take his spot?
Almost certainly. I'd bet the mortgage they already have their guy.
I took a screengrab of this. Just in case.
No pressure, jp_daddi0.
Thankfully I don't own a house so I'm in the clear.
I'm sure they knew
Maybe now VT will finally get someone who will satisfy the message board experts and teach DBs to properly defend the pass...
Not gonna lie. I snorted at that.
Hey, I don't mind admitting I'll be happy with fewer avoidable PI penalties moving forward
Not that I'm happy to see us let TG go. But, the face-guarding technique seems pretty universally acclaimed for generating PI calls.
Doubling-down on the arm-chair coaching, I see...
Just lost a ton of respect for Coach Fuente and the program. Keeping a coach until all the NLI's are in and then bailing is one of the worst things that happens in college football. If any of the recruits want to be released, Tech better honor it.
Not sure how this has any correlation to Fuente..
Realize that it is possible that Gray didn't want it to go public until after the NLI's are in, and he informed VT and Florida of that. I'm not sure that McElwain or Fuente had much of a say when it was announcing TG's intentions, although anything is possible in this case.
He didn't get fired. Maybe he asked TG to stay until signing day was over, but otherwise it was TGs decision.
Your right. I made the assumption that Fuente would have asked him to wait until signing day was over.
So you respect the program and CJF again? )))
/s standing on the ledge next to you
Can anyone think of any possible replacements? So far all I got is Nick Sorenson, and he's probably out of our price range.
I wonder if gray is looking to become a DC down the line and is maybe using this as a stepping stone? Come back torrian! :(
I had the same thought but didn't really believe myself when I tried to rationalize it. Just bad news no matter how you put it unfortunately
I def think this is a move so he can be a DC faster. not for VT though. hes consistently put 3 stars in the NFL now he will be working with 5 stars. I except to see him DCing a 2nd tier team in 3 years. everyone knows the fastest way to move up is hang out in the SEC. just ask Will Muschamp.
I wonder if Whit knew before now since they had TG on the signing day show at 11.
Maybe we can get Vince Fuller to come back and we will then always have a Fuller?
He just finished or is finishing law school. Doubtful.
So he could coach AND take over for Jimmy Turk as team counsel.
Former great players =/= good coaches.
If only there were a really good example of how wrong you are, perhaps in the title of a thread or something.
But he's not wrong. Just because you are a former player does not mean you will be a good coach. The 2 don't go hand in hand.
Exactly. Guys like Gray are exceptions. How many players have played for VT and how many have coached successfully ANYWHERE? Spoiler alert: not many.
Oh I know. Plenty of players would make terrible coaches. But he stated it as somewhat of an absolute.
This is particularly painful and worrisome because he's leaving for the same position elsewhere. I could have had an easier time with this news had he been hired away as DC. It's worrisome because VT is his Alma Mater and he's leaving anyway. That makes me wonder what the dynamic is with the new coaching staff.
I was thrilled we kept Foster because he's absolutely one of the best in the business, however, I felt from the start that we needed a clean sweep of the coaching staff in order to rebuild without having to cover a fissure in the foundation.
This move has me very concerned about the future of the program. If there is friction between the coaches we are going to have a bad time.
I think it is simple, he was underpaid before as one of the best DB coaches in the country, he took a pay cut and Frank left. I'm sure he will earn significantly more at Florida
#frank4dbcoach
timing is everything.
Do I still get my buffet and two drink tickets? I would like to eat and drown my sorrows away...
I understand the concerns with him leaving right after Ladler signed to play under him, and just right after NSD in general, but there's a lot of posts in here that I don't agree with.
Yes, he's not making as much as he was last year. No it was not a pay cut. After Beamer left, he didn't have a job. Fuente offered him a job doing the same thing for a smaller amount of money and he accepted.
This is 100% Gray's decision, and I don't believe that Fuente had anything to do with the decision besides maybe asking him to wait until today and not the week before NSD.
There's a chance that this has been the plan all along since Fuente comes in, and that they already have someone else lined up. Remember that $57,000 just laying around after salaries were released that everyone was so up-in-arms about?
That being said, I liked Gray and I'm sad to see him go. It'll be interesting to see who comes in though.
Recruits aren't happy about it:
And he RTed this:
Which I am in total agreement with.
What is SRH? And I don't blame them
I assume "(stuff) right here"
"(Stuff) right here"?
Looks like he deleted them.
Not that he doesn't deserve more money but I really never thought we'd see him leave for a lateral move, especially after Bud and Wiles stayed.
that's what worries me about the move...it's speculation at this point and I could be totally and completely wrong (hope I am) but it makes me wonder if there is some bad blood among the new coaches and old coaches. Fuente (and all the new coaches) have said all the right things in interviews but we don't know how the coaches work together behind closed doors. Beamer built a solid foundation for Fuente to build upon, but if that foundation just got a crack in it Fuente will have a tough time building a quality program.
If I had to bet, I'd say Galen Scott had a lot to do with it. This is based on nothing more than gut feeling. But Scott seems like the guy Fuente would tab to replace Bud if need be. Seems like a career move, and likely the right one for Torrian.
I think the foundation was showing some cracks before Fuente got to town and there is no guarantee that Torian would be staying even with Beamer here. Fuente has already proven he can rebuild/build a top 25 program at Memphis, a career killer by Bud's standards. He had them playing better and more exciting football than us these past two years. I'm confident Fuente will be able to get us back to winning championships and I feel like he's the right guy to fix the cracks and build on top of what is here.
I'm wondering how a certain TKPer-with-ties-to-the program feels about this..
I wish we had some sort of tagging and notification system so that we could summon people to threads in cases like this.
Everyone. Get out. Worst signing day. Ever.
Thanks Coach Gray for the memories, blood, sweat and tears you've put in this program as a player and a coach. To fellow TKP'ers, it's the world we live in now. We've been spoiled with Beamer being the HC for so long and very little staff turnover. Expect this to happen every few years now, it's very common across the landscape as you all know. Bustle, Grimes, Moorehead and a slew of others were good too...but we replaced them and football was still played in Blacksburg! Also, get ready because I have this gut feeling that Foster is outta here sooner rather than later. I'd say...within 2 years.
So who comes in as his replacement?
I've seen Loren Johnson and Dwight Vick mentioned on Twitter. Could they get Anthony Midget?
Talk that there may be some salary negotiations going on right now and Torrian may not be leaving
If this is true, and I hope it is, what does it mean for Wiles? Seems like if you are going to give TG a "raise" you have to take care of Wiles too. He took a bigger cut than TG did
For what it's worth, Gray's twitter page has him listed as University of Florida Defensive Back Coach
https://twitter.com/togray14
That's a pretty recent change too, as of about an hour ago it still said VT
Well that's "Facebook official" relationship status change.
Naw, he's just playing hardball with the negotiations right? He'll be back right guys? guys?
sigh
And the cheeky bastard thinks he gets to take #DBU with him!
How I feel about threads such as this