Virginia Tech announced Brian Mitchell will join the Hokies' defensive staff as its cornerbacks coach.
"Brian will be a great fit with Coach [Bud] Foster and the rest of our coaching staff on the field and on the recruiting trail," head coach Justin Fuente said in a release. "He brings a wealth of experience to this role at Virginia Tech, as both a coach and a player. We're excited to have our coaching staff finalized as we continue our preparations for spring football."
Fuente also clarified the roles of his defensive staff:
- Bud Foster – Associate head coach/defensive coordinator/linebackers
- Galen Scott – Assistant head coach/safeties
- Charley Wiles – Defensive line
- Brian Mitchell – Cornerbacks
Mitchell served as cornerbacks coach for the past three seasons at West Virginia. He was defensive coordinator and secondary coach at East Carolina from 2010-12.
Ruffin McNeill — Mitchell's former boss at ECU and now Virginia assistant — was quite complimentary of Tech's hire.
#UVA's Ruffin McNeill, former ECU coach, on #Hokies reported DB coach Brian Mitchell: "He's a relentless recruiter, a really good teacher."— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) February 18, 2016
Mitchell was on campus for Tech's last junior day event.
For more information on Mitchell, read the original report.
Comments
Anyone take a stab at why the process took so long? It was weird he was on campus working but not officially announced.
It takes a while for that WVU smell to wear off completely.
He had a lot of burning couches and flying bottles of piss to avoid on his way out of town?
Procurement? I'm not sure what the advertising requirements are on that job.
Except he's been working for a couple of weeks now. Lots of pics at practice. With 'croots. In CM&BO. It's been no secret. It's weird timing.
Unless the news coincides with his official contract inception? Like he's been "interning" before his $$ kicks in? Is there a delineation between "an announcement of hiring" and "an announcement of starting work"?
I have no idea what I mean by that.
Bureaucracy.
I'm guessing he was "hired," showed up to work, and let the lawyers get everything in order before it was official.
Because he's from Worst Va U, so he had to go through a stringent background check as well as a thorough decontamination process.
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Venture Bros and Seinfeld? Leg for you!
"Associate Head Coach" Vs. "Assistant Head Coach"... I can make some assumptions here, but can anyone shed light on this part of the CFB world?
This was a discussion that was had a while ago, but it boils down to this. Bud is the HC if Fuente cannot perform his duties for any reason, such as termination or illness. Scott performs the day-to-day tasks above the level of a position coach. Basically, Bud = Vice President, Scott = Chief of Staff.
Associate = Vice President (Second in command) vs Assistant= Dwight Schrute (helps make sure things run smoothly day to day)
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But...what about in terms of when Michael and Jim became co-managers...big picture stuff vs. day to day?
Oh I see what's going on here. We got two guys doing one job.
Assistant TO the head coach?
Head Coach : Associate Head Coach : Assistant Head Coach :: Professor : Associate Professor : Assistant Professor
... or something.
This is ridiculous. I can't believe he hasn't gotten any 5 Star Virginia Recruits yet. Why'd we hire this guy? #overrated
(I really hope I don't need /s)
How can he have 5 starts? The season hasn't even started,
The actual joke was the typo for starts instead of stars that I played off of. Played it poorly, but hey, they all can't be 5 star jokes
You mean 5 Start?
SEE?! This is the problem. We settle for high schoolers who have no prior NCAA football experience. Guys like Coach Mitchell should be recruiting players who have started games. Smh.
Huh, didn't see that coming.
I can't be the only one who thought this had been official for weeks already.
Well, whatever, a late announcement, a wvU background, no 5 star(t) recruits yet, and good ole Ruffin McNeil's endorsement, we extend a big welcome to you, Coach! You're a Hokie now, so make us proud.
I'm torn. Its a good endorsement, but its from a wahoo.....
It is my hope that Mitchell will bring some insight on McNeil that might benefit in giving him the can of whoopass he so dearly deserves - for two reasons now: 1) as you so adroitly stated - for being a hoo, and 2) for beating us two years in a row (or were those games only in my nightmares?).
Leg for correct utilization of "adroitly"
Those were preseason games.
I hope we didn't hire him just to try to ensure beating ECU. I think we have the staff and talent to do this. It's a new day in Bburg.
We need to get pictures of him in Maroon and/or Orange, preferably a TKP DBU. He looks awful in the colors above, as does everyone who puts them on.
Whenever they have couch burn-a-thons I always lament WHY those horrendous colors won't burn up in flames with them.
Much better picture, but the goatee still need work.
Am I the only one that was at first when the name appeared was "why on earth would we want a former running back as a cornerbacks coach?!?"
No. No, you are not
You mean running back/kick returner/ and third string quarterback and one of the greatest to ever play at RFK......l
I like that setup. Foster on the LBs Scott on the safeties Wiles on the line and Mitchell on the corners. I have a feeling something's going to be new this upcoming year...
WVU secondary coverages article
Pretty interesting article about the 3-3-5 I wonder how closely that matches our 'qoute' 4-2-5 in terms of coverages and their use of 'hybrid' safeties. I was especially interested in their use of the strong safety/nickel hybrid.
We just sniped a position coach from another P5 program like it was nothing. Culture change is coming.
Also, to put on my tinfoil hat for a second, I wonder if all the hemming and hawing about what Scott's position was going to be on D was because Fuente/Bud couldn't say, "Galen will be coaching safeties after Torrian Gray leaves after signing day."
FWIW, the Gray to Florida thing happened very quickly. As in, it wasn't even being thought about until about 2 weeks before he was on his way down there.
I am aware that is the reported version of events, and I have no solid reason to doubt it. But until this announcement, I had heard nothing of Scott coaching safeties. It just was enough to make me wonder.
IIRC, hasn't mitchell been a corner-specific coach before? and from a few things i have read on this site and other places it seems that the corners in some of his jobs worked very similar to the defense that bud runs (ie put them on an island, certain leverage, etc.); i think what likely happened was that torrian gray leaves, they're comfortable with scott taking safeties, and they find a well qualified candidate like mitchell who just happens to want to leave (rumors of holgorsen's unrest), to coach cbs...this is more just drunken/BUZZed piecing things together than anything else
That's actually not a "reported" version of events. Scott has bounced around because both Foster and Fuente recognize he's a good coach who needs to be somewhere on the defense. There were zero plans to have him coach safeties until Torrian Gray decided he was leaving, which was about a week and a half before it was announced.
Our defensive coaching staff has all the DCs. Seems Wiles is the only one hasn't been, no?
Wiles was Co-Defensive Coordinator at Murray St in 1995
So then, All the DCs. :)
Go get em B Mitch!
Can't tell if serious
H/T Andy Bitter:
http://www.roanoke.com/sports/columns_and_blogs/blogs/andy_bitter_virgin...
Sounds like some couches might be getting burned in the near future.
As I'm reading this... "Hmmm, it looks like he made a typo when he was trying to talking about coaches possibly getting burned as a result of the Holgorsen situa...... oh..... nevermind. What he wrote is in fact more accurate."
Thanks for pointing that out. My bleary eyed brain read coaches as well.