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CyberHokie

Joined: 10/08/1999 Posts: 12106
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I always worried about the man replacing the legend


I always worried about the man replacing the legend. Then after 2016 I felt we had a homerun hire. A man in the Beamer mold. The transition was amazingly flawless & a first year ACC Coastal Crown pointed to a bright future. Whether it was a series of bad luck or problems with the new coaching staff, it is obvious now the wheels are falling off the wagon.

As for bad luck, I don't think the youth of 2018 was his fault, recruiting misses in 2015 contributed to that. And it's hard to win without experienced players. And some of the premature departures of players had more to do with the character of those players than with anything Fu did. In some cases those Beamer recruits just didn't gel with the new scheme and/or coaching staff. Evans didn't take to his role as battering ram & left after year 1 causing serious turnover in Fu's first 4 years.

An in some ways having Coach Foster stay resulted in a reboot at a point, year 5, where Fu should have all the bugs worked out. And there is no way he could have known his DC in waiting would misuse VT funds to have an extra marital affair, causing his dismissal. Look at UVa & Bronco, established at year 5 where VT feels like a reboot. In some ways maybe it'd been better if Foster had left with Frank because the transition is hitting at a bad time for Coach Fuente.

There was tons of excitement over 2020, pre-Covid. We finally were getting our shot at Penn State & we had a new DC, scheme & lots of returning players. But another stroke of bad luck occurred & Spring practice got canceled & the new coaches were unable to install their new scheme. That was exacerbated by a Fall with limited practice for some players & coaches.

But there are other things that point to more than bad luck. Not all of the many players electing to transfer were bad seeds. Players like Hazelton just left you scratching your head. And all signs point to more opt outs coming soon. And the recruiting misses are staggering. 2019 had VT with the worst recruiting class in P5. This year VT sits in the 40s on 247s ranking. Commitments are met with decommitments & disappointment. Could this he due to Tech lagging on their facilities? Absolutely. Could it he hampered by not having the support staff other schools have? Definitely. Could it he because Fu doesn't click with these players? Sure.

One point I often think about was the 2016 TV broadcast of Tech @ ND. In one of those filler segments they highlighted how Fu covered pregame meals. No talking. Raise your hand if you want this food or that. I thought that was so cool, but as I've watched player after player leave, I've wondered more & more "are these kids having fun?"

People always bash Coach Corn, but statistically out offensive numbers have improved even if we have tended to be one dimensional. For the first 4 years it was a horrible running game and now it's a weak passing game. Statistically it's looked good even if we've had fatal flaws. And it has seemed that whatever progress we've gained on O has been at the expense of our D. Our roster has been jammed packed with OL while our DT position has become anemic.

And then there is the reactions of former players. There is a true pride amongst VT football alumni, especially former Beamer players - and many of them are pissed. Sure Fu has embraced former players on his staff, but it seems that reachout hasnt extended very far from that. Maybe our next move should be a former Hokie like Gray who gets it. Who has that passion for VT. Who wants it back where Beamer had it in the 2000s.

I'm not sure how Coach Fu survives this though. The well has been poisoned. The pitch forks have been pulled out of the work shed & the torches yave been lit. The rumor mill has started. The endgame yas begun. Losses to ODU, Duke, Liberty & losing the streak to UVa has made the calls for dismissal louder. Blowouts to Pitt & GT have galvanized the protests. Players leaving in mass makes the job that much harder.

But will the BOV approve a buyout during a pandemic. As Will & Chris discussed Monday on the podcast preventing losing attendance can make up that $12.5M, about 6000 or so tickets per game, but it will be the source of bad optics. However, USC firing their coach opens the door for others to do the same.

And with our facilites being a source of concern, that 12.5 could go a long way to address those problems.

And as Chris discussed, what will a hew coach inherit? No Spring practice? Recruiting restrictions? Early signees bailing? None of that is good for the program.

So the question is this. Should Whit go the 1992 route & demand changes on the offensive staff before going the route of starting over - giving the program a year to overcome the pandemic? Or pull the band-aid off how to inject some excitement back into the program before it declines too far?

Time will tell.
[Post edited by CyberHokie at 11/25/2020 12:22PM]

Posted: 11/25/2020 at 12:20PM



+11

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