There is little doubt that Coach Fu is disliked by many on this board. We had all, except perhaps for the trolls, hoped that over the past five years, the Hokies would have done better. However, consider that when Fu was hired, Shane Beamer had been the assistant head coach at VT. He arrived in 2011 and had the benefit of decent recruiting success prior to his arrival - players which included David Wilson and Logan Thomas. To make room for Shane, Frank fired Jim Cavanaugh and moved Billy Hite out of the picture. These two were perhaps VTs best recruiters. Cavanaugh was perhaps VTs best recruiter - ever. When this happened, the HS coaches in Virginia were disappointed and disillusioned with Frank and with VT in general. This is when recruiting in Virginia began to fall off for the Hokies. Throw in the fact that Shane was implicated in the Wakeyleaks issue, and Tech's image in Virginia's high schools was more tarnished. This happened in 2014. Coach Fu arrived in 2015.
In the five year period comprising Shane's tenure, Tech's record was 40 -25 (including an 11 - 3 season in 2011, using Cavanaugh's recruits. Tech's offense averaged 26.6 points per game during Shane's 5 years at VT.
In the five years coach Fu has been at Tech, he has been faced with the task of rebuilding relationships in Virginia. Perhaps this is one of the reasons he relies on out of stat recruiting. His record is 38 - 25. Tech's offense has averaged 31.5 points per game.
All this to say that while we have been disappointed in some of the play calling, Tech's offense has been better in Fu's first five years than it was in Frank's last five. Throw in the fact that Tech's defense hasn't been stellar, it makes Tech's offense look even better. Maybe not all of the verbal darts being hurled at Corney and Fu are justified. It takes a while to undo some wild weeds planted by those who came before. I think Frank was an absolute godsend for the Hokies and took us to heights few, if any dreamed possible. I also think Frank made some mistakes in judgement in bringing in Shane at the expense of Cavanaugh and Hite. Some positive vibes on this board might help current players feel better about being here; make current coaches feel more at home and more welcomed; and it might help with in state recruiting. It sure can't hurt.