In priority order:

1. Doesn't learn. I am OK getting a promising 2nd tier coach (understanding we do not have the budget for a top tier coach ) that will make mistakes early on as long as he learns from his mistakes. Not sure why he has shown zero improvement since coming to VT but it does not bode well for the future. Probably arrogance, but the reason is beside the point.

2. Short yardage offense. His slow developing scheme running from the pistol has not been effective. His gadget plays from the same formation have also not been effective. The occasional straight QB sneak has not worked either as shown last night when they simply double the center. He needs a flexible Stanford style scheme with 6-7 options that becomes a staple in the offense and gets practiced so much the team can execute it in their sleep.

Short yardage defense gets an honorable mention and is climbing quickly currently sitting at #7 on my list,

3. Transfer portal. Mostly the out part but there are mistakes in the In side such as BB that leads to some of the painful outs. Losing 2 Qbs and 2 OL last year is a good reason why our O-line is so bad this year, I am lumping player development (mainly offense) and lack of inter-personal skills to this item. I recognize they could stand on their own for reasons to get rid him but in this post I am sticking with top 5.

4. Corny/Offense Scheme - I think this is well covered so I will leave it here. It is tier to #1 and #3.

5. Non-FB/portal related attrition. Every time we lose someone like Etute people chalk it up to one-off situations that happens and say you cannot control FB players all of the time. While I have not done the numbers, it seems to me this happens significantly more to VT than any other program. It could be lack of vetting in the recruitment process but my guess it is lack of player training. Either way it is bad for the kids and the program and I believe they need to work harder to prevent it. BTW, this gripe goes back to FB era as well so it is not all on CFU.

Taken together you get a program on the decline. Pitt on the other hand looks like VT circa 2008 which pains me greatly.

Top 5 reasons he should be retained for at least one more year/.

1. He really is a good person

2. The money to fire him could be better spent elsewhere in the program. Not sure it is true but I am reaching for 5 good reasons.

2-5. Nothing really comes to mind.

There is no good option at this point. I don' really blame Whit for the situation we are in as hiring successful young coaches is very very hard and probably more luck than skill. VT was real lucky with FB and I would argue Clemson was the same with Dabo.

Probably the best option is to promote JHam and give him a 3 year contract. That is about enough time for Shane to run his course at USC and come back home if the JHam experiment fails. Jham is a known commodity, loved by players, his defense is performing pretty good under the circumstances, charismatic, high-energy, and would be budget friendly. You could use the money to hire a A+ O-coordinator