Brad Crawford doubles down on Beamer/VaTech

[18IsTheMan]

Had an interview yesterday and he doubled down on his reporting linking Beamer to VaTech. Said he has it from multiple sources that several VaTech decision-makers have Beamer at the top of their list and he can confirm there has been definite mutual interest. He did clarify that he does believer Beamer when he says that USC is his dream job and added that he doesn't think Beamer would leave USC on his own accord unless VaTech just made him an offer he can't refuse.

I don't know about the mutual interest. If Beamer is unlikely to leave of his own accord, that puts VaTech hiring a coach was fired from here. That won't happen.

 

[92Pony]

Now here's the glimmer of hope I've been refreshing for...... (And, yeah, yeah, yeah.... be careful what you wish for. I know. But Beamer has pretty much lost me at this point.)

 

[18IsTheMan]

I'm torn. Unlike Muschamp, I actually like Beamer. Some think it's phony, but I think his passion for this particular job is genuine. I'd love for him to find success here, because I truly don't think he'd ever leave.

I WANT him to be successful. He just can't seem to get out of his own way with his coaching hires and reluctance to dismiss underperforming coaches.

 

[Lurker123]

I just cant believe that VT is chasing him that hard. Once again, if his last name was Smith, would they even give him an interview?

 

[92Pony]

I just cant believe that VT is chasing him that hard. Once again, if his last name was Smith, would they even give him an interview?

Agree. Would we otherwise have? Like 18 said above, I've really been wanting him to succeed here - Heck, if he could miraculously turn this season around and build next year, I'm all for it. But I no longer think he can. His stubbornness runs too deep.

 

[Gradstudent]

I can see the future quotes, Beamer, "South Carolina was my dream job, before it turned into a nightmare", "glad to be back home at VT"

LOL

 

[Legal_fowl]

Had an interview yesterday and he doubled down on his reporting linking Beamer to VaTech. Said he has it from multiple sources that several VaTech decision-makers have Beamer at the top of their list and he can confirm there has been definite mutual interest. He did clarify that he does believer Beamer when he says that USC is his dream job and added that he doesn't think Beamer would leave USC on his own accord unless VaTech just made him an offer he can't refuse.

I don't know about the mutual interest. If Beamer is unlikely to leave of his own accord, that puts VaTech hiring a coach was fired from here. That won't happen.

Where was this ... on Twitter?

 

[uscfan1981]

I'm very ok if he goes to Va Tech.

 

[Piscis]

I just cant believe that VT is chasing him that hard. Once again, if his last name was Smith, would they even give him an interview?

If his last name was Smith, he would likely not be coaching on the college level anywhere.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Where was this ... on Twitter?

Full interview is here. Not sure the timestamp of the referenced comments. I saw the excerpt of that part posted but can't find that post now.

 

[sclawman77]

I personally could see it. Shane gets to start with a fresh slate, an EZZ schedule and a big contract. Now what VT sees I'm not totally clear on but they like the name and recruiting ability

 

[Piscis]

I personally could see it. Shane gets to start with a fresh slate, an EZZ schedule and a big contract. Now what VT sees I'm not totally clear on but they like the name and recruiting ability

Liking a coach's name is about the stupidest idea I can think of for hiring him. We should have hired Skip Holtz or Steve Jr. if that is a big factor.

Why would VT want a coach that has not proven himself to be consistently very good simply because of his last name?

 

[sclawman77]

Liking a coach's name is about the stupidest idea I can think of for hiring him. We should have hired Skip Holtz or Steve Jr. if that is a big factor.

Why would VT want a coach that has not proven himself to be consistently very good simply because of his last name?

I'm not saying it's the main reason he'd be considered but his dad has a statue there and it may give some fans hope that Shane could bring back Frank's winnng ways to the program. Shane is also a VT grad and former player (thanks to dad) but that makes it different than the people you mentioned.

Sheer speculation obviously-maybe VT is very interested or maybe they aren't. If we didn't suck so bad we'd be talking about the team instead of coaching searches. And there's no doubt that plenty of VT fans probably don't want Shane too-regardless of his name.

 

[Swifty]

I think some are putting way too much weight on his last name. It's not like we just hired a guy named Beamer out of thin air. You know, he DID coach here under Spurrier and was recruiting coordinator while we brought in the talent that made up the best era in our history. He also coached under his father, Kirby Smart and Lincoln Riley. He had coached special teams and tight ends and was already an assistant Head Coach at Oklahoma and had a stellar reputation on the recruiting trail. It's not like he's what some are calling a "nepo baby". I don't think who his father is had anything to do with Tanner hiring him. Tanner is a coach. A coach's coach even.
I think Beamer's two biggest weaknesses are his rabbit ears to what's being said in the media/on sites such as this and he's also, by all accounts, a fantastic human being and doesn't seem to have what some would call a "lack of heart" to A-cut bait on coaches who aren't getting the job done/hiring and B-hire a guy based on what kind of job he's gonna do (yes, White seems to have been a great hire as well as a handful of other assistants). I get that side of him. From everything I've ever seen, Mike Shula is another fantastic human being. There just seems to be no imagination or innovation in the offense that he's running. This offense would obviously run much better behind a grade A offensive line, but we just haven't had that in over a decade. I am a big fan of Shane Beamer "the guy" and I was all aboard on his hiring, but something has to give if he is going to have a successful career here. I have zero faith in that happening with Shula at the helm of our offense. We look Great Value vanilla and even within that milktoast playbook, many of the situational play calls have been odd, to be charitable.

 

[JohnnySolo]

Too much weight on the name like people are putting too much weight on Oklahoma's defensive performance last weekend.
Shane can go as long as he takes Shula.

 

[Lurker123]

I think some are putting way too much weight on his last name. It's not like we just hired a guy named Beamer out of thin air. You know, he DID coach here under Spurrier and was recruiting coordinator while we brought in the talent that made up the best era in our history. He also coached under his father, Kirby Smart and Lincoln Riley. He had coached special teams and tight ends and was already an assistant Head Coach at Oklahoma and had a stellar reputation on the recruiting trail. It's not like he's what some are calling a "nepo baby". I don't think who his father is had anything to do with Tanner hiring him. Tanner is a coach. A coach's coach even.
I think Beamer's two biggest weaknesses are his rabbit ears to what's being said in the media/on sites such as this and he's also, by all accounts, a fantastic human being and doesn't seem to have what some would call a "lack of heart" to A-cut bait on coaches who aren't getting the job done/hiring and B-hire a guy based on what kind of job he's gonna do (yes, White seems to have been a great hire as well as a handful of other assistants). I get that side of him. From everything I've ever seen, Mike Shula is another fantastic human being. There just seems to be no imagination or innovation in the offense that he's running. This offense would obviously run much better behind a grade A offensive line, but we just haven't had that in over a decade. I am a big fan of Shane Beamer "the guy" and I was all aboard on his hiring, but something has to give if he is going to have a successful career here. I have zero faith in that happening with Shula at the helm of our offense. We look Great Value vanilla and even within that milktoast playbook, many of the situational play calls have been odd, to be charitable.

Okay, but after all that, would he have even gotten an iinterview here if it wasn't for his last name? A Tightends coach from Oklahoma?

 

[kidrobinski]

Virginia Tech will absolutely hire Beamer even if we fire him.

Not everyone thinks like Paulie Pennino.

 

[HI Cock1]

If his last name was Smith, he would likely not be coaching on the college level anywhere.

Nor would Shula. At least not in the SEC or any other Power 4 conference.

 

[Swifty]

Okay, but after all that, would he have even gotten an iinterview here if it wasn't for his last name? A Tightends coach from Oklahoma?

Like I said. He had a good history here already. He was well traveled and was Assistant Head Coach at two stops. We didn't just decide to hire a TE coach from Oklahoma.

 

[92Pony]

Virginia Tech will absolutely hire Beamer even if we fire him.

Not everyone thinks like Paulie Pennino.

We fire him, we pay a big buyout. If they hire him he (they) pay us some amount of money, right? Can JD and the VT AD get together and work out a deal?? Y'all hire him away and we'll waive our buyout fee.

 

[Lurker123]

Like I said. He had a good history here already. He was well traveled and was Assistant Head Coach at two stops. We didn't just decide to hire a TE coach from Oklahoma.

He was an "assistant head coach" for his dad, and on an OU staff that had a majority of position coaches having coordinator or such titles. (Joe Jones Finley followed him as the TE coach at OU and was also an "assistant head coach".)

We can look at the same history and say that well traveled means he spent 20 years bouncing around, never getting above a position coach before we elevated him.

Just deciding to hire the OU TE coach is pretty much exactly what we did.

 

[Swifty]

He was an "assistant head coach" for his dad, and on an OU staff that had a majority of position coaches having coordinator or such titles. (Joe Jones Finley followed him as the TE coach at OU and was also an "assistant head coach".)

We can look at the same history and say that well traveled means he spent 20 years bouncing around, never getting above a position coach before we elevated him.

Just deciding to hire the OU TE coach is pretty much exactly what we did.

Sure. And all that guy currently up in Pickens County had done was coach TE and WR and was WR/RC at the time of Bowden's firing before being elevated to HC. PJ Fleck had never been a coordinator before becoming Head Coach. Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer. There are examples of successful head coaches who hadn't been a coordinator. I would say the thinking at the time wasn't "I'm gonna hire Frank Beamer's son". It was more of a "I'm gonna hire a guy who has coached several position groups, was very successful when he was here from 2007-2010, is a known, very good recruiter and wants to make this program great and isn't going to treat this job as a stepping stone to another head coaching job". And Ray, being a coach and appreciating how Shane would go about building a family atmosphere, probably made a heart decision rather than a competent AD decision. At least that's how it looks as we sit entering year 5, week 8 of Shane's tenure. Heck, Ray cried during Muschamp's firing press conference.

If I'm Donati, I've been having serious sit downs with Beamer and have let him know that he will have one shot to get this right. That may be a mistake to give him next year, but I believe that's what will happen. It will be up to Beamer whether he sticks with Shula and thinks next year will be a college landscape shifting turnaround or realizes that this offensive philosophy is going to cost him and everyone else their jobs and finds a way to go get an OC that will equal or better the results White has given him.

 

[sclawman77]

We can look at the same history and say that well traveled means he spent 20 years bouncing around, never getting above a position coach before we elevated him.

Precisely

 

[Lurker123]

Sure. And all that guy currently up in Pickens County had done was coach TE and WR and was WR/RC at the time of Bowden's firing before being elevated to HC. PJ Fleck had never been a coordinator before becoming Head Coach. Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer. There are examples of successful head coaches who hadn't been a coordinator. I would say the thinking at the time wasn't "I'm gonna hire Frank Beamer's son". It was more of a "I'm gonna hire a guy who has coached several position groups, was very successful when he was here from 2007-2010, is a known, very good recruiter and wants to make this program great and isn't going to treat this job as a stepping stone to another head coaching job". And Ray, being a coach and appreciating how Shane would go about building a family atmosphere, probably made a heart decision rather than a competent AD decision. At least that's how it looks as we sit entering year 5, week 8 of Shane's tenure. Heck, Ray cried during Muschamp's firing press conference.

If I'm Donati, I've been having serious sit downs with Beamer and have let him know that he will have one shot to get this right. That may be a mistake to give him next year, but I believe that's what will happen. It will be up to Beamer whether he sticks with Shula and thinks next year will be a college landscape shifting turnaround or realizes that this offensive philosophy is going to cost him and everyone else their jobs and finds a way to go get an OC that will equal or better the results White has given him.

Yes, we tried to hire Dabo 2.0. That i will concede.

Jim Tressel is a good example though. He jumped from a position coach to a head coaching job, yes. At Youngstown State. He wasn't hired by OSU till he worked a job at a smaller school.

Meyer is also a good example. He went from a position coach to a coach at Bowling Green, then Utah before Florida.

PJ Fleck went to Western Michigan.

If we want to compare Shane to them, he should have gotten a job at a much smaller school before moving to a P4 team, much less an SEC team.

We could ask ourselves this. Would we have hired him if he had these exact results, but at East Carolina, or Furman?

I agree with your last paragraph completely.

 

[Harvard Gamecock]

I'm not buying the SB to VaTech for one minute.
Prove me wrong.

 

[SouthernBelly]

I'm not buying the SB to VaTech for one minute.
Prove me wrong.

Said the first article was BS. If this guy is doubling down on his statement I guess I’ll double down on the BS meter.

 

[SouthernBelly]

I'm torn. Unlike Muschamp, I actually like Beamer. Some think it's phony, but I think his passion for this particular job is genuine. I'd love for him to find success here, because I truly don't think he'd ever leave.

I WANT him to be successful. He just can't seem to get out of his own way with his coaching hires and reluctance to dismiss underperforming coaches.

I don’t like Beamer, but I do like that he wants to be here and him being successful would be the best thing for Gamecock football. So in that regard I hope he’s here 20 years.

But I don’t think he will be successful for the reasons you say and others. If the speculation is true that Donati was behind the firing Teasley then Beamer has shown no growth as an HC. So with all that said he needs to go.

 

[sclawman77]

I don’t like Beamer, but I do like that he wants to be here and him being successful would be the best thing for Gamecock football. So in that regard I hope he’s here 20 years.

But I don’t think he will be successful for the reasons you say and others. If the speculation is true that Donati was behind the firing Teasley then Beamer has shown no growth as an HC. So with all that said he needs to go.

Who wouldn't "want to be here" to collect an $8M a year salary? It would be my "dream job" too-especially when nobody else would pay him that. All about results. Forget 20 years. I don't want him here two more years if he can only win a few SEC games and have a losing record during the season.

 

[sclawman77]

I'm not buying the SB to VaTech for one minute.
Prove me wrong.

More I think about it, Shane probably isn't interested even if VT called (and they very well may not). He was their "assistant coach" (dad gave him that role) when Frank stepped down and wasn't considered for the head coach job when they hired Fuente or even retained. I don't know that he wants to live in his dad's shadow at VT either.

 

[Lurker123]

More I think about it, Shane probably isn't interested even if VT called (and they very well may not). He was their "assistant coach" (dad gave him that role) when Frank stepped down and wasn't considered for the head coach job when they hired Fuente or even retained. I don't know that he wants to live in his dad's shadow at VT either.

Purely hypothetical.

If you thought you were on the way out the door at your current job, would you jump to another job to take advantage of the "honeymoon phase" again and extend your multi million dollar income by a few more years?

Honestly, I am curious what type of job he gets if he leaves this job. Would you hire him as a head coach? OC, or DC? Probably an analyst. So a jump to a 3 year minimum fresh start may be the best bet.

But thats if VT actually pursued him. And I dont really believe that.[/QUOTE]

 

[sclawman77]

This entire discussion is hypothetical. Yeah, he may end up with more if he went to VT but we'll end up paying him like $50M+ in 5 years if we fired him now so it's not like he isn't already generational wealthy.

 

[kidrobinski]

This entire discussion is hypothetical.

And speculative.

 

[Lurker123]

This entire discussion is hypothetical. Yeah, he may end up with more if he went to VT but we'll end up paying him like $50M+ in 5 years if we fired him now so it's not like he isn't already generational wealthy.

True, sorry. I meant my post was a purely hypothetical.

 

[KingWard]

Brad Crawford doubles down on Beamer/VaTech​

I would think the rose's bloom is withering. On the other hand, maybe it's meant to happen.

 

[gamecock stock]

You know what they say about smoke and fire? IF, as I suspect, Teasley's firing was pushed by Donati. then I could see Beamer jumping to Virginia Tech. Teasley's poor offensive lines did not occur just THIS season. We all saw how poor the Teasley OL was from the North Carolina game 2 years ago into this season. I don't believe for one minute that Beamer did not see that. Yet. he kept Teasley on and gave him a huge pay raise this past January. Why? Because Teasley was producing big in recruiting. Beamer was and is not "Donati's guy". Consequently, Beamer knows that Donati won't hesitate to pull the trigger on him, especially in light of next year's schedule (Bama, UGA, Oklahoma, Clemson, Tennessee, not to mention Florida and Arkansas programs on the road inspired with new Head Coaching blood). Many years ago Frank Beamer turned down the Alabama job to stay at Virginia Tech. Why? I suspect he saw playing an ACC schedule more favorable in his best interest as opposed coaching in the SEC wars. No, it won't surprise me one bit to see Shane going to VT. Of course he will deny any interest. What else would he say? In the ACC, a Dabo-type Head Coach (someone lacking in coaching skills but more of a recruiter) can thrive. In the SEC, you better have coaching chops to go with your recruiting, something Beamer lacks.