Countdown to ACC Kickoff, No. 10: Frank Beamer
The ACC Kickoff (aka media days) is fast approaching. I’ll be using the blog to count down to what we media members consider the unofficial start of the football season. This isn’t a list of the 25 best players on Virginia Tech’s roster. It’s a list of 25 things/people that will determine whether the Hokies’ 2012 season is a success or not. That includes players and coaches from both Virginia Tech and, occasionally, a few of its opponents.
Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
No. 10: Frank Beamer, head coach
When you’ve been at a school for more than 25 years as Frank Beamer has, there’s a groundwork in place that’s been established over that time for how your program works. That’s not to say that Beamer won’t have a major impact on how the Hokies’ fare this year, however.
There seems to be an assumption that Virginia Tech is on auto pilot, that Beamer is more a CEO of the program than a hands-on coach. And yes, he lets his assistants do their thing, both on defense, where Bud Foster has established himself as an independent-minded coordinator, and offense, where Mike O’Cain and Bryan Stinespring have freedom to run the show.
But Beamer is involved in every facet. It’s his program, after all, that’s won 209 games and seven conference championships in the last 25 years. And all aspects — game planning, situational decisions, recruiting — are run from the top down, with his personal stamp on them.
That’s especially true on special teams, Beamer’s bread and butter, which have lagged in recent years and need a shot in the arm. Beamer paid special attention to the kicking game in particular this offseason, often standing over the shoulder of his punters as they booted balls in practice to make sure they could handle pressure.
But there are larger issues. Usually above criticism, Beamer has gotten his fair share this offseason. The Sugar Bowl loss to Michigan, a game the Hokies dominated on both sides of the ball, left a bad taste in fans’ mouths. Beamer’s poorly timed decision to try an ill-fated fake punt late in the game played a part in Virginia Tech’s demise, a fact no one forgets.
That loss dropped Beamer to 1-5 in BCS bowls all-time, a stat that won’t be forgotten until the Hokies break through on the big stage against a quality opponent (something tells me the 2009 Orange Bowl win against Cincinnati didn’t satiate the fans’ appetite).
And there remains the empty national championship trophy case, a bold stroke of motivation to some, a painful reminder to others. It’s the one thing lacking on Beamer’s otherwise sterling resume and, by his own account, it’s something he’ll pursue for several more years provided he’s in good health.
With 251 victories, Beamer is now the active leader in Division I wins among coaches. His teams have won 10 or more games in eight straight seasons and gone to 19 straight bowl games. You don’t accomplish that without doing a lot of things right.
But it also raises expectations. And plenty of fans yearn to see the Hokies and Beamer take a step up to the next level and be among the nation’s elite. This year, with Logan Thomas and a standout defense, will provide them with another opportunity.
Coming Friday: Both are coming off significant injuries.
Previous entries:
- No. 25: Randall Dunn, senior tight end
- No. 24: Donaldven Manning, freshman cornerback
- No. 23: Pick a punter
- No. 22: J.C. Coleman, freshman running back
- No. 21: Georgia Tech’s option offense
- No. 20: Antoine and Derrick Hopkins, defensive tackles
- No. 19: EJ Manuel, Florida State quarterback
- No. 18: Bud Foster, defensive coordinator
- No. 17: A fourth wide receiver
- No. 16: Cody Journell, junior kicker
- No. 15: Brent Benedict and David Wang, offensive guards
- No. 14: Dyrell Roberts, senior wide receiver
- No. 13: Detrick Bonner and Kyshoen Jarrett, safeties
- No. 12: Dabo Swinney, Clemson head coach
- No. 11: Key reserves
July 12, 2012 - 11:19 AM
I cannot wait until Beamer retires! He has done a GREAT job developing a Top 15 program, but he routinely gets outcoached in big games. He is so predictable, that it isn’t even funny. And his blind loyaly to mediocre assitants like Stinespring cannot be seen a positive trait. (can’t wait until Weaver retires too)
While I will admit the post season has often been disappointing IntelligentFan, who do you think would actually come to VT and do a better job? Name names. This is probably as good as it gets for VT. I hope I am wrong, but Lou Saben isn’t coming to VT.
I know I live in the past but I would like to think that a lifetime of performance deserves more than a quick “thanks but why the hell don’t you leave now”?
As disgruntled as Intelli (and others) may be it is not easy to sustain excellence over an extended period of time. I support Coach Beamer until there is a real reason not to do so.
The high profile losses bring to mind the criticism of Ted Williams. One sportswriter wrote that “..in the 15 most important games of his life, Williams hit (some low number)”. That writer was arguing that Williams did not deserve his acclaim as a player.
Would you take Teddy Ballgame on your team? I think so…..
At some point it will be time for Coach to retire. I hope he gets to decide when that is and I hope he knows when he has done all he can.
With today’s news about Penn State I think it is ever more important to be wary of worshiping football (or any sport). It just isn’t important enough to warrant what happened there.
There’s no disputing the fact Beamer and his assistants put Blacksburg on the map.
I’m still waiting for Beamerball to make a comeback. I’m hoping the new Pistol package would take some of the predictability off, but I’m not gonna hold my breath.
I’m still thinking Tech go 9-3 this season, the national championship is a long, long shot in the dark for this team, unless some of the top 5 teams crap out, and Tech take advantage of a weakened ACC.
You hit it in the money, I can’t wait intill we get a new AD and Beamer retires. He has reached his limit as a coach he has proven he doesn’t know what he is doing in big games, just look at his facil expression’s that tells it all. His loyalty to an average staff is mind blowing it’s holding VA Tech back big time, we could be like oregon of the east but NO Beamer wants it his way. RETIRE!
Your only as good as the last game you coach. That is part of the business he’s in. You are right, tech is a long way from a NC, but you cannot take away what he has done for the state of VA. and the university. He has given his heart and sole for the program. The conference is what it is, weak. The only item that could of helped his resume would of been better out of conference games. That’s how you measure your program. I look forward to the new play off system. You got to schedule better teams.
unfortunately, i have been around hokie football for a long time with no real great moments. as a kid – i ran food errands for assistants like danny ford and charley pell. dooley thought i was a smart mouthed kid cause i always ribbed him about danny ford and why he wasnt good enough for his staff but he was a national championship coach. his face would look like he had puckered up on a lemon. anyway- a former murray st. player and army captain john salerno told me in the mojave desert in fall of 88 that frank beamer would be one of the greatest college coaches of all time. i thought the heat had got to him and he was talking crazy. well- he was right. ha. but here is the thing guys- who is next in line? thats what worries me even though beamer needs to start thinking about lake lanier and the rocker on the porch. football is a different game now. but he did what coffey,sharpe,and dooley could not ever pull off-a nationally known program.
I AGREE WITH YOU giles, VT HAS COME A LONG WAY SINCE THE DAYS WHEN THEY COULDNT BEAT VMI AND DAVIDSON, YES DAVIDSON, TO WHAT THEY ARE TODAY AND BEAMER DESERVES THE CREDIT FOR THAT.
Frank Beamer has done more for Virginia Tech football than we as long time supporters could have imagined in the 60s and 70s.
However nice that is the fact is he has taken Virginia Tech football as far as he can take it because of his style of coaching and his coaching philosophy. That is just the way that it is.
He always gets out coached in the biggest of games and Tech loses those games. This is the bowl games that he loses regularly.
He will remain at Tech until he is ready to retire and the football program will remain the same as it is now.
When he retires there will be a change in the football program and we will have to wait to see what that is at that time.
He has kept assistant coaches who are incompetent, Stein and Newsome, for far too long and that refusal to make changes has hurt the team and the program.
Frank Beamer has been GREAT for Virginia Tech, but he has reached his peak and that is the way that it is at Tech.
Weaver needs to go and the sooner the better.
There was an article on Beamer at ESPN. It was interesting that coach at South Carolina (can’t get his name right) was among the coveted coach to lead in Blacksburg. I forgot who else they asked, it was some of the top coaches in the days. Then Beamer came and he started out collecting $80,000. Now, he’s a millionaire. It was also interesting that Beamer knows if he was starting over, he wouldn’t last long in today games with the record he amassed in the first 6 seasons.
It was an interesting article. Also, I read a re-tweet from Andy that David Teel saw that Beamer lost 32 pounds.
With perhaps the exception of the ’99 and ’00 teams, I think VT is as good now as it has ever been. They still compete at a high level and year in and year out are preseason ranked in the top 20 and nearly always end there. That with a schedule that is more demanding than the BE days. And people want him to retire and be replaced by whom? Who is going to come in and not only be able to maintain the high level of play and then improve it? The odds of that happening at a program that is already one of the best in the country are very slim. I caution people to be careful what they wish for as it might not be as good as what they have. I would imagine around 95% of CFB fans in the country upon hearing that some want Beamer retire would say “You’re nuts!” I agree…
I agree that Beamer has taken this team as far as he can with his choice of a couple of coaches being the main reason for that. BUT things could be a lot lot worse. Look at UVA over the past 15 years or so for example
There will never be a shortage of those post 1990′s fans who are “tired” of Beamer. Who 10 win seasons and 19 straight bowl games and conference championships and top 10 finishes will never be enough for. It all reminds me of that legendary Nebraska coach who got fired after a 9-2 season. It wasn’t up to Nebraska standards and only now, after more than a decade of very mediocre teams are they getting in the 9-2 season range. Guess what, they’re happy to have a 9-2 season now!
Frank Beamer creates top 10 teams out of top 25 talent. The statistics will show that they consistently finish as good or better than their preseason ranking and far above where their talent level should take them. VT and Frank Beamer are Seabiscuit, except we’re Seabiscuit every year.
I loved my time at VT, everyone who goes there does, but there’s a reason the talent bypasses Blacksburg and it has nothing to do with Frank Beamer. For one, what 17 year old can appreciate going to school in the middle of nowhere? Very few. Who wouldn’t want to go to Florida? Who wouldn’t want to go to one of the historic teams like Alabama, Penn State, Michigan, etc – it took those teams many decades to establish that cache. Still many top talents do come and for those mid level 3 stars – Frank and his team make lemonaide out of lemons, sending 2-3 stars and walkons to the NFL.
Appreciate what you have and who you are and stop trying to be Alabama. Careful what you wish for.
It will be interesting to see how long Beamer wants to stay at VT. I have the feeling it will be at least 8-10 more years, if he has his way, which I expect that he will. It will also be interesting to see if he tries to pull strings to have his son replace him at that time.
I think that VT will end up having our own dilemma ala JoePa and Bobby Bowden – how do you tell a legend (like Beamer) it is time to go?
As for Beamer’s approach to special teams play, watching punters will not introduce innovation to his static approach or play calling. Innovation breeds innovation, and that is something we have sorely lacked for many years now. Ten win seasons are nice, except when you always fail against quality opposition in ‘big’ games and bowls. Then ten win seasons just turn into lots of victories over directional Michigan, Marshall, Wake and Duke. Not exactly something that screams of bragging rights.
“Intelligent” you’re not if you think Beamer retiring would be good for Hokie football. He’ll retire when Shane is primed and ready to be a head coach. It’s unbelievable how many people take 10 win seasons and ACC titles for granted. Be thankful that you can count on VT being in the ACC title hunt and often the national title discussion late into each season. There are 100+ college football fan bases in the USA who would KILL to have VT’s success.