Another name in the Hokies’ OC mix: Scot Loeffler
Another name has emerged in Virginia Tech’s search for an offensive coordinator: former Temple and Auburn offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler.
The news, first reported by David Teel of the Daily Press, broke Friday afternoon. The 38-year-old Loeffler interviewed with Virginia Tech during the day.
Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
Like Chuck Long, another candidate in the running, Loeffler has a mixed bag of experience. He’s worked with two famed quarterbacks in his career — Tom Brady and Tim Tebow — and led a successful offense at Temple in his first offensive coordinator job.
In his one year with Temple in 2011, the Owls ranked seventh nationally in rushing (256.5 ypg) and 39th in scoring (30.6 ppg). Running back Bernard Pierce was sixth nationally in rushing, averaging 123.4 yards a game.
But Loeffler also suffered through a disastrous year at Auburn last season before being dismissed with Gene Chizik and the rest of his staff. Hired to replace Gus Malzahn, Loeffler’s pro-style scheme struggled to gain a foothold with the Tigers, who had operated in a hurry-up, spread offense the previous few years under Malzahn.
Auburn ranked 115th nationally in total offense and 112th in scoring out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, finishing 3-9 overall and 0-8 in SEC play.
Prior to Temple, Loeffler spent two years at Florida as quarterbacks coach from 2009-10. He arrived for Tim Tebow‘s senior year, when the eventual first-round draft pick threw for 2,895 yards and 21 touchdowns that season with a passing efficiency of 164.17.
A quarterback at Michigan from 1993-96 whose career was cut short by an arm injury, Loeffler got his start with the Wolverines under Lloyd Carr as a student assistant and graduate assistant working with quarterbacks. That’s when he worked with future NFLers Brian Griese and Brady, who he considers a close friend.
After a two-year stint as Central Michigan’s quarterbacks coach, he returned to Michigan as quarterbacks coach from 2002-07, tutoring eventual second-round NFL Draft pick Chad Henne and John Navarre, a first-team All-Big Ten selection.
After Carr retired, Loeffler, spent one year coaching quarterbacks with the Detroit Lions in 2008, the team’s 0-16 season, before getting back into the college game at Florida.
January 12, 2013 - 12:08 AM
Whoever they hire is going to have a mixed bag of experience. Unlike UVA who is able to get name coaches, VT has trouble getting people to come to the hole that is blacksburg!
Absolutely pathetic. There are no other words to describe the lack of urgency of this program to rise above mediocrity.
While we all have nothing real to post about, how about a trivia question? When did Frank Beamer last hire a co-ordinator from outside the then-current staff? Last outsider to OC? Last outsider to DC?
1 year at Auburn. 115th out of 120 nationally in offense. Worst record in school history, complete disarray among the offensive staff, lowest rated QB in the SEC. Google Scott Loeffler Auburn…..Sounds like a perfect choice for Tech!! You can’t make this stuff up…..
Is this the guy who was offensive coordinator under Lloyd Carr. The one who orchestrated all those miracle comebacks? Because if it is, heck yeah grab him up!
Ab
Please work up a story about the different styles of OL bocking schemes.And which is the best for the run.Do players need to be bigger , stronger or able to run or move faster ? Thanks
Frank get off your hind end and go after someone that has experience and a long successful career! Tech has the bucks – , Give the new person the go ahead to do his thing his way – Enough is enough! Get with it or get out of Blacksburg and take the Offense Staff with you!!!!!!!!!!
I think Logan is fed up with this indecision and lack of urgency! I believe we can kiss him good by!
Robert–you are probably right that whoever VT hires they will have a mixed bag of experience otherwise they would not be looking for a job. As for hiring name coaches like UVa, how has that worked for them? How many bowls have they been to in the last 20 years? How many times have they beaten VT in the last 20 years and how many times have they been ranked in those same 20 years? And where are all these coaches now?
Hey Robert those great coaches in Hooville really are doing a great job. 4 wins is great! Have you looked at the ESPN recruiting rankings? UVA #31, They might get to 5 wins with that!
Sad.
OMG another scrub unbelievable!!!!!!!!
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow..I’ve never read as many negative comments about a subject that no one has the experience nor knowledge to comment about. How many of you have coached a high school team or even played on a high school team? PEE WEE league maybe?
Talent has a lot to do with schemes and success. Lack of talent, as in Auburn’s case, equates to losses. The addition of Cam Newton and Gus’s scheme equaled a NC. Did they get stupid overnight? I have ties to Auburn so while not an expert, have a little more insight than the retired coaches giving there expert advice.
A spread offense needs the right personnel vs. a pro style office utilizing a fullback/tight end package. Tech does not have quailty recievers nor do they have a QB that is accurate and no coach can teach talent. Stanford, Alabama to name a few run the pro style….power running backs,tight ends and they have the talent to win. Put any good coach in a position where he has great players and he’s a genius! Gene Chizek is all of a sudden, an idiot.
Logan Thomas is not a quality QB..given time and experience, he has the tools to develop..does Tim Tebow ring a bell? If Logan had been placed at tight end (5 Star recruit)by the VT staff, he would be on his way to the NFL where Tight Ends of his size, speed and athletic skills are coveted.
My belief is that anybody they hire is an improvement and I mean anybody.
When the talent level is exposed, poor coaching is exposed. Unfortunately, Frank is slow to react…
This is getting a bit boring, and laughable……..wait till next week and see who’s name pops up for consideration. Thomas needs to move on, anywhere, as a possibly fantastic career as a tight end, not as a QB. I hate the drama for this young man. Simply an unfair situation for him at VT. Just being “frank”!
Amazing, I never realized what football genius’s we have reading Andy’s column. Too bad Frank B. didn’t have these guys around back in the early 90;s when things werent so good – He would probably have won 100% of his games in the last 10 years instead of just going to bowls and streaks of ten wins!
In fact these great visionaries likely wouldnt have hired him OR would have fired him when the chips were down in the beginning of his tenure.
Widh I could have their nattering nabobs of nincom-POOP, no real-substance, brains like they do. How jealous am I.
I guess they are just going to have to turn to a real story of success where real coaches get hired, etc. – ie, like UVA’s success story.
For VaTech to supposedly be a team so near the elite level in college football, it is interesting that there is so much difficulty in hiring an Offensive Coordinator. That seems to be the question we’re asking ourselves. Frank started out by apparently not even addressing this until after the bowl game, thus wasting the entire month of December, prime recruiting time for new coaches. We’ve seen a very limited field of potential candidates exposed. We’ve also seen the quality of the candidates lessen rather dramatically, to say the least.
Is Frank sabotaging his own search, in a desire to retain Stinespring under the most favorable conditions possible? Why would any quality OC candidate be willing to come into a situation where the guy he was replacing – due to incompetency on the former coordinator’s part, still be retained on the staff? What message does that send? That Frank is ‘loyal, and a family guy’? Or that Frank tolerates incompetence if he likes you and doesn’t demand excellence in equal parts from his staff? If you’re the guy who has to replace Stinespring while Stinespring still hangs around, what does that tell you the priorities are for the staff? This is starting to edge towards Jim Weaver style hiring, and that’s not a compliment.
This is all quite troubling.
I Agree 100% With Ancient Bobcat It’s Boring And Laughable If I Were LT Bolt Now Because This Offense Staff Has Messed This Young Man Up Bad Love The Hokies And Coach Beamer But Come On Grow A Pair!!!!
On the mark as usual crooked road — except for your comment about this whole “who’s fired, if anyone/who will be next in the rumor mill?” mess. You said “this is starting to edge towards Jim Weaver style hiring” but I think this is way beyond “starting to edge.” It has edged deep into that territory and is on the verge of dropping off the highest point of Lane Stadium. The unfortunate outcome will be nothing will change, with the only upside being next year’s cupcake schedule (I wonder how hard FB had to work to get BOTH Clemson and FSU off the schedule?) will offer the chance for the team to somewhat succeed despite having Stinespring still hanging around as OC.
CR, I have my conspiracy hat on…
What if Beamer is trying to use this coaching search as a gauge to feel out the fan base? What if the fans end up saying, “we might as well keep Stiney,” and Beamer comes out and say, “We are keeping Stinespring?”
It just seem that Beamer is doing too little and not enough.
I could be flat out wrong.
I heard that VT might be interested in Shawn Elliott from South Carolina. Have you heard anything about this Andy?
Have heard Long, Loeffler and Pep. That’s all.
So the 3 people who have been “interviewed” officially are Pep Hamilton, who now has interviews with a NFL team for OC. A ex-NFL guy who coached at a National Championship winning team in Oklahoma. And a young up and coming coach who helped lead Temple… yes Temple of all places to an over 250+ yards rushing a game a couple of years ago. I will not punish him for Auburn last year, lets consider how well Gene Chizik has done without Cam Newton… oh wait not good at all. 2 winning seasons in 5 years and 24-38 overall record. So to recap, Beamer has went after one of the hottest OC canditates in the country, college or pro, an experienced guy with Heisman winners and National Championships on his resume, and an up and comer with ties to some of the best talent to ever touch a football. (IE Tom Brady and if you count college resume’s Tim Tebow). Yeah, Beamer is an idiot. What exactly are you all looking for? There aren’t a ton of guys with 80-2 records wandering around out there looking for a job.
Hearing another name for the OL job, Adkins, assistant line coach from Syracuse who apparently have SEC ties, and could help in recruting OL players from the Rust Belt and northern linemen that are big and mean.
Again, nothing offical.
Even Scott Leoffler haven’t been formally offered a job.
Beamer sure is keeping a tight wrap on this whole thing.
I graduated from Florida and trust me this guy is a very good QB coach but a very average offensive coordinator. He doesn’t have alot of experience as offensive coordinator I guess Beamer struck out too many times, this is a major reach and it could be solid not great or very BAD! Beamer still want’s too much control offensively and this will come back to haunt tech big time.
No accountability, too much power. As far as I can tell, FB has not uttered a word to anybody since 12/28. That is incomprehensible. Not that he owes the fans specifics, but he and Weaver do owe at least acknowledgement tha things are being reviewed, evaluated or something. He owes it to Logan, the fans, the coaches that are hanging etc.
It’s Paterno all over again,thanks for the memories FB and there have been many. But hang it up and work on your golf game. Weaver has already been around about 5 years too long.
Just an FYI. Loeffler was high on Saban and Les Miles’ list last time they hired coaches. Not saying he would be a blockbuster hire. Just sayin…
Also, message board chatter has Joker Phillip’s name in the hat.
Robert
Let us face it London is on a short ,short leash that is why uva needs to bring O’Brien and company to replace your coach dreamy by the end of next year when your uva team with all that 5star talent DOES NOT get it done on the football field as wins!
Beamer taking his time for an OC mixed bag I am good with it ,at least these coaches Tech are looking at are young guys since Tech has a HC that can coach and does not need the older coaches like your coach dreamy needs to help him get his job done !
Lastly your coach makes $2.7 million a year and he needs to bring older coaches in to still teach him how to get his job done ! How stupid is that!!!!!!!
Andy,
Maybe I missed it earlier or am late to the party, but I’ve heard from one of the ESPN (sorry, can’t remember the name) that Virginia Tech sent a plane to Athens, Ga for Mike Bobo as he was Beamer’s first choice for OC. Bobo didn’t get on the plane and is currently working on a long term contract with UGA. If true, that’s a few swings and misses now for Frank, but it appears he’s shooting at the right targets. Hopefully, he doesn’t end up reaching for a second rate OC.
Mark Schlabach was the ESPN reporter with this info.
Robert: I agree UVA can get name coaches to grace their staffs, the problem is they only stay “nine days” !!!