Virginia Tech Football and Frank Beamer: A Coaching Shake-Up Needed for Hokies?

The Virginia Tech Hokies' second-half meltdown against the Stanford Cardinal in the Discover Orange Bowl down in Miami the other night was nothing short of embarrassing.  The matchup, on paper, seemed to point toward one of the better bowl games of the season. The quarterback matchup alone was enough to have everyone tune in and watch.

Tyrod Taylor, senior quarterback for the Virginia Tech Hokies certainly projects to be an NFL quarterback. He has a rocket of an arm and can scramble as well as anyone in college football and most in the NFL today. He may not start right away but he will be in the bigs.

Andrew Luck, sophomore quarterback for the Stanford Cardinal will be drafted No. 1 overall in the NFL draft if he chooses to turn pro. He is a pure pocket passer and is as accurate as anyone playing in college today. He is also pretty good with his legs and can deliver a hit as hard as a linebacker. Just ask USC.

This East versus West matchup broke down as follows:

Tyrod Taylor had a touchdown to interception ratio of 23-4 while Andrew Luck clocked in at 28-7 (15-3 since the loss to Oregon, seven games prior to the Orange Bowl). Taylor was the ACC Player of the Year and Luck was the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. These two guys are pretty evenly matched; the problem was not with the QBs, but with their surrounding compatriots.

The most interesting stat catching my eye was that Stanford was 1-11 four years ago and now sits at 12-1 under head coach Jim Harbaugh. Virginia Tech is 0-23 against top five teams when playing outside of Blacksburg. To me, these two facts explain the difference in the score at the end of this year's Discover Orange Bowl.

Virginia Tech seems to always be the bridesmaid and never the bride. Why is that? Why are the Hokies always a very good team but never a great team? Every year the Hokies of Virginia Tech seem to hike toward the top of the mountain only to turn around, dejected at the Hillary Step. Why can’t they summit?

Is it coaching? Is it Beamer, Foster or Stinespring? Is longevity good in the college coaching ranks or should some things be shaken up in order to get over the hump? If coaching isn’t the issue then is the problem the players? Could it be that the ACC was so easy that VT walked right through only to be crushed by the Pac-10's second-best team?

Unfortunately the answer isn’t so cut and dry. It is a combination of many factors but here is what I would do if I were the Hokies athletic director. I would churn up the coaching ranks. I think that Bud Foster will be accepting a head coaching job at some point in the near future which will negatively affect the Hokies, however I think a positive move to make now would be to get a better offensive coordinator.

I am aware of the stats that bestow praise upon the Hokies offense this year. I know that they averaged over 30 points per game going into the Orange Bowl. Minus the game against James Madison University Tech was a scoring machine as they made their way to Miami but that is not what this is about. This is about winning the big game, beating a top five team and taking the next step.

Frank Beamer said that this past Orange Bowl was the third-most important game in Virginia Tech history. The first being the 1995 Sugar Bowl against Texas, which VT came back to win and the second was the 1999 Sugar Bowl National Championship, which Peter Warrick took over in the fourth quarter to win for Florida State. Add in this recent huge loss to Stanford and VT is 1-2 in the three most important games in Tech’s football history. Not a good record folks.

Did Florida State see the light when they forced Bobby Bowden out? Should VT do the same? I would argue that Frank Beamer needs to stay at Tech. Bowden had let FSU's record slip dramatically while Beamer is still winning conference titles and taking his team to impressive bowls. I do believe, however that coaching changes under Beamer need to be made.

I propose that with a new quarterback under center next year (Logan Thomas) a new offensive coordinator might be refreshing as well. It could be what Virginia Tech needs to get over the hump because they are very, very close.

They do not need a huge change to take that last step but they do need to do something and soon because being a bridesmaid and never the bride is not the moniker a good college football program wants to hang around its neck. VT is recruiting against the best of the best and their inability to win the big game will eventually start to affect the caliber of players that choose to attend the university in Blacksburg.

Make a change. What do you think needs to be done?