Frank Beamer Tired of Status Quo, Shakes Up Coaching Staff

Virginia Tech set a school record with 474 points scored and 5,632 yards from scrimmage this season.

Everything is good, right?

Virginia Tech fans would tell you while yes, this was a prolific season, the offense continued to struggle at times. After only scoring 12 points in a crushing loss to Stanford in the Orange Bowl, Coach Frank Beamer finally realized changes needed to be made.

Frank Beamer is loyal to a fault. His coaching staff is always one of the more stable in the country. Beamer always goes to bat for his assistants to get them raises and in turn, they stay loyal to Beamer. But there comes a time when loyalty can be blind.

While guys like Billy Hite and Jim Cavanaugh are great guys and good coaches, Tech needed a staff shakeup. So, in order to get some young coaches on the staff while maintaining loyalty, Beamer moves Hite and Cavanaugh into football administrative positions. Cavanaugh has long been considered Tech’s best recruiter and in his new position he will oversee recruiting.

Exit Billy Hite and Jim Cavanaugh; Enter Shane Beamer and Cornell Brown. Beamer, the coach’s son, is credited with South Carolina having top 10 recruiting classes the past three years. He served as recruiting coordinator as well as defensive backs coach. Shane Beamer has been an assistant for three SEC teams in the past 10 years and has made his own way. Shane will coach RBs and was named Associate Head Coach. Good move Frank.

Cornell Brown is a former Virginia Tech defensive end and consensus All-American. Brown committed to Tech at a time when it was hard for the school to attract blue-chip recruits. After having an outstanding college career, Brown played a few years in the NFL before deciding he wanted to coach. Brown began his coaching career in NFL Europe and most recently was in the CFL. He will assist with the defensive line as well as the outside linebackers.

It is clear these moves were made with recruiting in mind. Virginia coach Mike London had a strong recruiting class as did North Carolina. These schools signed more top players inside the state of Virginia than the Hokies did. That is something Beamer is not used to. If Virginia Tech offers a Virginia kid, they usually get them, unless the kid has his sights set on going out-of-state.

But the big news for Virginia Tech came Tuesday. Beamer reassigned much-maligned offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring. He will now coach offensive tackles, something he was very successful at before becoming coordinator. While he will maintain the title of offensive coordinator, QB coach Mike O’Cain will now call the plays. O’Cain, a former N.C. State head coach, has been in Blacksburg since 2006.

Each of the existing coaches was given either new roles, or additional ones. Beamer also shook up his recruiting territories, for instance, putting his son Shane in the fertile Richmond area as well as parts of Georgia and South Carolina where he has relationships with many high school coaches.

Things appear to be working out quite well for Beamer. He adds two young assistant coaches to his staff which will help in recruiting. He also maintains loyalty to three longtime assistants. Coaching the offensive line will allow Stinespring, an excellent recruiter, more time on the road in Virginia Tech’s most important area: The Hampton Roads area, or what most know as the “757.”

Frank Beamer has long been criticized for not taking Virginia Tech to the next level. While many would be happy with four league titles in seven years, Beamer finally decided he needed to make changes in order to get to that next level.

Beamer now has more manpower on the recruiting trail which should bode well for the Hokies in the future. Beamer has proven you don’t need a lineup of “five-star” recruits in order to win big. Tech has only signed six such players in the past decade. That’s pretty remarkable if you think about it.

While it remains to be seen how these moves will pan out long-term, this is a great step for Frank Beamer. He shows Virginia Tech fans that status quo is unacceptable and he is serious about getting back to the National Championship. Kudos Frank; you deserve it.