Will Shane Beamer be Virginia Tech's Next Football Coach?

by furrer4heisman on Feb 17, 2011 7:01 AM EST in Virginia Tech Football

As incendiary as that headline might be, it had to be one of the first thoughts for a lot of Hokie fans when they heard Virginia Tech hired Frank Beamer's son Shane on Monday.

Like his father, the younger Beamer wore No. 25 when he played for the Hokies. Unlike his father, the younger Beamer cut his teeth in the rough-and-tumble SEC as a member of the coaching staffs at Tennessee, Mississippi State and South Carolina. Frank Beamer's coaching stops included Maryland, The Citadel and Murray State before coming home to Blacksburg.

So with two potential successors to Frank Beamer now on staff in Shane Beamer and Bud Foster, what will Virginia Tech's football future look like?

It's been assumed for the last few years that the natural successor for Beamer would be Foster, the Hokies' long-time defensive coordinator with the steely glare and near un-matched devotion to the program. Foster has had certainly had his chances to go out on his own, but has stayed loyal to Beamer and Virginia Tech.

He was rewarded for his loyalty after last season with the addition of an annuity to his contract. If Foster is still Tech's DC after the 2014 season, he'll take home an extra $800,000.

However, Beamer signed a contract extension prior to this past season through the 2016 campaign. If Frank is still the Hokies head coach at the end of the current contract, he'll be 70 and Foster will be 57. Not many guys get their first head coaching job at that age, especially when the recent trend has been toward younger coaches.

Enter Shane Beamer. When his dad's current contract runs out at the end of the 2016 season, he'll be 39 and, in theory, entering his prime as a coach. So was the addition of Shane to Virginia Tech's coaching staff the beginning of his grooming process for an eventual ascendancy to the head job?

On the surface, I don't think it is. I think the addition of Shane was simply a smart move at an opportune time when Virginia Tech needed a young, proven recruiter to breathe life into the Hokies' efforts. However, if I had to guess right now, I'd say that Shane winds up taking over for Frank at some point down the line.

What does that mean for Foster? It's hard to say. There's no guarantee Frank doesn't retire before 2016, no guarantee the job is Shane's for the taking and no guarantee that it isn't Bud's. Five years is a long time in college football and only time will tell.

My only hope is that the addition of Shane to the staff doesn't rub current members of the staff the wrong way or create a divide among them. Shane's experience brings a lot of positives to the program, but there's no way of knowing what his last name will do to it over the long run.

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If he proves himself worthy, I see no reason why he shouldn't be VT's HC one day

Born and raised in the 804, VT '10. Hokies, Braves, NY Giants, and NY Rangers are my teams.

by wisec4g on Feb 17, 2011 7:22 AM EST reply actions

Foster seems more likely to me

No matter how bad Beamer wants that elusive national championship, I can’t see him coaching until 2016. It’s just a hunch, but he seemed a little more wrung out than usual after this past season, and regardless of what he might say in public I think he knows the recent recruiting struggles are going to make it mighty hard for VT to continue dominating the ACC the way they have, much less compete for the BCS title. So I don’t see him around past 2013, maybe 2014 at the outside. My own guess is that Foster takes over at that time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Shane Beamer up and leaves then. It’s anybody’s guess what the dynamic between him and Bud might be. Just my two cents.

by BleauxLeaux on Feb 17, 2011 10:18 AM EST reply actions

Weird notion

The idea that Shane Beamer could take over the helm never occurred to me. My brain doesn’t accept the notion that he has anywhere near the experience to be seriously considered to take over the program. Especially if Bud is around for the next few seasons, I don’t think it can be seriously contemplated that Shane would compete with Bud for that job. In the college football world, we all know that Bud Foster is a defensive coaching legend. Shane Beamer may have some good experience from a few decent gigs at SEC schools, but he’s no Bud Foster. Don’t we all have to believe that there is an understanding that Bud is going to take over the program unless some great opportunity comes around for him sooner. I think everyone agrees that he’s earned that.

Another thought to put out there – IF Shane were to be considered for the head job at some point, wouldn’t it be interesting for Frank to remain active in the program in some capacity and help him along the first few years. Would be a great way to keep Frank’s influence on the program when he’s too worn out to deal with the daily rigors of the head job.

by loa777 on Feb 17, 2011 10:48 AM EST reply actions

Foster

Any chance Foster sees what the Shane Beamer hire could lead to and decides to move on from VT…

by VT1996 on Feb 17, 2011 12:19 PM EST reply actions

I think we're getting to the point

of no return where Bud is either going to take another head coaching job elsewhere or be stuck hoping he gets the job when Frank retires. He wants to go to a program in a BCS conference, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. If he wants to be a head coach, he’s going to have to start in the MAC, Sun Belt or wherever. I don’t see a BCS program “with the opportunity to win immediately” taking a chance on him.

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by furrer4heisman on Feb 17, 2011 12:46 PM EST up reply actions

Progression

Shane needs to become OC or DC, before he can even be considered for the HC job. I can only assume he would be OC and not a DC, due to his current position and Foster having a stranglehold on the DC position. I don’t think an elite program (can we call VT an elite program yet… or are they still on the fringe) would be wise to hire someone without at least a few years of coordinating experience.

For Shane to become HC in 2016, I think he will need to be elevated to OC within 2 years. He also needs to have relative success (Do better than Stinespring).

When Beamer retires, it will be a tough task for Weaver to select a new coach. My guess, Foster will either move on or retire, either before or at the same time as Beamer, paving the way Shane and/or an outside hire (with a VT connection).

by Chazz Micheal Michealzz on Feb 17, 2011 1:18 PM EST reply actions

No, he's not

The next head coach at VT, Bud “The Great” Foster. There’s no way this didn’t come up between Bud and Frank before the hire was made! Bud means to much to our beloved hokie nation, football and university to get slapped in the face. Of course there’s always a chance Bud won’t be the next head coach at VT, however I feel that’s Bud choice, not VT’s! Moreover, wheres Shane’s expericence? Ok, yes a good recruter and special teams coach, but no OC or DC on that list! To me, that’s one reason Shane was brought in, to run the office before Frank retires. This is all helping set the team up for Bud to take over! With Shane being OC and speacal team couch, BeamerBall will stay with tech after Frank leave’s.

by Greathokie on Feb 17, 2011 1:20 PM EST reply actions