A collection of links from around the country about Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer's changes to his coaching staff, including replacing Bryan Stinespring with Mike O'Cain as the offensive playcaller.
Virginia Tech Beat Writers and Bloggers
Mike O'Cain Replaces Bryan Stinespring (The Key Play)
"These latest changes seem to be the culmination to a total staff makeover. The Frankinator is no longer taking prisoners. This flip-flop doesn't titillate me as much as it probably should though. Most recently O'Cain has been coaching quarterbacks at Virginia Tech, Tyrod Taylor pointed to him as much as any other coach for his success in Blacksburg."
O’Cain takes over play-calling duties (Nathan Warters)
"But Tech continues to struggle against the top teams in the country, which has been a big reason for Beamer’s recent coaching changes. The Hokies gained only 288 total yards and scored one touchdown in their 40-12 loss to No. 5 Stanford in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3. The loss dropped Beamer’s record against Associated Press top five teams to 1-19."
Torbush recalls O'Cain's first foray into play-calling (Norm Wood)
"O'Cain was able to overcome the frustrations of walking into a situation where the Tar Heels had little proven depth at running back and develop a few players. The experience of working with a less-than-overwhelming collection of talent at UNC showed Torbush that O'Cain had the proper temperament to call plays."
O’Cain talks (a lot) about becoming Tech’s new offensive play caller (Darryl Slater)
"These (stats) really have no bearing on what the Hokies might do this fall. Don’t expect Beamer to completely change his offense now that O’Cain is calling plays. Starting a new quarterback, sophomore Logan Thomas, likely will have more of an effect on the offensive plan, as O’Cain mentions below."
Virginia Tech head coach completes staff shake-up (Kyle Tucker)
"Beamer, whose teams have won 10 or more games each of the last seven seasons and four ACC titles in that span, wants the one thing he's missing: a national championship. He's shown in the last two weeks that he is willing to make drastic changes to get it."
Hokie football's coaching shuffle continues (Randy King)
"The moves will allow top recruiters Stinespring and Newsome to spend more time mining the "757" area, the fertile eastern Virginia recruiting ground where Tech has found many of the players who have carried the program during its current 18-year bowl run."
Local Columnists
Recruiting at heart of Beamer shaking up staff (Aaron McFarling)
"They wanted better players. When you get right down to it, that's what all of this was about. Forget titles. Forget professional shifts. Forget salaries. Forget quotes about how the quarterbacks coach knows the quarterbacks, so that's why he'll be calling the plays. Let's call this series of Virginia Tech football changes what it is: a recruiting overhaul."
Is Beamer risking Hokies' staff harmony? (David Teel)
"The harmony that has long marked Tech’s staff is at risk. Although Beamer insisted that transferring the play-calls to O’Cain was Stinespring’s decision, and that Billy Hite and Jim Cavanaugh willingly accepted last week’s reassignment (Phases I and II) from coaching to administration, there’s bound to be tension."
Beamer willing to make changes in midst of success (Paul Woody)
"No Virginia Tech coach has received as much criticism in recent years as Stinespring. Last season, with Tyrod Taylor in his fourth year as the starting quarterback, the offense was very good. Still, there was too much of a "Let Tyrod do it" element to the attack. It was time for a change."
National Writers and Bloggers
Stinespring Not Demoted, But Won't Call Plays (SB Nation)
"On paper, the 2010 VT offense wasn't a disaster [...] They ran the ball well in a unit that ranked 23rd nationally, behind the efforts of Darren Evans, Tyrod Taylor, David Wilson, and Ryan Williams, and boasted a passing offense that languished back at No. 72 thanks in large part to Taylor's adept feet. In terms of total offense, the team ranked 41st nationally, fifth in the ACC."
Frank Beamer Replaces Diet 7-Up with Old Diet Slice (EDSBS)
"The weird part is going to an assistant who Clemson fans still quietly curse under their breath who...well, who frankly we'd sort of forgotten existed. Like discount soda, coaches never really go away. Mike O'Cain, like Mike Archer at NC State or Diet Rite at Dollar General, has been there on the shelf the whole time. Chances are the aftertaste hasn't changed much in any of their cases."
In This Case, Some Change Can’t Hurt (Pre-Snap Read)
"Change is not always good — it just is in this case, even if O’Cain does not end up being the longterm answer at the offensive coordinator spot. In a perfect world, perhaps Beamer could have found room on his staff for his former coordinator, Rickey Bustle, formerly of Louisiana-Lafayette. Things are rarely perfect, however, and based on his track record, Beamer deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his staff decisions."
Hokies' offense wasn't broke, but they're fixing it (Dr. Saturday)
"No one would have batted an eye if Beamer had made the same bet two years ago on Taylor, a hyped up-and-comer entering his third season at the helm of an offense that had finished 99th, 100th and 103rd in 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively. But it looks like a legitimate gamble after last season, when Stinespring's veteran attack was as advertised."
Hokies call an audible on play-caller (College Football Talk)
"Beamer indicated that the fact that projected starter Logan Thomas has a close relationship with O’Cain was the impetus for the change, although Stinespring has been the subject of significant criticism over the past few years for his "vanilla" play-calling."
Beamer shakes up staff (Sporting News)
"The change represents a rare philosophy alteration for Beamer, who enters his 25th season as the Hokies head coach. It also coincides with VT’s transition from outgoing quarterback Tyrod Taylor to probable 2011 starter Logan Thomas."
Beamer making big changes to staff (USA Today)
"If (Shane Beamer) and the rest of the staff can raise the talent level while maintaining the blue-collar approach that has served the Hokies well, then Virginia Tech will be better positioned to grab that elusive national title."