As an old timer here, VT '89, I recall those first Beamer years that were very thin. Bill Dooley left the program broke and on probation. Things looked very bad with the brand new entrance to the Big East Football Conference (Metro/Atlantic 10 in other sports), a coach that went 2-8-1 in his sixth season and had a very angry alumni wanting him run out of town. The peak of the frustration came in a devastating 50-49 Halloween loss to Rutgers at the OLD Rutgers stadium in NJ that resembled a high school stadium. In fact a reported 28K+ fans were reportedly in the building.

Aside from the inherited probation, does some of this sound familiar?

I was in the camp at the time that Beamer should be run out of town at the end of 1992. It felt like things were falling apart and it was time to move on. I know that I was not the only one to feel this way.

Fortunately, 3 men collaborated to make a very difficult decision that permanently changed the trajectory of not only Virginia Tech athletics, but also the profile of the University, all by doing something that was absolutely unpopular. Those three men were Dave Braine, VT AD, Dr. Jim McComas, VT President, and Minnis Ridenour, VT VP.

Faced with an angry alumni and an athletic budget that was deeply in the red, the three decided to make a bold decision and not buy out Beamer and find a new coach but to allocate more needed money to Beamer as long as he invested in assistant coaching changes that would improve on field and recruiting performance.

The result from that one decision are incredible. Beamer hired a new DC named Phil Elmassian and defense became a staple in Blacksburg. Recruiting improved and the first big recruiting win happened when Cornell Brown announced that he was "attending the University of Virginia Tech" at a Lynchburg press conference. The 1993 season ended in an Independence Bowl victory over Indiana and the Bowl Streak was launched that still extends to this day. Tech eventually played for a national championship and was extended an invitation to the ACC, something that those of use that went to Tech in the 80's could only dream of happening.

Does anyone doubt that if that decision goes poorly that Virginia Tech is today's UConn or East Carolina or Southern Miss, languishing in the AAC?

I know that money is tight due to Covid and it may make sense to make a similar decision regarding CJF as was made in 1992. More money is desperately needed, but maybe not as much as would be required to engineer a buyout and the retention of a whole new staff. Administration must decide if Fuente is the guy and if he receives new money and a mandate to make some difficult decisions, that he can lift the program from a middle of the pack level to a championship level.

One thing is clear, it is surely time to make this decision. I hope that it turns out to be the right one.

[Post edited by CobbCountyHokie at 11/09/2020 10:35AM]