Short term being 3-5 years. Long term I believe it hurt because for all the exciting players we had, we had boring offenses for so long. That in opinion was an easier negative recruiting tool than CFB's age. Rival coach/recruiter, "sure you can go to Blacksburg and play in a sluggish offense that will not highlight your skills or you can play in our exciting offense that puts up points." I know which one looks better unless you just had VT as your childhood dream.
I think that hurt recruiting, scheming, and ultimately winning more than anything.