The coaching search for Virginia Tech is heating up behind the scenes, with tons of updates. At 12:30 pm ET tomorrow (Friday), get the latest on what's going on. Bring all your questions, because we've got answers. Great chance for you to take advantage of and get the very most out of your subscriptions and join us!

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And if you can't join us, you can catch the replay, post on The Gobbler or email me directly.

Guys, I'm gonna try to do this every day, but I'll be breaking down all of VT's coaching candidates with trusted sources who know them best, including Rivals sites and other local media. First up is Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez: http://rvls.co/1lrMbte

GREAT piece by our media partners at WSLS-NBC from another perspective of Frank Beamer's retirement, his wife Cheryl:
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Hey guys! I went to interviews tonight and wanted to post a few tidbits before posting a story tomorrow:

1. The focus may be on the game itself, but Virginia Tech's seniors are preparing for their final game in Lane Stadium, with J.C. Coleman and Dadi Nicolas both reflecting on their last game.
2. Tight ends coach Bryan Stinespring gets emotional when talking about standing behind Beamer as he nears retirement.
3. Dadi Nicolas claims he is not focused on his "NFL Stock." He wants to focus on the rest of his college career first.
4. Nicolas also corrected himself when he said "trying to get to a bowl" to "will get to a bowl."
5. Defensive coordinator Bud Foster and Stinespring both mentioned Syracuse won 62-0 in 1999 as one of their fondest memories in Lane Stadium.

Check out more information from interviews in tomorrow's story!

Anybody else feel like they're being punished for something every time espn shows his high lights?

Forget about who you do want for a moment. Who's the one coach you don't want to replace Frank Beamer at VT? Let's omit Stinespring. I think we can all agree that we don't want him. For me, it would have to be Houston Nutt. I haven't seen his name mentioned on the list of possible candidates and I hope it stays that way. He ran two SEC programs into the ground and he's probably dying for one more chance to do the same to another program.

section 17, row XXX seats 1, 3, 5 and 7.

$75 per ticket.

Contact me by email at mbrann@mmrs.com. Will fedex overnight, or if your in the DC area, I work downtown and live in Gaithersburg, so I could meet you anywhere in between to drop off.

Jason when will we know what time pre-game events will start,to be in the stadium on Saturday

You know, I hated it when Harbaugh went into Michigan, and started recruiting kids who had long before given a commitment to another school, but I'm starting to understand that if you don't do that, then you put yourself at least two years in the hole on bringing in talent. I don't think the HC job is as important as the assistant jobs, since those are the guys the recruits are going to live with every day, and those are the relationships that really play into the decisions to commit. Sitting in limbo with the entire coaching staff means that we will lose the better talent, both committed and uncommitted, and have no chance to replace them with like talent.

Under Frank, I've always gotten the impression that we steer clear of kids who commit, unless they knock on our door. Others don't, and pick off committed talent all the time. Here's hoping that whomever we pick as HC commits quickly to his key staff, and goes after talent they need, even if it's spoken for elsewhere. I don't think this crosses an ethical line, under these circumstances anyway.

It pains me to say this. The very thought irks me and makes me nauseous. I'm squirming like a 5th grader with a wedgie. But the sad truth is it looks like UNC has at the very least, a good shot at beating Clemson and UNC would make the playoffs.

That undeserved sniff of glory is sickening. With that said, if VT could somehow beat UNC and UNC went on to win the ACCCG, and that's a big IF for you Cheats lurking, it would be as good as the win over tOSU last year. To have destroyed their shot at winning a NC in football to be stripped of would be awesome(yea you read that right). It would be nearly as good as if the NCAA ruled at the last moment before the big game if they were in it and the whole thing was canceled and a forfeit awarded to the opponent.. Double asterisk on each side of that.

I know Clemson is good, but UNC is good too and would have home field advantage in the ACCCG.

The entire nation is counting on us to stop this travesty from happening. It's unlikely, as our 2015 team doesn't appear to have the firepower of years past on defense. But if Brewer can make it through the game uninjured and Foster can make a last stand for Beamer's glory, there is hope.

That would really put a cap on Beamer's legacy as the good guy. To have trumped an undeserving team's chance at a two game parlay for a NC is something to brag about on the golf course.

I spoke to 2017 Rivals100 DB Deon Jones for a few minutes last night. He is maintaining regular contact with Ohio State, Michigan State, Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Florida. He has set up a visit to Clemson for this weekend and is expecting to name a short list in January or February.

Story: The latest with 2017 R100 DB Jones

Guys, check out this play Antone Exum made today during the Vikings game, if you didn't see it already:
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The three coaches and four players that spoke at today's press conference showed a lot of confidence in the team to be ready for a last home game win on Saturday against UNC. Here are a few tidbits from this afternoon:

-- VT has to prepare to take on the nation's most improved defense
-- UNC is currently 6-0 in ACC play for the first time since 1980
-- Travon McMillian is banged up from the Georgia Tech game but will still play on Saturday
-- The players will be dressed in the new all black uniforms

Check out my story coming later today for details.

As always, what's posted here, STAYS HERE. Don't de-value your own subscription by giving away information to others who don't pay like you do. It's also a violation of our terms of service and will result in the termination of your subscription.

Guys, just a few late night tidbits on VT and its coaching search.

First, I talked shortly ago with Matt Moreno at GoAZCats.com, who said it's sounding more and more like coach Rich Rodriguez is staying at Arizona. He apparently had a meeting late last week with the school's athletics director. In the meeting, the AD basically confronted Rodriguez on where he stands. Rodriguez reportedly told him he plans on staying, but acknowledged that he has looked around.

Here's a twist, one coach who has expressed interest through back channels behind the scenes is North Carolina coach Larry Fedora. I'd heard his name mentioned a while back, but this is the first thing concrete about Fedora, through a very trusted source. Right now, it's hard to see Fedora leaving a team he has at 9-1, on pace for the ACC title game and in the same division as the Heels.

And this isn't an overly serious level of interest for the moment, only Fedora saying he's interested. But it sounds more and more like Fedora feels like sanctions are coming at UNC. That would certainly explain his interest, in part. Still, definitely something to monitor.

Lastly, I spoke earlier with my friend Radi Nabulsi, publisher of UGASports.com, which covers Georgia. I've got a Q&A with him on coach Mark Richt coming tomorrow. But Nabilsi said it's sounding more and more like Richt will be staying at Georgia. Apparently the administration has given Richt more and more support in the past year than it has in his past 15 years with the Dogs. They've given his staff raises, a new indoor facility and added more support staff that led to zero arrests for players in the past year.

Nabilsi said he's hearing info from sources that say Richt is leaving and staying. Nabilsi said there would also be the possibility of Richt retiring, since his family is all there and he's big on his charity work there. But right now, Nabilsi said it sounds like 80% that Richt will be back next season, barring a collapse in either of the two regular season games and the bowl game. And it sounds like for now, the fall guy for Georgia's three losses will be defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. That would help Richt stay in place.

More coming, but for now, that's the latest. The top candidate, as dm4vtdu has alluded to, still appears to be Memphis' Justin Fuente. But Fedora is a new twist that seems to be gaining at least a little bit of traction.

I know there young but hope they get better real quick. Defense got to come up with more stops

Football Outsiders has 2 measures for Offensive and Defensive Efficiency. These are innovative stats that truly tell the tale better than any other stat to measure "just how good" is an offense or defense. The are 2 rankings, the S&P and the FEI. I like the S&P better because it is more inclusive of several factors that go into it such as Success Rate for each given play and the value of each play on each given down, Explosiveness which is big plays allowed, or big plays gained by the O, and the timing of the play. For example, an O that scores from the 5 yard line for a drive that started on the opponents 5 is expected to score, etc. Redzone O and D to include drive finishing ability, Field Position changes success rate, opponent adjustments (the strength of the opponents O's and D's) which negates what conference a team is in or the style of play, and garbage time adjustments. In this S&P ranking, our D is 27th. Our O is 87th. Therefore, in the S&P ratings, the ole, "our D gives up Big plays over 20 yards" is accounted for. Or....the ole "our D doesn't stop em when we need it to." Again, accounted for in this stat. "if our D played in the Pac 12"......again, strength of the opponents O and D are accounted for. Our D in this stat is 27th. Our O is 87th.

The second formula they use for O and D efficiency is the FEI, this measures first down rates gained and allowed, explosive drive rate, available yards percentage, methodical drive rate, and value drive rate which is long drives by our O or given up by our D, etc. The problem with the FEI...there is no adjustment for the strength of the opponent's D or O like the S&P discussed above. In this formula, VT's D ranks 65th. Our O ranks 81st. As you might guess, our O just does not rank well in pretty much any statistical formula....lol. Interestingly, the formula that adjusts for strength of schedule, strength of the opponent is the one in which our D actually DOES BETTER which doesn't help the argument that...."if we weren't in the ACC playing top D's and our D had to face Pac 10 O's, the rankings would be different." Well, not exactly. Fact is, when the strength of the opponents O and D unit is adjusted for, our D bolts up to 27th in the country and the O ranks 87st. If you put both formulas together (keep in mind that one does not adjust for strength of the opponent) but if you still put them together and get and average of the two, our D ranks 46th and our O ranks 84th.

In case you missed it, full video of coach Frank Beamer today at his weekly press conference: http://rvls.co/1Syf0yo

Match is at 1pm I believe so try and make it if you can…. VT Wrestling > VT Basketball for sure!

I know a friend of a friend who golfs with the nephew of Marty. Marty has ties to Virginia in that he did coach the Virginia Destroyers and he will take over the Tidewater in Recruiting. It looks like Bud will be released, but ole Stiney will stay put and become the new OC with complete control. P.S. Stiney will also oversee recruiting and make sure everything is solid in that department. What you are going to see folks is a new look offense and this time at VT, the offense will be different. The 4 star WR's and QB's in the Tidewater are going to be foaming at the mouth to come and play for our innovative offensive system.

The deal was made last night at 5 pm before the GT game by Whit. The contract is signed. Now you save this post and cut/paste it and we will revisit it after the UVA when it is announced that good ole Schottenheimer becomes the next HC at VT. You'll See!

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Guys, I've got a few updates, after making a few calls over the past few days. First, I wanted to pass along some more stuff on Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez.

I spoke with Matt Moreno, at our Arizona site, GoAZCats.com. He said he's getting more and more of a sense that Rodriguez wants out. He told me that based on what his sources have told him, he'd take the VT job in a heartbeat. But Rodriguez is also shopping around a little bit. Moreno confirmed that his representatives have expressed interest and reached out to South Carolina. So there's definitely interest there, as Joe Schad reported last week:
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Also interesting is that Arizona has also responded to Rodriguez being up for other jobs. From AD Greg Byrne's weekly column on the Wildcats' website: "In addition, you’ve likely heard Coach Rodriguez’s name mentioned with some of the coaching vacancies around the country. It’s a great reflection on our program and Coach Rodriguez, and he knows that we want him to be our coach. Meanwhile, it’s important that we stay focused on the remainder of this season, which starts by going up to Los Angeles and playing well against USC."

Moreno said Arizona has already started taking steps for if Rodriguez leaves. But right now, Moreno said Arizona administrators have basically told him they expect Rodriguez to leave and are already looking at potential candidates. Moreno said Rodriguez doesn't like how Arizona doesn't have a ton of support for football, how many fans leave before games are over and how Rodriguez wants to be closer to home.

I asked some of my VT staff sources about Bud Foster. They've told me that "Bud wants the job more than anyone." But it doesn't sound like Foster is doing enough. I'm told that it would help, at least, if Foster got support from former coaches and players, including those in the NFL. But I'm told by sources, "That's just not Bud." Maybe not, but if he wants the job bad enough, he needs to have people start lobbying for him. And that hasn't happened. It sounds like that likely won't be enough, but he's really not giving himself a great chance right now.

I also touched with a few sources on Chad Morris at SMU. The best stuff I got is from TigerIllustrated.com publisher Cris Ard, at Clemson. Ard said that "Morris is a job shopper personified. He goes to great lengths to circulate his name in jobs. I'll be stunned and amazed if Virginia Tech went after him.” Ard said he still keeps up and talks with Morris and his associates and that all the talk right now is Morris trying to drum up attention anywhere he can get it.

"Virginia Tech can do much better," Ard said. " He's a great coach but he has an ego the size of Texas. I don’t think he’d be good fit. He'll link his name to a dozen jobs. He's definitely frustrated he’s not getting more support at SMU. He’ll win but it will take time. I'm not saying someone hasn’t reached out, but I cant imagine Virginia Tech going after a 2-10 coach."

Ard said he's been told that the buyout of Morris is roughly $5-6 million. It's hard to know exactly what it is, since SMU is a private school and doesn't report its contract details. Ard said that he knows Morris was offered the OC job at Texas when he was at Clemson, but Strong decided against it, because of the buyout. Also keep in mind that Morris is a Texas A&M grad and Ard echoed what I'd been told last week, that Morris wants to stay in the state of Texas. Ard has been told that he'd piss off a lot of Texas high school coaches as well if he leaves SMU after just one season.

I caught up with VT commit Myles Wolfolk the other day to talk about where he stands with VT, how his UNC official visit went and what other official visits he will take. So far, Wisconsin and Virginia Tech are the only other two official visits Wolfolk will take.

Story: The latest with VT commit Wolfolk

Tell me they're gonna change that. It's the best ACC game of the week with a top 15 UNC team.

After thinking about some of my recent comments directed to some of my fellow Hokies, I offer my apology to those involved. This is a difficult time for many of us, knowing that it is absolutely the right time for a new head coach but still knowing that things will be different not seeing CFB on the sideline. The look of VT football will change and we will all adapt to whatever happens.

I think we all want Tech to return to national relevancy and change is the only way that will occur.

I am hopeful that we can listen to different views on this board and consider everyone's opinion without personal attacks on fellow Hokies.

Again, my apologies to anyone I may have offended.

Go Hokies

I think our DEFENSE is playing them at the right time considering the preparation of the triple option and misdirection offense from the GTech week. U have to keep your assignments against UNC because of the read option from Mq.williams .Mq williams decision making has been really good so we just need to put someone's head on anyone coming out the back feild and knock them on there ACE! .. it should transition well over to the UNC game and hopefully we don't get burnt on the deep balls. But just my high hope opinion.

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Guys, I spoke earlier with East Tech (OH) four-star point guard Markell Johnson, No. 106 in the 2017 Rivals150. He's become more and more of a top target for VT in that class.

Johnson is now up to 10 offers, most recently from VT, VCU, Louisville and Cleveland State. They join Florida, Arizona State and others. Johnson said he wants an up-tempo team where he can play a lot of early minutes as a freshman.

The Hokies are squarely in the mix and have especially been since he visited Oct 24 for the football game against Duke. That was his first visit, but Johnson said he liked the feel of campus and everything he's seen and heard from an academic perspective. He also really has a strong feeling for assistant coach Isaac Chew, who's been recruiting him. Johnson said of Chew, "I look at him as someone who could change my life."

The only other schools Johnson visited this fall were Florida last weekend and Ohio State earlier in the fall. The Gators also made a strong impression and Johnson said he talked with every single person on the staff, including the video guys, which made an impression on him. He didn't do a ton besides hang out and watch a football game at Ohio State, but I get the feeling that if the Buckeyes offer, they'll be one of the front-runners.

Right now, it sounds like VT, Florida, Ohio State and Louisville are the schools in best with him. Rick Pitino has already been in to see him and he made a strong impression. Johnson will continue to blow up and get more offers but the Hokies getting him on campus this early and having a strong relationship will certainly help their case. Long way to go, though.