We're going to have a fan poll about "players 'we' want" to define the parameters for the HC hire? You hire a coach and support him in bringing in the players *he* wants...your suggestion seems bass ackwards. ** Edited by Pylons at 10/13/2025, 11:04:42 PM

state in HS recruiting. Because "we" can't move on from the legend of Frank Beamer. "We" don't get that approach can never work again. So "we" hire people like Brent Pry who talk that nonsense. Sheesh

VT is going to increase spending, but we are never going to win bidding wars for players that the big schools want. VT needs to know and accept what is possible with our resources. Top players who are most interested in money are not going to pick VT in large numbers. We can get a few, but not enough. VT might want players who are loyal to VT or looking for development because it reminds them of the Beamer days when we created stars out of walk ons and under recruited players. But that is so much harder to do today and is part of why Pry failed. So we should not hire a coach that has this kind of vision. These kinds of players should absolutely still exist in a program, but they should not be the focal point. Which leaves us with guys who want to get stats and have opportunities. That’s the kind of player that VT can work with. Plug and play system guys who can jump in and offer one good year, maybe two. Know the VT limits and hire a coach who can excel within those limits. Fuente failed within the VT limits and Pry didn’t have a good system, which made the VT limits even worse.

BOV? Sands? Babcock? Hiring committee? "VT" doesn't "want" anything, even if you write it that way. People want and decide, not concepts. Whichever people you're referring to, "they" should decide what kind of players "they" want and then hire a coach accordingly? really? Do they tell this hire how to bring in players? "We're hiring you because we want XYZ kinds of players...so do that! Really? Bass. Ackwards. You hire a quality GM/HC combo and give them the freedom and resources to do what they are expert in. If "VT leadership" is expert on deciding on players, make them the coach. 🤣

Hire a dude and hope it works out wonderfully. The chances on that happening are not good at all. Add in that you can buy a team now. Even less as we will be outbid

Your last two sentences touch on the key concept. You say to hire the GM/HC and give them the resources to do what they want. And my core argument is that VT does not have the resources to make every HC successful. VT needs to know our limits and hire based on who can best work within those limits. The very best HC out there could fail at VT but make the playoffs somewhere else. Whit was terrible at all aspects of this. So the committee (the "we") that is now searching for the GM/HC candidates will hopefully understand the realistic limits of VT (money, facilities, location) and account for that in their selection. Because the worst thing that could happen next is that we get a GM/HC who need the kind of resources that VT can't sustainably provide. If our HC choice needs a $60m budget to get his ideal type/level of players and all we can do is $40m, then we will not succeed.

How does the committee know who "needs" $60MM to succeed vs. who will be successful at $40MM? Few, if any, candidates will have had experience (at least as a HC) with a bigger budget than we can offer. And no one gets a chance to succeed at a big budget school without doing well at an average budget school first, do they? Who would you not talk to because they need a big budget?