1) We got a real, big-time college football coach. How do we not lose him? — astrohokiebob
Chris Coleman: James Franklin is an interesting case study. He’s a big-name coach with a very good overall record. However, he’s also been fired. College football isn’t major league baseball, where guys like Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Terry Francona have all been fired, before going on to (or will go on to, in the case of Francona) the Hall of Fame. With Lane Kiffin being one of the few exceptions, if you get fired from a Power Four job, you likely aren’t going to fall upward into a bigger job.
Since Franklin was fired from Penn State, it’s unlikely that a program bigger than the Nittany Lions will hire him. The Hokies aren’t quite as big a program as Penn State, but they aren’t too far away. There just aren’t many schools that would rank somewhere between Penn State and Virginia Tech, at least not with how I would view things. That’s especially true in this part of the country, where Franklin’s bread is buttered from a recruiting perspective.
There’s also the fact that Virginia Tech needed James Franklin for more than football. The Hokies needed his drive. They needed his efficiency. They needed his energy. They needed an example to be set for the rest of the athletic department. Either people will keep up with him and thrive, or they’ll be left in his wake and will be replaced. He’s exactly the type of coach Tech needed.
However, his style wouldn’t be appreciated everywhere, and it’s not needed everywhere. Most schools simply need a football coach to coach football, not to be used as the measuring tool for the rest of the athletic department. He’s got a reputation as an extremely hard driver. There have been assistant coaches who cracked under the pressure of his demands in terms of working hours and effort, not to mention regular athletic department employees.
The same thing will happen at Virginia Tech, and it’s needed at the moment. But most other athletic departments have their stuff together, so that type of personality isn’t needed. His reputation as being that type of coach would be a turn-off to some of those schools.
In short, I don’t believe the chances of losing him are quite as high as some assume. I’m not saying the chance isn’t there. We’ve heard he’s always been attracted to the USC job, for example. If the Trojans were to make a run at him, I would expect him to listen.
Still, the easiest way to make him stay is to get the alignment right and make the athletic department a model of efficiency. That includes the Hokie Club.
I’ve heard he checks in on fundraising as often as twice a week. Before taking the Tech job, he studied the demographics of the fan base and concluded that the donor base is capable of doing a lot more than it has been in recent years, and that untapped potential is one of the reasons he took the job. But it has to be restructured and retooled, while also keeping up with his expectations.
It’s fairly simple. If everyone in the athletic department does their job, then the department will run efficiently, and Franklin will be a lot less tempted to leave. I feel pretty good about things.
2) On a scale from 1-10, what is your own excitement level for the 2026 football season, and what’s your perception of the fans’ level? — HokieNL
CC: It’s really hard to describe my own excitement level because I’m not exactly sure what it is right now. I was excited when Franklin was hired because I knew it would make the fan base happy. But I haven’t really had a chance to sit back, enjoy it and revel in it enough to get myself completely worked up.
As soon as he was hired, there was that big signing day, followed by a sprint to the end of the portal period, combined with basketball season. Then there was the rest of basketball season, which led into spring practice, up through last month’s spring game. Now I’m trying to figure out which of the 350 players Tech has offered are serious recruits, and which of the 101 official visitors the Hokies have the best chance of landing.
Franklin’s hiring increased the workload a little bit, which is perfectly fine, and even appreciated, but it hasn't left quite as much time for reflective thought.
Oh, and Virginia Tech is hiring a new school president, a new athletic director and a new head of the Hokie Club. Those things — especially the latter two — needed to happen for quite some time.
I haven’t made it a big secret in my writings the last few years that I thought it was time for Whit Babcock to step aside, and that I thought the entire athletic department needed to be restructured, including the Hokie Club. But because those things are happening, it means I’m not completely able to wrap my head around Franklin and 2026 football at the moment, at least not from a fan perspective. Other important things are going on. I've been busy looking at it from an analytical standpoint.
Point being, I’m a little bit tired, and I’m distracted by other things, so I haven’t really been able to sit back and take it all in. There has simply been too much going on. I need a break to fully process it all. Fortunately, as you are reading this, I’m probably sitting in a pub in Greenwich, Wapping or Rotherhithe, thank goodness. That should provide plenty of time for reflection, along with some train rides through the Alps.
Seeing all of those things happen in real time is exciting. I’m actually more excited about the change in the athletic department than I am about Franklin. Tech’s new football coach could be here a long time or a short time. (It’ll probably be somewhere in the middle.) If he flops, he won’t have much of an impact, at least not a positive one (but he’s very unlikely to flop). Yet, the new athletic director and new Hokie Club director are going to shape athletics for years — or decades — to come.
I’d say my excitement level is about a seven right now, but that will most likely go up once I see how Franklin, the new AD and new Hokie Club director work together, and also see published plans by the new athletic department leadership. Oh, and winning a meaningful football game again. That will help, too! I’ve got my eye on that Maryland game on Sept. 19. Win that one and each game will become progressively bigger.
I think the fans are pretty excited. However, I think they’ve also been burned so many times throughout the years that they are a little bit scared of complete commitment right now, so to a certain extent, the fans lack confidence at the moment.
It’s like we just got a really hot girlfriend for the first time in a while, but we can’t enjoy it because we’re too busy asking ourselves, “What is she doing with me? She’s way too good for me. It’s only a matter of time before she leaves me for someone else.” So, there’s excitement, but some of it is also mixed with a little bit of fear, and a little bit of waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Portions of the fan base are also still stuck in what I call “the little engine that could” mode. Let’s go back to something that I typed in the first answer:
“Before taking the Tech job, [Franklin] studied the demographics of the fan base and concluded that the donor base is capable of doing a lot more than it has been in recent years, and that untapped potential is one of the reasons he took the job.”
If our message boards are to be judged, that passage probably took some of our subscribers by surprise. A small-thinking mentality — I know that sounds harsh, but I don’t know any other way to put it — has crept into portions of the fan base in recent years, and it will take time to eradicate it. It’s not the fans’ fault. It’s just natural.
Frank Beamer “did more with less,” which is true in some ways, but not true in others, but that thinking has become ingrained in the fan base for so long, to the point that it has become our enemy, and I fear that enemy more than I fear Clemson or North Carolina.
Some people have convinced themselves that we’re little old Virginia Tech and we can’t compete with the big, bad Penn States and Clemsons of the world because of money and resources. None of that is true, of course, but when you’ve been poorly and inefficiently led for more than a decade, you tend to forget what you are capable of when properly led and completely motivated.
I’m not criticizing those portions of the fan base, mind you. When things go as they’ve gone over the last 15 years, it’s natural to have that viewpoint, and sometimes it even seemed to be preached by the powers that be, to a certain extent.
Fortunately, the people in charge now don’t view things through that lens. I think Franklin understands what we’re capable of, perhaps even more than some portions of the fan base, and the next AD is going to be similar. I think that’s mostly what I’m excited about. We need positive, fresh leadership to drag us out of the doldrums, and that’s coming. Franklin is only part of it. The rest of the leadership will play a massive role.
3) What other bucket-list items do you have that may conceivably coincide with a potential VT away game? Any sport. — Freddyburg Hokie
CC: Interesting question. I’m not sure I have one.
The 2021 World Series coincided with Virginia Tech’s trip to Atlanta, so I thought, “Hey, good excuse to go to both.” Except I didn’t make it to the Tech football game. In fact, I didn’t even watch it on television because it seemed to be blacked out in my hotel. Oh well. The Hokies won, but considering it was smack in the middle of two World Series wins, I probably wouldn’t remember much about it even if I had watched it. Besides, I don’t know if my brain or my heart could have handled any more sports drama over 24 hours.
Here’s one possibility, though. Starting this year, there is a Union Jack Classic in Wembley Stadium in London. This year’s matchup is Sept. 19 and is a Big 12 matchup between Kansas and Arizona State. If the Hokies ever found themselves in that game, I could perhaps take in a Tottenham and a Virginia Tech game on the same weekend, especially if Tottenham happened to play on a Sunday. But even if it played a Saturday afternoon game, I could easily take the train from there to Wembley in time for a Virginia Tech night game. That would be an amazing experience. Two games in one day. Wembley isn’t the best place to watch a game, though, but that’s not really what it would be about.
I can’t remember how many times I’ve been to the U.K. In fact, I’m currently in the U.K. as you are reading this article. Lots of subscribers have asked about U.K. travel advice, pubs, towns, etc., over the years. So, if Tech ever got the Union Jack Classic, how many of you would be interested in paying for a Chris Coleman guided tour of the U.K. in the week leading up to the game? It’s just a thought.
4) Besides winning, what other upgrades are presently needed for Franklin to consistently recruit in the top 20? Would you say his current coaches and staff are seasoned enough with VT’s footprint at this point? — VTVOICE
CC: They are definitely seasoned enough in this footprint. Many staff members have found success recruiting the Mid-Atlantic Region, and Franklin has been recruiting it since he was a young assistant. By hiring Norval McKenzie, he even opened the door to even more fertile recruiting territory in Georgia. Overall, I feel very good about where the Hokies stand in terms of their footprint right now.
I’m also very comfortable with Franklin, his staff and their ability to recruit — period. Regardless of footprint. Franklin has the personality, drive, confidence and willpower to be an effective recruiter anywhere. I mentioned before that his recruiting bread is buttered on the East Coast, and it certainly is.
However, he can also go into California and get a quarterback (Troy Huhn), he can get a commitment from a running back from Texas (Javian Jones-Priest), and he can also sign an offensive lineman from Michigan (Benjamin Eziuka). He’s going to recruit well wherever he is, and so are many members of his staff. They just have the right personality types for this line of work.
As you said, winning will be important. Besides that, the two other things needed to maintain consistency are as follows:
1: Competent leadership in the athletic department. This ranges from the committee setting expectations to the athletic director executing the plan to a revamped Hokie Club raising the funds needed.
2: Facilities. This is connected to the Hokie Club raising funds, but Tech’s facilities need to be improved. There has to be a plan there. I know the Hokies have already gotten started on some stuff, but they need a long-term, comprehensive plan. Obviously, that can’t happen until new leadership comes in.
I like where Virginia Tech sits from a recruiting standpoint, but it’s important to capitalize on the momentum of the Franklin hire and the athletic department changes. Those things must bring about better fundraising and improved facilities. If that happens, the Hokies will be well-positioned heading into the future.