Memphis coach Justin Fuente and the Virginia Tech athletic director said Saturday that reports Fuente will replace Frank Beamer as Hokies coach are “premature”.
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Virginia capped another lackluster season on Saturday with a 23-20 loss to Virginia Tech. While he met numerous criteria for Littlepage at the time of his hiring and initially found success on the field – Virginia finished 8-4 and earned a trip to the Chick-fil-A Bowl in 2011 – London could not sustain the results in the win column.
Virginia Tech’s players understood the impact that Beamer has had on the Hokies football program, honoring the legendary coach by carrying him off the field following the win. While several of those wins came in the last second, Virginia still became the first team to win road games at Miami and Florida State in the same season. This is head coach Frank Beamer’s finale, and he celebrated accordingly.
Such heartfelt thank yous have been going on for weeks in the hallways at Virginia Tech’s practice facility.
Virginia’s 2015 schedule, with non-conference games against UCLA, Notre Dame and Boise State in non-conference play and a surprisingly strong ACC Coastal to navigate, made London’s task almost impossible.
The game could also mark the end for Mike London as coach at Virginia (4-8, 3-5). “We all get it. I get it. That’s what it’s all about”, London said in October, per Tim Pearrell of the Times-Dispatch. Zach LeDay continues to be a major bright spot for Virginia Tech, however, as the USF transfer racked up 19 points and eight rebounds on Friday. Sending Beamer out playing in one more December bowl game is definitely the goal of the Hokies. “He supported me when I was just a young freshman, gave me an opportunity to prove I had what it took”.
“It’s so much bigger than football for him, and that’s why we’re all here”, junior quarterback Matt Johns said Saturday. And then in 2013 they went 2-10 and were winless in league play, easily the worst season in decades at Virginia.
Virginia Tech has developed a reputation for traveling with their Hokies.
For Beamer’s part, the end of a 29-year coaching career means more time with grandkids, travel and the possibility of a radio or TV gig.
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“When we got the ball back, I thought we were going to march down and score a touchdown”, Slye said. “I hope everybody on Thanksgiving, all our Hokies will buy up all their tickets and we’ll fill up Scott Stadium with a bunch of orange and maroon”.
