This is how this works, I have done my own research and came up with names that I think deserves the job based on my analysis of what the team (in this case, Virginia Tech) needs for a coach. I then wait until if a hot board or coach candidate list comes and then mesh both of them together and pick a handful of coaches that I would consider if I was the AD and then rank and tier them based on if I think they are the right fit, their past or current success, and any other special attributes that helps their team. I have chosen 14 coaches as candidates. Twelve are current head coaches, one is a former head coach, and the last one is an assistant coach in the Big Ten.
Tell Me No
Shane Beamer, South Carolina (2021-?)
Familiar name to Hokies fans, Shane Beamer is the son to legendary longtime Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer who retired in 2015. Shane himself is an alum at VT as well and has roots and connections to the program and on paper seems like a match made in heaven... But, Beamer is currently a head coach in the SEC with a hefty contract rumored to be worth roughly $8 million. There was also a documentary about the SEC teams in the 2024 season that came out on Netflix in the summer, and he said that he wants to become a long time head coach and build a legacy at South Carolina like his father did at Virginia Tech. With all of that said, this means if the AD and the donors are serious enough to pry (no pun intended) Beamer away from Columbia and move back to Blacksburg, they have to find a way to collect a lot of money to not only pay for him to coach, but to buy out his previous contract. Even if they do make enough money for that, that does not mean he will indeed say yes, and with the success he is currently having on the field and in recruiting, there is no way he is moving to Blacksburg any time soon.
Top Candidates
Alex Golesh, South Florida (2023-?)
Assuming Beamer does not take the job, VT will turn it's focus to premier G5 head coaches who are either rising stars or have had massive success in the lower levels that the team believes it is time to give them a shot. On the top of my list (and probably everyone else's) is USF head coach Alex Golesh. Golesh took over a struggling who had not had a winning season since 2018, and after stints as the OC under Josh Heupel at UCF and Tennessee, it was his turn to be the head coach. Ever since he walked in that door, he turned the culture in a 180 and have been coaching consistent back to back winning seasons. Last season, they struggled keeping their QB (who was recruited and brought in by previous staff and stayed on under Golesh's staff) healthy. Byrum Brown only played five games and stunted them making serious improvements from 2023. After playing close games twice against Alabama and the first half of Miami (FL), Golesh's third season started with back to back top 25 wins. The program was ranked in the top 25 and they gained recognition as the front runners of the fifth conference CFP spot.
Jon Sumrall, Tulane (2024-?)
There ain't no doubt he will be coaching a P5 (I still count the Pac 12 as a power conference) school next season, the better question is is it Virginia Tech? I would say no. There will be bigger jobs opening up and I think he has one major job circled in big blue marker if it ever opens up. Right now, I think Sumrall is willing to consider the Hokies job. Like Golesh, he took over a small program with previous success but recent downhill spiral that looked like a steep mountain to climb back up. He went to Troy and won back to back Sun Belt Conference titles. After his second season, everyone believed he will take a P5 job and have success their. Instead, he went to Tulane and took over as the head coach in the American. Even though he did inherit a juggernaut of a team, he was still able to guide them to an American Conference Championship Game which nobody expect him to accomplish this feat in his first season. He is currently in his second season at Tulane and is attempting a rare accomplishment that nobody has ever done in the FBS level, which is four conference games in his first four seasons as a head coach.
Bob Chesney, James Madison (2024-?)
My favorite name on this list. Chesney rose to prominence in 2021 when he was coaching Holy Cross and his team easy handedly destroyed a struggling FBS school in UConn in what turned out to be their long time head coach Randy Edsall's last game as head coach cause they fired/forced him to retire early after the game. After that, he maintained Holy Cross as top 25 FCS program making it to the FCS Playoffs year after year. He left Holy Cross to take over James Madison, and he has not yet skipped a beat after a 9-4 first season. James Madison is now heavily favored to not only win the Sun Belt East, but win the Sun Belt Conference.
Other Hot Names
Charles Huff, Southern Miss (2025-?)
This list are names that are hot coaches, but they seemed to be either flawed or raise red flags for some reason. Charles Huff is the most likely to elevate from this list and join the other three. Huff may be the best recruiter who maintained the top recruiting class in the Sun Belt when he was at Marshall, and he coached and recruited a couple of high profile NFL running backs when he was a RB coach at Penn State and Alabama in Saquon Barkley and Najee Harris. Before becoming a head coach, he was a assistant for James Franklin and Nick Saban and left after winning the National Championship to take the helm at Marshall. Though, it was rocky having highs and lows and inconsistent records, he made it to four-ish bowl games in his four seasons in Huntington and won the Sun Belt Conference. It became weird when moments before the championship game kicked off that it was announced that Charles Huff's expiring contract will not be renewed and will be unemployed after their season was over. After the game, it was reported that he took the first job that offered him a head coaching job and took a pay cut from what he was making and moved to Hattiesburg and took the majority of the SBC Championship team with him. The question mark(s) is does he want to coach one season and then leave at Southern Miss or does he keep coaching and wait for something bigger and better? He waited last time for a big job to open, and that turned out to be a mistake.
Ryan Silverfield, Memphis (2020-?)
This is a instant red flag for VT donors. Ten years ago, the guy they hired to replace Frank Beamer was then Memphis head coach Justin Fuente who had a high profile offense and a high profile QB who later became a first round pick. Fuente had a solid start, then completely flamed out and could not replicate the success he had at Memphis. Ryan Silverfield is Memphis' long time head coach who replaced the guy who replaced Fuente in Mike Norvell. Just like Fuente, his Memphis team is known for their high profile offense and he previously coached a high profile QB who is now the third string QB for Trevor Lawrence. Silverfield seems to be a better match than Fuente because he brings in a Mike Norvell kind of style to the game that Norvell himself has had success with at Florida State, but the donors only look at the team logo on the chest and sees deja vu.
Jason Candle, Toledo (2016-?)
The long time Toledo coach in his tenth season as head coach for them has been on staff for the Rockets since 2009. That means he was an assistant for Tim Beckman and Matt Campbell before taking over as the main guy. He has accomplished a lot with two conference coach of the years, three division titles, and two conference championship titles. Now, he may just go ahead be called the greatest Toledo head coach of all time after surpassing Gary Pinkel with the most career wins this season. The thing that sets alarm bells for VT is the fact that he has been at Toledo for forever. If you take him out from the circle he has been in for quite some time, will he find success in his new circle? And also the fact he has never coached outside the state of Ohio is also concerning recruiting wise. Can he recruit well in Virginia even if he hires in state guys?
Jamey Chadwell, Liberty (2023-?)
This should be the front runner for the job if you had asked me this a month ago. Quick recap, rising FCS coach leaves Charleston Southern to become interim head coach for the ailing head coach at Coastal Carolina. People think he will coach three games, turns out to be twelve and it is also Coastal's first season in the FBS so more pressure on him. They go 3-9 and the HC recovers and returns while retaining Chadwell on staff. After the 2018 season, the HC retires and names Chadwell as his successor. They instantly have success going 5-7 with costly losses to Arkansas State and UL Monroe than three straight 9+ wins season. He leaves Coastal Carolina after four seasons for Liberty who is transitioning to the Conference USA. Because Liberty has tons of money, they offered him tons of money to coach a G5 school paying him what a ACC coach would make on average. They obviously win the C-USA beating a New Mexico State with Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers and then made it to a New Years Six bowl against Oregon earning their first loss of the season and Chadwell's career at Liberty. Next season, they struggled offensively but still winning 8 games. This season, every one expected a bounce back, but instead it seems as if Liberty is going through a downward spiral.
Names To Keep An Eye On
Michael Vick, Norfolk State (2025-?)
Virginia Tech and NFL legend who donors would likely be fine handing him the keys if one major glare is glaring. The fact that he has less coaching experience than Deion did before he took the Jackson State position. This whole thing may be different after he finishes the season and if he has a great season, but the fact that he lacks experience in a experience needed role throws a wrench into any plans.
Scott Abell, Rice (2025-?)
I really like this one, and I don't see anyone mentioning this idea yet just because how unknown he is. Scott Abell is a Virginia guy through and through, playing baseball at Longwood, coaching Virginia High School football, and becoming an OC, and later HC at a small Virginia college. He then went to coach Davidson who is a non scholarship football program, which means they don't offer scholarships for football players and that they are all basically walk ons paying their way to school and the team. He had somewhat instant success then struggled the last year or two when NIL started to hit the FCS hard and with the school limited access to the NIL, Abell left to coach Rice. Nobody expected them to win three games this season, and they are currently 3-1 with a key win against Sun Belt powerhouse Louisiana on the road. Rice is also a private school which does make it harder for them recruit with or without NIL cause they have to follow the schools guidelines and can't just pick just whoever they want. This could be a good thing or a bad thing for VT. They will likely lack in recruiting, but they could see Abell adapt to the transfer portal and build a team similar to Curt Cignetti did. It's a risky hire, but if they keep having success do you go after the risk or the standard?
Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State (Offensive Coordinator; 2024-?)
The only assistant coach on the list with no prior head coaching experience. A long time Lance Leipold assistant who followed him from Wisconsin Whitewater to Buffalo to Kansas who left him to coach Drew Allar and Penn State last year. Two things: VT would hire him because of this small town mid west kid turned coach success that has been happening in college football with Leipold, Chris Kliemann, and Kalen DeBoer being the faces of this. He is also probably the most head coach ready assistant or coordinator out there. The one thing that I think will make them say no is the fact he hasn't been a head coach and that they will more than likely hire a guy with experience as a head coach.
Do Not Consider
Dave Clawson, Wake Forest (2014-24)
The recently retired Wake Forest head coach who has struggled with NIL and recruiting kids to a private school in the same state as North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Duke is now a candidate for one of the biggest programs in the ACC currently? I am a big Clawson guy, and I think that is a huge mistake on both parts. I can name five former head coaches that can be thrown into this position right now and have more success than Clawson. And if Clawson wants to get back into the ring, I recommend you to look at a G5 position and work your way back up like Dan Mullen is.
Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati (2023-?)
I have not seen this name been thrown around after Brent Pry got fired, but a name I saw before hand. This is the man who put Appalachian State back on the map after they moved to the FBS and left to take over Louisville in what looked like he was bringing them back to their glory days. It later turned into a mess and he weaseled out of Louisville before they could fire him and took a pay cut to go coach Cincinnati who was fixing to join the Big 12. They started 3-9, but slowly went up the ladder to 5-7 with a top 25 offense. This year, they are on the trajectory of reaching, at minimum, a bowl game. He's a good coach when for short term, but he is not a long term replacement and will cost you tons of money and headaches.
Jeff Monken, Army (2014-?)
This may be a little harsh of me, but I don't want to see anyone outside of the military schools run a triple option. I know Ken Niumatalolo, the former Navy coach, is back coaching at San Jose State and has adapted to the new era of football, but is there anything that tells you that Monken will transition his offensive style similar to Niumatalolo's? I'm willing to continue watching Monken coach Army til he is done.
There is my candidate list. Please leave a comment if you read through all of this. Also, I plan to post one for the other job openings as well. Those may be out later next week though since it takes me a while to do research.