What if Shane could be Frank 2.0?

Are you making promises?

First year coaches are doing it!

USA TODAY Sports reviewed every first-year coach in 2026 after Week 1. Let’s revisit by ranking the new hires based on how things went in the first month of the regular season:

1. Bob Chesney, UCLA (4-0)​

No coach has done more with lower expectations after inheriting one of the biggest pushovers in the Big Ten. Like Curt Cignetti before him, the former James Madison coach has turned around the Bruins’ culture by installing a high-powered and seemingly unstoppable offense.

2. Jon Sumrall, Florida (4-0)​

The No. 8 Gators have exceeded even the most optimistic hopes for Sumrall’s first month. Florida has scored at least 40 points in each of the first four games for the first time since 2001 and have one of the best wins by any team this season in last weekend’s 52-28 victory against No. 12 Mississippi.


SOMETHING BETTER: Florida lost Lane Kiffin sweepstakes. but found gold in Sumrall

3. James Franklin, Virginia Tech (4-0)​

The transfer-heavy roster of the Hokies has taken care of business against a weak schedule but things will get much harder in October, with Pittsburgh, California, Georgia Tech and Clemson up ahead. Still its a promising start for Franklin in hs program rebuild.

College football Week 5 picks for Top 25 games, including SEC, Big Ten showdownsMeet college football’s fastest-rising stars after the season’s first monthFrom best to worst, all 31 first-year college football coaches rankedCollege Football Report Card: Best and worst teams, biggest surprise, top transferCollege football bowl projections: Three new CFP teams enter, three fall out

4. Morgan Scalley, Utah (4-0)​

With little fanfare, Scalley has stepped in for Kyle Whittingham and hit the ground running thanks to an offense that ranks 12th nationally in scoring and 13th in yards per play. Things get more difficult in October.

5. Lane Kiffin, LSU (3-1)​

Everything has gone pretty well under intense scrutiny but not perfectly, with a loss in Kiffin’s homecoming in Oxford souring a start that otherwise includes very one-sided wins against Clemson and Texas A&M.

6. Billy Napier, James Madison (4-0)​

Napier has done what he’s supposed to do: when taking over a winning environment: Keep the Dukes rolling as one of the top teams in the Group of Six. It's been an impressive first month.

7. Pete Golding, Mississippi (3-1)​

Things fell apart this past Saturday in Gainesville, taking some wind out of the Rebels’ sails after that emotional win against LSU. Golding’s team is clearly good enough to win the national championship. (We’re counting Golding as a first-year coach even though he took over before last year’s playoff.)

8. Will Stein, Kentucky (3-1)​

The marquee win against Texas A&M has lost some luster with the Aggies’ recent collapse. Stein still has made an immediate impact on Kentucky’s offense and quarterback play, raising the odds of a possible bowl berth in his debut.

9. Eric Morris, Oklahoma State (3-1)​

Morris has climbed out of a terrible first impression against Tulsa to post wins against No. 16 Oregon and West Virginia. Loss to the Golden Hurricane aside, the Cowboys seem ready to make noise in the Big 12.

10. Charles Huff, Memphis (3-1)​

A loss to Boise State did temporary damage to the Tigers’ playoff hopes but there are opportunities to make a run in an American that’s ripe for taking.

11. Alex Golesh, Auburn (3-1)​

Losing to Florida isn’t good for any Auburn coach, but Golesh and the Tigers beat Baylor in non-conference play and pulled off a hard-fought win against Vanderbilt on Saturday to even their record in the SEC.

SOS also sucked in year 6

The real Beamer struggled early, but probably got more time because they went from an independent to joing a conference a few years in. (The big east)

If Shane was a plumbers son, would we be having this conversation?

muscleknight said:

SOS also sucked in year 6

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He was 9-3 regular season and won the division.

18IsTheMan said:

Frank's first 6 seasons at VaTech were, to put it mildly, non-descript. He coached to a 24-35-2 record (not going to double-check my math). And there was nothing particularly good happening in those first 6 years that foreshadowed what was to come.

What about Year 7? He went 9-3, kicking off a 23-year run of great success, never having another losing record.

Yeah, yeah, the landscape of college football has changed....too much money at stake...blah, blah, blah...yadda, yadda, yadda.

But I do sometimes wonder if coaches are tossed to the curb too quickly these days. If Frank Beamer started coaching today, he'd have never made it, b/c he'd have never survived until that critical 7th year. Particularly schools like us. I mean, yeah, if you're still struggling at Alabama in your 6th year, there's a problem. But why should we expect certain results after 3, 4, 5 or 6 years? Sometimes we forget who we are and are place in the college football world.

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The initial 6 year record was due to NCAA violations that not only forced Bill Doley to resign, but left VaTech with severe scholarship limitations. Full scholarships were initially cut by as much as 20, in addition they were also placed on probation.

The administration had no choice to be patient as there were no other options available to them. Once the allotment of full scholarships were resumed the fortunes of VaTech/Beamer changed dramatically.

Or...maybe he really is Dabo 2.0
Dabo obviously had better records against obviously worse competition and we owned them for a five year stretch, but they won their first natty under him in his 8th season.
They both were great recruiting position coaches elevated to HC without prior HC/OC/DC experience. They both are/were loved by the players. They both employ the Howdy Doody yuck-yuck-isms.
I do think Dabo has more cutthroat in him than Shane, though. Dabo didn't mind firing guys that weren't getting the job done.

18IsTheMan said:

That was a 2-year probation. Not 6.

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So he went from probation and scholarship reductions to a step up to a confernce.

This ex0lains why the administration had patience, but also why an otherwise good coach could struggle longer than usual.

Swifty said:

Or...maybe he really is Dabo 2.0
Dabo obviously had better records against obviously worse competition and we owned them for a five year stretch, but they won their first natty under him in his 8th season.
They both were great recruiting position coaches elevated to HC without prior HC/OC/DC experience. They both are/were loved by the players. They both employ the Howdy Doody yuck-yuck-isms.
I do think Dabo has more cutthroat in him than Shane, though. Dabo didn't mind firing guys that weren't getting the job done.

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Shane has been Dabo 2.0 without the wins since day 1.

Piscis said:

Shane has been Dabo 2.0 without the wins since day 1.

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Yes. We literally watched Dabo and said "we need our own version of that". And we failed.

PrestonyteParrot said:

Are you making promises?

First year coaches are doing it!

USA TODAY Sports reviewed every first-year coach in 2026 after Week 1. Let’s revisit by ranking the new hires based on how things went in the first month of the regular season:

1. Bob Chesney, UCLA (4-0)​

No coach has done more with lower expectations after inheriting one of the biggest pushovers in the Big Ten. Like Curt Cignetti before him, the former James Madison coach has turned around the Bruins’ culture by installing a high-powered and seemingly unstoppable offense.

2. Jon Sumrall, Florida (4-0)​

The No. 8 Gators have exceeded even the most optimistic hopes for Sumrall’s first month. Florida has scored at least 40 points in each of the first four games for the first time since 2001 and have one of the best wins by any team this season in last weekend’s 52-28 victory against No. 12 Mississippi.


SOMETHING BETTER: Florida lost Lane Kiffin sweepstakes. but found gold in Sumrall

3. James Franklin, Virginia Tech (4-0)​

The transfer-heavy roster of the Hokies has taken care of business against a weak schedule but things will get much harder in October, with Pittsburgh, California, Georgia Tech and Clemson up ahead. Still its a promising start for Franklin in hs program rebuild.

College football Week 5 picks for Top 25 games, including SEC, Big Ten showdownsMeet college football’s fastest-rising stars after the season’s first monthFrom best to worst, all 31 first-year college football coaches rankedCollege Football Report Card: Best and worst teams, biggest surprise, top transferCollege football bowl projections: Three new CFP teams enter, three fall out

4. Morgan Scalley, Utah (4-0)​

With little fanfare, Scalley has stepped in for Kyle Whittingham and hit the ground running thanks to an offense that ranks 12th nationally in scoring and 13th in yards per play. Things get more difficult in October.

5. Lane Kiffin, LSU (3-1)​

Everything has gone pretty well under intense scrutiny but not perfectly, with a loss in Kiffin’s homecoming in Oxford souring a start that otherwise includes very one-sided wins against Clemson and Texas A&M.

6. Billy Napier, James Madison (4-0)​

Napier has done what he’s supposed to do: when taking over a winning environment: Keep the Dukes rolling as one of the top teams in the Group of Six. It's been an impressive first month.

7. Pete Golding, Mississippi (3-1)​

Things fell apart this past Saturday in Gainesville, taking some wind out of the Rebels’ sails after that emotional win against LSU. Golding’s team is clearly good enough to win the national championship. (We’re counting Golding as a first-year coach even though he took over before last year’s playoff.)

8. Will Stein, Kentucky (3-1)​

The marquee win against Texas A&M has lost some luster with the Aggies’ recent collapse. Stein still has made an immediate impact on Kentucky’s offense and quarterback play, raising the odds of a possible bowl berth in his debut.

9. Eric Morris, Oklahoma State (3-1)​

Morris has climbed out of a terrible first impression against Tulsa to post wins against No. 16 Oregon and West Virginia. Loss to the Golden Hurricane aside, the Cowboys seem ready to make noise in the Big 12.

10. Charles Huff, Memphis (3-1)​

A loss to Boise State did temporary damage to the Tigers’ playoff hopes but there are opportunities to make a run in an American that’s ripe for taking.

11. Alex Golesh, Auburn (3-1)​

Losing to Florida isn’t good for any Auburn coach, but Golesh and the Tigers beat Baylor in non-conference play and pulled off a hard-fought win against Vanderbilt on Saturday to even their record in the SEC.

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Let's grab that Napier guy - imagine what he could do at a school with SEC resources!

Lurker123 said:

Yes. We literally watched Dabo and said "we need our own version of that". And we failed.

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NIL was the downfall of Clemson, Auburn and FSU football. Once all the other teams could pay players, those three lost their best recruiting tool.

18IsTheMan said:

That was a 2-year probation. Not 6.

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Harvard Gamecock said:

The initial 6 year record was due to NCAA violations that not only forced Bill Doley to resign, but left VaTech with severe scholarship limitations. Full scholarships were initially cut by as much as 20, in addition they were also placed on probation.

The administration had no choice to be patient as there were no other options available to them. Once the allotment of full scholarships were resumed the fortunes of VaTech/Beamer changed dramatically.

Click to expand...

Exactly.
As I stated "the initial 6 year record".

"flipper" 2.0.

Seriously, I hope it somehow works out.

18IsTheMan said:

Beamer inherited a crap fest at an afterthought program in the toughest conference in the country.

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And hes been given 6 years to see what he could do.

18IsTheMan said:

Beamer inherited a crap fest at an afterthought program in the toughest conference in the country.

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Indiana blows that comment and consideration away forever. He's paid $8MM/year although he sure as hell does not earn it. For the amounts he and the players receive, none are shielded from criticism anymore. The higher the pay, the harsher the critique.

atlanta cock# said:

Indiana blows that comment and consideration away forever. He's paid $8MM/year although he sure as hell does not earn it. For the amounts he and the players receive, none are shielded from criticism anymore. The higher the pay, the harsher the critique.

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Agree on all that, except the Indiana part. They had Cuban dump a bunch of money in their program.

PrestonyteParrot said:

Are you making promises?

First year coaches are doing it!

USA TODAY Sports reviewed every first-year coach in 2026 after Week 1. Let’s revisit by ranking the new hires based on how things went in the first month of the regular season:

Click to expand...

True, but there are lots of examples of new coaches through the years who made big splashes in their first year and then fizzled out. Deion was 3-0 his first season at CO with wins against two ranked teams and the Buffaloes were the talk of the country. They are probably going to fire him this year.

I agree the narrative about "building a program" no longer applies and it is possible for a team to turn around in one season with the right portal pickups. But I wouldn't look at a 4-0 or 5-0 first year coach and conclude it was a good hire. Let's let that play out some.

Piscis said:

NIL was the downfall of Clemson, Auburn and FSU football. Once all the other teams could pay players, those three lost their best recruiting tool.

Click to expand...

Right. Even back in the Danny Ford days Clemson was being investigated for illegal recruiting. "We used to pay them coming through the back door now everybody is paying them coming through the front" door as Ed Orgeron said.

18IsTheMan said:

Frank's first 6 seasons at VaTech were, to put it mildly, non-descript. He coached to a 24-35-2 record (not going to double-check my math). And there was nothing particularly good happening in those first 6 years that foreshadowed what was to come.

What about Year 7? He went 9-3, kicking off a 23-year run of great success, never having another losing record.

Yeah, yeah, the landscape of college football has changed....too much money at stake...blah, blah, blah...yadda, yadda, yadda.

But I do sometimes wonder if coaches are tossed to the curb too quickly these days. If Frank Beamer started coaching today, he'd have never made it, b/c he'd have never survived until that critical 7th year. Particularly schools like us. I mean, yeah, if you're still struggling at Alabama in your 6th year, there's a problem. But why should we expect certain results after 3, 4, 5 or 6 years? Sometimes we forget who we are and are place in the college football world.

Click to expand...

if this is to be the case, Beamer needs to upgrade his defensive staff to complement our offensive staff, starting with Clayton White. I also think we need to replace Mike Furrey, his unit is performing far below where we need them to be.

PrestonyteParrot said:

Are you making promises?

First year coaches are doing it!

USA TODAY Sports reviewed every first-year coach in 2026 after Week 1. Let’s revisit by ranking the new hires based on how things went in the first month of the regular season:

1. Bob Chesney, UCLA (4-0)​

No coach has done more with lower expectations after inheriting one of the biggest pushovers in the Big Ten. Like Curt Cignetti before him, the former James Madison coach has turned around the Bruins’ culture by installing a high-powered and seemingly unstoppable offense.

2. Jon Sumrall, Florida (4-0)​

The No. 8 Gators have exceeded even the most optimistic hopes for Sumrall’s first month. Florida has scored at least 40 points in each of the first four games for the first time since 2001 and have one of the best wins by any team this season in last weekend’s 52-28 victory against No. 12 Mississippi.


SOMETHING BETTER: Florida lost Lane Kiffin sweepstakes. but found gold in Sumrall

3. James Franklin, Virginia Tech (4-0)​

The transfer-heavy roster of the Hokies has taken care of business against a weak schedule but things will get much harder in October, with Pittsburgh, California, Georgia Tech and Clemson up ahead. Still its a promising start for Franklin in hs program rebuild.

College football Week 5 picks for Top 25 games, including SEC, Big Ten showdownsMeet college football’s fastest-rising stars after the season’s first monthFrom best to worst, all 31 first-year college football coaches rankedCollege Football Report Card: Best and worst teams, biggest surprise, top transferCollege football bowl projections: Three new CFP teams enter, three fall out

4. Morgan Scalley, Utah (4-0)​

With little fanfare, Scalley has stepped in for Kyle Whittingham and hit the ground running thanks to an offense that ranks 12th nationally in scoring and 13th in yards per play. Things get more difficult in October.

5. Lane Kiffin, LSU (3-1)​

Everything has gone pretty well under intense scrutiny but not perfectly, with a loss in Kiffin’s homecoming in Oxford souring a start that otherwise includes very one-sided wins against Clemson and Texas A&M.

6. Billy Napier, James Madison (4-0)​

Napier has done what he’s supposed to do: when taking over a winning environment: Keep the Dukes rolling as one of the top teams in the Group of Six. It's been an impressive first month.

7. Pete Golding, Mississippi (3-1)​

Things fell apart this past Saturday in Gainesville, taking some wind out of the Rebels’ sails after that emotional win against LSU. Golding’s team is clearly good enough to win the national championship. (We’re counting Golding as a first-year coach even though he took over before last year’s playoff.)

8. Will Stein, Kentucky (3-1)​

The marquee win against Texas A&M has lost some luster with the Aggies’ recent collapse. Stein still has made an immediate impact on Kentucky’s offense and quarterback play, raising the odds of a possible bowl berth in his debut.

9. Eric Morris, Oklahoma State (3-1)​

Morris has climbed out of a terrible first impression against Tulsa to post wins against No. 16 Oregon and West Virginia. Loss to the Golden Hurricane aside, the Cowboys seem ready to make noise in the Big 12.

10. Charles Huff, Memphis (3-1)​

A loss to Boise State did temporary damage to the Tigers’ playoff hopes but there are opportunities to make a run in an American that’s ripe for taking.

11. Alex Golesh, Auburn (3-1)​

Losing to Florida isn’t good for any Auburn coach, but Golesh and the Tigers beat Baylor in non-conference play and pulled off a hard-fought win against Vanderbilt on Saturday to even their record in the SEC.

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Because there never been a guy get off to a good start in the sec before…Oh!! Wait a minute!!!!

Lurker123 said:

If Shane was a plumbers son, would we be having this conversation?

Click to expand...

TEKTAT:
Football is a business model.

muscleknight said:

SOS also sucked in year 6

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He took us to 9 bowl games. How many years will it take Beamer to do that? 30?

Lol. Including a list w Napier….
Comparing 4 games to years in a tough conference. Laughable
yes we stink right now however he has proven he can win in the SEC Lbeit not enough for our liking.
posted yesterday only two teams in the SEC have averaged even 8 wins in the last 10 years. Georgia and Bama. It’s not easy
Get rid of Elliott, White and Furrey Imo and do what was done with the overhaul w Briles Clements and Barnes