There’s a bunch of discussion these days on social media, podcasts and even texts between old friends about the hiring of Sam Siefkes as Virginia Tech defensive coordinator, with many asking “is he good?”
From my perspective, yes, he will be fine. He spent the last four years in the NFL, coaching linebackers for two years in Arizona, and the two years before that with Minnesota. He’ll bring a different and disciplined mindset to the Hokie defense, which is something that’s been needed.
But that’s not the point.
This hiring could have easily taken place many weeks ago, indicating that Siefkes was not the first choice. Virginia Tech seemed to focus on one other candidate – probably Penn State’s Anthony Poindexter – and waited until that program decided on which direction they were going to go. They eventually did, and even though Poindexter didn’t get the job he wanted at Penn State, he decided to take a lesser position and stay where he is.
No matter who it was, deciding to hold up your operation for a month to see if any coach you’ve targeted will eventually accept your offer – and then he says no – is a bad sign. It says something about your judgement that you thought a potential hire would join you when in fact they would not, and although the person you hired while scrambling around at the last minute may work out, it does make you wonder “do these guys know what they’re doing?”
It’s certainly fodder for other schools recruiting against Virginia Tech. I’m sure – whether true or not – it will be said on the recruiting trail “coaches weren’t sure whether to go there because the head coach may not be there in a year or two.”
It’s just one more bit of information to file away in trying to get yourself charged up and enthusiastic about the program. A year ago we were sitting here, happy with a bowl win, and optimistic because some people were saying we had a roster that could contend as a possible dark horse candidate for the playoffs.
A year later we’ve just finished a losing season, lost a bowl game, lost players to the transfer portal, and lost some of that enthusiasm from a year ago. Announcing he’ll take decisive action to fix things, Brett Pry fired several assistants with the hopes of getting better, more experienced staff.
But then he violated the first rule of hiring: Don’t fire somebody unless you have a reasonable idea of who you’re going to hire as a replacement. The Hokies had an idea of who they wanted, but apparently didn’t have a good enough idea on if that target wanted us back.
When you have a bad season like the last one, it’s important the coaching staff projects an image of “Yeah, that didn’t work, but we know how to fix it and we’re starting that process today.” It’s what makes prospective players AND coaches want to come to your town.
I’m not sure Virginia Tech did that in this process. I’ll always be a huge Hokie fan, and I look forward to seeing great things from Sam Siefkes.
But these days when I think of what they’re doing in Blacksburg, I sure do sigh a lot.
