Folks, this might have actually trumped “Cannon Shot”. Read it to believe it.
This is a message for college football programs across the country — consider yourself warned.
Virginia Tech’s hiring of James Franklin is a shot across the bow of college football. The entire Atlantic Coast Conference, and the rest of the country, is now on notice.
For its entire existence, Virginia Tech has played small ball when it comes to finances. The #Hokies have never led the way in fundraising or sponsorship dollars. Even after Frank Beamer and Michael Vick made Virginia Tech a nationally-relevant brand, the Hokies have never been able to compete with the Alabamas, the Georgias, and the Ohio States on the balance sheet.
Until now.
The Board of Visitors’ pledge of $229 million to support the athletic department has helped level the playing field. That amount, which includes $47 million in Fiscal Year 2026 alone, puts Virginia Tech among the elite athletic programs in terms of financial resources. It also made Virginia Tech an attractive destination for an elite football coach — especially one who shouldn’t have been available.
Penn State jumped the gun when it fired Franklin on Oct. 12 following an ugly loss to UCLA. The Nittany Lions dismissed a head coach that vaulted the program to national prominence after crippling sanctions nearly killed it. In case you didn’t know, Franklin won nine or more games in seven of his 11-plus seasons in Happy Valley. Franklin took Penn State to six New Year’s Six bowl games and won the Big Ten title in 2016. Last year, Franklin was just three points away from competing for a national championship.
In any sane world, a head coach with those credentials would be afforded a down season. We do not, however, live in a sane world, and Franklin’s successes were quickly swept under the rug while he cleaned out his office.
Franklin shouldn’t have been available, but he was. Virginia Tech pounced, identified Franklin as its top candidate, and locked him in before the 2025 season even ended.
That’s a big-boy move.
Schools like Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State, the kinds that Virginia Tech wants to compete with, would have done the same thing. When you need a new head coach, you find the best candidate available and do what it takes to get the deal done. You don’t take no for an answer.
For all the issues with Virginia Tech’s athletic department leadership, the search committee and President Tim Sands deserve considerable praise for getting Franklin signed.
Virginia Tech’s newfound ability to play hardball, and its willingness to spend, prove that the Hokies aren’t fooling around anymore. The excuses have been removed. The war chest is full and the checkbook is open. It’s time to win.
Franklin is the exact hire you make when the time to win is now. He wasted little time at both Vanderbilt and Penn State, winning nine games in his second season in Nashville and 11 games in his third season in State College.
Franklin checks just about every box — he’s a winner, he’s built coaching staffs that can recruit and develop, and he can ignite a fan base. When you think about it, there aren’t many head coaches in the country as accomplished as Franklin.
If this column sounds like I’m bullish on the future of Virginia Tech football, it’s because I am. Not only has the university committed to funding the program at an elite level, but the power brokers in Blacksburg just stole one of the best coaches in the sport away from one of the most accomplished programs in the country.
I’ve been saying for well over a year that Virginia Tech didn’t have a resource problem — it had a people problem. The expectation at Virginia Tech isn’t to compete for national championships every year, but to compete for conference championships on a consistent basis. You’re telling me that Virginia Tech now has someone who has competed for — and won — a Big Ten championship, and he now has more resources than any coach in the history of the school?
Sign me up.
I’m all in on James Franklin. Virginia Tech desperately needs a coach who can reverse the downward trend of the program, put the Hokies back on the map, and give a hungry, passionate fan base the winner it so richly deserves.
The time has come. Virginia Tech has been bullied from coast-to-coast for far too long. To everyone in the ACC, and to college football programs across the country — consider yourself warned.
Does anyone want to tell him?
War chests and money are one thing, but being able to squeeze some results out of all that green is another. Didn’t they just hire away the defensive coordinator from Ohio State for a record amount of money and still manage to be ass?
Hokies, consider yourself warned.
I really like the hire, but he lost me at “power brokers in Blacksburg.” Delusional and unrealistic thinking like this guy is exactly why Franklin was fired at PSU.
Wow! That’s some big talk for hiring a guy that not many programs wanted. In fact, did the handbags or drunken cajuns even show interest? If they did, I don’t recall hearing about it. If VT gets to 8-4 or 9-3 under Franklin, it’s a major improvement. Thinking your program is going to be a player on the national stage? You’re on psilocybin sir.
This sounds a bit like the hype surrounding Belichick going to UNC. UNC offered up the kind of money that Mack Brown had ben begging for and never got. But that kind of financial commitment combined with the NFL mega-brain were going to turn UNC into the “33rd NFL team”. And it turned out exactly as most of us expected.
I think Franklin will bring VT back to 9-11 wins regularly, but only because the ACC rarely has more than 2 good teams. VT will refuse to schedule non-conference P4 games and they’ll lose to the good teams annually. They might fall ass-backwards into a conference title game occasionally. They will never, ever, ever be a real natty threat with him at the helm.
Looks like I’ve got to dust this off. Yet again.
Franklin’s best season was in 13 at Vandy when he beat that super beat up Georgia team in part due to a terrible targeting call that at the time could not be reviewed, a Muschamp Florida team, and a Derek Dooley Tennessee team. Our 2015 team that was 9-3 beat no one of consequence and was coached by an interim beat him in a lesser Florida Bowl to end that season.
Virginia Tech is a team that I do not hate but that maddening, losing to Kentucky and Vanderbilt while playing the National Champion Gators team close in Jax beat a “good” Frank Beamer team in the Peach Bowl, so they are not a team that I normally think much of except for wanting to see them beat Georgia Tech.
All of that being said I think that he will do well at Virginia Tech because what he can do is what they consider a good season as they are more or less to me the ACC version of Penn State.
That was at the end of “over signing”. Vandy, S Carolina both over signed like crazy and went back to .500 or less right after.
The ejection was overturned by replay but the 15 yard penalty stood.
Still not over it.
That call has to be the textbook example of why the targeting penalty rules were changed the next year.
Whoever thought it was a good idea to structure the rule so the penalty yardage would stand while admitting there was no targeting (by reversing the ejection), I hope that person stubs their toe when they get out of bed every morning.
Franklin is perfect for VT. They are a 10 win ceiling type of school and he is a 10 win ceiling type of coach. He should be able to coach there for life.
That’s basically what I told my two sons. He’s a perfect fit: he never wins big games and VT never plays in any.
Cocaines a helluva drug
I was thinking it had to be more of a shroom buzz to be that delusional.
Va Tech will increase the talent level and NIL spend to go 10-2 and get smoked by any good team. Probably win a few worlds smallest cocktail parties.
L. O. L.
Update me when he brings them back to relevance….
He is going to the Almost Competitive Conference so maybe they should be on notice. The rest of college football…….not so much.
Well. Good luck VPI.
I’m sure Kirby is shaking in his boots.
They are in the ACC.
Enough said
Okay Ricky LaBlue. Glad you have it all figured out.
Franklin is never gonna win anything of importance. He’s a wanna be at best.
That has to be sarcasm. Has to be.
I checked out his X profile. This guy is definitely drinking the Hokie flavor aid.
Who the hell is this wanker? Why should we care what he thinks?
A program that doesn’t win very often against Top 10 teams…..
Hires a coach that doesn’t win very often against Top 10 teams.
Looks like a great fit.
BTW google says VT is 4-21 against top 10 teams.
Sounds like a Barney Fife rant.
This is on par with Tech crowing about hiring Chan Gailey.
Oh, come on. That was “Chan-tastic!” 🙂
Damn! I married into a Hokie family. My late father-in-law took the whole family to the Easy for the Tech-FSU Natty (I’m a dog lover but Vick’s performance in the loss was incredible). I hate that fucker with a passion and this won’t be “easy”!
I want that guy writing my obituary. That’s the kind of delusion that could paper over a lifetime of bad decisions and missteps. I’m in the psilocybin camp on this one for his fiction fuel.
Remember, good descissions rarely lead to good stories.
In other news Erik got shitcanned at RollBama Roll. There really is a God.
Is he moving on to be a fluffer for the Finebaum show?
Horrible mental images aside, any idea what happened at RBR? The site doesn’t appear to mention it.
They only said in their GumpDay post that he was out for unnamed reasons. If I had to guess, it was probably over gambling. I think he runs a pay for picks biz on the side, but not certain.
On these very interwebs in the last month I said Franklin’s best option was to go to VaTech and VT hiring Franklin was their best move. However, Ricky LaBlue’s proclamation is nonsense.
I like the hire and he should be really good there. The ACC is wide open for the foreseeable future. Miami will have another new QB next year. Clemson might be better next year but loses what everyone thought was strong senior class and will be rebuilding with pressure on Dabo. F$U is either stuck with Norvell (because of $$$) or breaking in a new coach (and figuring out if it can come up with more $$$) for a big rebuilding job. He will make UVA’s job much harder. Brent Key will keep GT (blech) in the ACC conversation as long as stays but they will have swings year to year. The rest of conference will have the usual ebbs and flows but if Franklin still is a good recruiter he can dominate the region and get the Hokies to be a consistent contender for the conference and the CFP.
Franklin was not going to be a serious option at Florida or LSU who have set their sights on Laner. I know someone with pull in the Auburn family who said he was on their list but only as a back up plan. This friend intimated to me they are keeping quiet on their search because Laner would be #1 but Laner is not considering them. Their second choice is Sumrall and they would prefer to not get in a public bidding war with LSU if Laner decides to head Gainesville.
That’s so cute.
That’s a lot of bluster that gives zero logic to the reality that this thing called “blue chip ratio “ exists.
Going to be pretty tough to upgrade that roster to a level that this guy is going on about.
Weren’t we told the same thing about Tom Crean?
Cringe
Did anybody actually read all that?
Grateful to be put on notice that they hired a mid coach.
With a hat-tip to the Senator…. Wahoo Wa motherfuckers!
Late to the party, but since I’m 30 minutes from Blacksburg, I wanted to give my input.
IMHO, VT just does not understand big time football. I remember way back when, LSU rolled into town on a TUESDAY for a Saturday game and folks around here were freaking out about why these Cajuns were here so early and “JEEEZUS there’s a lot of ’em”. They STILL kind of have that “wow, we’re here and on TV” vibe. Some of these folks are still living off the “we-beat-OSU-the-year-they-won-the-natty” high. So Franklin is going to have to do some work to get the base thinking in that championship direction. We can probably all agree that he is good at resurrecting a program (or giving the illusion of doing so) but not keeping them upright. A lot, and I mean A LOT, of Hokies around here think he’s the absolute answer to their prayers. But if he turns them around quickly, he’ll be fielding other offers pretty soon. If he stays and continues to go 9-3, does anyone really think he can ever win a CFP game? IF they make it? He’s gonna win some games in the Pillow Fight Conference, because….well, because it’s the ACC. But Mr. LaBlue is glossing over his record against the big boys. Regardless, we’ve “been warned”. Settle down, Beavis.