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Frank Beamer addresses retirement, succession plan at Virginia Tech

By Patrick Schmidt

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Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Frank Beamer isn’t ready to retire but he’s already thinking about his successor in Blacksburg.

Frank Beamer turns 69 in October but isn’t ready to retire as the head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies.

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Beamer has been at Virginia Tech since 1987 when he left Murray State to head up the Hokies program and is nearing the end of his illustrious career and has some thoughts on who he’d like to see take his job when he’s ready to walk away.

Appearing on ESPN on Tuesday morning as some ACC head coaches went through the “Car Wash” the Hokies head man hopes someone on his current staff will succeed him in Blacksburg.

Longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster has been linked to several head coach openings but remained loyal to Beamer and the Hokies and Beamer’s son Shane, who is the team’s assistant head coach are the most likely candidates should they make an internal hire.

Beamer readily admits that the decision will be the administration’s to make but considering how much he’s meant to the program he’s led to a 231–115–2 record, you’d have to think he would have some say in the matter.

How much longer Beamer will patrol the sidelines remains to be seen, but his contract runs through Jan. 1, 2019 after signing an extension before the start of last season.

Maybe we see a “coach-in-waiting” label added to Foster or Beamer’s official job title in the next few years as some other programs have done. For example, Bret Bielema at Wisconsin and Jimbo Fisher at Florida State had that tag when Barry Alvarez and Jimbo Fisher were preparing for retirement.

Who do you think should succeed Beamer at Virginia Tech and do you think he should have a big say in that decision?

Next: 15 Bold Predictions for 2015 College Football Season

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