Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 4, 1992 TAG: 9201040103
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BEAMER NO LONGER IN GA. TECH PICTURE
Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer wants it made clear:He's not involved in the Georgia Tech coaching search and won't be.
Even before Bobby Ross left the Yellow Jackets on Tuesday to coach the NFL's San Diego Chargers, Beamer's name was on Georgia Tech's list of possible candidates. The Atlanta Journal and Constitution listed Beamer as among the top three candidates, and the Washington Post said Beamer was Georgia Tech's top choice.
"I did not contact them, and they did not contact me," Beamer said Friday. "I feel like this is where I want to be, at Virginia Tech. I thought things were a little bit unclear. I don't want it to affect recruiting, and in some situations some people were using it against us [in recruiting]."
Beamer would not say if Georgia Tech was one of three schools for which he could leave without buying out his contract, and he wouldn't say whether he considered contacting Georgia Tech officials about the job.
Whatever interest the Yellow Jackets had in Beamer appeared to wane shortly after Ross left. Friday afternoon, a Georgia Tech source said, "I don't think he's interested in leaving Virginia Tech. I don't think that [going after Beamer] is the direction they're headed."
Sources have said Beamer turned down a chance to join Ross' staff in San Diego earlier this week.
"Coach Ross and I talked," Beamer said. "I told him I wanted to stay at Virginia Tech. He very much understood how I felt about being a head coach in college. That's where we left it."
Beamer said he still wants to coach in the NFL "sometime down the road." But for now, his stand is the same as it was last winter when he turned down a financially lucrative offer to become Boston College's head coach.
"What I want to do right now is to give Virginia Tech the success everyone wants," he said.
Tech defensive coordinator Mike Clark said at least two recruits questioned him about Beamer's connection with the Georgia Tech search, and he welcomed the end of the rumors. Beamer told his staff on Friday that he won't become involved in the Georgia Tech search.
"He just said, `I think we'd better close this thing,' " Clark said. "When you're dealing in recruiting battles, the one thing we're able to offer people here . . . is stability. You don't want to take what's a strength in your recruiting and turn it into a weakness."
Beamer, 45, took over Tech's program in 1987, the same year the Hokies received two years of NCAA probation for violations committed under the previous coaching staff. He is 22-32-1 in five seasons at Tech and is entering the second year of a five-year contract he signed last winter.
Beamer stressed there are "some very positive things" about Virginia Tech and his program.
However, the Hokies haven't been to a bowl game since 1986, and the 1991 edition followed two straight winning seasons with a 5-6 record. Last year, Beamer was a hero after the Hokies walloped Virginia and he turned down the Boston College job. This year, some fans have voiced displeasure with Beamer. He was asked if leaving Tech now would have meant leaving too much unfinished business.
"That certainly entered into the picture," he said. "There are a lot of people who want this thing to be successful.
"In one sense I think to have your name mentioned with a coaching job is probably a compliment, but it's also very hectic and can affect you in other ways. I'm very happy at Virginia Tech and want to keep on working, keep on building this thing."