EX-COACHES STILL AROUND

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 17, 1993                   TAG: 9304170030
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
EX-COACHES STILL AROUND
Whatever happened to the five assistant football coaches fired by Virginia Tech in the past two years? Here's an update:
Former secondary coach Keith Jones has his Blacksburg house up for sale but still is looking for a new job. He has no offers from college teams, he said, but a couple of possibilities at the high school level.
Tech coach Frank Beamer originally reassigned Jones in November, moving him from defensive backs to wide receivers. When offensive coordinator Steve Marshall left to join the Tennessee staff in mid-December, Beamer reconsidered Jones' assignment. Tech sources have said when Marshall left, Jones was told he would not be retained, but was allowed to keep his office at Tech for a couple of weeks to look for another job. Jones cleaned out his office a week later.
Beamer declined to answer questions about his former staff.
The loss of his job has had a ripple effect on Jones' family. His wife, Bernadette, is an academic counselor at Tech.
"She's had her bad days," Jones said. "It ticked me off that there was some concern that people wondered whether she'd be able to do her job as efficiently because of what happened to me. That's not the way we are."
Former tight ends coach Tommy Groom, fired in November, recently sold his house in Blacksburg and moved to his hometown of Saint Albans, W.Va., where friends say he is pursuing coaching and business opportunities.
Former defensive coordinator Mike Clark was demoted in November and released in January. He has been hired as defensive coordinator at VMI.
Former defensive tackles coach Larry Creekmore, dismissed after the 1991 season, owns a pet shop in Blacksburg.
Former defensive ends coach Duke Strager, ousted with Creekmore, is defensive coordinator at Concord College in Athens, W.Va. Concord's defense ranked first nationally against the run and third overall in NAIA last season. Strager has applied for a faculty position he says is "75 percent teaching, 25 percent coaching" that would allow him six years to pursue his doctorate.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB