The Undeserved Crticism Towards Shane Beamer

Oct 23, 2014; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies running back Marshawn Williams (42) with the ball in the first quarter at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The Virginia Tech Hokies have underperformed over the course of their last 6 games as they have gone 2-4 in that stretch including a terrible 1-3 at home in that stretch with the only home win coming against Western Michigan.

Much of the blame has gone towards the offense and deservedly so as the offense has had a lot of struggles over the last few weeks with the Hokies currently 92nd in points per game this season. The Hokies’ offense had its worst game of the season against Miami last Thursday when the Hokies only scored 6 points against a Miami defense that is just slightly above average.

A lot of the blame has gone to Scot Loeffler and deservedly so due to the fact that he is the offensive coordinator and that he has also not been calling good plays for the Hokies. Another guy that has received a lot of blame is running backs coach Shane Beamer.

However, the criticism at Beamer should be nowhere near as much as it is.

The biggest issue with the criticism towards Shane Beamer is the fact that many say that he was hired by Frank Beamer just because Shane is his son. While that may have been a factor why Shane Beamer decided to come to Blacksburg, it wasn’t the main reason why Frank Beamer decided to hire his son if it was any sort of reason at all.

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When Shane Beamer was hired, he was a qualified assistant that had a track record of being a strong recruiter and a quality coach at Mississippi State and South Carolina. Beamer was even nominated for the Frank Broyles Award as the best assistant in college football after the 2009 season. The Hokies hired Beamer before the 2011 season so that argument is false and Beamer earned this job.

While the fumbles against Miami are partly Beamer’s fault, the overall running game struggles are not his fault as much as people think. The running back corps is more talented this year led by Marshawn Williams who has already had two 100-yard rushing games. On top of that, the true freshman has done that behind an offensive line that has clearly regressed this year despite returning four starters.

The group of running backs and fullbacks has improved and another example of a guy that has improved is Sam Rogers who has become a very good fullback as a pass catcher and a power runner. Shai McKenzie and Trey Edmunds also were able to do some damage mainly in spite of the offensive line’s big struggles and Shane Beamer has to get some credit there for the coaching that he has done.

Beamer is also a quality recruiter and is a guy that many major FBS programs would hire as a running backs coach today. Beamer is the guy that should be able to continue improving the Virginia Tech running back corps.

Shane Beamer has gotten a lot of blame but most of that is either misguided or in very few cases ignoring his past history. Yes, Beamer deserves a little blame but not nearly as much as he has been receiving from fans.