For a little perspective...

[VPI63]

the landscape of college athletics has changed very significantly since Beamer's rookie years......

Yes it has. Let's review what CFB took on.

1) A hostile governor of VA who threatened to shut down VT athletics at the Commencement Speech following the NCAA probations. Never mind the "Urban" location argument, CFB had coaches telling recruits that if you go to VT, you might have to transfer out to play. This caused a recruiting "hangover" even after the governor left office.

2) NCAA probation, which limited scholarships for several years.

3) No conference affiliation.

4) Bowl history limited to several minor bowls.

5) No football tradition. BB was bigger than FB prior to CFB. You were lucky to even find a box score in a paper from out of state...usually, next to Slippery Rock's score.

6) Facilities were sub par. Lane Stadium and the supporting facilities were a shadow of what they are now.

7) B'burg was even more rural

8) UVA was dominant in the state

Now what kind of blueprint, to use your words, was CFB following. Hell, no one wanted this job. Yet, he succeeded beyond all expectations, despite obstacles that far exceed those that you have described.

.....what today's coaches have to do is seek out the jobs that put themselves in a position to succeed early, then sustain that success...as an assistant you want to join a staff that has been there a while with some sustained success...you don't want to join a staff who is likely to jump ship or is on the hot seat, because you don't want to be left standing without a job when the new staff comes in......

.....as a head coach, you do your research on which jobs have the positives that will allow you to win early...is the university close to an urban area that tends to have an affinity for your university, thus leading to some good prospects who will be interested in your school since an early age...you want to have an athletic department who is committed to your success, both financially and in the promotion of your program...you want to have a fan base who is passionate about your program (which VT has a little bit of) and a good basketball knowledge that won't demand an amount of success the program has never sustained in the entire history of the program......

.....I am trying to pattern my path after the blueprint I laid out above...you can never be certain about who will stay and who will go, because as I've explained, a couple bad years means you're fired, even after wild success......

Your entire blueprint is couched in fear, not confidence. It sounds better suited as a plan to get into the best fraternity on campus!

Where is your confidence? Don't you think that you have the talent to be successful?

It seems like you are on a path to try to eek out a living as a BB coach somewhere? But you are gaming the system, which may lead you to some success, but I can tell you one thing, we don't want you or anyone like you coming to VT, because the fear that is driving your blueprint will hang like an albatross on your "career path".

It's not the mindset that anyone at VT should want. You, in your most informative post, have accurately identified exactly the mindset that no college should hire, especially VT. No one wants just a coach, they want a great coach, and a great coach's talent will be evident from the get go. He will be naturally gifted with the qualities that will make him great, and astute folks will see that very quickly.

We need someone who really believes in them self, so much so, that these "obstacles" are nothing more than background noise in the grand scheme of things.

We need a leader, not a schemer. Someone with a vision to do something special and the supreme confidence that they can get it done.

And the next generation of great coaches is out there somewhere, and someone would love to make a name for themselves at a place like VT, because they wouldn't be following in the footsteps of anyone.

.....but what do I know, I have no vision......

No you don't, but I wish you luck.

Maybe your blueprint will lead you into a situation where you can't lose. That does seem to be your goal.

But the can't lose mindset should come from within, not from some perceived, "conventional wisdom" set of criteria.