It’s become virtually impossible to determine if a coaching hire will pan out. Virginia Tech’s Justin Fuente looked like a home run, that obviously didn’t pan out. Louisville’s Scott Satterfield also looked like a great hire that remains a question.
We know how the skeptics looked at the hire of Dabo Swinney.
We don’t know how the new ACC Coaches will do, but we’re going to make an initial assessment.
Duke – Mike Elko
Here is the situation with Duke. David Cutcliffe did great things at Duke and stayed. If Mike Elko turns Duke into a perennial bowl team, he’s going to look for something bigger. That’s ok, because the goal is to make Duke decent again.
Elko knows the region. He coach at Wake Forest and was part of that rebuild process from 2014-2016, and he knows big-time football being at Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
He’s one of the better defensive minds out there, and Duke needs tons of help on that side of the ball.
On the surface this looks pretty solid, but if he wins he’s gone.
Grade: B+
Miami – Mario Christobol
This who Miami wanted it is who Miami was able to land. Sure the process was a fiasco, but when you get the guy you targeted that’s already a good start.
What I really like about the Christobol hire is that if he starts winning they likely have Hurricane lifer.
He probably would only get pulled by the NFL.
He played at Miami, coached at Miami, and is from Miami. I’ve always like a coach that’s going to be that personally invested in the success of his program. That’s going to work great with recruiting in the South Florida area.
He had a solid 35-13 record at Oregon. On paper everything looks good about this hire.
Grade: A
Virginia Tech – Brent Pry
I’ll be honest this hire didn’t blow me away, but Justin Fuente did so Virginia Tech fans don’t need to worry.
I feel like the Hokies should have been able to land a bigger name with more background on the offensive side of the ball.
As DC at Penn State, Penn State had some fine defensives and that’s where Pry made his name. I would have preferred to see Virginia Tech look for innovative offensive mind. That’s the side of the ball where the Hokies have struggled for years.
He knows the mid-atlantic region, and he coached at Virginia Tech in the late 90s.
My main issue here, is basically I think Hokies should have went offense.
Grade: B-
Virginia – Tony Elliot
Tony Elliot has been destined to become a head coach from quite some time. He was integral part of Clemson coaching staff during Clemson’s dynastic run from 2015-2020. He certainly has a winning pedigree, and knows what it takes to win at the highest level.
If there is a concern, it’s that the offense that Elliot was responsible for declined after the departure of co-OC Jeff Scott at the end of 2020. Critics suggested Trevor Lawrence didn’t develop at Clemson as well.
Should Virginia have focused on a coach with more experience as a head coach or ties to Virginia?
There’s enough there to like the hire, but not enough to call it a slam dunk.
Grade: B
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