Frank Beamer
Frank Beamer went 280–144–4 as a head coach, 1981–2015, at Murray State and Virginia Tech. Share
Six seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1981–86 at Murray State. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 280–144–4 career
- Seasons
- 35
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 7 seasons
- Best season
- 1999 11–1, No. 2
Season by season
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Corey Moore1999 Bronko Nagurski Trophy- Jim PyneConsensus All‑American, 1993
- Cornell BrownConsensus All‑American, 1995
- David WilsonNo. 32 pick, 2012
- Kyle FullerNo. 14 pick, 2014
- Eugene ChungNo. 13 pick, 1992
- Jim DruckenmillerNo. 26 pick, 1997
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 100 | 45–54–1 | 46% |
| Against top-10 teams | 41 | 8–33 | 20% |
| Against rivals | 110 | 70–40 | 64% |
| Conference games | 179 | 126–53 | 70% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 23 | 11–12 | 48% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 117 | 54–61–2 | 47% |
| At home | 180 | 136–43–1 | 76% |
| On the road | 145 | 87–57–1 | 60% |
| At neutral sites | 36 | 15–21 | 42% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 266 | 205–61 | 77% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 95 | 33–60–2 | 36% |
His own 361 games on file, 1987–2015, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Nehlen 1987–2000 | 9–5 | West Virginia | 14 | |
| George Welsh 1987–2000 | 6–8 | Virginia | 14 | |
| Paul Pasqualoni 1992–2003 | 6–6 | Syracuse | 12 | |
| Tom O’Brien 1997–2010 | 9–2 | Boston College, NC State | 11 | |
| Butch Davis 1995–2010 | 8–2 | Miami, North Carolina | 10 | |
| Al Groh 2001–2009 | 8–1 | Virginia | 9 | |
| Bobby Bowden 1988–2008 | 1–8 | Florida State | 9 | |
| David Cutcliffe 2008–2015 | 6–2 | Duke | 8 | |
| Paul Johnson 2008–2015 | 6–2 | Georgia Tech | 8 | |
| Walt Harris 1997–2003 | 3–4 | Pittsburgh | 7 |
Frank Beamer’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Virginiaseries | 29 | 20–9 |
| Miamiseries | 25 | 13–12 |
| Boston Collegeseries | 24 | 16–8 |
| East Carolinaseries | 19 | 12–7 |
| West Virginiaseries | 19 | 12–7 |
| Pittsburghseries | 15 | 8–7 |
| Templeseries | 14 | 12–2 |
| Syracuseseries | 14 | 6–8 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 1999 Virginia Tech: Bear Bryant Award, Bobby Dodd Award, Eddie Robinson and Walter Camp Coach
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Maryland | Graduate assistant | |
| 1973–76 | The Citadel | Defensive line coach | |
| 1977–78 | The Citadel | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1979–80 | Murray State | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1981–86 | Murray State | Head coach | |
| 1987–2015 | Virginia Tech | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Jerry ClaiborneMaryland
- Bobby RossThe Citadel
- Art BakerThe Citadel
- Mike GottfriedMurray State
Assistants who became head coaches
- Mike ClarkBridgewater
- Mike MahoneyMurray State
- Mike O’CainNC State
- Ralph FriedgenMaryland
- Rickey BustleLouisiana
- Ron ZookFlorida, Illinois
- Bryan StinespringVirginia Tech, Roanoke
- Gary TranquillNavy
- Brent PryVirginia Tech
- Lou WestIndiana State
- J.C. PriceVirginia Tech
- Lorenzo WardLouisville
- and 2 more
Worked under (4)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Claiborne | Maryland | 1972 | Graduate assistant | |
| Bobby Ross | The Citadel | 1973–77 | 1973–76: defensive line coach; 1977: defensive coordinator | |
| Art Baker | The Citadel | 1978 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Mike Gottfried | Murray State | 1979–80 | Defensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (14)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Clark | Murray State, 1981–85: defensive line and linebackers coach; Virginia Tech, 1988–92: defensive coordinator | Bridgewater | |
| Mike Mahoney | Murray State, 1981–86: defensive coordinator | Murray State | |
| Mike O’Cain | Murray State, 1981–84: assistant coach; Virginia Tech, 2006–12: quarterbacks coach | NC State | |
| Ralph Friedgen | Murray State, 1981: offensive coordinator | Maryland | |
| Rickey Bustle | Virginia Tech, 1987–92: quarterbacks and wide receivers coach; 1993, 1995–2001: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Louisiana | |
| Ron Zook | Virginia Tech, 1987: assistant head coach | Florida, Illinois | |
| Bryan Stinespring | Virginia Tech, 1990–91: graduate assistant; 1993: tight ends and assistant offensive line coach; 1994–97: tight ends and assistant offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator; 1998–2000: offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator; 2001: assistant head coach, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator; 2002–05: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; 2006–10: offensive coordinator and tight ends coach; 2011–12: offensive coordinator; 2013–15: recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach | Virginia Tech, Roanoke | |
| Gary Tranquill | Virginia Tech, 1994: offensive coordinator | Navy | |
| Brent Pry | Virginia Tech, 1995–97: graduate assistant | Virginia Tech | |
| Lou West | Virginia Tech, 1995–98: defensive backs coach | Indiana State | |
| J.C. Price | Virginia Tech, 1997–98: strength and conditioning coach; 2002–03: graduate assistant | Virginia Tech | |
| Lorenzo Ward | Virginia Tech, 1999–2005: defensive backs coach | Louisville | |
| Shane Beamer | Virginia Tech, 2011–15: assistant head coach and running backs coach | South Carolina | |
| Scot Loeffler | Virginia Tech, 2013–15: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Bowling Green |
Other assistants under him (9)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Bud Foster | Murray State, 1981–82: graduate assistant; 1983–85: outside linebackers coach; 1986: linebackers and special teams coach; Virginia Tech, 1987: inside linebackers coach; 1988–92: outside linebackers coach; 1993: linebackers and special teams coach; 1994: inside linebackers and special teams coach; 1995–2015: defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | |
| Steve Marshall | Virginia Tech, 1988–92: offensive coordinator | |
| Phil Elmassian | Virginia Tech, 1993–94: defensive coordinator | |
| Rod Sharpless | Virginia Tech, 1995: co-defensive coordinator | |
| Kevin Rogers | Virginia Tech, 2002–05: quarterbacks coach | |
| Cornell Brown | Virginia Tech, 2006–07: graduate assistant; 2011–15: outside linebackers and defensive ends coach | |
| Anthony Midget | Virginia Tech, 2007: graduate assistant | |
| Jeff Grimes | Virginia Tech, 2013: offensive line coach | |
| Ryan Pugh | Virginia Tech, 2013: graduate assistant |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Virginia Tech | head coachbonuses up to $382,500; $42,500 in bonuses paid | $2,775,925 USA Today | |
| 2014 | Virginia Tech | head coachbonuses up to $382,500 | $2,660,913 USA Today | |
| 2013 | Virginia Tech | head coachbonuses up to $382,500 | $2,541,616 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2012 | Virginia Tech | head coachbonuses up to $407,500 | $2,428,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2011 | Virginia Tech | head coachbonuses up to $407,500 | $2,328,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2010 | Virginia Tech | head coachbonuses up to $407,500 | $2,128,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2009 | Virginia Tech | head coachbonuses up to $407,500 | $2,138,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2008 | Virginia Tech | head coach | $2,100,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2007 | Virginia Tech | head coachbonuses up to $407,500 | $2,008,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2006 | Virginia Tech | head coachbonuses up to $475,000 | $2,008,000 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Beamer’s teams went for it on 13% of fourth downs and on 26% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 43% of plays and took 27.1 seconds a play, 2004–2015.
| Season | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 12 g | 7 of 86 8% | 14% | 38% | 26.2 | −0.02 | |
| 2005 13 g | 16 of 89 18% | 38% | 37% | 27.5 | +0.01 | |
| 2006 13 g | 11 of 94 12% | 28% | 45% | 27.9 | −0.12 | |
| 2007 14 g | 9 of 124 7% | 17% | 46% | 25.2 | −0.14 | |
| 2008 14 g | 18 of 113 16% | 31% | 35% | 28.1 | −0.13 | |
| 2009 13 g | 14 of 93 15% | 24% | 34% | 31.1 | −0.01 | |
| 2010 14 g | 12 of 93 13% | 26% | 41% | 27.9 | +0.06 | |
| 2011 14 g | 21 of 104 20% | 31% | 42% | 28.5 | −0.01 | |
| 2012 13 g | 20 of 124 16% | 32% | 49% | 24.3 | −0.12 | |
| 2013 13 g | 17 of 121 14% | 28% | 48% | 27.0 | −0.05 | |
| 2014 13 g | 12 of 120 10% | 22% | 51% | 25.0 | −0.14 | |
| 2015 13 g | 13 of 112 12% | 19% | 46% | 25.9 | −0.01 | |
| All 159 g | 170 of 1273 13% | 26% | 43% | 27.1 | −0.06 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.
Books
Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.