Before the 1987 season, Virginia Tech hired a new football coach. The new boss was 2-9 in his first season. A half-dozen recruiting classes later, he finished his sixth season with a record that was, on paper, only microscopically improved: 2-8-1.
Contemporary fans will be surprised to learn the coach was not fired. Instead, he proceeded to reel off 23 consecutive nonlosing regular seasons, ending each with a bowl trip. More than 200 wins later, his teams have finished in the top 10 six times, and played for a national championship.
“Frank Beamer,” said Bill Carr, a former athletic director at Florida who consults on coaching hires, “would not have had his opportunity in this environment.