Hokie Nation, Welcome to Purgatory

The Catholic Church believes in the doctrine of Purgatory, where the deceased experience a final cleansing of human imperfection before being able to enter Heaven.  In other words, souls are indeed destined for Heaven, but they are not quite ready for the Pearly Gates, so they need some time for purification.

Over the years - thousands of them - this concept of Purgatory has been redefined, disputed, and dismissed.  Some consider it more of a punishment than a purification, a period of pain and struggle.

If that is the case, then Hokie Nation, welcome to Purgatory!

Obtaining Salvation

If winning championships and competing at a national level is our Heaven, the recent off field events have given us hope that we could one day attain that salvation

With the new Board of Visitors-approved budget, Virginia Tech athletics funding will be among the highest in the ACC, and that will go a long way in working towards a successful program.

However, a large portion of that budget depends on new “philanthropy.”  Essentially, this part of the budget will rely on new donations and partnerships, but where will that money come from? That is a slight concern.

Another recent development that has drawn mixed reactions from Hokie fans is the formation of a committee to select the next coach and a new football general manager.  With two consecutive failed coaching hires, I personally like that the school is forcing the athletic department to change how they go about this next hire.

Yet Whit Babcock, who is responsible for hiring both of the most recent fired Tech coaches, is still the athletic director and appears to be remaining in some sort of AD position for a 13th year at Tech. What will his role be moving forward? Will he be involved with this coaching hire? With this GM hire?

And who is driving the bus for this decision - and others in the restructuring of the Athletic department?  Is it Babcock?  School president Tim Sands?  Board of Visitors rector John Rocovich?

In a recent interview with Bill Roth, Babcock said that the coach will be hired before the GM. This contradicts what Bruce Arians said on the Pat McAfee podcast - and Arians is on that new search committee. So what is a Hokie fan to believe while biding time as this process plays out?

Pat McAfee
@PatMcAfeeShow

"First thing for Virginia Tech is we're gonna hire a General Manager and then we'll get into the coaching search.. The university is making a huge financial commitment so that we can compete in the ACC like we should be" ~ @BruceArians #PMSLive

Waiting on the Coaching Hire

The undertaking of hiring a new coach is going to take time, and much like waiting in Purgatory to reach Heaven, Hokie Nation will have to wait a little longer to find out who our next coach will be.

Personally, I think the most painful part of that wait is the constant rumor mill on social media. Every day there is new speculation. But where is it coming from?

Essentially, these are fans, sportswriters, or anyone with a Twitter account throwing out names of just about anyone (often as clickbait).   Shane Beamer.  Dan Mullen.  Ed Orgeron.  Jimbo Fisher.  Nick Saban. And the latest? James Franklin.

As a fan, I feel that this is a torturous situation. Some of these “candidates“ seem viable options, but several are highly unlikely to be the next Virginia Tech head coach. Saban left the sport because he did not like how it has changed. Why would he come back? James Franklin has an enormous buyout. Would Penn State really pay $50 million to get rid of a perennial 9–10 win coach? (They might!)

The silliness has been enough to make me minimize my social media presence lately.  (Bad football has contributed to that too!) This feels like that painful version of Purgatory that some have described as we wait for that new coaching hire.

Treadmill Horse
@treadmillhorse

Virginia Tech Head Coach James Franklin

The Unknown of the Roster

This hurt of Purgatory also extends to the roster. Knowing that there will be a new coach, will the promising young football players in the program elect to stay in Blacksburg? Or will they hit the portal?

And what about the recruits? The current class is already thin - how many of those guys will honor their verbal commitment and sign letters of intent in December? And how will Tech add to that recruiting class when we probably won’t announce a new coach until mid to late November?

When the new coach comes in, will he be a sitting head coach who can bring players from his current team, much like Curt Cignetti did when he left James Madison for Indiana?

In terms of roster development, Tech’s time in Purgatory might extend until the 2026 season.

The Mutable Expectations of Each Week

Finally, there is the stressful week to week experience of fandom. Last week, Virginia Tech surprised everyone and played a complete game on the road in gaining the upset at North Carolina State.

Excitement returned to Hokie Nation, as did expectations for a homecoming win in front of a full Lane Stadium and against a middle-of-the-pack Wake Forest team. But alas, if Lee Corso was still on television, he would’ve said, “Not so fast my friend.”

The Hokies followed their best game of the year with another stinker in a mistake-filled home game in front of yet another big crowd. Heck, even Mr. Money John Love missed a field goal, his first unsuccessful kick of the year.

And by the way, Virginia Tech is now 1-3 at home this year and only 15-13 in Lane Stadium since the return of fans after the Covid year (2020). Talk about feeling like we are going nowhere fast!

We thought the program hit rock bottom following the Old Dominion loss and the firing of Brent Pry after only the third game. Tech then played well for two games under an interim head coach, only to return to mistake-filled football last week.

What should we as fans expect week over week from this team?  With youth getting more playing time, the continued inconsistency at the quarterback position, and the general unknown of this program, I think we will probably have more of the same throughout 2025.  Again, this feels like time spent in Purgatory waiting for consistent football to come back to the program.

Final Thoughts

The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly affirms the eventual salvation of the souls who are in Purgatory.  However, as a Virginia Tech fan, I tend to question if we are indeed headed for the Pearly Gates of college football.  

Just because we have a massive new budget and a search committee that include Hokies legends like Bud Foster, Bruce Arians, and Eddie Royal, I am not about to believe that our return to national relevancy is destined to happen.  The right decisions have to be made, and after two failed coaching hires, I am a bit wary.

Contrary my Catholic upbringing, I do see Hokie Nation’s Purgatory as more of the painful wait for salvation.  It has been ongoing for most of the past fifteen years, and it will continue for the next few months at least.  I do maintain hope, but this season has become an agonizing wait for the impending changes to occur.

The Church teaches us to pray for the dead so their souls will make it to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Hokie Nation, let’s pray that our nearly dead season will be saved and our program will find its Eden.