To imagine Bryan Randall breaking into the college football coaching world, consider first that he already had a good full-time job, was helping coach his nephew’s basketball team on a volunteer basis at Bruton High School, and enjoyed spending his remaining free time with his wife and their four young kids.
But the former Virginia Tech quarterback never has been one to fumble an opportunity.
After huddling with his family, Randall ’04, ’10 decided to call an audible and pursue a career in college football coaching, accepting an offer to be the quarterbacks coach at William & Mary. A first-time football coach at any level, Randall moved into his new role Feb. 10.
“I wasn’t really looking to leave my job and getting into coaching, so to speak,” Randall said recently via phone from the Williamsburg campus. “But I never really ruled it out. I knew it had to be a good situation and the right time for it to happen. This was something that just came out the blue. I know it was God’s timing.”
The 41-year-old Randall, who grew up in Williamsburg and graduated from Bruton High School, had been working as a production planner and schedule 3 at Newport News Shipbuilding, not far from his hometown. That, and helping his wife raise their four children – all under the age of 7 – more than kept him satisfied.
But in early January, Randall received a call from Ras-I Dowling, his good friend and former University of Virginia football player who now serves as William & Mary’s defensive coordinator. Dowling made a casual inquisition of Randall’s interest in joining the Tribe staff.
“I said I’d get back with him,” Randall said. “Then two minutes later, Coach [Mike] London called, and that was the conversation that led me into the business.”
Randall and London, William & Mary’s head coach, go way back. As an assistant coach at Boston College, London recruited Randall out of high school. The two saw each other from time to time over the years after Randall graduated from Virginia Tech and established a friendship.
Randall said he never really sought to get into the coaching business primarily because of the toll that it takes on families, with demanding hours and constant moves. But he never shut the door on the idea either.
The William & Mary job offered him the opportunity to stay close to home and to work with an established coach and within a program that fit both him and his personality. All those things are important to him.
“I know that’s asking for a lot, especially when you’re talking about just starting, with no previous experience,” Randall said. “I was hoping that a situation would come along, but I wasn’t outwardly seeking. I wasn’t sending in resumes, and I wasn’t contacting coaches.
“When I got that call in January, I knew. It was a no brainer. I didn’t even ask for a situation like this. I couldn’t even write this up.”
Randall, who graduated with a degree in sociology from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and a master’s degree in health and nutrition from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, became the second former Virginia Tech quarterback to enter the college coaching ranks this offseason. The other is Michael Vick, a former All-American at Virginia Tech who played 13 seasons in the NFL and went to four Pro Bowls.
In mid-December, Vick resigned from a job as a studio analyst at Fox Sports to become the head coach at Norfolk State. Vick and Randall, two longtime friends and golfing partners, had a conversation about Randall possibly joining Vick’s staff, but both agreed that Vick needed more experienced coaches to support him as a first-time head coach.
“I told him, ‘I don’t even want to be in a position where you don’t have the best coaches and the most experience around you to help you be successful,’” Randall said. “Not saying that I can’t coach, but I know there are things that I will have to learn about the other side away from football because I know there’s more than that. You’ve got the recruiting, the academics, the logistics, the scholarships, and raising money.
“I told him, ‘I want you to have as many people around you to be able to support you and to be able to have experience to guide you along in every position.’ We were on the same page. We understood each other. And I told him, ‘Who’s to say down the road after I get this experience, that’s different.’”
Randall certainly brings impressive credentials to the position. In 2004, he led Virginia Tech to an ACC championship in the school’s first year in the league. During his career, he led Virginia Tech to 27 wins – the second most ever by a Virginia Tech quarterback.
Randall set school records for career passing yards (6,508), career touchdown passes (48), and career total offense (8,034). Those records have since been broken, but he still ranks among the top three in all three categories.
In addition, he still holds several school bowl records by virtue of his 24-of-34, 398-yard, four-touchdown performance against California in the 2003 Insight Bowl. The completions, yardage, and touchdown passes are all records.
After his college days ended, he spent a season on the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad and a season on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ preseason squad, and he played in several football minor leagues over the years before giving up the sport in 2018.
So coaching should be a snap for Randall, a three-year starter as the Hokies’ signal caller. His first day on the job coincided with the first day of the Tribe’s spring practice, and while he wasn’t familiar with the offense, London and Winston October, the Tribe’s offensive coordinator, let Randall handle all the quarterback position drills.
“Bryan is highly accomplished and has demonstrated performance in playing the quarterback position at all levels of football,” London said. “His experiences, knowledge, passion to be a coach, role model and mentor for our players is exceptional. Bryan is an in-state product who will be an integral part of the recruiting process, not just for quarterbacks but all players who are William & Mary profile student-athletes.”
Randall has heard from numerous former Virginia Tech players and coaches since taking the job. Kevin Rogers, the former Virginia Tech quarterbacks coach who coached Randall and a William & Mary graduate, was one of the first to reach out, telling Randall what he and many other coaches told Randall during his playing days at Virginia Tech.
“I knew I already had his support, because he was already telling before, ‘Hey, I really feel like you’ll be a great coach,’” Randall said. “I’ve heard that from a lot of my previous coaches, Coach [Bryan] Stinespring [former Virginia Tech offensive line coach and coordinator] always told me that. Guys like Coach [Jim] Cavanaugh [former Virginia Tech assistant coach], they’ve always put that in my ear, ‘Hey, when you’re done playing, you can be a great coach. I see you as a coach.’
“My wife, she would say the same. My dad would always say that. A lot of people have always said that to me, but like I said, it just had to be the right situation for me to do it.”
By Jimmy Robertson