Beamer announced Friday that he’s hired former Auburn offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler to lead Virginia Tech’s offense, former Stanford wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead to take over the Hokies’ wideouts, and another Auburn assistant, Jeff Grimes, to coach the offensive line. Grimes was Auburn’s O-line coach.

The Hokies finished 7-6, in large part because of their inability to run the ball consistently and a regressing passing game. Virginia Tech’s streak of eight consecutive 10-win seasons ended, and the Hokies had to win their last two regular-season games just to qualify for the Russell Athletic Bowl — where they beat Rutgers 13-10 in overtime.

The moves mark the second major overhaul of Beamer’s offensive staff in seven years, and the departures of three staffers brought on during the last one. Quarterbacks coach Mike O’Cain was fired, receivers coach Kevin Sherman left for the same position at Purdue and Curt Newsome left the program, reportedly to head back to James Madison, although the school has not said if he was fired or resigned.

Bryan Stinespring, the offensive coordinator since 2001 and a 20-year member of Beamer’s staff, has been moved to recruiting coordinator. Considered the Hokies’ best recruiter, he also will continue to coach tight ends.

The new coaches will be introduced next Friday.

While Stinespring had the coordinator’s title, O’Cain has called the plays for the past two seasons.

The Stinespring-O’Cain combination directed a record-setting season in 2011, largely on the legs of NFL first-round draft choice David Wilson at tailback and the arm of emerging quarterback Logan Thomas. Wilson ran for a school-record 1,709 yards, and Thomas had a school-record 3,482 total yards.

But 2012 marked a return to the inconsistency that often prompted Hokies fans to call for change. Virginia Tech finished 81st nationally in both total offense (376.7 ypg) and scoring (25.08 ppg). Thomas had 3,500 yards of total offense, but completed just 51.3 percent of his throws and had 16 interceptions.

Beamer, who is intensely loyal to his staff and often cites the absence of significant turnover for allowing the Hokies to climb the ranks into college football’s elite, decided change was in order. He is thought to have interviewed several candidates for the coordinator’s job during the past few weeks.

Loeffler, 38, has coached for 15 seasons in the NFL and in college. He was the offensive coordinator at Temple in 2011 when the Owls finished 9-4 and ranked seventh in the nation with an average of 256.5 rushing yards. He moved to Auburn last season, and the inexperienced Tigers struggled mightily. They averaged just 305 yards, 115th out of 120 teams at the FBS level, and were 112th in scoring (18.67).

He has also coached six quarterbacks who went on to play in the NFL, including New England’s Tom Brady and Florida’s Tim Tebow, who left the Gators with five NCAA and 14 Southeastern Conference records.

Grimes, 44, spent five seasons at Auburn, including the national championship year in 2010, and worked with Loeffler last season.

Moorehead, 32, has been an assistant at Stanford for the past three years.

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Reid said he will call the offense for the Chiefs instead of new offensive coordinator Doug Pederson. He credited Pederson, who was the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach for Reid in Philadelphia, for being “a sharp kid.”

“Doug is a good student. I’ve watched his leadership on the field. I’ve watched his ability to teach. I’ve watched the respect the players have for him. All of those things checked out. He’s a creative guy. He knows this offense like the back of his hand. He knows protections, he knows situational calls,” Reid said, according to the Kansas City Star.

Meanwhile, there was speculation Reid might switch the Chiefs to the 4-3 defensive front that he mainly employed as coach of the Eagles. However, he said he hired new defensive coordinator Bob Sutton, who was the Jets’ linebackers coach, with the 3-4 in mind.

“There’s been time invested in the 3-4 here,” Reid said, according to the newspaper. “The 3-4 gives you some flexibility. I’ve run both (defensive systems). I’ve been involved in both so I understand how they were. The 4-3 is good if you have the right coaches in place and the team is invested in it. But this team here is invested in the 3-4, so let’s continue to build it and get better at it.”

Reid said Sutton “knows the 3-4 and he knows it well,” according to the newspaper.

Reid also confirmed an ESPN report that former Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano was interviewed to become the Chiefs’ offensive line coach.

He said Sparano’s interview “went well.”

The Chiefs also hired Bears assistant Dave Toub to direct special teams on Tuesday, and announced that he’s retaining linebackers coach Gary Gibbs and defensive backs coach Emmitt Thomas from the previous staff.

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“I mean, I’m hoping,” Hackenberg said as he prepared to begin workouts on Monday for the Under Armour All-America Game at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports. “I’ve got my fingers crossed.”

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported Sunday that O’Brien may be on more short lists for NFL teams — including the Cleveland Browns and Philadephia Eagles — than Oregon coach Chip Kelly, according to league sources.

The 6-foot-4, 212-pound Hackenberg said he spoke with O’Brien about NFL jobs “a month or two ago.”

“He’s not worried about it,” Hackenberg, who is also the No. 16 player in the nation, said. “He’s worried about coaching Penn State.”

Hackenberg showed his loyalty to PSU by sticking to his commitment, made in February, through the July revelation of NCAA sanctions in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Penn State was banned from the postseason for four years and docked 40 scholarships over the same period.

The quarterback cited his relationship with O’Brien and Penn State quarterbacks coach Charlie Fisher as a primary factor in his decision to stay with the Nittany Lions.

“My parents felt comfortable handing me over to them for four years,” Hackenberg said. “I really felt a connection with those guys and felt a comfort level with them that I had nowhere else.”

If O’Brien left before signing day on Feb. 6, Hackenberg said he would reconsider his options.

“I’d think about it,” Hackenberg said. “He was a big part of it. He’s the guy who’s going to develop me. That’s one of the big things I looked at. I’ll see what happens.”

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