BREAKING: Virginia Tech and football coach Justin Fuente have mutually agreed to part ways, co-defensive line coach J.C. will be team's interim coach for remainder of season https://t.co/rdRnAidPcYβ michaelniziolek (@michaelniziolek) November 16, 2021
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Hot damn! Let's gooooooo
Hokies!
Is Corn gone too?
Oh my god it happened
I didn't think it would actually happen. It happened!!!
So, does this mean we're NOT going to the Final 4?
perish the beardless thought, we're going to have our popcorn and eat it too
Needs to go plaid!
But seriously, it had to happen. I feel bad for his family as they'll now have to move, change schools, and all that jazz. But he's 10 million bucks richer now sooooooooooooooooooooo
Is he? I guess we eventually figure out if there was some negotiation to get this down on our part, considering it was "mutually agree to part ways". That seems to suggest there was some kind of deal done.
From the article, nothing definitive given what information we have right now:
just putting this here too, discussed further downthread
I would be happy to
for $10 million. Heck I would do it for a quarter of that π
I doubt that we owe him that amount - when the word "mutually" appears in that notice that tells me there was negotiations going on for things to end amicably at a reduced cost, vs. Fuente burning things to the ground as he got his entire golden parachute. This leaves him looking better to other potential suitors.
EDIT: Just read the ESPN article that is saying the full $10M is being paid...
Hokie Nation this morning:
Justin Fuente this morning:
Thank you to Fuente, the Assistant Coaches, Staff, and all their families
Hope to see all our former players on the staff land on their feet. They just more than likely lost their jobs and don't have the benefit of a $10 million buyout.
Thank you Fuente for representing VT well. In all seriousness he is a good man and I hope he does well in the future.
Agree. I thought that he was gonna be the one to take us higher. Very good guy.....it just didn't happen and it's time.
Let's Go Hokies!
No one is mentioning the players......I wonder how they will react/accept this. I don't know how I'd react to my coach being fired......er, mutually agreed upon parting of the ways.
My hope is that after the numbness settles, they'll see this as a life lesson and continue to play hard. This team hasn't quit so I don't think they'll quit now.
My sentiments exactly. Couldn't have had a better guy to represent us after Beamer. It's just too bad that his football philosophy didn't work for our program.
its super hard to be the guy that follows the man. Fuente did a lot of great things that I hope are continued (#25 jersey).
Yeah, the #25 jersey thing is awesome, I hope it continues.
Holy fuck. I can't believe they actually pulled the trigger during the season. I'm shocked and hope this shows the Whit naysayers that the man knows what he's doing.
Sorry Fuente, you're a good guy, just not the right coach for VT. Good luck on your future endeavors.
I'll freely (and happily) admit I was wrong on this one. I really thought we'd be seeing him next year too.
Turkey legs to Whit, et. al.
Now we can happily anticipate who may come in next. I'm sure it was tough being the Beamer rebound relationship for one of the most avid fanbases in college football.
While the on-field success may have been less than we expected, thank you to Coach Fuente for representing us well and giving his best for Hokie Nation. Best wishes, and I mean that sincerely.
Yea, you have to give the man credit for embracing the traditions following Beamer and being a representative of Virginia Tech. It probably bought him some additional good will in the way he handled the transition.
Yes! I do hope that both Fu and VT can recover from this quickly. I know he was a big disappointment, but don't want to make it personal. Still, I am really glad to hear this.
Best of luck to the new staff. Hope things turn around fast.
Oh ye of little faith.
Whit's the man.
You also have to give credit to Fuente, as this possibly works out well for him and us.
Though it didn't work out at VT, it won't surprise me if he finds football success somewhere else.
I mean its worked that way for other transfers so why not for a HC transfer /s
All hail, Portal!
This was exactly my initial thought. He will do like Hooker and take some other team to the Final 4.
I think he learned a lot by being the HC here. I'm sure if he lands at the right type of school he will have great success. I think at his core he is a really good person but he just wasn't a good fit in the end
Big if true
ITS NOT EVEN CHRISTMAS FAM
It's for the best. I wish Fuente, His Coaches, and their Families nothing but well wishes.
Here's hoping we have better days ahead as a Football Program
LET'S GO!β
HOKIES!
Mutually agreed... Negotiated a lower buyout?
PLS
With the timing of this you'd have to think they've been in talks for the past week or so. Mutual agreement to me would mean that the terms of his contract were restructured in some way that could mean a lot like adding the new employment clause where we won't owe the buy out if he gets hired or changing the timing of payments, or amount.
All pure speculation but firing on a Tuesday after a win would + mutual agreement would point to some sort of negotiation and the buy out would be the biggest part of the contract to consider.
Or he got offered another gig.........
if so, good for him and good for us.
If not, I hope he finds one soon.
Mutually agreed are the operative words in that release. The buyout doesn't drop until Dec 16, unless both parties were to mutually agree otherwise. Strong indication that a settlement was reached, especially with Fu gone effective immediately.
That is my guess.
Whit: We both know this isn't working out and you are leaving anyway at the end of the year. Will you take the 7.5 and leave after the Duke game? That lets your agent start looking for the next job and opens up our search publicly as well.
Justin: Sure, I don't need the grief of having to travel for the next two games.
He and his family can also spend Thanksgiving with extended family this year.
Proofread this stuff before it gets shared, VT!!
"To the all donors"
It was correct in the press release on hokiesports.com.
https://hokiesports.com/news/2021/11/16/virginia-tech-football-announces...
I think they edited it after the fact, it had the same error when it first got posted
And this is one reason why I've been a Fu fan, his class. I have to admit, his message hit me in the feels. It made me wish this all could have worked out. Nothing but good wishes to Coach Fu, his family and our Hokie Nation.
Good move by Whit and the time was right. Fuente was the right choice 6 yeas ago, it just didn't work out. Big props to CJF for being pure class right to the end. I have a lot of respect for the man and wish him all the best
best wishes to Coach Fuente and his family wherever he lands -- things didnt work out here but I strongly believe that a negotiated settlement now is the best path forward for all parties.
that coaching search hot stove just got amped up to 11!!!!
you know...this sheds a new light on them opening up the playbook vs Duke
How much did this cost us and who is replacement? Cure could be worse than the disease...
Those are reasonable questions to ask, but you've been unhappy with the program, and not shy to express it, for years and now you're casting doubt/second guessing whether or not it was the right move. I don't get that. Of course Tech can hire a coach that might not achieve success, but the program was moving in the wrong direction under Fuente and they had to try. This is a glass half full, not empty, day.
I liked how Whit handled this. Gave Fuente and the seniors a last game together in Lane and now Whit can publicly get the search going early. The statement Fuente gave also I think is pretty classy.
I know we had a lot of animosity here on the boards for Fu but this seems to be a very good separation. Great statement towards Fuente. He seemed like a level headed guy who clearly understands he didn't perform and has no ill feelings towards the school that gave him a chance.( and made him a lot of money.)
Of course there's been some nasty comments, but the majority opinion I've seen on here at least is that he's a standup dude who's simply failing to do his job in a cutthroat business.
Agreed. Got a chance to go out on a W on Senior night. A moment to go out on a positive.
Didn't even think of this. I was assuming that the firing meant Whit has reached an agreement with a replacement.
I completely agree with this. Timing is too weird otherwise.
Why on earth would we send our team to Miami and Charlottesville - NEEDING one win for bowl eligibility - with an interim head coach (and a strange choice, at that) unless it benefits the program?
Say what you will about JF, but we are at a serious organizational disadvantage walking into Miami without a guy who's been there and done that. Same goes for the UVa game. I just don't believe Whit would do that at this particular point of the season unless something was seriously percolating with the next guy.
Not a strange choice for interim IMO. J.C. is the one person that coaches a position with more than one coach. Corn and the rest of the O-staff will remain, they are all too classy to quit on the team purposely.
OR - and hear me out here - Whit has been working on this for a while, struck a deal with the new guy but needed to take the public step of firing JF to seal the deal.
I understand the notion of giving him & the seniors their moment on Saturday, but all the other optics - Fuente the only coach fired, the day after our most complete offensive performance in a year (or two?), the "mutual agreement" - makes me think that the writing has been on Fuente's office wall for the last month and this needed to happen now in order to seal the deal with the next guy.
Also, to be clear: if I'm Fuente, there is NO WAY IN HELL that lowering his buyout is part of the "mutual agreement". Dude is gonna get paid.
UPDATE: dude got paid. Full freight. $10M
UPDATED UPDATE: first article was wrong. Looks like $8.75M now, per ESPN
They might have restructured the payment plan for the buyout.
Bobby Bonilla Day for Fuente?
Reported that is was negotiated down to 7.5.
It is $8.75M
Lots of celebrating on here as we wade into the unknown. We can only hope it gets better from here. No guarantees.
Thank you Fuente for representing my university with class for the past six seasons. I hate it didn't work out, but it was never without effort and drive. Here's to more on-field success for all of us moving forward.
Meh, we've had 6 years of experience to know that the Fuente regime was not taking us anywhere good anytime soon. At least with this move it gives us a legitimate chance to turn things around. It very well might not, but at least from an administrative perspective we're showing we care, which was not something that happened this time last year. And it sounds like we came to a mutual agreement to part ways, and not firing him in disgrace, which could mean a reduced buyout.
Today is a good day.
I'm going to add in on what Alum07 is saying here. The next coach that we get may not lead us to any more success than what Fuente did, but I think it's important to try. And yes, there are no guarantees in college sports, but the status quo isn't making anyone happy and I would rather rebuild with someone new and see where that takes us.
The writing was on the wall, and everyone knew it.
You could see it in Fuente's facial expressions recently. He clearly was not enjoying this. None of us were.
And I'm more on board with this sentiment. Yes the coaching change has to happen but it's scarier than it is exciting. I'm never going to pop champagne when a man gets fired, especially when it's someone like Fuente. The dude worked his ass off, just couldn't get it going in the right direction.
Anyway, I look forward to rooting for whoever they bring in next.
I find it much more exciting than scary. We know what we had and it wasn't enough. We needed a new HC. Nothing against Fuente at all and I hope him and his family nothing but the best. He has $30m or so from us so he will be just fine landing where he wants.
I guess the only option is to wait and see. Sure hope you're right but again, no guarantees.
Living life processing the present exclusively through hindsight isn't fun or worthwhile. Today's a good day because right now we have hope that things will improve. Yesterday, most of us didn't really.
This... I'm not necessarily celebrating the departure, but I'm anxious that we just took the first step and we're off in to uncharted territory with a lot of questions to be answered.
I hope Whit called someone from the 1999 team to escort Fuente out of the building.
Who we gettin Fam???
I whole heartedly believe Whit doesn't do this if he doesn't know he can get his top choice.
leg for making me laugh but for the love of god whit pls no
I am guessing this was done after BC and Whit gave Fuente Senior Day. Although I am surprised that he did the presser yesterday.
Liked Fuente as a person and a representative of VT, but wish the on field performance would have been better.
Anyone surprised by JC Price getting the interim tag?
Seems like he has the most experience. The offensive staff is gone, JC has a chance to be on the next staff so it makes sense to give it to him. The rest of the defensive coaches are so fresh
"The offensive staff is gone"... is that confirmed? I did not see that anywhere, and our assistant coach contracts previously ran through June, IIRC.
Yeah, I think the offensive staff is gone immediately is wishful thinking.
I didnt mean immediately, but they will not be back next year so they are 100% lame ducks right now. Defensive staff has a shot at staying or some of them being retained. Give the interim tag to a guy who has experience and isn't just punching the timecard until December.
Also J.C. is a former player, so you know he will do his best to get this team ready to win the last two games.
I mentioned it in my comment but it seems intentional that we are going outside hire so no need to put someone in the interim role who could possibly be a favorite of the fan base a la Hamilton if we won out.
Not particularly. There was a lot of chatter in the Hokieverse about JHam, but I think you only give him the interim HC job if you think he can be your HC moving forward. My guess is that tabbing him to go from an off-field role with no FBS experience in 2018 to P5 head coach in 2021 was a little too bold for Whit.
No I mentioned thats who I thought would get it about a month ago, he's who makes sense for a ton of reasons.
Any details on what mutually agree means? reduced buyout? no buyout?
It means (I think) Whit told Fuente he needed to make staff changes. Fuente refused because change is for suckers without a buyout. Rather that wait two weeks they got it over with.
Mutually agreed means they negotiated the buyout vs firing him. Most likely scenario based on rumblings/other buyouts is less money but in a lump sum now
I haven't even sat at my desk
Productivity today has now been thrown out the door
Best of luck coach... enjoy the +/- $30 MILLION you made the past 6 years
Echo the sentiments above, hope the best for Fuente and his family, he represented the university well and ultimately we all would have liked for it to work out better, curious about the "mutually agreed to part ways" my first inclination is that is just a nicer way of saying fired but curious if that did have any affect on the buy out. Also I feel the choice of Price is very intentional, Hokie alum but ultimately not a candidate for the job, putting Hamilton in place and having us beat UVA and Miami would have complicated Whit's search and ultimately it appears he is going a different direction. Happy that Whit gave them a last game in Lane and glad he saw that the relationship between the coach and the fans had grown toxic and needed a change.
Wish him the best in his next coaching position. Wish it would have worked out here!
Friendly reminder that Louisiana will be playing at Liberty this weekend ππ
And Coastal plays Texas State.
What games do we need to be watching outside our Miami game Saturday?
The ULL comment is more leaning towards the timing of the announcement and a possible replacement being 90 minutes away if we were to announce something
I don't think it's Napier, but I do expect an announcement soon. Knowing Whit's previous hires, he moves fast once word gets out
Way to go Hokies and Fuente to finish up Fuente's tenure with a huge win! Best wishes to the staff on the future and now let's go Hokies and crush Miami and UVA to celebrate!
I knew the writing was on the wall when Laze and Burnop were talking about all the emotion on the sideline last weekend but I didn't imagine it would happen mid-season.
For all his warts and stubbornness in coaching, I'm grateful to the man. I really do hope he finds a place where he can succeed again. I always thought his loyalty to his players and coaches would have been an asset if we were winning but in the end it cost him.
So wasn't expecting this news this morning. Hope Fuente lands in a place he is happy and can do well.
Well, here we are. We kind of all knew this was coming, just a matter of when. Fuente seems like a genuinely good person who cares, but unfortunately he made a few too many coaching mistakes in his tenure here and held on to underperforming assistants, even when people he trusted told him to move on. Wish him the best in his coaching career and hope he can rebuild himself somewhere else.
Now, we wait. If we went ahead and moved now, it signals 1) we likely reached a settlement on a reduced buyout, and 2) we probably already have someone lined up or at least a few candidates seriously interested. Going to be an interesting next few weeks.
Yeah that's what the wife and I were talking about this morning. The timing is curious. It seems like we would have only moved now if it's the best time for all parties: Fu gets senior day with his guys, VT gets a negotiated buy out, and it's the ideal time for any new coach that Whit may have had a handshake agreement with.
While I realize all of that is conjecture, the timing of the move is definitely important for some reason that we may not know as of yet.
I don't know. I think the timing (day after Senior Day) is significant only in that it was decided earlier, and at Fuente's request, it was held off until after the last home game. That's all the timing signifies, IM(ns)HO.
When did y'all get married? Did I miss that? Congrats!
Good luck to Fuente, his staff, and their families. It's tough to show people the door, but I hope they'll all land on their feet.
Wow..very surprised by the timing, definitely thought Whit was going to have Fuente finish the season.
Wonder if we are already in the "advanced negotiations" stage with the next coach.
Wonder even more who will be Coaching the O the next 2 weeks.
Hope Fuente has learned some lessons that will make him more successful at his next stop, I think his loyalty to multiple underperforming members of his Coaching Staff was really his undoing here.
I think we have to be, otherwise the timing makes 0 sense
Good luck to Coach Fu. I really think he was a good overall coach. His main two faults were sticking with an OC that couldn't hack it and not displaying the passion/fire that is needed at this level with recruiting and coaching. Also, he tended to run away the best QBs we had and play the guys that everyone knew just couldn't hack it.
I honestly really like the guy and his demeanor. I thought (and still think) he was a good fit for VT but it just didn't work out.
Hopefully he lands at a good school and does great things for them.
whit pls
Wait...
whit thx
So does this mean π½ is still the OC? He lasted longer than Fuente?
JC Price is the interim HC.
edit: Misread OC as HC. Don't mind me.
Well there goes my morning....
A sincere Thank You to Fuente. He had the impossible task of following a legend. I hope he lands on his feet and uses what he learned while he was here. Now lets get VT Football back on track, I am excited for the future! Let's Go Hokies!!
I'll be following him in his next endeavor, and rooting for him. he's a good guy, and represented us well. hope he learns from this, and does great in his next position.
I have confidence in Whit...hes done a great job all across VT athletics...the Mike Young coach being a great example. Very tough to do...hire a great game coach that can recruit, encourage alumni and others to donate, run a clean program, engage positively with your players, students, administrators and fans...and do it year after year. How many people out there can do that? Good luck Whit...we believe in you.
3 years ago today I adopted my dog, Beamer. Coincidence? Rule: 39
What do we think of the interim HC?
the staff is so young, there weren't many options. i would've guessed shibest. but JC makes sense...it lets Corn and JHam concentrate on their main roles, and we have another DL coach. i hope he does well!
My thoughts are is that he has 2 games to run out the clock on the season. Maybe he wins one and we get to a bowl. Maybe he doesn't. At this point, the big picture focus has shifted toward the coaching search and next year.
I think it sends a signal to the fans and staff that JHam is not the guy.
I also think that, because we have 2 DL coaches, it shouldn't be too much additional load on the staff.
Not necessarily. To me it says two things:
1. JHam didn't have enough experience in coaching college football to be the interim HC. JC Price has been coaching in Div 1 football (mostly) since 1997:
1997β1998 Virginia Tech (Strength)
1999β2001 Radford HS (VA) (DC/DL)
2002β2003 Virginia Tech (GA)
2004β2011 James Madison (DL/Run game)
2012 Marshall (DL)
2013β2017 Marshall (DT)
2018 Marshall (co-DC/DT)
2019β2020 Marshall (co-DC/DL)
2021βpresent Virginia Tech (Interim HC/co-DL)
2. It would be much more difficult for the next HC to retain JHam as DC if he had been the interim head whistle. This decision may have been made with a mind to consider keeping him on as DC.
3. JHam isn't married to Jenny Root, VT HOF basketball player.
JC Price will be a great ambassador for VT in his time as interim HC.
Hopefully he gets to coach at least 3 more games this year.
I really wish it could have worked out with Fuente. For all the gripes, complaints and grumbling, I think he is a stand-up guy.
I hope he does well at his next job, even if things didn't go like we wanted in Blacksburg.
edit: Just wanted to add, not having success in a particular job is not a personal failing. Sometimes things don't work out and people don't fit, even if they have all the qualities one hopes for in a candidate.
After being spoiled with Frank and his success for such a long time, we knew the day would come. We would have to replace him, a legend, still present in Blacksburg. No matter whom filled the role, they wouldn't be Frank. Even if they were successful, they didn't do it the way Frank did. If they failed, they didn't do it the way Frank did. If we ended up in the position we are in now, they weren't Frank. Thank you Fu for doing stepping in for the past 6 years, and bowing out with grace. I never thought the first person following the legend was going to be the long term solution. Now we all know.
Here's to the future. My son asked me the other day why we held on to Fu, why hadn't we gotten rid of him. My simple response was "we don't know how to break up." Frank had control of his own destiny, and that's how we approached the football coach position. If you doubt the ability to break up, look at the Greenberg transition. Now that we've gotten the rebound out of our system, let's go find the next right one, and start filling up the trophy case once again. And let's keep some of that VA talent in state!
"If they failed, they didn't do it the way Frank did."
I dont know, I'm pretty sure Fuentes failures were exactly like Frank's ... staff loyalty, bad offense, terrible upsets by teams that shouldn't be with in 20 points of you. Pretty much every criticism anyone had about Frank they had the same about Fuente.
Yeah but Beamer was folksy and more open with the program so it made us feel better about the bad stuff (sort of /s).
Beamer won. Nobody hated Fuente when we were vying for the ACC title in 2016 and scoring hella points a game. Losing is the problem. Fuente is a good dude and I think a capable coach for some reason after 2016 it just wasnt working, whether its recruiting or staff something was off. I think Fu will do well at a another school.
The royal "it"...the folksiness, the recruiting, the building of men, the adoration of the man. That's what I meant...even though Frank tripped, he would get back up. And even with the points you made, we were always in a bowl game and ended up with a winning season. Recently, not so much.
"And the Lord did grin, and the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals and fruit bats and large chu--"
"Skip a bit, brother."
I couldn't believe this when I got an email just a few minutes ago from The Athletic that Fuente was out.
I watched a few minutes of Fuente's presser yesterday -- he did seem a little different than usual, but nothing that made me certain he was gone.
Best of luck to him and go Hokies!
Hoping the best for Fuente and family.
The word mutually definitely makes me hope there was some sort of negotiations buyout.
Get those $25 donations in Hokies!
linky linky Make it rain
https://hokiesports.evenue.net/www/ev_vtech/ss/ev/Donate?linkID=vtech&siteId=ev_vtech
I promised that I would over a year ago if this happened, guess my donations are back on.
I'm afraid to ask, but will Cornelsen still be calling plays?
Wait....Fu's gone, but Corny stays???!!
No Whit talked about paying out the staff as well. I think he said with staff the total cost impact is 11M but someone can double check me on that
This doesn't appear to include coordinator salaries. Pretty sure their contracts are not year to year.
Whit said in the presser the only person that might have a contract beyond this year was Shibest. He was going off the top of his head, but he was referring to the entire staff.
The assistants in total were scheduled to make $3.42 million this year, so I guess that tracks.
For at least 2 more games it would seem.
Just made my $25 gift to the athletic department
Fuente right now:
Go Hokies.
I wish Fuente and company well, but time for a change.
Now, go beat Miami, then uva.
If I had any skills at all I would waste today to create a GIfTORY of tribute and celebration. I am happy to take a mutual parting of the ways. Guessing he agreed to take about the same buyout he would get at the end of the year without having to have to bother coaching these last few. Gives both sides more time to figure out next year. And Whit did not have to worry about the the look to others if he fires a bowl eligible coach at the end of the season. The future of VT football just got exciting again, though we are likely in a few more "bad" seasons at best.
Shameless plug: BUD FOSTER
I think this dude is just enjoying life right now. No need to burden his ticker with a HC gig.
I mean just stick him on the sideline with a headset and he will win games with shear intimidation. I'm kinda serious lol
Love Bud but he wasn't winning games with shear intimidation in 2018 and 2019.
he was also told he wouldn't have to by the QB whisperer...lol
He timed it up pretty darn well, getting out before this and before Covid.
Stop trying to make Fetch happen.
Idk man, I'd prefer Bud be alive and able to enjoy retirement rather than having losses skyrocket his HR above 200bpm and having to go to the hospital again.
Good Luck, Fu. Like everyone else has already said, I never got the impression that there was anything bad besides the on field results. Seems like a good guy, and I was super stoked when we got him. My drunk self was in CVille that day watching Frank and the boys take it to the boohoos one last time.
Though I may not have the knowledge or experience, I would recommend two things. 1) Keep running a stand up program, it doesn't go unnoticed. 2) Drag Corn up to Cville on the way out and leave him there. Untie yourself from the boat anchor and your career will go much farther.
Go Hokies.
So Fuente just has to score more than 20 points a game for him to get fired. No wonder it took this long.
In pro wrestling parlance, I think this is what they call "sending the crowd home happy."
So you're saying that Fuente is equivalent to a "happy ending"?
FAM.! Yes the future is filled with uncertainty and maybe some angst but also with hope and excitement. Fuente and his fam are well taken care of, so he/they will be fine, except for the fact he will have to move from a wonderful place to live and will be dealing with the tears of his daughters as they have undoubtedly formed many local bonds. Who knows, maybe he will put a Hooker and take another team (or on the staff that does) to the Final 4 someday.
Damn, it's official, I'm getting nothing accomplished today
I cackled at this
Sidenote, Reddit CFB was started and is run by wahoos, so they will probably revel in this for a bit with their Zima and charcuterie boards
Charcuterie is fucking awesome, don't be lumping that shit in with them.
Agree with this sentiment. LOLUVA would only have a cheese board.
Nah, cheese boards are delicious too
They have wine boards that only have Chardonnay
A cheese board is an incomplete hors d'oeuvre. Sort of like LOLUVA is an incomplete football team.
You underestimate some of our loves of cheese....
Such a great series of commercials
Cheese is great, but cheese plus cured meats is 100x better.
Exactly, why have one when you could have both? Throw in some crackers or toasted bread and we've got a party goin.
I prefer the meats to the cheeses, but I'm not gonna say no if someone plops down a delicious tray of cheeses in front of me. Wouldn't even think twice about it.
French has entered the chat
A soft cheese board, when it's hot out.
I spent some time with Wahoos for a work event, there was charcuterie everywhere. I can't undo that.
I did have some charcuterie boards at Fest in Woodlake, definitely recommend.
I had to stop browsing /r/CFB and /r/CollegeBasketball a year or two ago, WAY too many obnoxious wahoos. My reddit experience has greatly improved since then.
Shocking number of UVA fans in r/cfb, though I didn't realize it was started by hoos, which is also surprising
My guess is it's because reddit was started at least in part by a hoo, so they just got there first before anyone knew what reddit was.
I believe Reddit itself was started by a couple UVA guys, while /r/cfb was started by a Louisiana Tech guy. Not sure if there are any UVA mods at the moment, but there is a Hokie mod.
Not sure about UVA mods on r/cfb but I do know there are a couple on r/collegebasketball
Not to worry Fam, Corn is staying on ....
Just kidding!!!
Need to see some Hokies cutting checks so Whit can go out and get a head coach and staff with a high chance to have success.
Great timing as I got my Hokie Club renewal letter in the mail today... might just have to up it a tad...
How about everyone donates $1 for every "fire fuente" TKP post they made after games this year? We could go out an scoop up Saban with that cash
That would lead to some pretty big donations.
And we'd all be broke!
VTKey has it all covered.
As a long time VT Fan for over 50 plus years.. BYE....
I have to admit this is a great way for it to end. Everyone knew it was over, no need to make it ugly.
Wait!! Seriously, is Corn part of the baggage?? Or is it just CJF?
It's just JF. Which should tell us some things.
A large, vocal portion of this fan base has said that Fuente's rope could have been lengthened if he had just fired Corny on/after any of the copious occasions he's deserved it. Axing Cornelsen would have been enough meat for the dogs were it were done quickly. It wasn't. Quickly or otherwise. Brad Cornelsen is gonna call THE WHOLE OFFENSE the next 2 weeks.Think about that for a second.
Also, for whatever "mutuality" there was in the "parting of ways", JF is taking his agreed-to $10M with him. There may be a restructuring of the pay schedule, but we paid full fucking freight for this move. EDIT: this was apparently reported erroneously - couple of outlets are now saying they agreed on $8.75M. Not sure how much this changes my overall point, but have to acknowledge that we didn't pay full freight.
Which means there's GOT to be SOMEthing else going on that benefits Virginia Tech. Because if there isn't, Whit just made a fool of himself.
And don't think Whit is a fool, which leads me to believe that firing Fu now was done to officially open the VT job... so that the guy that Whit has waiting in the wings can officially accept an open position.
It's all I can think of, in terms of answering "why now, in this moment, at full price?"
11/11: Lady Hokies beat GW
11/12: Hokies beat Navy
11/13: Hokies beat Duke
11/14: Lady Hokies beat George Mason
11/15: Hokies beat Radford
11/16: This
Wow. Christmas came early.
I want to add that, though I'm happy he has been let go, the timing is weird to me. I do think it was important for Whit to move on from Fuente this year. I expected it to happen later this month, after the UVA game. I think it is interesting that it was a mutual agreement - I'm inferring from that language that the full Buyout of $10 isn't being paid. I imagine there was some reduction there. I'm also happy for the team that they sent their head coach out with a big win on Senior Day. I'm sure there are mixed emotions for Fuente, but I imagine that, on some level, relief is one of those emotions. He looked kind of miserable over large stretches in the last 3 years. I hope he learns from his mistakes here in Blacksburg and can find success somewhere one day. However, this is the best thing for both parties. VT wasn't working for Fuente, and he certainly wasn't working out for VT.
Whoever the next coach is will need some time. The cupboard is bare and relationships need to be reestablished. We need to be patient. I'm putting my pitchfork away and it won't see the light of day, barring any insane "for cause" type of behavior, until 2025.
Go Hokies!
EDIT:
For Fuente's family, too. He's getting
his full buyout$8.75M, negotiated down from 10.Whit must have a crackerjack hire waiting in the wings. I still firmly believe this.
Don't believe this has been confirmed, but either way he's getting a LOT of money.
Especially with that extra 1.25 in savings
My glass is half full,
dreaming of a Hokie world
OC virtuous
Interim Coach Bowl
Though its irrelevant to our future. I for one am highly intrigued to see how the offense playcalling looks with Corn by himself and no Fuente.
I wish Fuente well, he wasn't a bad guy just didn't get the job done. Hopefully Whit gets us a great new head whistle.
Well, he's now possibly auditioning for a new job, so...
The audition is an add on. I'm thinking more who gets the blame between he and Fuente for the inconsistency that has been our offense. Corn will be on his own for the most part and we'll finally get a better idea of whether Corn was holding us back or Fuente was holding Corn back.
I thought this a little, too. I'll be honest, I don't expect much change at this point, though.
The right move 100%. But I'm not dancing in the streets here. The new guy actually is getting a bare cupboard- as opposed to the false narrative that Beamer didn't leave Fu any talent. He did. fu's best teams were with guys Beamers staff recruited. The new guy actually is getting a very thin roster with few top end dudes. And I hope Whit knows what he is doing. I really do. I'm prepared for a few down years, but our recruiting needs to get better in a hurry.
Literally no one is saying that Fuente had a bare cabinet. Stop building strawmen and focus on reality.
It was a common narrative. "Just let him get his guys in" was another
This gets said about every coaching transition everywhere.
And I would bet about half the time it gets worse once they get their guys in. Ours was one of those times.
And it didn't help that to the very bitter end he had seemingly no ability to balance the roster of his guys.
Lol. You have to be kidding?
There have to be over 500 posts that insinuate this on TKP alone?
No one is saying it now because we know what a bare cabinet actually looks like. But there were plenty of people bemoaning the state of our roster in Beamer's last couple of years. This is why the OP refers to it as a "false narrative", I presume. You could argue that it was a mistaken view rather than a falsehood, but that's just semantics. Plenty of people thought we had a crappy roster back then, the problem is we didn't know what crappy really looks like.
Frank would have made it to a ny6 bowl in 2016 with that rosterπ
Yes and no. We will have to see who comes back that did Senior day when a new coach is announced. I think we will have more depth, just less experience if these guys don't come back. There are a few positions that will be thin but others not as bad.
As a fan base though, we need to expect a few rough years of transition and hope for earlier results. Transfer Portal can be our friend but we have young guys that should be very productive in the next years.
Huh?? Are you literally only looking at Quarterback. We have a better O Line than almost any of Beamer's years during the 2000's. Personnel wise the secondary is good and the rest of the defense is solid. We have a true freshman running back with multiple 100 yard games already. Bare would be like Duke, we're starting middle of the pack in the ACC.
There was still some talent left. But Fuente's recruiting woes screwed us from year 1. Remember when Malik Willis was our QB of the future? Then he went to Auburn instead (and eventually Liberty) and Evans split and we had nothing. Recruiting has felt that way from year 1. Either we have good players and miss out at the last second or players leave early and then suddenly we have a mess of a QB room-- BB with broken ribs and a backup who apparently does not know the playbook.
Lather, rinse, repeat all over the roster and you have a dumpster fire. There should have been adequate time to make a transition to Fuente's guys.
Slightly remembering the Malik Willis thing wrong. He was the LB of the future and went to Auburn because they said they would let him play QB which not many people thought was the smartest position for him.
I hope Fuente takes some time off to be a Dad and think about how to manage his staff in the future. I think he is a good man who unfortunately tied himself to an offensive coordinator who was not getting the job done.
If you tie yourself to an anchor, you will eventually drown.
Unless you're a boat.
I think most of us are excited for a coaching change and I feel that Fuente is a good guy but his allegiance to the completely incompetent Cornelson was crucial in his demise. He needed to get rid of BC and send him to the high school, Jr College ranks..........or Starbucks. This was a great move and Whit is a class guy.
Wish coach Fu and his family well. Truly, despite on the field performance, he did represent our university well and I have no doubt he gave it his all. Hope he lands somewhere and is able to find future sucess.
Did anyone (insiders?) know this was coming? Did Whit do another great job at keeping this really close to the vest?
Let's Go!
There's a VT BOV member that posts on the non-paywall side of 247 that said things were in motion for a little while behind the scenes.
So I don't think the parting of ways was a secret, but it seems like the new hire is.
Nothing I've heard. If it didn't happen at BC, it wasn't happening until the Dec deadline imo. I definitely didn't expect this.
Timing is very weird especially since Fuente gave his Monday Press Conference. Would seem like there's a full court press for Option 1 and the job had to be open to show intent.
In term of buyout the word "mutual" believes me to think the 7.5M will likely be the outcome. That language has to be said for lawyers and a lot of other reasons. I could see it being 7.5M in one lump sum vs the 10M quarterly over the life of the contract which I think was Fuente's deal.
Maybe Fuente was given the option of staying on until the end of the season and said thanks but no thanks. He coaches at home senior day and then decides he is out.
We're through the river of shit.
I think an argument could be made that we have just convinced ourselves to jump into the river of shit. But freedom is on the other side.
Using the Shawshank Redemption metaphor, think of it this way:
Andy knew there were lots of risks in tunneling his way out of his cell and crawling through the sewer pipe. The upside was his freedom. If he just sat in his cell accepting the risks were too great, his life would remain miserable and he would always wonder what could have been if he had just tried. Maybe he could eventually get retried and released, but that was a long shot.
Similarly, VT Football now has the potential to achieve the upside of getting back to dominating the ACC and making splashes on the national scene. We could have stuck with Fuente & Co. with the hopes that they would eventually recruit, develop players, game plan, and execute in the game better, but that seems like a long shot at this point.
Biggest thing for me, right now, is that Whit (and by association the rest of athletics and the university) are showing that they see a problem and care about it enough to put significant resources into fixing it. I'd rather be behind that program than one who is forced to accept mediocrity for fear of failing at trying to fix the current problem.
I agree 100%. I wasn't saying it's a bad thing we jumped in. I just know it's most likely going to get worse before it gets better and I'm okay with that.
Every time I think about that scene of crawling through that pipe I get anxiety and claustrophobic chills.
I think we all agree that this move was necessary. I'm surprised that it happened now and not after the loluva game, but it is better for all parties to happen sooner rather than later.
I wish Fuente nothing but the best. He is a stand up guy who ran a clean program but he just wasn't successful enough on the field.
In Whit we trust to make the right hire, just as he did with Mike Young. Let's Go!
Are we going to be able to listen to Whit's press conference live?
Anyone tracking flights?!
I had a very subdued reaction when I woke up to this news. I know in debate I have been harsh on Fuente over the last few years, and the offensive staff in particular, but I do not hate Fuente. From what I can tell he seems like a good dude and was well liked by what seems like the majority of the guys who played for him.
I am glad that it finally happened. I was pretty confident we would move on, but after last year's weird situation in December, I was going to be a little anxious until it actually happened. We needed to move on, as the program was simply trending in too many negative directions.
I am excited about the future and I hope we hire the right candidate to help rebuild this roster and bring VT football back to the level many of us came to expect over the last 25-30 years.
Is this me... actually being excited to watch a Virginia Tech game on Saturday?
10 times since 1987, Virginia Tech was at least a first down from 600+ total yards of offense.
Virginia Tech is 9-1 in those games.
CornFu was responsible for that 1 loss (and one win).
The other OCs
Stinespring: 3-0
Loeffler: 1-0
Bustle: 4-0
Good luck to CJF. I really wish he worked out here at Tech, but I think the stage was too big for him. He's too much of an introvert to coach a school on this level. I hope him and his family land on their feet somewhere. I'll always be grateful for what he did to transition the school from the Beamer reign, the #25 jersey will always be a great tradition that I hope the next coach continues. Now go get me a recruiter/offensive wizard Whit!
UL Football Message Board
They seem to be scared at the idea of the VT job opening for Napier.
I mean, I dunno what they think is gonna happen?
Napier isn't going to stay there, its the the University of Louisiana.
Honestly if we don't get Napier I kinda just want UoL and LSU to swap coaches. Napier goes to the SEC. Ed O stays in Louisiana.
I think the point of me posting, was not that UL fans think Napier is leaving for greener pastures. It is the fact that even they think that those pastures are in Blacksburg.
It doesn't mean he is coming here. Just interesting to get a feel for what UL fans think is a likely scenario for a coach they do not want to lose.
I think they saw the writing on the wall. The only thing our announcement changed is that there is now one more opening that is a step-up from UL.
On the Buyout, there are some Media types who are twitting that it Happened Before Dec 15, therefore Buyout is 10 Million. I would say Not so fast...the keyword is "Mutual"
We have to look at a few circumstances here:
1. With COVID-19 taking over the world last year, the coaching changes were relatively low (https://footballscoop.com/news/2020-21-nfl-and-college-head-coaching-cha...)
2. That means more moves and the Competition for HC talents will be tougher this year, meaning Whit needs to make a move now to hold off competition
3. Whit and Fuente and the world knows the buyout situation, so knowing everyone needs to "mutually" part ways I think they agreed to 7.5 Million
On the move, I think Whit did this thing about as classy as possible for the school and for Fuente and it speaks volume about him as an AD. Hindsight being 20/20 I think Whit also did the right thing by not firing him last year in a COVID year.
Fuente's statement was classy as well. I think he did great early on and this will be a lessons learned for him. I honestly think he is a good coach and a solid person. I think he didn't know what he was getting himself into and he should look to hire more experienced coaches around him such as Teerlink. I think he will end up coaching a group of 5 Next year and get back into Power 5 in 3 years.
I really think our next hire is going to be Chadwell, it makes the most sense to me. Carolina area recruiting, solid offense, good communication
Strong disagree on not firing Fuente last year. Making the move then would have been much better in every way but optics. There were fewer job openings available and everyone watching the games could see where the program was headed.
Keeping Fuente on for another year wasted time a new coach could have been rebuilding. Our prize was yet another disappointing year.
I'm glad Whit finally came around and made the correct decision, but he doesn't get points for delaying it a year while gaslighting the fan base by saying we had a "difficult, hard to adapt to offensive scheme"
Reflecting on the gut wrenching horror of September 22nd, 2018. A loss to the Monarchs. Are they butterflies? We couldn't believe our eyes. That day was the beginning of the end.
Fu is a man of integrity and will find success at another school. However the time has come for change. I wish you well Coach Fu.
I gotta admit, this is the song that's been going through my head this morning.
Everybody look around
'Cause there's a reason to rejoice you see
Everybody come out
And let's commence to singing joyfully
Everybody look up
And feel the hope that we've been waiting for
Everybody's glad
Because our silent fear and dread is gone
Freedom, you see, has got our hearts singing so joyfully
Just look about
You owe it to yourself to check it out
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Everybody be glad
Because the sun is shining just for us
Everybody wake up
Into the morning into happiness
Hello world
It's like a different way of living now
And thank you world
We always knew that we'd be free somehow
In harmony
And show the world that we've got liberty
It's such a change
For us to live so independently
Freedom, you see, has got our hearts singing so joyfully
Just look about
You owe it to yourself to check it out
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Everybody be glad
Because the sun is shining just for us
Everybody wake up
Into the morning into happiness
Hello world
It's like a different way of living now
And thank you world
We always knew that we'd be free somehow
In harmony
And show the world that we've got liberty
It's such a change
For us to live so independently
Freedom, you see, has got our hearts singing so joyfully
Just look about
You owe it to yourself to check it out
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Whit's presser gonna be streamed?
Edit: Yes
https://hokiesports.com/watch/?Live=864&type=Live
Thanks for the link. Whit is selling the hell out of VT as an opportunity for the next coach.
We have to assume we want to announce the new hire at least a week or so in advance of early signing day right? Feel like a big part of making the move now, is to allow the new coach/staff to be able to come in and at least try to retain some of the verbals
New guy probably wants to finish his regular season. I'd expect an announcement on or before 12/5.
Wow...I honestly didn't think it would happen in season. I'm happy for a fresh start, but it does suck because I think Fuente himself is a good man and and a gifted offensive mind for football. Hope he learns from everything that he did right and what he could do differently.
This unfortunately was a move that was best for all parties as toxic as the fan base and students had become. Whit did it...he made the move, now he can't screw it up.
Agreed, and I know it's a little corny (no pun intended) but I'm glad his last game as a Hokie was a good one.
via GIPHY
Fu gave us a discount....that's cool
Saved $1.25mil
Seems pretty fair to all involved.
Every time I watch a presser from the 90's basement of Merryman/Cassell I'm reminded how little money was put into infrastructure at Tech until recently.
Funny. Whit said he was tired of this false narrative today.
Great you don't advertise your shortcomings when your looking to hire someone.
The fact is we have a top 4 ACC football operating budget. The non-fact is that our team dresses in port o johns and doesn't have a college level weight room.
Top 4 among public schools, so Miami and Pitt (due to Pennsylvania laws) don't report full budgets. The facts are unless something changes drastically under new coach we have the WORST public school assistant pool, the smallest support and recruiting staff among top football programs and have fallen behind in catching places like FSU and Clemson with dorms, football only facilities (which tech still
Doesn't have), etc.
That sounds really awkward. Probably a lot like how dinner was with my ex wife.
hopefully you didn't have to pay your ex wife 8.75 million for poor performance :p
Chris Rock has a fantastic skit on this. It isn't the guy losing half of his $50m that is hurt. It is the guy losing half of his $50k...
Awkward but honest. Fuente probably knows if he got 1 more year, he wouldn't be able to turn it around that much so he can take his buyout and go find a new gig. Glad for him and Whit for being honest and to the point with it.
Zoom meeting up coming with committed recruits
Whit: I think it will likely be a current head coach.
Doesn't seem like we go a big coordinator route.
I got the same vibe He did say he wouldn't rule out a coordinator, but I get the feeling based on how he said it we're getting someone with experience as head whistle.
We need someone checking the flight logs in and out of the local airports...a change is a comin'!
I literally posted this same thing a second ago before I read the whole thread. I'm an idiot.
Reading the presser clips, Whit cited identity as a big issue. Last Wednesday's meeting was when he couldn't see Fuente continuing, so post BC game.
I'd have to agree. How many times have we come on the boards asking what our offensive identity is? GRIT? Not enough of it, I guess....
paraphrased... no surprise, but no JHam as coach
"Is Justin Hamilton in consideration for Head Coach?"
"I'll let the next coach determine that"
"But .. I meant Hamilton *as* head coach"
"I won't get into that"
Kumah posted from James Mitchell's TikTok:
i think you mean snapchat, but even so kumah reveling in all of this for the last two years bothers me.
what always surprises me about Kumah, and his joy in Fuente failing...is that he was a good player with us! but after he transferred...nothing. you could argue Fuente got more out of him and made him a better player than he actually was.
Kumah would have been the sixth pass catching option on offense if he came back in 2019 (Hazelton, Turner, Tay, Keene and Mitchell).
Good riddance. Classless.
He transferred, played a few games then decided to sit to heal an injury/surgery and COVID happened. Stop acting like dude didn't perform.
Mitchel doesn't post on Tik Tok. He did say this on Twitter though:
What he is saying and Whit's story don't match up but let us keep in mind these are stressed 18-22 year olds that are handling a big emotional change for them.
I get what JM is trying to say here, but he also is being narrow minded that the folks who don't put pads on are also the reason he had the opportunity to put pads on in the first place.
We still have two winnable games, that hasn't changed. Hopefully the coaches and team captains can keep everyone focused on our remaining games. Easier said than done, I know. Consider it an audition for the new coach.
Yeah - with or without Fuente the last 2 games are winnable. What we have here is the AD and HC not seeing eye to eye, and rather than let things fester and potentially get worse they decided to separate now.
It appears the tweet has been de-tweeted.
Buyout is 8.75 million.
Personally, I hope our defensive staff gets to stay, or at least a chunk of it. We have some good, young coaches there that I believe will be very good in their careers.
@James Mitchell
this doesn't surprise me - Fuente quit on the team when he punted, down two scores, with 5 min left. Walking out early, given the option to continue, aligns with that.
Some people are going to drag Fuente for that. That is not my intent here. The man has been through hell the last few seasons. He's clearly been stressed and miserable. Sometimes, you just gotta do what's best for you. And for him, that probably means putting VT in the rear view mirror ASAP. Go lick his wounds and reflect on what went wrong before going out and trying to find success elsewhere. No hard feelings. Fuente deserves to go in peace.
Really?
You've been begging him to leave yesterday, and when he does, you kick him on the way out?
Naw, man. Fuente doesn't impress me as a guy who is going to hang out on the sidelines and pretend.
I ain't kickin' him. He's out the door. I can imagine folks dragging him for leaving despite the offer to stay on for the rest of the season. Dude was already checked out (and I'm not saying there was anything wrong with that...it's just a reality) and all we should expect is for him to do the best thing for himself. I'm not trying to kick him. In fact, I'm advocating for just the opposite. He's leaving early. Let him go in peace. Why do you have a problem with this?
I'm objecting to the notion that he quit on the team.
He didn't so much quit on the team as his tenure had for all practical purposes run it's course. He was out of gas.
It's time, and VT football is better off that this is resolved. We also saved half of the early buyout money. I'll take it.
object to that notion all you like. You and I both know that people are going to see it that way. You're not going to prevent people from taking that view. The least we can do, IMO, is acknowledge that's how it may look to some and advocate for them to just let it be. That's what I'm trying to point out. Yes, it looks like he quit (to some). Let's just leave it at that and not belabor the point. He's gone and there's not much more to be said about it. Let the man go.
Seems odd that we can't even agree that it's good that Fuente is gone immediately.
For me, that's one part of the uncertainty that's gone now. I see it as better for all of us.
what's weird is that we do actually agree...
for some reason you seem to perpetually misunderstand me. Perhaps it's because I'm an engineer and I have a tough time articulating my thoughts and arguments. IDK. You and I very much agree on all the points here. You just don't like the way I present it.
Fuente is gone. Good. Let's not kick him as he leaves. We agree on that too. I'm just pointing out that people are going to see it as quitting. I'm choosing to just acknowledge that, give those folks some credence, and ask that we not continue kicking him. I think you generally agree with that too.
You and I seem to be fairly aligned here. You just don't seem to like the way I say it. Β―\_(γ)_/Β―
We agree on practically all of it, other than I don't see this as quitting on the team. He stayed past his expiration date already, so I'm not going to begrudge him doing what we completely wanted to do - vacate the premises, and give us a little bit of a refund.
And to put a fine point on it, I thought Kumah's twitter post is beneath us. Fuente trying to do someone a solid shouldn't be grounds to criticize him.
If there's anyone who didn't quit, it's Fuente. He didnt' work out, but his character is intact.
This is the point I'm making.
Are you two married?
I understand people that get hung up on the "Q word" - the ultimate sin in sports. Hell people are defending Teddy Bridgewater for totally not even trying on a potential game saving tackle- and that's his full time job he gets paid millions for. I get it. the fact is that Whit offered him the opportunity to coach the team the last 2 games- against out school's biggest rivals, mind you.. and he refused.
Whit made the face-saving offer that he could coach the last two games, and he chose not to.
This is how gentlemen part ways.
I don't see it as quite the middle finger his detractors would make it out to be.
I actually agree that you weren't kicking him. My initial thought was Fuente singing "Take this job and shove it", but after your post I did reconsider. Instead of leaving more stuff in the digital space for his kids to find down the road, he can go be a dad, relax for a little bit, and line up his next gig. It's better for him to go now and enjoy life for a little bit and get his next situation set up, rather than have to face the same stress and media for a few more weeks. There's no doubt cast over who the leader is, no doubt if VT wins a game and Fuente is relieved after UVA who the leader is.
Whit gets to cast his search publicly, Fuente gets to do his own thing for a bit, and the team has a stated leader for the rest of the season, whether it's 2 games or 3.
That is the response the Players need to be aware of. Fuente decided not to finish out the season it wasn't Whit's call.
We still have two winnable games left.
I didn't downvote you, but that's the wrong takeaway. (Even the milder update.)
It shows Fuente isn't a dancing bear.
We can agree to disagree. I can see making the announcement that he wouldn't be back, ala LSU, and Fuente continuing to finish the year. If for nothing else, if there was continued improvement on offense that might help the position coaches retain/obtain new jobs. They are now on their own.
I don't see it making that huge a difference at this point. In a lot of ways, this is optimal.
In the long (and probably short) run, VT football is better off that this is decided. Uncertainty is a huge distraction.
Football is an aircraft carrier, not a battleship.
Interesting.
Well Fu is obviously showing he's got a lot of grit.
/ssss kinda.
Whit handled that presser well. I think he was open as he could be, drew the line to withhold his opinions that aren't relevant and he showed he is a good AD to work for.
Agreed. I also appreciate that he recognized that last year's disastrous presser was not a good look for him.
Archived press conference here:
https://hokiesports.com/watch/?Archive=18923&type=Archive
Whit's a class act, and so is Fuente.
And honestly, other potential coaches notice how you handle the exit of the previous coach.
They didn't cut the audio checks at the beginning, jump to 31 minutes in.
Thanks for posting. That looked difficult for Whit, rightfully so. The list of next coach qualities sounded like he he was reading a letter from the donors. I'm surprised to find myself saddened by this. Fuente continued to honor the university. Part of me wonders is the mutual parting of ways was due to Whit telling him he would need to can Corn, and Fuente remaining loyal.
He said that he lets his coaches pick the assistance and hang their hat on those decisions. Whit said in their weekly meeting that he couldn't say if he would be the HC next year. Fuente wasn't on board coaching without full support behind him and they worked out the rest.
I can't be the only one to have thought this, but...
For the love, can we get the media some goddamned microphones in these pressers?
I could hardly hear Whit, and my computer was on full volume.
You need an upgrade, bud. I'm at 48 and can hear Whit perfectly. A lot of the beat writers are like trying to hear the low talker from Seinfeld though. I just don't want Whit to wind up having to wear the puffy shirt to a presser.
Macbook Air.
Volume is ridiculously low.
Makes everyone into a low talker. Real low talkers mean you have to read subtitles.
Some of them were zoomed in so harder to hear.
Thank God we can stop arguing about when Fuente should be fired and focus on arguing about who should replace him.
and why (or why not) they're going to be a great (or terrible) coach for VT
the next 3 years are going to be just as debated as the last 3 years have been. The difference is that we have no data and more hope.
Just give me some hope! That's all I need.
This is the internet.
Hope is not allowed here.
Fuente to Corny this morning:
i get it, but losing Fuente's job is on Fuente. He hitched his future on the wrong OC even after it became apparent Corn had no ability succeed at this level, and after Jerry Kill told him the Corn would cost him his job.
100%. I'm very confident that JF could have been successful in Blacksburg had he let Corn go and found an OC with some balls. Or at the very least, the willingness to understand that his desired plays were not producing the desired outcome.
I've seen several rumors that Fuente wanted to get rid of Corny after the 2019 season but when he approached Whit about it, and found out how much money he had to bring in a new OC, he determined that he would not be able to upgrade the OC for the amount Whit gave him. So Whit needs to realize that having the lowest salary pool for public schools in the ACC is not going to get us to where we aspire to be.
I hope this is a part of the process this time around as well.
What great news to wake up to! (I woke up before noon I've just been working π)
Underrated aspect of the news;
We can all root for a W in the last two games without having to worry about if we win too much, maybe Whit would keep Fuente around.
Its such an awkward feeling being stuck between "I want to win, but I also want to lose because Fuente needs to go"
There was never the slightest chance I was going to pull for UVA or Miami in any way, shape or form.
Amen.
In case you all want to know what the Bird Brains think of the coaching change, we've got an emergency episode up now. available wherever you get your podcasts or here: check it out
I wish Fuente and his family great success at his next position. I am optimistic that this is ultimately a win for all parties involved.
Does this possibly change Tre Turners mind on leaving?
think it probably cements it.
I thought the current coaching staff is the problem for him?
True. It may ultimately come down to who we hire and what their scheme is and if they sit down and try and retain some of the players like Tre. That said, for him it might be a smart decision to try and find a couple of schools with schemes that he would fit into and try and get one last solid year in to see if it helps his draft stock vs. hoping that our new guy can boost it for him.
Tre looks like he is going Pro so I doubt he is coming back. He announced he's playing in a senior bowl.
Quick question -
Bigger problem that killed Fuente ?
Keeping corny at oc or inability to acquire and retain talent?
These teams have been devoid of playmakers (except jerod and Khalil IMO)
Keeping Corny was absolutely the bigger problem. A competent OC could have masked the recruiting challenges. Instead the recruiting challenges highlighted an incompetent OC.
That and a productive offense would have kept some players in the fold and attracted more.
All of the above.
The ultimate problem was that there were so many problems....Ineffective Assistatants, Subpar Recruiting, Inability to Retain and Develop Talent, Poor relations with Fans/Media, an S&C Program that has not translated to better on-field performance, and extremely questionable In-game Management--they all contributed and were part of the bigger picture of a Program without an Identity or any clear plan for improvement.
This Outcome has been destined for quite a while IMHO---after the 2018 Season, Fuente had the chance to make a hard reset on the Program and later had a well-respected and Experienced Coach (Kill) telling him exactly that. He chose not to and continued the same path in the face of diminishing results. Somewhere along the line, things crossed from Loyalty into Stubborness and we have arrived where we are now.
Yes
I just hope some of the VT guys currently on staff (not just on field but I think some in the strength program) at least get a fair shot to interview with whoever the new coach is going to be. I love that we have a lot of these guys still in the program. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they should be forced on the new staff and the new coach should have full authority to make changes, I'm just hoping some of those guys get the chance to stick around.
Remember, these guys are not getting 8.75 million when they get let go. This is honestly the worst part of the coaching change we have all been hoping for this year, the collateral damage.
My quick thoughts
Jokes aside, I wish nothing but the best for Fuente moving forward and I have full confidence that Whit will pick a great successor. Onwards and forwards.
These things are always bitter sweet, Fuente will be fine, sure with the buyout, but the other guys are going to uprooting lives and families, and that's tough so I do feel for the staff in that respect.
I don't feel any ill feelings toward the staff, they all seemed like great people, they just didn't get done the job they were tasked to do.
Somebody posted this image on the VT subreddit. Pretty sad if it's real...
I mean, what's he gonna do with the gear?
I wouldn't want to wear it, were I him.
Carpet checks out.
I mean, he cleaned his closet out quick, but what's he gonna do, wear a VT polo to his next interview?
Could be anyone's handwriting as well....
But even if he did it, does that change anything in the scheme of things?
What size is the stuff though? I'd take some free swag.
Flight tracker season baby
My second favorite flight tracker outside of NORAD's Christmas Eve Santa Flight Tracker.
Is Santa gonna be our next HC?
Coach Claus...son
Crazy week as a Hokie and Panther fan! Cam is back and Fuente is gone, exciting stuff! Wish Fuente all the best in the future and eager to see who we hire, go Hokies!
What we need is an insider at the airport that has access to flight plans to know where Whit is going on the Jet.
You don't need that....or Flight Tracker or Flight Aware....
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/
Not that it really matters but when does this get announced if Fuente agrees to coach the rest of the season? I'm thinking it is kept under wraps until Sunday/Monday after UVA based on what Whit said in the press conference.
In my head the conversation went like:
Whit: Would you like to coach the remaining games?
Not sure if this is sarcasm or you honestly missed it. Fuente said no to coaching the rest of the season and JC Price is stepping up to the plate.
I misread that comment at first too. He said IF Fuente had agreed (past tense) to stay on, when would we have publicly announced that he was gone and then guessed right after UVA game.
No I didn't miss it. Just a speculating question that probably could have been worded with past tense (agreed).