Don't shoot the messenger. The author admits it's speculation, but suggests Nebraska could make a run at CJF. I think it's pretty obvious they go after Scott Frost instead, but what do I know about these things.
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lol no.
I'm more worried about Oklahoma if that interim head coach doesn't work out.
"interim head coach" ftw
I don't think Lincoln Riley is an interim head coach
I don't think so either
Oh. Right. That's what you were saying. I must be too druck too.
I'd be much more worried about Oklahoma if they decide Lincoln Riley isn't the right fit, or Auburn if they hop off the Gus Bus.
Very unlikely that CJF leaves for anything but a true top-10 job. And even then it's questionable IMO.
LSU scares me if they get rid of Coach O. But after they ran Les Miles out of town for being great for a decade but not being on Alabama's level, I don't think I'd risk it.
Orgeron has a $12M buyout after this year, $8.5M after next, etc. For a school that was barely making ends meet financially last year, I doubt he's going anywhere any time soon.
We're a top 15 job right now. How much do you hop around if you've already started getting your pieces in place and things are clicking?
I'm less worried about Oklahoma than I would be a B1G program. Y'all act like Fuente loved it there but he transferred from there. It's not like it's his home like VT is to Frank. I also don't see him leaving for an SEC job except maybe Bama and we all know that's not happening. I could see him bolting to PSU if someone pulls Franklin away.
With that being said, I don't see him leaving.
There are a number of schools that could make a run a him a some point. I think he will take a look at where he can have the most success AND the expectations of the fanbases. Some fanbses are just plain unrealistic. How many coaches has TN had since Fuller? While the SEC East isn't a murderers row, I'm not sure the unrealistic expectations that they have there would be appealing. Nebraska is somewhat the same. Their fans are great people but they expect Osborne results but can they recruit the to Lincoln to get to the level where their fans will be satisfied?
LSU would be an interesting scenario as well as aTm. They both have a ton of money, resources et al. And honestly, while LSU fired Miles who had a couple championships, it was time for him to go. His last couple of years there were not good and their O was bad. Another interesting scenario is LSU steals Jimbo and FSU comes sniffing around. aTm has also given Sumlin plenty of chances IMO.
At some point (and this is a good thing for us since it means we're winning) we're going to have to up the pay and resources or he will move on (all IMO obviously).
Whether its Nebraska or somebody else 3 years from now, if things keep going good for us, somebody is going to throw some big time money at Fuente. Its arrogant to think that he wouldn't leave. Blacksburg is nice, but this isn't home for him, nor are we one of the top 15 (20?) tradition and money wise that can pay a coach. At this time anyway.
There are some definite positives and advantages we have, I really believe we are on the border of being a team that can keep a coach for the long term. Maybe we can keep Coach, maybe we cant. He is in a position with everything in place, facilities, location etc to build a team in a great conference. The fact that we aren't a so called "blue blood" may be an advantage, it is hard to make it work at some of those places no matter who you are, and they have a short leash. If he has what it takes, he could be a lasting face of VT football on a national stage. The comfort and security in Blacksburg has to be nice. Beamer is rightfully a legend for us, but he really set the table for the next step. If Fuente believes he can take it there, and get paid a competitive salary, I believe he stays. Im sure there is a lot that goes into a decision like that. We have to pay him when his stock is the highest, which could definitely be the next 2-3 years.
Apparently Butch Jones is about to get the sack and some UT fans are saying they should try to lure away Fuente. Fat chance. I feel like anything short of Bama or Georgia in the SEC is just asking for too much crazy without enough success.
Joel Klatt said Fuente is one of the top 3 hires UT could make. Fuente to UT would extremely disappointing, not just because we'd lose Fuente, but because we share recruiting territory with UT. Fortunately, the GRumors are roaring loudly.
Don't know who Joel Klatt is and if he has any specific connection to UT but I don't get the sense that Fuente would be a first choice (and I think that would matter to him as well).
Former Denver sportscaster, now a FS1 talking head IIRC.
Lead game analyst for FOX college football.
Played at Colorado when they were a dumpster fire. I would put as much stock in him talking about Hokie/Vol coaching situations as I would David Teel or Andy Bitter talking about Colorado or Utah's coaching situation.
Which is, none at all.
Which serves as a point that the Hokies are national enough that local hillbillies in flyover country know who our coach is and feel like he's good enough to speculate on his future employment opportunities.
UT is a dumpster fire. I do not see Fuente leaving the stability of VT for UT.
I listened to a UT podcast where they discussed potential hires because I knew Fuente was going to be in the discussion. One of the guys that covered UT said he knew Fuente from his Memphis days and said that Fuente wouldn't leave VT for a number of reasons. He said Fuente expressed no interest in coaching in the SEC because most of the schools were set up for failure due to an unrealistic fan and booster base who wanted to be Alabama overnight. He also said Blacksburg was the perfect place for Fuente because he is a really really good football coach who loves the X's and O's and doesn't want fame or publicity. He wants as normal of a life as possible for his family and VT is perfect for that.
Could you provide the name of the podcast? I'd be interested in checking that out - my brother-in-law is a huge Vols fan, so I feel somewhat obligated to pay attention to their team haha.
The Volunteer State
Thanks!
Why the downvote for OHokie? I upvoted to negate the downvote.
Lol he even said, "Don't shoot the messenger." And then someone shot the messenger.
FUCK NO
Man, Ole Miss is really in a low place
No joke, the way some SEC teams shit the bed against the option makes it an interesting possibility. It'd be great to watch in a division other than ours for once.
I think most of the teams in the Coastal have at some point had some version of this dream. Anywhere but here.
Didn't people go away from the option originally because it stopped working against SEC speed defenses? I feel like a lot of the success that #chopblockoclock has out of conference is because teams don't really take it seriously. When we're good and have an offense with a pulse, coach knee surgery doesn't scare me that much. If you're Mississippi State and your rivalry game and shot at the SEC west requires you to beat that bullshit, surely you've got the athletes and the motivation to care enough to lock it down?
The other side of the story is the school potentially hiring him is taking a much larger risk than hiring almost anyone else. If you hire a guy who runs a spread and it doesn't work out, you can hire another guy who runs an offense that can still be successful with the same players. If you hire CPJ and it doesn't work out, the next guy won't have much to work with. In order to fire CPJ, you're admitting that the next guy will be unsuccessful for 2-3 years.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again [in response to multiple comments about Oklahoma]. I don't think there's any lost love between Fuente and Oklahoma. He almost quit football entirely from his experience at Oklahoma and ultimately transferred.
Here's the thing (and I'm not too worried about OU, given their recent hires): OU alum wealth means they can basically print money. Given that kind of budget, OU can recruit top tier talent, pay top tier coaches, and build top tier facilities. That is the formula which could pull CJF away.
It's a good list, well thought out. Fuente would be a dream hire for Nebraska. I love the idea of PJ at Ole Miss, he was 3-0 vs the SeC last year. It would be great to see him get that shot to see what happens. Hologram would be a good fit at Ark. Morris would be a good reasonable choice for UT.
Good article. Thanks for linking.
I'll summarize: Fuente would be a dream hire for [every single team].
Yes, he would.
No, you can't.
Mrs Fuente is staying put.
She is our biggest ally in all of this.
Really? I don't necessarily see a whole lot of "OMG I LOVE Blacksburg from her". Granted I've never spoken to the lady, and maybe it's just trying to protect her privacy with young kids, but she seems somewhat standoffish. Perhaps using Beamer and his "golly gee folks, great to see you " attitude is a poor measuring stick. If what you are insinuating is accurate, that's a very pleasant surprise, to me at least.
There's just about zero chance Coach Fuente pays any attention to the opinions of us plebs, but, in the off chance he does, are you sure you want to say you think his wife is standoffish in a thread about him possibly leaving?
I didn't say she was standoffish. I said she just seemed that way. I also stated I'd never spoken to her so obviously couldn't accurately judge if she was or wasn't. I even gave an alternative reason (or two) for why I might have perceived her that way, meaning I realize it was probably more my perception than any reality. All I meant was that I was surprised to hear that she would be the driving force keeping them here rather than Coach.
But yeah, you're right. If coach leaves, you can all come back to this moment and put it at my feet. Obviously it's my fault.
This is the last thing I'm going to say on the matter. I meant no disrespect to either Coach or Mrs. Coach. It's somewhat amazing to me that even one person misunderstood my comments, much less at least 15 (this comments +12 and my comments -3). Nonetheless, I apologize to the collective for inaccurately conveying my thoughts on the matter.
So to summarize: you said she is somewhat standoffish, but you didn't say she was standoffish, but you have never spoken to her, but she is somewhat standoffish?
via GIPHY
Since reading comprehension doesn't seem to be your strong suit, let me clarify.
I don't know if she is or not. I didn't say she was somewhat standoffish, I said she seemed somewhat standoffish. In the few times I've seen her in public she seemed that way. I was making an observation on how she seemed from my perspective, not how she really is (or isn't).
Similarly, cherry picking my words and quoting them somewhat out of context makes you seem like an asshat. I don't know for sure if you are actually an asshat or not.
Do you now understand the difference between me saying a thing seems a certain way versus me saying a thing is a certain way?
All douchebaggery (mine and yours) aside, I honestly meant no disrespect to either of them. By all accounts they're great people and I'm extremely proud to have them here. I hope we one day have a video to celebrate the 71st birthday of the VT coaching legend, Justin Fuente.
My post was mostly made in humor, I found it funny that you slightly contradicted yourself. The GIF was meant to reinforce that. Sorry you took it so offensively, I assure you I meant none at all.
No need to get all feisty mate, have a leg!
No worries! Back at ya!
I didn't mean for it to come off as a personal attack against you. I actually think I typically agree with your comments on here. I apologize if I seemed hostile.
Obviously you wouldn't be at fault if he ever left. All I was trying to say was that to imply she may be standoffish probably isn't a good look, considering we want to make the Fuentes as happy as possible. Plus I honestly just don't get where that came from because I've never gotten that impression from her.
Regardless, as long as Coach Fuente is in Blacksburg and as long as we're winning, we're going to have these conversations. And inevitably they're going to bring out some negative emotions because we all desperately want him to stay (see OP getting downvoted for delivering the news). I don't think we have anything to worry about right now, and hopefully, come Saturday night, we will all be drinking Wild Turkey together (on the internet) celebrating another of many wins under CJF.
Agree 100%. Have a leg!
Wow. Three down votes. Not sure my comments deserve that but whatever.
Between that and all the orange hatred lately, yall are in rare form.
Perhaps I wasn't clear. What I meant is that hearing that Mrs. Fuente is the driving force to stay here moreso than Fuente came as a surprise to me. I didn't realize she had any connection to the area and I didn't think 2 years would be enough to make such strong attachments as to absolutely weigh more than a couple mil extra from a blue blood. However, as I said before, I'm pleasantly surprised at hearing this.
For all sorts of reasons mentioned already, I agree that Coach isn't going anywhere. And I meant no insult to Mrs. Fuente. I apologize if my comments weren't easy to comprehend.
I didn't take it that way at all. Too many beers flowing I hope. For the record, guidelines say don't downvote opinions, this isn't reddit. Been a weird couple of days with downvotes around here. Disagreeing does not equal downvotes. Reply with your thoughts and rebuttals or gifs and keep the conversation going.
Exactly. Thank you!
I find it ironic that you ended up garnering a bunch of upvotes on this thread because of complaining about downvotes. Frankly you offered no explanation or reason for your statement that Mrs. Fuente "seems standoffish" and rather than amending that, you tried to backtrack by parsing semantics. I find the whole "seems doesn't mean it is" explanation to be an extremely weak cop out for making a statement that you admit had no basis. I didn't downvote but I can see how they would be justified- and I really don't think you deserve upvotes for defending the statement when you should have just acknowledged that you shouldn't have said it to begin with.
In the spirit of respecting a fellow Hokie, let's just agree to disagree and move on. Have a leg.
Winner
This is correct, but only because it seems to be
I had a great chance to talk to her and the kids when I won my meet and greet. She is a very nice person, great with the kids. The kids enjoy the football environment, the littlest one enjoys the games because they get to bring toys to the box seats.
Word is they love Blacksburg and, as a family, are quite happy here. That said, guys uproot their families all the time for career advancement, but I hope that's not what Fuente is planning.
I was speaking more towards Mrs. Fuente's attitude.
As was I, with the first part.
Fuente publicly stated in the past, that his assistants have families too. Specific coaches were coming with him, in addition to Bud & Co that stayed. That being said, the Mrs. has been quietly vocal about how she loves Blacksburg. This is the type of place they wanted to stay in, where it's small townish, and there's good football hype, but not overboard to annoy the family(see A&M/Tennessee). Seriously, what coach gets to bring his daughters to ESPN two years in a row? They wanted a place to at for awhile and grow some consistency. That's not something you get in a city atmosphere in Fort Worth or Memphis.
I know, they got family all over the midwest. Maybe one day they do decide to move elsewhere. Hopefully, that's not anytime soon. But for the moment, be grateful, be thankful, and let's hope they stay for many years to come.
Thanks for sharing this. Great to hear. I obviously had no idea. I'm not surprised, Blacksburg is an amazing place. I'm glad they agree.
Tennessee fans annoying? Whatever would give you that idea?
What all these media peeps got wrong is viewing VT as a stepping stone job. It's not, and especially isn't for Fuente. It would take a blueblood school to come calling for a coach like Fuente to leave here, and Nebraska hasn't been that since the 90s.
Yup VT has not been a stepping stone job since 2000 when Beamer told UNC to shove it. Granted we have only had one coach here since Beamer, but Fuente's comments on being hired and since then make it known that this is not some stepping stone job for him either.
Disagree. Fuente has said was has needed to be said to exude an attitude of "this is home, come play here". VT based on $$ alone can be considered a stepping stone job.
I hope Fuente TRULY feels that this is home and wants to finish his career here. He's saying the right things, regardless of how he really views his career path.
It's tough to say, most people consider UT to be a top 10-15 job, while VT is a top 20-25 job. That said, all that matters is if Fuente and his staff want to stay.
EDIT: I think having Whit stick around (and continuing to have a good relationship with his coaches) has a lot to do with it. Buzz (was rumored to have) left his job at Marquette largely because he wasn't getting along with the AD. Both Bielema and Gary Anderson allegedly left Wiscy because they were tired of Barry Alvarez micromanaging the program.
Despite their past 5ish years, I would still put Tennessee higher than us in terms of being a mainstay in college football. They still field good teams, are in the SEC, have a buttload of money, and get a buttload of media attention.
and their fans are batshit crazy and turn on you in an instant
That's brutal. Especially after he brought home the Life Championship last year.
Anybody know of any job openings?
I'm a master mason.
It was just a matter of time
I don't like to be semantics guy because this is not really the point of your comment, but they haven't been "mainstays" since they ran Fullmer out in 2008. They went 40-47 from 2008-2014.
Leg for associating the correct adjective with the school.
Buttload is actually a noun, though.
Did someone say butt chugging? I'm down.
FTFY
Read my signature. Not worried at least until he wins a championship in the Burg.
I mean, if that were to happen (it's not)...we'd still have Bud!
I think I'd be more worried about Nebraska poaching Bud then CJF.
Why is Al Groh not a head coach again? I miss that guy.
You and me both...
You and me tres
Is Nebraska really an attractive job these days? It's brutal from a recruiting standpoint and then the move to the BIG10 takes away a bit of the nostalgic BIG12 lure that they once had. To boot they've been irrelevant for so long, can they really get the mojo back?
Not since they started testing for steroids
Fuente would be any school's dream hire. Because not only is he a great, young coach on the rise, but he's loyal. Now that doesn't mean he won't leave a place. He left Memphis for us. But he left it in a much better condition than he found it. I'm of the opinion, based on little more than my gut, I'll admit, that Fuente is at Tech for the long haul. But even if he leaves for seemingly greener pastures (of which none exist), I have every confidence that he will ensure that our trajectory is upward even after he goes. Yes, his name will keep popping up on shortlists, but we shouldn't worry about them. Especially for fucking Nebraska. Because it's in goddamn Nebraska. Not even Omaha, which may as well be fucking New Orleans as far as the Midwest is concerned. It's in LINCOLN. Can you even point to Lincoln, Nebraska on a map? Does anyone even know, without googling, what conference Nebraska plays in? I sure as shit don't, because the program has been irrelevant since before Miami was ACTUALLY back. We don't need to concern ourselves with Nebraska. Or Oklahoma. Or anyone else except North Carolina, who OUR dream hire is preparing to beat the academic fraud out of come Saturday. Go Hokies.
Can you even point to Lincoln, Nebraska on a map
how many folks outside of the burg can point to it on a map? I agree coach isn't going anywhere but to say the location of the huskers would be a reason Fu wouldn't want to go there is a little far fetched.
I don't know man. Nebraska is pretty fucking bad. I've driven east (From Colorado) on 80 (through Nebraska), 70 through Kansas and Missouri), and 40 (through Oklahoma), and Nebraska is by far the worst of the three.
Many (majority of?) people in the Western US don't even know which state Clemson is in. Just par for the course when it comes to small-town universities.
While I agree that most people outside of the area don't know where Blacksburg is, most people will agree that the Appalachian mountains are generally considered picturesque throughout. I've literally never heard anyone say any part of Nebraska is beautiful. The only thing of note I've been told is that it's cool to watch thunderstorms come in from many miles away....
So would Jesus Christ and Bear Bryant. I think they've got about the same odds of landing any of the three.
While I'm glad the VT online community has coalesced here on TKP, I really miss the snark from the posts on TheNorthEndzone. We need more of that.
I still rock out in my RMFW t-shirt. Nobody in the Midwest as any idea what the hell it means, but I still wear it proudly.
Thank you for that reference - I miss that site. I went back and read the "Fin" post, and got all nostalgic. (Can you get that way for something that's only been gone for a year or two??)
If you talk about DREAM hire, you would think Saban or Meyer would be on the list. Fuente is a great coach, and I hope we keep him, but if your gonna dream, dream big. If your are being realistic, be realistic. Fuente is neither. This is like picking Mrs. Howell to be your hut mate on Gilligan's Island.
Hmmm.
Fuente would be a dream hire for literally every program out there. Doesn't mean they have a chance in hell of getting him.
Fuente is the dream hire for VT. He's already at a good school in a P5 conference where there is a clear path to the national championship game, and he likes his boss.
I'm not sure I understand the logic of wanting to go somewhere where the expectations are ridiculous and the fans are more demanding, with no better chance at a national championship.
He just got here. I'd be surprised if he doesn't stick around long enough to have a major impact on this program.
Why go somewhere else and leave the best defensive coordinator in the nation behind? I'm sure it's nice only having to worry about the offense.
YOU DON'T TOUCH OTHER PEOPLES FU!
Orlando Sentinel : Jennifer Aniston would be dream wife says CentralFloridaHokie
Maybe. She seems standoffish, but I've never actually talked to her.
Take your fucking leg, lol.
I can't see him leave in the middle of building a program. If we were in year 4 and he had all these shinny new toys playing, that is one thing. We are in year 2 and he still has somethings to prove.
If he ever does leave, I think we will retain whoever the Offensive Coordinator is at the time. Memphis is still kicking ass since Fuente left.
I think Brad Cornelsen is the person we should worry about leaving. He has everything to gain by leaving, but I wouldn't worry because its Fuente's offense, so we will still be in good shape.
I agree on Cornelsen. After two or three years at VT following the years under Fuente at Memphis, I could see him going out to an AAC job or even something in the lower ends of the P5 to build a program (kills me to say it because I think he's a jerk, but see Franklin at Vandy) up from the bottom.
Mrs. Lwyr, a Vandy grad, goes on expletive laden tirades ever. singe. time. she sees James Franklin on television. Despite being something of a vicarious PSU fan. Still puts her through the roof e'rry time.
Not surprising that he's being talked about as a candidate for some blue blood (in this case, used to be blue blood) jobs. I doubt he leaves VT for Nebraska. LSU or Tennessee? Those may be different stories.
But seriously here... I get the hand wringing over Buzz leaving in basketball, I'm pretty much resigned that he's gone at the next opportunity with him supposedly pursuing the Ohio State job to the level I've heard, but Fuente? Yeah, I just don't see it.
First of all, why would he leave? Sure, there may be more money to make elsewhere, but VT literally pours money into football. If he wants something done, he's going to get it. He has a very clear path to the playoff, being in one of the 4 best spots in a Power 5 conference, one with name credibility that will lead to inflated rankings and high profile opportunities. Its also the program with the most consistent success in the division over the past 15 years with a legitimate recruiting hotbed in its own backyard (757). On top of that, he has one of, if not the best defensive coach on staff completely locking down one entire side of the game allowing him and his staff to focus on the offense and special teams. He's got it made here, and as long as he's able to capitalize on the opportunity that is presented to him, the sky is legitimately the limit on how high this program can climb under his watch.
Secondly, when was the last time a Power 5 program went and poached the coach of another Power 5 program? When was the last time someone left from what people would say is a Tier 2 job to a Tier 1? And I'm not talking a time when the coach stepped away and then came back at another location like Urban Meyer did, I mean a legitimate poaching? The last one I can really think of is Franklin going from Vandy to Penn St, but Vandy is legitimately bottom-tier P5. It really just doesn't happen, so to see all these articles come out with big name coaches being on wish lists is always funny. Those hires never happen anymore. Schools like Nebraska, Tennessee, etc, they're not going to get a Justin Fuente. They're going to go after the hot coach from the Group of 5 like a Tom Herman or the best coordinators in the country. We're far more likely to lose Bud to a collegiate head coaching position than we ever will be at losing Fuente.
So yeah, when I see articles like this, I just laugh. Its all a pipe dream to drive page clicks.
Charlie Strong from Louisville to Texas comes to mind. Paul Chryst from Pitt to Wisconsin to replace Gary Andersen who moved from Wisconsin to Oregon St, but was hired at Wisconsin after Bret Bielema left Wisconsin for Arkansas.
Definitely not as common as a McElwain/Herman/Sumlin/Fuente type trajectory, but it happens.
Louisville was AAC when Strong left for Texas in 2013. They became ACC in 2014. As for the other guys, most of those had to deal with coaches who were likely going to be ousted at their current job, so they took another one as a preemptive action. Like Beilema leaving Wisconsin. Most of the time, when something like that happens, its generally someone failing laterally, rather than moving up.
Good points all around. I forgot about the AAC's existence, honestly.
Chryst moved, because Pitt is not a program you can win at. Its real tough when you play second fiddle to Penn State, and he was a Wisconsin Alumnus. Bielema left the same reason Rich Rod left WVU, no improvements to the facilities were being made, and he couldn't keep his assistants. Both suck, so who cares. Looking at the list, it doesn't make much sense to leave a program you have success at for a higher profile school. Most fail.
My #sauces say that the Buzz/Ohio State thing was a leverage play. Called Whit and said, I need "x, y, z" here and I stay. Whit granted it and Buzz called OSU and said not interested.
I agree with all your points. I think there are only two legitimate reasons why he would leave:
1) Money. Now it's easy for me as a teacher who makes about $60k a year to say I would be content with $3 mil a year in Blacksburg, and not really get swayed by the idea of getting another 2 or 4 million somewhere else, but that's me. Everyone acts differently about money. That's not to say I think Fuente is the kind of person who would chase the highest paycheck, but money is always a factor.
2) Recruiting. I don't know how Fuente feels about recruiting, if he enjoys the challenge of convincing kids to come play at VT, but I would imagine it's much easier to convince kids to play at FSU, Miami, Bama, OSU, USC, etc.
I think there could also be factors that we know nothing about, like location. Personally, I love Blacksburg, and objectively think it's in one of the most beautiful areas of the country. But maybe he doesn't like cold winters, mountains, whatever. Maybe he eventually wants to be closer to extended family. Obviously this is all conjecture, maybe none of these are factors, but there is a lot to consider when changing jobs/location.
With all that being said, again, I agree with all of your original points and think VT is an extremely attractive job, and more-so, Fuente seems to have the right temperament/character to really thrive in and enjoy a place like Blacksburg. I am hopeful that he is here for the long haul.
I don't know how Fuente feels about recruiting, if he enjoys the challenge of convincing kids to come play at VT, but I would imagine it's much easier to convince kids to play at FSU, Miami, Bama, OSU, USC, etc.
I guess part of the job is to elevate VT's program so that it becomes easier to convince kids to come here. I think they've already made a lot of progress in that regard, as VT is in the conversation with recruits who are also considering those schools.
Sort of like with Buzz, it's the challenge, but it's salesmanship, and building a program. It's a lot easier with an administration who is 100% behind you, which describes VT.
You also have to factor in cost of living. $3m goes a very, very long way in Blacksburg. In fact, I'd be willing to bet the quality of living at $3m in Blacksburg is better than some jobs which might pay nearly double, just based on cost of living adjustments alone. Should Whit ever open up the checkbook to pay what a top dollar coach earns, I can't see how it would ever be better to collect a similar salary elsewhere. And given what we pay Buzz, you know the checkbook will open if Whit deems it to be deserved.
I would say cost of living is a very real factor when measuring salaries in the thousands but not as much when measuring in the millions. There is some advantage there though for sure.
We are talking about college towns not big cities. Outside of the colleges in major metro areas (USC, Miami, etc) I would venture to guess that most are similar. I ran the numbers between Blacksburg and Lincoln, NE and Lincoln is actually cheaper. I'm all for a good exaggeration but there are very, very few places that one could move where getting paid nearly $3M more and lead to a decrease in your quality of life.
http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/blacksburg-va/lincoln-ne/3000000
Cost of Living Comparison:
Blacksburg, Virginia - Lincoln, Nebraska
Change Cities or Salary
A salary of $3,000,000 in Blacksburg, Virginia could decrease to $2,607,345 in Lincoln, Nebraska
Cost of Living Indexes Blacksburg Lincoln
Overall 106.2 92.3
Food 92.7 92.1
Housing 124 83
Utilities 94.3 100.6
Transportation 98.2 99.3
Health 99.2 97.1
Miscellaneous 100.9 96.9
100=national average
COMPARISON HIGHLIGHTS
Lincoln is 13% cheaper than Blacksburg.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 33% cheaper in Lincoln.
I mean, would you rather have a view of this:
or this:
Of the big football school towns that I've spent any amount of time in, Lincoln is far and away the worst place.
Blacksburg
Boulder (Colorado)
Fort Collins (Colorado State)
Charlottesville
Columbia (Mizzou)
Norman (Oklahoma)
Stillwater (Oklahoma State)
Lawrence (Kansas)
Manhattan (Kansas State)
Pueblo (CSU-Pueblo, D3 champs woo)
3985 pounds of shit
Lincoln
You spelled Miami wrong.
I missed the spring break junket to south beach my junior year because I was making terrible decisions related to women. I'll have to take your word for it.
Something went terribly wrong here.
I thought the inclusion of 'Pueblo' made it pretty obvious that some of those were included as a joke. Besides, didn't you know that UVA was once ranked #1?!?!?!?!11111
Also besides, I find it hard to talk shit about Kansas after that orange bowl thing that I don't remember. Also also, because Aqib Talib will fucking shoot you. In the ass. After the strip club. Or try to poke your eyes out. Or rip your gold chain off your neck on the sideline.
As a final tangent, what blackmail does Aqib Talib have on Roger Gooddell? I mean, I'm glad he's managed to duck any significant suspensions, but his jackassery seems like it should have gotten him at least 6-8 games by now.
uhhhhhh....
Edit: Son of a....
Love Boulder. Was out there for a month and seriously considered applying for jobs in the area.
Let's be real: in a purely hypothetical world where Alabama or Ohio State backs the money truck up to his house tomorrow morning, Fuente is gone.
That said, I'm not worried about programs like Nebraska and Tennessee, even if they're able to offer him a little more money. It's already pretty clear that he has the resources and support to keep the VT job probably as long as he wants it, and the same wouldn't be true for a lateral move to programs like those even if they can offer him a little more money in the short term.
Join the Hokie Club and we won't even have to worry about it.
I FOUND FIREMAN'S OTHER ALT ACCOUNT!
I can barely type on one account and now I have two?
One is your athlete account and one is your average student account to avoid any violations.
I would imagine that worrying about a problem before it's actually a problem causes high blood pressure and makes one more susceptible to disease.
I bet Whit Babcock right now is living in the moment and enjoying a nice late morning Friday breakfast.
What is everyone talking about?! Why wouldn't he want to move to a program that hasn't been relevant since early 90's in a state with almost no top teir recruits in it year to year, a new AD that may last less time than you do and where the only interstate through it has exactly 1 fucking turn along its entire length?
The Cabella's store in Sydney is badass though. And the fans are seriously awesome.
Who cares if your state has top tier recruits when they end up at Clemson/PSU/OSU/FSU/Bama
At least they're there to be recruited though.
Nebraska isn't a better job than VT, and Fuente's making more than they're paying Riley.
Oklahoma is the only job we would have to worry about. #sauces
Glad to see Lincoln Riley there for what would appear to be the next several years.