According to the after game radio show, Fuente said he didn't meet with any of the '99 team while they were in town.
I'm sorry, but this is a big representation of the #1 problem with Fuente. He has no desire to build and continue the family that Frank built. It's no wonder that former players are campaigning to be the next coach. I would too if the current guy didn't give a damn about you or the foundation he's supposedly trying to build off of
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This is pretty damn rough of an indictment if you ask me.
I saw this on Twitter yesterday... Yikes.
That's a pretty darn big oversight imo. It's the best team we've had and a huge deal to our fanbase. You find the time, even if its just for a few minutes, to meet, greet, and all that, especially if you're a coach who has a cloud around you that you're cold and stand offish. That's like a PR 101 first day lesson that you failed.
Also, I'm a little disappointed with the Athletic Department as a whole if what I've read is true. The reports I read said the 99 team got a video package that had already been released online and were essentially given the same treatment as a Hokie celebrity of the week. Nope. Can't have that. 99 deserves to be elevated way more. If you don't understand why, you don't understand VT and I question your abilities and decision making
People freaked out at me when I was critical of Whit's overall handling of the Football program in the thread about him being in the running for USC but...
Is Danielle Bartelstein available?
And HOAT shoots his shot. /s
I've got more loaded and ready, this is just an opening salvo.
For real, if we turn into Tennessee, then both Fuente and Whit have to answer for it - football has been our bread and butter and if that isn't going well, then what exactly is? If Danielle is the person to re-institute the culture, why not bring her in? No guarantees that it would work out, but at least Sands could be the guy to say, 'It wasn't working and the solution was to move in a different direction'
Take a couple photos to blast out on the twitter feed saying "great to meet these Hokie legends" or something. It's easy, takes three minutes, and shows the fans you get it.
Inexcusable, but also really unfortunate - just another on a list of examples of how inept CJF is when it comes to understanding the need, or ability to build and maintain relationships.
Easily the most damning example of Fuente's inability to foster a culture.
What a dick.
I'm done.
Fuente is the problem with this program.
I am just astonished this guy, who looked for all the world like the best possible replacement for Beamer, turned into such a complete miss.
#BeGoneFuente
Can we bring those '99 guys in to teach our roster how to be a team, and negate the Fuente crap lessons?
Not only should have met with the 99 team, he should have invited them to speak to the current team at practices.
Or have them come into the locker room right before walking out and speak to them. How cool would it have been for those players to also run out on the field during Enter Sandman.
Dick move by Fuente.
That's what I was hoping for at halftime to talk them up!
He's a No Talent Ass Clown
Lol he really needs to fuck off. Pure disrespect to Frank's legacy and the amazing players. I never want to hear Fuente and Frank compared in the same sentence ever again, the guy is the polar opposite of Frank and doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as him.
How the hell do you not meet with this team during the week of their celebration?
Christ Almighty, this guy has no idea what being a Hokie means. No wonder this ship is sailing off a damn cliff.
It takes some next level fuck-uppery to sail your ship off a cliff.
[Checks box score]
Mixed metaphor checks out.
How is this not halfway to plaid by now?
It's such an easy win. "Game day is pretty hectic, but I popped in for a few minutes, thanked them for coming back and for everything they did for the program." Boom. Either he doesn't get it or he doesn't care. I don't know which is worse.
This is pretty damn unforgivable. Was it Fuente that didn't make time or was it Whit that didn't enable the time? There are probably a few people that seriously dropped the ball here.
I hope Frank came by to hang out with them.
There's no excuse for blowing off the best/most successful team in school history.
I've been trying to give Fuente the benefit of the doubt for the past 1.5 years, but this is just unacceptable.
see yah FU
Fuente:
Seems pretty inexcusable. I mean, who made the arrangements for the '99 team to be there? Seems that they'd be making damned sure Fuente got some time with the team. This is an opportunity missed.
That said, there are people who seem to relish this sort of oversight and take
joya perverse pleasure in being outraged by it.Edit: changed the last sentence to better represent what I'm trying to say.
What are you even trying to say here? What part of our fan base is taking joy in the current situation? Do you have examples of all these people?
None, he just couldn't get a post in without a little Whataboutism
At least admit that you're taking joy in this.
You guys are ready to pounce on any mistake Fuente makes. This was clearly an error in judgment. Fuente is not at all a PR hound. But you folks are using it as part of your weekly/weakly character assassination.
I think it was clearly a stupid move from a PR perspective, but Fuente was more focused on trying to win a game. Him missing an opportunity at PR says something about him. Blasting him over it says something about you guys.
Oh FFS
🙄
Definitely agree with this. I think alot of people who are upset about this are just upset with how the team is performing and are willing to attack Fuente on everything he does.
Fuente could say his favorite actress is Emma Watson and some of you guys would find a way to spin that negatively.
Maybe meeting with the '99 team was more a Frank/Bud responsibility. Maybe Fuente didn't really have the time since the game was a day earlier than usual. Maybe Fuente was talking to recruits. Maybe Fuente was embarrassed by how the team is performing and didn't feel "worthy" being around them. Maybe the '99 guys didn't really care about meeting Fuente, they cared about seeing their teammates they (probably) haven't seen in 20 years.
I will say, I had a friend who has pretty good seats behind the VT bench who told me he saw Fuente talking to Mike Vick and Bruce before the game. I'm sure some of you are upset that Fuente wasn't "100% focused" before the game. I'm sure the rest of you are upset that "well he didn't meet with the rest of them".
This is spot on. People have turned on him hard, but it's getting tougher to find supporting arguments and the off the field issues are mounting.
Last year you can find excuses for the things that went on, it's hard at this point to not at least be like "okay, what IS going on here?".
With all he had done to show support for Beamer, #25 jersey, having an open arm policy to Frank, I can't imagine it to be malicious/intentional. But at the same time, as people have said...You can't give 5 minutes?
It's losing the support from those influential players that's going to be hard to overcome.
I think it's sort of inexplicable, but Fuente isn't here to explain himself.
There are lots of people who are here attributing what THEY THINK are his motives, as if they know his truth. I'm just saying that maybe he sees it a bit differently than they realize.
Fuentes ran out of mulligans with me at the end of last year. He further wrote himself into this corner with that SI article. This team is his. The results are his. And most undeniably his actions are his.
He made his explanation on this. He didn't have the time.
Well maybe if he had ended up in the correct side of a beat down with Duke, not having had time would have carried some water with some people.
I still would have called it out as a mistake. Because it was.
Didn't have the time. I could have believed that from Loeffler who looked like he got 2 hours sleep most nights.
From Fuentes? He looks like he gets at least the full 8 every night before a game. Hell, from his expression you'd think he was asleep half the game as well. He only seems to wake up when his best ball carrier doesn't grade out at 110 percent every play.
And yes, I'm calling him Fuentes from now on.
I don't have time to correct the spell check.
honestly, I started getting worried after the SECOND loss to GT & CPJ. Beamer's teams never lost to GT, in consecutive years. The honeymoon was absolutely over, after ODU '18.
I think it was over after 2017 Miami. I remember a lot of fans being upset with Fuente for leaving JJ in the game despite the fact that the game was over. JJ was visibly injured and getting hit on every play. Then we follow that up with a shitty loss to Georgia Tech where Fuente was point-chasing in the first half, a narrow win over Pitt, a win against UVA where we scored 10 points, and of course the bowl loss against Oklahoma State. That was the end right there. The FSU win didn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence in me because the offense left a lot of points on the field that night, and FSU nearly lost to Samford the next weekend. My concerns were confirmed when we lost to ODU by two touchdowns and then during the four game losing streak later on.
JJ also hurt his foot in that miami game and played out the rest of the year not really being able to step into throws
I'm perfectly OK with that. It's honest.
But blasting him over not doing a "meet and greet" with that games' visitors should be more directed to Whit than Fuente.
I think he should have met with them, but this is far from Fuente's biggest problem right now.
At this point you're just glossing over the fact it was the 20 year anniversary of the best team in school history just to be difficult. The fact you're willing to just whitewash it like that to make him look better says a lot about your intentions here.
If you read my posts in this thread, and I feel certain you have, you know I'm not diminishing the importance of the '99 team.
I see no one trying to assign motives. Fuente already gave his motive..he didn't have time.
I see lots of people pointing out that this is a week excuse, which it 100% is.
Truth is it doesn't really matter why Fuente didn't meet with the team, not doing it was a foolish mistake no matter why. It was another PR blunder, approximately #129 of his tenure and for a lot of people, really demonstrated how detached he is from the VT Fanbase.
Also, "sort of inexplicable" is an oxymoron.
Fuente post-2016 has been an abject disaster at VT, please name me ONE SINGLE POSITIVE factor in the Football Program right now....
Just a tip, it might not be a good idea to visit a FanSite 2 days after getting taken behind the woodshed by a G-D Basketball School if you can't stand hearing criticism of the Coach.
Well there certainly is no shortage of them.
You have a program that is, from any viewpoint, struggling and you have members of the greatest team in school history in-house. You "capitalize" on that by doing absolutely nothing.
Either he's too ignorant to understand the potential importance of this, or he simply doesn't care. Either way, it's yet another sign of how incredibly incompetent Fuente is.
The guy is simply unsupportable at this point. He's a recruiting nightmare, on the field failure, has not demonstrated any pattern of positive Player Development, and he's a putz with the media and relationships.
Furthermore, he is coming off a bye week--he would have had more time in this week's schedule than any other. It's just another in a long line of excuses from a guy who, in the end, isn't qualified for the job.
I highly doubt anyone on this board is in a joyful mood at this point. We want what's best for the program and that is for Fuente to be gone.
Edited: clarity of subject
but Fuente was more focused on trying to win a game
Who would have known?
Lol...if that was the result of intense focus, then Fuente's gameplan needs lots of Adderall
I find it hard to believe that Fuente is capable of leading a P5 team if he is incapable of realizing the importance of meeting with probably the BEST VT TEAM OF ALL TIME.
Meeting with that team is plainly un-teachable good leadership. What we need to turn this around is plainly un-teachable good leadership.
Joy is probably the wrong word. I do see a lot of irrational misguided anger on this thread though.
I'd be curious to know what kept him so busy because it sure as hell wasnt game prep. This is complete bullshit and the straw that I hope obliterates the camels back
Setting up spring-loaded shotguns around Lane in case any of the beat writers got too close.
As an attorney I would think you would know how that ends for Fuente. Link
I'm familiar with that case, yes.
As quickly as we were taught about this in Torts I was thinking boobytraps on people's property was going to be a common thing. Haven't encountered it once in my civil or criminal practice. Interesting stuff though.
Easy, fellers. If Fuente had won this game 45-10, are you really piling on this hard?
Confirms dickhead status regardless of game result. Seriously, there's absolutely no way he doesn't have 5 minutes for a quick meet and greet and some selfies for the twittersphere.
I honestly don't think it was because he's a dickhead or rude. I think he just flat out doesn't get it or understand the importance of relationships and PR at all.
Ok, maybe it was a bit presumptive to jump straight to that conclusion. But him being completely aloof of history and our whole "This is Home" mantra isn't remarkably better.
I mean, yeah, Frank built the house. But MV7 and the '99 team let the world know where the house was.
I can only speak for myself but I'd still be pretty mad at him for it.
Funny how nobody called Fuente a dickhead in 2016 or 2017.
I'm sure Beamer dealt with the same shit when he was 2-8-1 in his 5th year coaching at VT.
Winning cures everything man. If Fuente goes 11-1 next year, no one is going to be upset that he didn't hang out with Danny Coale at TOTS (or some other banal PR miscue).
Chief, of Fuente goes 11-1 next year, your season tickets are on me
This has me feeling some type of way.
Hey Justin, I'll help you pack.
It is really a shame what has happened in the last 2 years. I don't think there is anyway we move forward with Fuente. He gets rich and this football program is left picking up the pieces. I'm not so sure Whit Babcock is as great as everyone says either. Bud retiring has a lot more to do with this disaster of a program than him not wanting to coach anymore.
Bud is as responsible as anyone for the issues.
Bud is also responsible for putting VT on the map. And Bud is responsible for fielding the best defense in the nation over the last 25 years he has graced VT as it's DC.
true. Just the same as beamer but in his last few years everyone knew it was time for beamer to hang it up. He built Tech but when it's time to go it's time to go. Everyone is aware of what Bud has done at VT and he probably deserves a statue besides Beamer's as well, but when it's time to go it's time to go. This last two years have been atrocious in terms of defense. That can't be put on Fuente. You can see the intensity from Bud isn't there on the sideline anymore. It's been a great run with him and he has built VT's defense into something that is normally feared. We still lead the nation in sacks and interceptions. But the past two years isn't even slightly off from what we are used to. It fell off a cliff.
bud doesn't have to meet with the 99 team. he is a part of the 99 team.
Though not publicized, I guarantee that Bud, JHam, and Wiles all made time to talk with the players from the '99 team at some point.
Bud applied for the head job and didn't get it. He's not as responsible for this as the head coach is. The defense is not good but it's more on recruiting and retention than scheme and coaching. Bud was never looked at as a great recruiter even when we had top 10 defenses. Sure he has some responsibility for the personnel, but he's essentially coaching an fcs team in the ACC.
Bud is coaching an FCS-caliber team?
I'm pretty sure that's not true.
Let's have a look: Farley, Hollifield, Garbutt, Conner, Diablo, Floyd all look like decent recruits to me.
That's like the anti Buzz Williams move
Buzz improved things every year. Fuente, just the opposite.
The point is that Buzz went out of his way to meet with great people and congratulate others on their success, trying to take things from them and apply it to his own success
No because the Buzz Williams move is to pretend you care and then bail when a better situation arises.
If Fuente acted like Buzz, he would have taken a job in the Big 12 for more money before the 2018 season.
Is this seriously the narrative people are pushing about buzz? People are making him a villian? Incredible.
The dude bailed when he realized the team was going to suck this year, what do you expect me to think? Buzz had the chance to build something special in Blacksburg the same way Jim Boeheim built Syracuse or the way Bennett is building something in C-Ville but he bailed for more money.
Brent was going to Texas A&M as soon as that job opened up. Had nothing to do with the future outlook of the VT team.
What's your response going to be when Brent leaves A&M for a shitty Pac-12 job five years from now?
I would bet an exorbitant amount of money that it never happens
Buzz is the George Costanza of college basketball.
Finds a program in a bad state, build it up for 4-5 years and when they have to go through a rebuild, bail for another program in a bad state but willing to open the checkbooks.
I'm not going to pretend to be shocked when another bad program with insane resources entices Buzz away from College Station five years from now.
I'm not trying to be a dick to you Skutt because I know you're a lot closer to the program than I am and you do a really good job. At the same time, the national narrative of Buzz is he's a snake oil salesman. I listen to a lot of sports podcasts and used to listen to OSP religiously before Tate Fraizer left. No one in national media was shocked Buzz left VT for A&M. In addition, almost everyone made the same point that Buzz will probably leave A&M for another cash grab. He'd rather be a carpetbagger than try to become the next Coach K. Buzz values short-term security over legacy.
If Buzz attempted a second rebuild at VT and didn't make the tournament in the next four years, he has to take a step back when he got fired. If he goes .500 at A&M over the next four years, nobody is going to care because "look at where the program was when he got the job".
I don't know how anyone can downvote this.
Not only is it a valid opinion, it's 100% true. Ask Marquette.
He left Marquette due to changes in administration he didn't like. Also he wanted to coach in the best league in CBB. He's from Texas, and we suspected from Day 1 of Buzzketball he wouldn't be here for ever. You mean to tell me if you could take a large pay raise to coach in your home state at a school you're close to you wouldn't take it? Bullshit. This is sour grapes.
Marquette fans were pretty annoyed when he left them high and dry.
That Buzz left VT at the peak of his value also isn't really much a question.
Don't kid yourself that Buzz was sticking around for a rebuild.
So we're left with either a) Buzz knew he was getting the A&M job, or b) Buzz was just going to wing it.
This isn't sour grapes. This is not kidding yourself.
I understand where you're coming from. But Texas A&M was always the end goal for him. It's where he started, he met his wife near there, his family is near there. There is no reason to think he is going to move on from College Station.
His previous moves (Marquette to VT, VT to Texas A&M) certainly tie into that "cash grab" stereotype. But this last move was the one he was always aiming for.
I get where you're coming from as well and I understand why you're digging your heels on this. I get why A&M is special to him.
It rubs me the wrong way when people are putting Buzz on a pedestal because simply because he won. Winning forces casual fans turn a blind eye to minor blunders. A lot of the antics he pulled wouldn't have been tolerated if he was a .500 coach.
Here's an example (I can pull up several more if need be):
Could you imagine the shitstorm on TKP if Fuente did the same thing?
Watch Buzz from afar, I found him to be disingenous but endearing at the same time (if that makes sense). I loved how hard he worked and how much he cares about his players. I didn't care for his grandstanding and showmanship. Everytime he spoke, it felt contrived and he was trying to push a caricature of himself. He's like a blue collar Russell Wilson. I glossed over it because he brought the basketball program back to respectability. Now that he's left, I'm more embolden to vocalize my impression of him.
I'd like to think you're right about him staying at A&M but Buzz's history don't lend itself to me trusting his intentions.
I am, by no means, putting him on a pedestal. I think how he left the program — bare cupboard, almost no official visits, the process of leaving town (lol oops), etc. — is yucky.
As somebody else said, I'm glad he came. He helped build this program back up. I'm also glad he's gone. But saying that he's leaving for another program is where I'll dig my heels in, as you pointed out.
"narrative"?
Is this not exactly what he did?
I mean, his tenure at VT falls into the Bob Seger "he used us and we used him and neither one cared. We were getting our share" category.
Buzz did lots of good things for the program. Obviously, this is true.
However, Buzz exited the program is abysmal fashion. This plan was in motion before the beginning of the season and Buzz was very in tune with what was happening.
If you want evidence, just look at what was done with recruiting by almost using up all 2 year official visits for the university with no sincere intentions of staying. 3 of those 4 commits followed him. If we hadn't used almost every official visit up in this process I could be a little more forgiving. As a note this makes what CMY has done thus far even more impressive. Kudos
Now, I get this is part of the game and hard to 100% avoid. However, those around the program know and have always known Buzz is out for Buzz and that was good for us until his plans didn't involve VT and then it would be more penalizing than the average coach departure.
100% agreed.
Wasn't what he said when he got here, but I don't think anyone was all that surprised. Was good for him, was good for us.
Was a little annoying when he was seemingly leaving us empty, but I'm optimistic about the new regime. Whit worked it out.
What previous players want to be coach?
Seems Greenberg-esque. And we know how that worked out.
I didn't hear the segment, but based on what I know about the guy, I am sure it wasn't malicious or bad-intentioned.
However, he doesn't fucking get it.
He is tone deaf.
Is it perhaps because he doesnt want any association with the previous administration?
Kinda like how everyone ALWAYS mentions you dont want to be the guy to follow a legend. Cause you are always compared to it and no one "moves on"?
a) If he didn't want that pressure he shouldn't have taken the job.
b) Win and no one cares how you do it.
Or could it be that he doesn't even know these guys? Doesnt excuse not making an appearance but it isnt like he can just relive the good old days with them.
But he didn't have to sit with them and shoot the sh** for 90 minutes.
5 friggin minutes, say "It's great to have you guys here, you mean a lot to the program and the school. The team and I appreciate you being here."
A couple of quick photos..maybe a nice shot of Fuente with Mike Vick to put on the VT Football Twitter....boom...done.
He didn't visit with the 99 players to distract us from the game story.
Unfortunately the communication with ex players probably didn't help. I am friends with one starter and friends with the brother of another starter. One was invited 2 weeks ago but only through one social media site. The other received an invite last Tuesday. As we have heard in the past, this continues to be a big problem with ex players. This is more on Whit IMO but wanted to add that context too.
This is on whoever organized it.
I mean, everyone they had the contact info for should have been invited, and there should have been a "meet and greet" with Fuente and Whit.
This can't be completely on Fuente. This is on whoever organized it. And definitely on Whit, as someone administrative should have been putting in some energy to make it work out.
Realistically, I get it. My uncle was a professional baseball player. He gets invited to events. Sometimes, it's pretty decent. Other times, it's like he has to do all the leg work himself, or they do something stupid like make him pay for his own tickets.
As that was the most successful football team in the history of VT football, you'd think they might have put some effort into that one.
At one point during the game, the camera showed Beamer and Vick talking on the sideline. It made me sad; they looked kind of sad.
I just cannot even believe hat Fuente would miss on that opportunity. The video that was put together was great. But they should've done full-on player interviews etc. Fuente should've put together 30 minutes to an hour of game film from that season. Shown the team that, the player interviews, had the players come and speak. Get a good injection of the intangible stuff leading up to a must win ACC game. What a miss. I agree with what most are saying; Fuente is a nice, well-meaning person, but he just doesn't get the big picture stuff.
I'm expecting Fuente to call plays this week. Take a little more ownership at the very least. I'm also expecting Willis and Hooker to take a little time off since they apparently were both playing hurt. Put QP out there. QP has used his redshirt, so even if he wants to enter the portal after this year, I'm sure he'd appreciate some playing time.
What are the chances that Fuente is fired and Bud becomes head coach. Bud should've been given the job in the first place. He would know how to identify a good OC, and one with which he would have good chemistry. Instead, Whit forced Fuente and Bud to coach together. Clearly has not been a good match, aside from the UNC wins where they bro hug.
The chances are Blutarsky. Bud is now in retirement with an official coaching title. He's on cruise control and counting down the days.
I have no idea what the schedule is like for coaches, players, support staff, etc prior to a game. Lots of questions though...doesn't the team normally stay in Roanoke the night before the game? They were probably there Thursday night. When did all 99 players arrive? Wednesday or Thursday? What time does the team arrive at the stadium on Friday? Are there recruits there that Fuente and staff need to meet? Someone under Whit likely scheduled events for the 99 team...maybe they planned a Saturday breakfast with them and the current coaching staff, prior to them leaving town? Who knows?
All that being said, it seems impossible that whoever helped organize the 99 team being there didn't schedule a 15 minute meet and greet with the coaching staff and current players. How many 99 players were there? I would've thought all of them would've been on the field during warm-ups, and in the locker room for the pre-game speech. How doesn't that happen?! Someone absolutely dropped the ball.
I put very little blame on Fuente, because the schedule for the 99 team is the last thing he needs to worry about, especially the way things are going right now...but someone has to initiate that contact. If I fault Fuente for anything, he should've requested those guys be around the current players...there's a lot our current guys could learn from that team.
Well obviously he was busy prepping for the Duke game because he did such a fanfuckingtastic coaching job this past week...
I know it was a tough situation. Stepping in for a legend, someone who IS Blacksburg, that created an aura of football and everything in the valley. Attempting to fill shoes of such a great coach, father figure, leader, community stalwart. I get it wasn't easy. But one way to combat that is to sidle up to the legend and learn. Listen. Chat with. Ask questions. Just immerse yourself into what he created, and how he did it. That's what Blacksburg was: Beamers domain. And that's not even hyperbole. But Justin rolled in, didn't buy the big house, didn't ensconce himself, didn't warm up to the returning players, didn't give the big donors (or even little donors) that extreme warm and fuzzy. Give it a minute....they said. Let him work and do his thing...they said. Well, things haven't changed. Well, unfortunately that's wrong. Things have change A LOT. We no longer have a patriarch, architect, leader of Blacksburg and the valley. We have a visitor that is only stopping in for a bit. He will be moving on, but only after much mayhem.
I am truly disappointed in the stories I hear about community events, football events, and the headliner of this thread...not having time for the '99 team. Change is hard, but you know that Frank would have done something. Anything. Invited them to a group outing. I don't know what, but THIS story wouldn't have been written. And that makes me sad. I can't even say I'm mad...just totally disappointed.
Much like decades ago, we will survive this. And we will be strong once again after some time. At least we can begin the healing process now even before the experiment is over. Go enjoy other football games before the NCAA collapses. Plan a trip to Blacksburg to watch a basketball game. Get excited for March madness. Look at the Olympic sports and support them by checking them out on the ACCN or in person. Allow this as an opportunity to become a well-rounded Hokie and not just a football fan. We were spoiled, in a big way. We all knew it. Now, let's show the world and Blacksburg just how hard-core Hokie we are!
Yes!
To me this shows that more than anything, Justin Fuente doesn't get what it means to be a Hokie. He just doesn't. Closing off the program was the first mistake and it's almost been a series of unfortunate events ever since. I mean that was ok when we were winning, but we haven't been winning for a few years now and he's only dug in his heels more. And then to just ignore the 99 team like this during their anniversary celebration hosted by the school?
Man, he just doesn't get it.
Once we get a coach here who gets it and understands what it means to be a Hokie and how much we respect those who came before? Yeah we'll get back to where we want to be. It just isn't going to happen with him. He doesnt have what it takes to coach a high profile program with a proud history.
I'm not even sure it was ok when we were winning. The peeps I know that live in town and are around him and his family were still unsure of him when he was putting up big win totals. I know Whit understands the situation, and have hopes that he will bring us the next guy that will open his arms up to Blacksburg. And it will be reciprocated.
Honestly, if one were to ask Fuente "What's a Hokie?" I don't think he'd be able to answer correctly.
I am.
He hasn't embraced Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, or Hokie Nation.