News: Baylor is targeting Virginia Tech's Justin Fuente as next coach and is planning an in person interview in next 24 hours, multiple sources tell @YahooSports. Fuente is considered leading candidate.— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 15, 2020
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Whether you're in the pro Fuente camp or not, this would be a really crappy time to lose a coach.
"Hello Bud, are you sure you still want to be retired?"
If it did happen I'd be happy with Bud for at least a year, like Jim Grobe did for Baylor
For Buds health I don't think this is the appropriate option
I don't believe Fu leaves.
Sorry, I disagree. Probably a lot more moola. He doesn't care about VT - it's a stepping stone. He cares about $$. He's from TX. What more could he ask for? Sure it would be crappy for him to do it....but, again it's all about money. All the new hires: will they get canned when a new HC brings his entourage? Recruits will be let out of their signed LOI - why make them hang around if they're going to pout? But, hey, recruiting sucks - they write big articles about signing a 3-star! Seriously? One from VA this year. We sit back and let PSU, Michigan, Clemson and the like rob everything out of the 757. And how many Texas boys will get homesick or dissatisfied and run for the portal? But what would we lose? Someone who gave us a losing season last year. A former QB who, come the start of the season, still thought Willis was the answer. An embarrassing loss to UVA. Shit, give him a plane ticket and pat him on the back!
Insert 'That Escalated Quickly Meme' here
Fuente is from Oklahoma, not Texas.
I don't think he saw VT as a stepping stone or that he's all about money. He didn't previously rebuff offers from other big name P5 programs for no reason. Personally I think one of the major positives he believed VT offered was job stability. In the wake of the strong vocal backlash from the fan base this season, I'm not sure he would consider that to be the case at this point.
My speculated theory is that Fuente was unaware of the unique challenges that exist in Blacksburg. In modern day college football, we're at a disadvantage due to (1) funding and (2) location (all of our geographic rivals are closer to our recruiting hotbeds than we are).
This tweet from really hit home for me...
My theory is that Fuente has realized/come to terms with the glass ceiling that exists at VT. Our budget is not keeping up with that of our peers (due to the ACC's failure to monetize TV rights, and our medium size donor base), and it's starting to limit us on the field.
EDIT: JUGS comment above further supports my theory:
When Fuente was introduced as head coach at VT, a common question was "Why VT?" to which Fuente often responded with "Why not?" I think after 3-4 years, he's starting to answer that question...
It's a great point, but a lot of this is on Fuente's coaching performance. You want to see donations and fan involvement, which leads to contributions, increase? Don't box out fans at every possible movement and wall off the program. Also, stop losing inexplicable games to Syracuse, George Tech x2, ODU, and barely surviving against FCS teams. Fuente lowered the program's ceiling to eight wins a year and competing for a Coastal title once every four years. He holds a lot of the blame for why the program doesn't have enough money to blow up the phones of big time assistants.
People may disagree with this, but Fuente might not have understood that he would have to sell his program to not just recruits, but also to fans. At Illinois St, Memphis, and TCU, I imagine there was a "if we build it, they will come" attitude. He built it on his own schedule, and the fans came. He probably didn't realize that he would have to pander to fans as well as recruits; he probably thought he could hire someone else to lead efforts for fan interaction.
Our ceiling was 8 wins for three seasons before Fuente got here. The foundation started to become unsturdy in 2010. Fuente didn't have the funds to fix it in 4 years.
No he doesn't. Jim Weaver deserves more blame for this than anyone else. I think Swoffard deserves plenty of blame as well. Ultimately, it's Whit's job to fundraise, NOT Fuente's. If Whit feels otherwise, then he should have the conversation up front with any potential coach.
The '8 win ceiling' was the reason folks started getting restless and Frank was shown the door. The expectation was NEVER that that level of success was our ceiling moving forward. I don't think CJF has performed to expectations.
Additionally, where we may be behind in revenues, saying 'Fuente didn't have the funds to fix it' is disingenuous. We don't have the funds to beat BC, Duke, GT, Syracuse, UVA, ODU, we're squeaking by Furman??....that's not a funding issue.
Fuente's record:
10-4
9-4
6-7
8-5
He may be poised to turn a corner here. But we may never find out, since some supporters of the program aren't happy with Fuente.
You know, it can get worse. So be careful what you wish for.
The more "his"recruits play, the more games he loses.
You ever watch the Big Lebowski? You remind me of Walter, and I mean that as a compliment.
Ah yes, the Big Lebowski, and one of the greatest scenes in cinema history. Also, mildly on point with news breaking about Fu possibly leaving...
New shit has has come to light
Bullshit mark it 8 dude.
HAS THE WHOLE WORLD GONE CRAZY? AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT THE RULES?
I approve of these posts, legs for all
At the end of the day, we may never know if 8 wins was the start of an upswing or if it was a regression towards the mean. There's a fair argument here for both optimism and pessimism.
Your confusing the macro and the micro. The macro trend is that due to lack of funding we have fallen behind our ideal position in terms of recruiting and staff quality. The result is that that instead of having a ~85% chance of beating the median ACC team, we now have a ~60% chance of beating that team.
I don't disagree with this, but I believe this a misalignment between what's required to meet fans' expectations and what fans are actually giving.
Nailed it. VT did more with a lot less for a LONG time. Fans complained about Beamer being complacent with 10 win seasons but fans were complicit in that by continuing to provide mediocre financial support (Jim Weaver's approach was a significant factor as well). Ultimately, fan expectations had become drastically skewed from the norm in college football and we've gotten an unfortunate wake up call. It won't help that some have convinced themselves to dig in and withhold financial support as they pretend that is a form of exercising their opinion toward recent on-field results.
Not only did VT do more with less, but the 'cost of living' to be a top 25 program was less as well. VT was getting 1% raises every year while everyone else was getting 5% raises. That's compounded over 10 years, and that's why we find ourselves in this situation.
Yeah, except two (major points). You blame Fuente for bad/headscratcher losses. Beamer had some of those too. Beamer was a great coach, but we lost to JMU in 2010. If that's not a bad/headscratcher loss, I don't know what is. And we lost to GA Tech a number of times before Fuente ever came to campus.
The other is Fuente didn't lower the ceiling. Fans' expectations (at least some fans) have been lowered, or think they have to lower them. Last year we had an INCREDIBLY young team, with true and redshirt freshmen all over the place. This year, we were again a young team, as evidenced by returning 19 starters (we could use the 21 figure because even though they're not all returning, 21 starters had eligibility remaining, getting to the youth on the team). We'll get to 10 wins again, but "fans" like you can't want to kick him out after his 3rd year. That's straight out of the SEC fan manual.
He holds the blame why the program doesn't have enough money? Now you're straight on drugs. There wasn't more money when Beamer had us at consistent 10 win seasons, so there's absolutely NO way you can peg this on Fuente. This article states that VA Tech athletic giving increased by 59% in 2018. You can't argue that increase was because Beamer fans had a delay in wanting to give. Based on your argument, athletic donations should have gone down.
I agree there are definitely unique challenges at VT. We all know the limitations we currently have and the fundraising situation. But let's not act like Fuente did nothing to make the situation worse. You could not lose to ODU in Norfolk and royally piss off the fans/damage the reputation of the program. You could not try and force a round peg into a square hole with Willis and cost us two ugly conference losses right off the bad and struggle against ODU again plus two FCS teams. You could not crap the bed from a coaching standpoint and break the UVA streak against a one-man offense. There may be challenges at Tech, but Fuente's recent success or lack thereof didn't do a lot to inspire a ton of confidence in donors.
Some of the connected guys I've talked to said they don't ever see Fuente in the SEC, because he doesn't want to deal with the SEC recruiting grind, but that makes Baylor all the more appealing landing spot. Baylor has SEC money to pay it's head coaches (~6m/yr range), but the Big12 is a conference better suited to winning with Fuente-level recruiting much like the ACC. The Big 12 usually only has OU and Texas recruiting in the top 25 or even top 30 some years.
Throw in the fact that he needed a perfect program in place to beat ODU and not have 40 players leave, yeah he wasn't up to the "challenge". VT is one of the top 5 winningest programs since 1995.. You can't win in Blacksburg? lol. Justin Fuente can't win in blacksburg. My money is that he wont win at Baylor either.
Maybe you didn't notice, but Fuente HAS won in Blacksburg.
And if he is here next year, with his actual recruits in place, he'll win more.
But some fans aren't patient enough to support him through the process.
So in year 5, Fuente is on track to perhaps beat UVA and Duke and capture the coastal. Awesome. Whit will never find that level of replacement.
We can find a replacement who can get those results.
My belief is that Fuente is on the path to doing better. But we won't find that out if he leaves now.
it's like leaving a close football game in the third quarter.
Fuente currently has a better winning % vs UVA than Beamer, but keep on beating that drum if you want
That has to be the most slanted statistic I have ever seen.
Sorry, I disagree. Probably a lot more moola. He doesn't care about VT - it's a stepping stone. He cares about $$. He's from TX. What more could he ask for? Sure it would be crappy for him to do it....but, again it's all about money. All the new hires: will they get canned when a new HC brings his entourage? Recruits will be let out of their signed LOI - why make them hang around if they're going to pout? But, hey, recruiting sucks - they write big articles about signing a 3-star! Seriously? One from VA this year. We sit back and let PSU, Michigan, Clemson and the like rob everything out of the 757. And how many Texas boys will get homesick or dissatisfied and run for the portal? But what would we lose? Someone who gave us a losing season last year. A former QB who, come the start of the season, still thought Willis was the answer. An embarrassing loss to UVA. Shit, give him a plane ticket and pat him on the back!
via GIPHY
So this is why Fuente's been working on recruiting in Texas.
FFS. Or Beau Davidson just has a connection and has gotten interest from talented players.
You'd like to think he isn't s scummy as buzz williams, but maybe
and both were hired by Whit, which brings his ability to judge the personal integrity of his hires. Hopefully, he is learning. So far, Young is looking good and I suspect is not going to run from the Burg at the first call from another school.
I know Baylor has some kind of major benefactor. But, as a private institution, you have to wonder if that buyout is any kind of detriment.
They are flush with cash. The buyout from
Rhule leaving was insanely big.
Baylor was reportedly paying Rhule $6-$7M/year. Money ain't no thang there.
Don't quote me on this but the buy out was like 20 million per year on the contract and he had multiple years left.
Rhule screwed my NFL team and is looking to screw my College in one foul swoop.
Well, there you go.
I have mixed feelings. If this is BS, it is disruptive when they desperately need to land some secondary help.
If this isn't BS and Fuente is using it for leverage, it is good if it ups the football ops budget. It is bad if it is increasing his own salary or buyout.
If Fuente is seriously considering it, the program is going to be in a really difficult position short term. Even if there is a candidate with more long term upside, short term you aren't getting that candidate.
It can't increase his buyout anymore without the fan base going nuts. Fuente already has a huge buyout and we get effectively peanuts if he leaves.
I mean it could be a good thing either way, if we keep him yay if we lose him atleast we get seriously paid
That's not how his contract is written. If he leaves on his own, we get a fraction of the payout as compared to his if we were to fire him. I don't recall offhand, but it's no more than a couple million at this point.
Edit: someone pointed out below, it's only $1M
Hot take! If it does happen - Bud will come out of retirement to be the Head Ball Coach.
Regardless - I like to be in the position where folks want our coach.
My response, depends on who we can get if he leaves...
via GIPHY
No sources, pure speculation...let's say hello to Joe Brady and see if he really just wants to be an OC for the Panthers
His contract doesn't allow him realistically to leave for another college job.
From what I saw - it basically locks him in for other college OC positions (lateral moves), but does not stop him from career advancement moves (college HC, NFL)
Brady wasn't LSU's OC, just the passing game coordinator and WR coach
You know who else was just a WR coach before getting a head gig?
Yea, but supposedly Brady wants to be in the NFL.
This article says he would be allowed to leave for a head coaching job. Having said that, I doubt he turns down the NFL.
Link
Is that a better job than the one he has now? Seems like he's building something here and has momentum in a place with a good fan base and winnable division, and just got his staff in place on D after all these years. What's better about Baylor? Would they pay a lot more?
As a private school. NO one knows what they will pay.
This. But as a school in Texas, I recklessly assume that there is oil money involved and Fuente would get paid well.
in 20.69-years, I plan on being VT's T. Boone Pickens. You can thank me later
I'm digging for oil in my backyard as we speak. Keep your fingers crossed!
Honestly, if I were Fuente, after the past 2 years I'd jump ship and take a couple years at Baylor for a boatload of cash and then retire.
You son of a bitch, I'm in!
Seeing him interviewing really pisses me off. Baylor is not a better job than VT.
Given his recruiting lately, it feels like he might have been angling for this for a while, which leaves an incredibly bad taste in my mouth.
Just seeing this out there has made me lose a hell of a lot of respect for the man.
Not a better job but it is in Texas...it's like a whole other country
It depends on how you define a better job. Baylor would most certainly be paying him a lot more than we are.
The Big 12 pretty much stinks other than Oklahoma. You can't tell me it would be harder to win that league at Baylor than in the ACC with Clemson on the other side. Hell, Baylor had a chance to do it this season and made a NY6 bowl as an at large.
It pays better and it's in a part of the country that he prefers. Definitely a less prestigious job than VT but might be better for him.
My impression since he got here was that he would leave for a B12 gig when he got the opportunity. I just thought it would be OkSt, OU, TCU, or Texas, not Baylor. I also don't think he was recruiting Texas just to build connections for a future job; I think he finds it easier to recruit there.
That said, I've heard talk for about a year now that Fuente underestimated the cultural difference between SWVA and the Southwest (some comments on PAPN kind of confirmed this). The comments seemed to make more and more sense as Fuente shifted recruiting to places he was more familiar with from his days at TCU and Memphis. I wouldn't be surprised if he was also caught off guard by some of the unique challenges at VT. That said, you could be right.
Come on, you can't fault someone for taking (much less considering) a job that pays more money in a part of the country they like more. What would you do in his shoes.
It's the timing. He literally just signed a recruiting class and hired an entire new defensive coaching staff. If he takes another job now, it really, really screws us over in both the short and long term.
I just feel like you can't fault someone for trying to improve their and their family's life. If the Baylor job was open, and he signed this class knowing he was leaving, I'd agree. But this job literally just opened up; he wasn't lying or misleading the fanbase.
I try to look at coaching moves through the lens of my career. I know there is no way in hell I'm not taking a job that drastically improves my/my family's lives just because it's inconvenient for my employer.
Maybe we should wait and see what happens before we rain hellfire on the guy.
Your valid logic and calm reasoning has no place here.
Obviously I'm not in the football business and making millions each year, but I'd feel like a sack of crap for uprooting the lives of people like Wiles (fired and moving to NC) and all of the assistants he just hired who are in the process of moving their families to the Blacksburg area, who may end up moving again immediately if things don't work out with the next coach. I get that it's a part of the business, but it's a really bad look to me.
Echoing what I said above, but he's not lying or intentionally misleading his employers or employees. If he knew this opportunity was going to come up, he probably wouldn't have fired Wiles. He probably would have told Kill, Claeys, and Teerlinck, who are friends from previous jobs as well.
If he doesn't take the job, it just shows he seriously doesn't get it when it comes to program optics and recruiting. How are you going to give all of our competition that much negative recruiting ammo? It just seems like that side of the job just isn't clicking for him.
I think that's just the job. It's not like he leaked the story.
Agreed. If you are committed to Virginia Tech then you do not take any other official visits.
This needs to go plaid
Just playing devil's advocate here.... didn't Beamer visit UNC?
I mean yes, but he's pointing out that Fuente has pulled offers because a recruit visited someone else only to now pull this kind of stuff now.
Touche, didn't pick up on that
I think Beamer had verbally accepted the job and was about to pull the uhaul out of the driveway when he changed his mind
wasnt quite THAT late, but yeah he did verbally accept.
Shit this is a good comment
I don't think this is an accurate analogy. This is treating the situation like a recruit who has not yet signed with a school and going and looking at other schools. That isn't the situation. This is more like a recruit has signed with the school, come in and played 2 years, then the school looks at the player and says, you had a down year (regardless of reason) and tells them (through the most vocal fan base of disapprovers) that they want you gone. Then the player (in the analogy) worked hard and made changes to improve their performance. And then you're surprised and angry that they put their name in the transfer portal when things seemed like they'd improve next year?
Was just about to post this... I hope he doesn't leave, I really think there's a lot to be optimistic about this year and that the program finally turned the corner. I was excited about the new defensive staff, returning players everywhere, and the recruiting class.
More importantly, I'm not sure who we'd go after; we're at a weird time in the hiring cycle.
He's going to do this to some of the assistants he hired within the last few weeks? What a disgusting business this can be.
Lol don't let the door hit you on the way out. Almost feel bad for Baylor
Wouldn't Baylor also have to pay us his buyout?
The money we would receive is pennies compared to what we pay him to buy him out.
after the duke loss this would have gone plaid
The Baylor players have been consistently taking to social media for one of their coordinators to get promoted so we will see how that plays out as well.
I hope this isn't true. It'd be shitty for a lot of reasons. Perhaps most significantly: you just cleared out a bunch of assistant coaches (including Wiles) only to nope out a month later?
How hated will he be if he does this?? Timing is awful. Can't even imagine.
I would go out and say he would be the most hated coach in VT history.
Second to only Marcus Vick
He's torched the relationship between the football alumni and the program. He lost to Virginia for the first time in 16 years. He came in and demoted Torrian Gray basically forcing him out of the program. Almost all remnants of the Beamer era are gone, and leaving now would be him essentially burning it down and the leaving before he tries to build it back up. And our current recruiting is a disaster.
If he leaves the next coach is going to have a major rebuild to undertake. One that will take years before we see improvement. And it will get worse before it gets better.
This take is way too hot.
They're donating more than ever before
Darryl Tapp, Jham, Jack Tyler, are all on staff still. Plus, what did you expect? Beamer and Foster and Co. had to leave at some point.
Upcoming classes are looking really good so far.
There's 19 starters returning, and the roster is young. I think the right coach could come in and be successful. I think a potential new coach has to hang on to the current defensive staff though - a major scheme change will set us back.
Upcoming classes are NOT looking good. We have discussed this ad nauseam on this board.
This year's class isn't stellar, but next year's class looks great.
There are 3 commits 1 of which is a 4 star.
How this equates to " this is a great class is beyond me" there is literally no evidence to support this other than twitter posts and message board banter.
It's currently the 20th ranked class for 2021.
Clearly too early to be assessing it one way or the other, but we are recruiting some decent players.
Trying to bash it at this point is seriously misguided.
So in the same breath we could say the only true metric is next years class meaning upcoming recruiting is in fact NOT looking good correct?
I'm saying you can't use it as a talking point either way, really.
Other to say it will likely be better if he stays.
Ok. So that's why i responded to the guy above that said otherwise. That was the whole point of my post.
Yeah, whoever said this was totally off base:
What?
Yeah, and even though Beamer and Foster have retired, Beamer is still around campus and Foster has some job within the department, so players sure have left, but we're bringing Tech grads back as you pointed out.
That wont be the case if CJF leaves. I'd expect heavy attrition, like what happens at any school after a coaching change
I think the new coach will at least have a chance to re-recruit current players. Also depends what staff is kept in tact. There's a lot up in the air right now.
Fuente hasn't torched ANYTHING at VT.
But he did make some changes that needed to be made.
If any alumni are upset, it's because they have unrealistic expectations, and very possibly their heads up their asses.
Pretty sure majority of the Fanbase will be stoked, especially after we hire the Clemson DC as our coach
Venables is coaching his kid right now, and has another kid in high school who will presumably walk on at Clemson. He ain't leaving.
Maybe their OC or maybe we lure Chad Morris away?
Chad Morris did so bad at Ark, I do not want him as an HC. His culture issues were far worse than Fuente's 2018 offseason.
Maybe this is how we can get rid of corn
/s
or maybe corn becomes our head coach
Silver. Fucking. Lining.
No corn!
So he promotes Ham and Lechtenberg, hires Kill, Claeys, Teerlinck, Tapp, and Smith, and then leaves for Baylor? That doesn't seem right. I guess he can take some of them with him.
Can't see this happening.
Kill or Bud for coach. Might be just a temp job for them but if it's there...
Or maybe, just maybe, wait until Fuente doesn't get the job and then fire him. I guess we don't have the buyout money.
Which coach can die on the sideline first doesn't sound like a good strategy.
Is this the Hatin' On Mack Brown thread?
Well this is fun...if he leaves in this manner, Fuente would likely be the most hated man in VT history. On the plus side he'd probably take Corny with him.
Honestly I can't see it happening, but what if this is all JHam's plot to rise to the Head job like how Frank Underwood got the presidency? /s
Next to Brent Williams?
He got VT to a sweet 16, and helped increase the profile of the basketball program...yeah I'd vote for Fuente as most hated if he ditched Blacksburg after the staff overhaul/ recruiting signings.
He'd be miles ahead of Buzz. Buzz took us from last place to the Sweet 16. Fuente lost to ODU and UVA.
Also if you were shocked at Buzz leaving then you had sone seriously opaque O&M glasses. Buzz came and did what VT and Buzz wanted to do, it was a business relation that worked very well for both parties. Now was the break as clean as it could be no, but I never thought it would be with Buzz becuase that's just who he is.
I liken this to the WVU-michigan dealings. Belien left and no one at WVU had any ill will, he wasnt a WV guy, he did well there and moved on. Then they got their hometown guy (Huggy Bear) and he's set for life. But if he leaves the entire state will disown him because he one of them. (Basically the RichRod treatment, Richrod also did some super shady shit).
Mike Young is the hometown guy, he came home to lead VT. We did our business deal to get better now we have our guy. I'm not suggesting we disown him if he leaves, however people will be upset if a guy leaves home after coming back home.
Edit: corrected school
My perspective is that Buzz could have stayed and continue to build the basketball program into a powerhouse. Instead, he bolted for the "greener" pasture of Texas A&M.
I don't think Buzz has it in him to stay for the long haul. So I don't think he could have stayed, it's not in his abilities.
True, he did it at Marquette and here at Tech. I actually like what I am seeing with Coach Young, who is respected by many very experienced coaches in the ACC and NCAA.
You mean that guy who took us from a bottom dweller program to the Sweet Sixteen? And who is still funding two scholarship endowments here at Tech even though he's left.
Yeah. Fuck that guy, right?
See my comment up yours.
Bring back Bill McChain if Fuente leaves!
It'd be a shitty situation if he left, but do y'all honestly believe he's been recruiting Texas heavily (by that I mean an assistant has been recruiting Texas) because he knew that Matt Rhule was going to leave this year and he wanted to prove his local recruiting chops? Good lord. Take a deep breath.
Let's just say he does go to Baylor...what potentially could happen with the class he just signed in December? NLIs are typically kinda binding...would Tech be encouraged to allow them to go elsewhere?
Nah, we are a wrestling school so we will just hold them all from release like we did with the Tom Brands move.
That would mean everyone speculating he started recruiting for Baylor as Tech's coach are accurate though. Shady moves from Brands and Hand caused that whole fiasco.
Who is left that could replace him?
Moorhead is interesting. Fan base at large would not be on board given how is tenure at Miss St went, but I would be. Other option is to poach someone from another school. Willie Fritz, Coach Ken from Navy, Tony Elloitt at Clemson, Shane Beamer, etc.... Not saying I approve of all (or even any) of these coaches, but they're 4 names that popped into my head.
Moorhead was just hired to be the Oregon OC
Kind of like that time Diaz was just hired to be Temple's HC? If Moorhead wants to be an HC he would take the job. He has connections to the region from his time at PSU and Fordham.
But who knows... this might be a non-issue if Fuente stays.
I have zero desire to do anything similar to what Miami has with Diaz
Also the whole not disciplining a player that punches your QB and breaks his jaw is a red flag.
Didn't he crack the guys eye socket??
Hiring coach Ken would cause some fans to exhibit the same symptoms as an organ transplant rejection.
Godfrey always says that coach Ken wouldn't run the triple option elsewhere; he does it because he has to at Navy. It would be interesting to see what he would do elsewhere.
I dont know much about the guy, but you get a leg for the description of fans reaction
My comment was entirely based on him being a triple option coach.
He may run a different system if he leaves Navy, but he's always been a triple option coach unless he ran something else for the two years he was at UNLV.
The Moorehead situation didn't sound so hot. I hope it's not him.
Luke Fickell.
Fickell loves Cincinnati. I don't see him leaving B10 country.
That Frank Beamer guy isn't doing anything these days.
You know-it's been done....Bill Snyder says hello
Chris Ault
Mack Brown too
I hope he's leveraging Tech for more money for assistant pool and analysts — more of a financial commitment.
Hopefully. The timing on this thing stinks. The pool is very limited.
He'll name the boat he gets from this pay raise "Passing Game Coordinator". Does that count?
Makes VT look bad in the process and probably does more hurt than good. Even if he comes back, everyone will just say he has 1 foot out the door. The timing sucks, but he's kind of forcing our hand to get rid of him. As much as some people on this board love him, do you really want a lame duck head coach? Buzz 2.0?
I don't know about that. It's an opportunity for VT to show they are committed to winning at football. An opportunity to engage the fanbase for money.
Hope you're right
I hope he politely declines Baylor and gets back to work. If we have money for those other things and not already giving it to him, shame on Whit
I may be a secret prophet or something. I even nailed the "I'd rather be working" line.
But would he make this move for that reason when all of the coaching hires appear to be cheap and affordable, plus the recouped money from Bud's contract?
Slept on it, I dont understand. If you have to threaten to leave to get more money then something is broken. It's not like Whit is just not using his budget and has a vault of money that he dives into scrooge mcduck style. As said above that this might be a ploy against donors, but if Whit and Fuente arent on the same page that is an issue. Frank almost left because a shitty AD wasnt on the same page as Frank. I don't think Whit is a shitty AD.
Now I have no idea if this is true and I will wait to see what happens (or doesnt).
However, Baylor?!?!?! If I had two daughters that is the last school I'd be listening too they have major issues that are school wide. Not a place I'd want my daughters hanging around.
I made a power play once for more money. It worked out for me financially, but my boss was honest with me: Had he known I interviewed elsewhere the week before, I'd have been fired. Not all ADs, leaders, bosses, etc, are alike. Whit could have easily shown Fuente the door last year. Employees tread a very fine line with the process, but Fuente is looking out for Fuente, as I was looking out for myself. Meaning, Fuente could very well be leaving
I will add that we shouldn't need to pull a ploy with donors. We have some deep pockets (not a lot, but we have them), and they are more than happy to shell out for the football program.
I'm confused, you interviewed somewhere and got an offer, but then you showed that offer to your boss that gave you a raise to keep you, but if you didnt have the offer and he found out he would have fired you? That's messed up in my mind. Basically its saying you only have worth to the company because someone else wants you.
Good for you for playing their game and coming out on top, but wow that company/boss sounds really insecure. Not a place I'd like to work.
Probably not a vault, but definitely a budget. For example - Fuente might want Whit to move money set aside for a non-rev sport, or from a facility upgrade or something else towards staffing. I'm not sure if this is true, but I'm just providing a hypothetical example.
Or, Fuente might just want to move back to Texas.
This article from the Roanoke Times says that his buyout (were he to leave) is only $1million. So like change in the couch cushions.
Neat.
You know, as good a job as Whit has done in many aspects at VT, that Fuente extension is garbage. The buyout is way too high for us and too little if someone poached our coach, which was actually more conceivable when it was signed because FSU among others was sniffing around him at the time.
So, the same day he gets his staff complete at VT, he's going to Baylor? I dunno
I don't think he leaves.
He's spent the last four years putting this program exactly where he wants it, and the real payoff is over the next two years.
He also just assembled a solid staff on defense.
I like that other programs are interested, but I don't think he goes anywhere.
Or, and stick with me here, he's been plotting this from the beginning. He saw the glimmers of potential at VT, wanted to make sure that when he did move to Baylor, we weren't going to be competitive. Corn has been a long term Manchurian candidate style plant.
Need more proof? "Fuente: coach of Baylor Bears" anagrams to "Bacchanal Before Foster You". It's as clear as day.
What if he takes Corny with him?
$1m to us AND he takes Corny with him....ok, I'm listening...
"I don't think he leaves"
Then why on God's green earth would he accept an interview at Baylor? He's thinking about it.
a source of a source of a source says he's interviewing... can't take twitter as gospel
It's on the front page of ESPN's NCAAF stories, for what it's worth.
You've never heard the advice to take essentially every interview that comes your way? I've heard that before, good practice for interviewing, can be used to ask for a raise at your current workplace, and who knows, maybe a better opportunity will come along. 2 of those 3 don't involve a person leaving.
Baylor covered up several rapes and was a rougue program openly. Their old coach can't find decent work because of the shit show he ran there. 3 years later Matt Rhule has them in the Sugar Bowl. Baylor, unlike VT doesn't need a moon landing and aliens to arrive to re-stock their roster with good players like VT does apparently. The VT roster returning is the least of Fuente's concerns.
lmao this is golden
I wonder if this has any connection to the deleted Tony Grimes tweet about coaching changes changing things on Twitter.....hmmm
Reason #42069 that tony grimes wont be coming here
Wow...imagine losing two highly paid coaches to schools in Texas in less than 9 months
#VT2Texas
Interviewing is different from leaving. How many times have we heard about a coach being referred by another coach? Maybe he'll just refer someone else.
Fuente does really seem to like the family atmosphere at Tech and it does seem like he's building something. I hope he stays, but if he leaves, all you guys that dislike Cornelson will get your wish and I'm sure he'll be gone too. Also Vance Vice. And Shibest.
Agreed, it's not a done deal, but it's significant.
True. Not a done deal, and definitely significant.
But maybe some people who have been wishing for this will start to understand the actual implications of it. It's not easy to find a decent coach and give them the time required to rebuild a program.
I think Fuente has done a decent job of it so far, and I would really like him (and us) to see it through.
I can't imagine he wants to start over right now. And I bet most of us are thinking that VT is better off if he stays at this point.
THIS. Timing will make this difficult and/or expensive.
+1
I'm hoping that Fuente will be somehow dissuaded by the fact that the Baylor offense will require a big scheme change in order for him to implement his system, but tbh Fuente seems to like rebuilds. He stripped down and rebuilt (for lack of a better term) Memphis and VT. Baylor might be next.
It's only significant if it is confirmed to be true that he interviewed. Leading candidate thing means nothing, I'm sure he IS the leading candidate on some Baylor whiteboard.
It's significant because it's out there. Fuente flirted elsewhere to get his contract he has now, but those dalliances were scantly reported. This really seems like Fuente/agent wanted it out there.
What is the reaction if Fuente gets another extension/raise out of this? With the exception of year one, I don't think it's a stretch to say he has not met expectations overall. Seems like a bold strategy to play hardball now.
I don't think Babcock will go for that
If Fuente does this to pocket more money for himself, it's a really, really bad look, especially given the timing.
i have no sources of course...but i can pretty much guarantee Fuente isn't trying to get more money for himself. he's not that kind of guy. that's a move that would be made by kiffin, petrino, freeze...Fuente isn't anywhere near their level of sleaze.
He did it after the 2017 season.
Personally I think he needs at least another if not 2 more Coastal crowns before I'm OK with giving him more money...
And potentially any other assistant coach that Fuente's replacement didn't want to retain
I was only referring to the ones he brought with him, who presumably would also leave with him. But you're absolutely right that everybody would potentially be on the chopping block.
This kind of reminds me when 20+ years ago Frank Beamer interviewed with UNC and everyone was certain he was gone...let's sleep on this and see how this plays out. It's definitely a WTF kind of deal, though.
Beamer had leverage because he had just played in the BCS Title game.
Fuente has.... Ummm.... Uhhh... Yeah I got nothing
It has been proven over time that you can win at VT.
In the past coaches would win and take off to another school.
Frank was the only one to stay for an extremely long period of time and it was a great look for the program.
I just don't want to see us turn into a rotating door again. Stability is a good thing.
Some folks better be ready to take their medicine if this goes down, especially this late in the carousel.
Sincerely think it would set us back to a bottom half ACC team for at least the next 4 years
Bottom half acc team
That would make us a division 3 football team
We're already pretty much a bottom half acc team.... So...
Lol, I was about to say, in a conference that averaged 7 wins per team this year, we are pretty close to that anyway. 8-5 but three of the wins were battles to the end with ODU, Rhode Island, and Furman.
We're almost won the coastal so.. no? Not yet.
Lol the coastal is the worst division in the P5. There's probably a few divisions in the G5 that are better. And we didn't win the coastal. And we lost two some teams from the coastal, including uva which hasn't been relevant for 20 years. We're, like I said, pretty much in the bottom half already. Not quite, sure, but close to it. And even if we were king of the coastal we'd still be the best team in the worst division. So that's not much to brag about. We're not a very good team right now. Could it get worse? Yeah, absolutely. But I trust Whit to work his magic and bring in a decent coach who could at the very least tread water. With any luck, he'll find someone to take us back up a notch or two
I don't care how bad the ACC/coastal are. My post was only ever looking within that box
Are we even sure he's interviewing yet? The tweet says Baylor is "planning an in person interview". What if this is nothing?
Figured I'd throw this in here...
Fuente was definitely shredding the gnar in Beaver Creek, Colorado on Jan 3rd. 800% confirmed.
There is no gnar in Beaver Creek, unless I went to the wrong Beaver Creek. If "gnar" is a double black groomer, then OK
I lived and worked there for a ski season, there is definitely some serious gnar and buttery pow pow on the mow mow at the Beav. Not nearly as much as Vail, but some good hidden back country
I am trying to decide if these are drugs I ever did?
Unless the first "in Waco" refers to recruiting on a previous trip (remember #TX2VT), and the "first time he's in Waco" just refers to being at the university.
I was told by a person that I trust that he was in Waco last week to interview. I wasn't able to get a second source to officially post it, but with this news coming out tonight, I believe he was there last week.
He's just looking for a Branch Davidian to recruit. Apparently at one time they were pretty hot.
The Army vet calls out the Navy vet. Do we have a jarhead who wants to come in and make a nuclear inappropriate gay joke?
Just to clarify, I wasn't calling Egbert out, and I fully support his inappropriate humor. As a vet, inappropriate humor is a basic issue item.
I know. It was all meant TIC.
I know. Just throwing that out there.
Huh, I hadn't considered that angle.
I was referring to when they burned down the compound.
Still wildly inappropriate though.
I distracted them with snacks.
Did you know crayons still makes the boxes with 128 different colors?
How do pick up recruits in Waco Texas?
With a Dustbuster!!
...or hookers and cocaine, that works too
Hello offseason my old friend.
This seems appropriate
So Fuente must have only been committed 800% to the University of Virginia Tech?
Apparently he's put his name in the transfer portal.
He was passed on the depth chart for losing to UVA
Maybe VT should give Fuente the Tahj Capehart treatment.
Whit didn't say hi to Fuente's mom.
Unbelievable. Just when I thought we were heading into a dead period and I would have to find other things to keep me entertained at work.
I have no sauces more so common sense.... but the fact the Baylor opening has been open for a little bit and this is the first leak and it came on this strong....I feel like it has to be as close to a done deal as possible. Let's remember how quiet Whits coaching searches have been....this had to be leaked on the Baylor side.
Also, if he takes the job.....you can put him on the lane kiffin list in my eyes.
What's the Lane Kiffin list?
I'd assume coaches to hate/detest/treat similarly to a dirty diaper.
Correct. Not respected, a clown. Doesn't understand how to read the temp of a situation.
The situations are pretty similar though. Kiffin left to go back to USC because it's his home, Fuente going back to Texas is closer to home as well. I've always thought Fuente was a Big 12 guy, and if there was an opening he would take it. The timing absolutely sucks, but this is how college football works now.
I don't believe any of this. Imagine the wave of these 'reports' coming in from social media if he gets 10 wins with us next season
That's definitely not awesome. Stewart is definitely plugged in, and he likes to do the "I've heard things, but I'm not going to talk about them" thing. The fact that he's talking about it openly says something.
^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^
Based on everything I have seen Will Stewart say, this is sounding like a done deal
For someone like Will, this is pretty much confirmation it's all but done. He's very very much in the know, but keeps his mouth shut for the most part.
Yeah... When Will posted this I knew it was pretty serious.
😂😂😂😂 A source of a source of a source retweet
I mean, it's two separate reporters, potentially with independent sources. Skutt apparently heard about it too. We're at the very least past this just being noise.
Add The Athletic to the list.
this legit worries me. up until now, i wasn't too concerned. but i don't think patterson would try to hire someone from VT unless he knew fuente was leaving.
I read that second part way too fast and thought for a second Gary Patterson was interested in coaching VT. Awkward. I'm going to go back to sulking again.
If true, would be one way to unite divided fans...
I hope he's not telling his players he's staying and then he goes....I'm all for bettering your life, but you don't have to be a peckerhead in the process by lying and then saying "I couldn't say anything"
+1 for use of the word peckerhead
You mean the termination block?
The older MVs would absolutely agree.
talked to tre last night around 10:30 at that time...
"hadn't heard nothing yet, if something pops ill hit ya" he said "I don't think coach leaves but hey everyone gotta price"
Boy how much more whacked out can Hokie football get? No don't tell me. I don't want to know.
So Baylor wants Fuente... that doesn't mean anything. Lots more teams will want Fuente and there will be more of these "news" reports for more teams in the future
lol that doesn't mean he needs to go interview.
I agree... and I don't think he is interviewing. Like I've said on my 3 other posts on this thread the interview news is a source of a source of a source.
You would think if people are making things up about him that make him and his reputation look bad, he would publicly refute them.
1. It's 9pm on a Tuesday
2. It's coming from an unnamed twitter source of a source
3. I don't think he's scanning twitter constantly to see what twitter battles he needs to refute
A reputable media outlet has 'multiple sources' saying that Baylor is "planning an in person interview in next 24 hours" with Fuente. That's not a source of a source - that's a reputable outlet with multiple sources. Doesn't mean he's going to leave VT, but it means there's an interview scheduled tomorrow.
It means they believe Baylor is planning an interview for him tomorrow.
I assume it means Fuente has agreed to go interview. I suppose it's possible that Baylor is planning to interview Fuente, but Fuente is not planning on going, but I think that's unlikely, and that we can assume Fuente is also planning to interview.
I don't know what kind of legs this thing has but that quote is only about what Baylor wants and is planning.
Yea, I realize that. But typically when companies 'plan' to interview me, they let me know, and receive some sort of confirmation from that I too 'plan' to be there.
Perhaps college football is different though. Maybe they just broadcast their intentions on twitter and hope for the best.
You put your name in the transfer portal when you take an interview. You don't want to be a Hokie....hit the bricks dude.
We can be polite when it's a kid....and wish them the best....and understand when they decide to stay. However - FU ain't a kid.
This sounds like the BC Jeff Jagazinzki approach that really didnt work out well for BC.
I know this is coming a lot from last year but Fuente talked to the guys in the portal that wanted to talk and Hooker and McClease came back. So it's not like he just shut them out once they were in the portal.
Not saying I would handle it this way, but it's not like he just forgot they existed once their name was I the portal.
IIRC, it went something like this:
AD: "Jeff, you cannot interview with any NFL team, not even to send a peep to them."
Jeff to Jets: Peep.
AD: "ARRGH, I TOLD YOU WHAT I SAID AND YOU ARE FIRED!"
Yeah, didn't work out too well, but hey, VT at least got to beat BC like rented mule for a while.
I think if you remove NFL you'd be correct. I thought BC said if he talked to anyone they'd fire him.
P.S. Who risks their job for the Jets?
This is exactly my thought. This man can't say SHIT when a committed recruit wants to still visit other schools now if it's true.
HH put his name in the transfer portal and came back. No one accused him of not wanting to be a Hokie.
Also, people need to understand that this is a job for Fuente, he doesn't have the same emotional connection with VT that fans do. And that's okay.
Fuente's connection to va tech is a paycheck he hasn't been earning. If he wants more, then bye Felicia
Maybe he wants more for his current staff and/or to expand his staff?
Agree with you here but I think there are a few things that make this hurt from our perspective.
1) Our last coach was as committed and emotionally connected with this program as any could be. We were spoiled, yes, but I think Beamer instilled that family feel around this program and a common criticism of Fuente has been his inability to connect to this fan base in the same way.
2) We all just watched the NCG last night in which both coaches are among the most emotionally connected coaches to their respective universities in the country. That stuff matters in recruiting and in building a program.
3) We just went through this with a basketball coach not even a year ago. Although I think we are all happy with Mike Young, the sting of Buzz leaving is still there.
Fuente is well within his rights to interview elsewhere and take another job if he so desires. That doesn't mean we can't be upset with him for doing it.
I couldn't care less what the norm is. Frank Beamer and Bud Foster gave this program an identity and a brand. The Lunch Pail, Beamer Ball, Sacksburg, DBU, all those things came from having a finger on the pulse of what makes this fanbase tick. Fuente is more the norm. What is our identity under Fuente? What can we sell and brand ourselves with to recruits?
I don't think it's reasonable to hire the next Coach O or Frank Beamer. But you can hire someone who values and embraces the VT culture more than Fuente has. You can hire someone who knows how to sell a brand and engage a fanbase.
Agree to disagree on Dabo. I understand Clemson isn't his home but the #AllIn movement in their fan base has been all his doing. They will pass on 5-star recruits if their personalities don't match up to what Dabo wants. He as instilled a culture at Clemson that is unique to them.
For me, that's why I'd rather have a Brent Venables type than a G5 coach. Go find the brightest defensive mind in college football and bring him to Blacksburg.
Fair.
Selling your brand to recruits and engaging the fan base is different than finding someone who is emotionally attached to the university. I agree that Fuente has room for improvement in these areas, but I don't think he needs to develop an emotional attachment to be successful (see Gus, Jimbo, Urban, Saban, Les, etc)
PJ Fleck most certainly sells his brand and has really strong carnival barker vibes above and beyond the normal barker vibes you get from college coaches. He's also managed to engage WMU and Minnesota. It can be done by an outsider, it just takes effort.
Yep, Fleck proves the point - he has not emotional attachment to the school but still manages to sell his brand. Football fans need to stop looking for someone who wants to be a Hokie for life. It would have to be a former player, and I just don't see any former players who are ready for a head coaching job (except maybe Shane, who I don't want as HC for other reasons).
I didn't have an emotional connection to my wife before I met her, but that hasn't kept me from staying married to her since I committed. You don't have to grow up with people/things to love them.
But then I do switch jobs every 18-36 months, often for the money, so I kinda get it with college coaches.
It's his team. He should have an emotional connection to and take personal pride in which ever school he is the head coach of.
so you feel that way about Herndon, mclease, bede, any other guys that chose to come back? just curious.
When an athlete puts their name in the transfer portal they're figuring out the next step. We need to be supportive of those kids - obviously no one on this site is more supportive than you! If a kid needs to transfer closer to home...or sees an opportunity elsewhere - go forth! We want the best for all these young men. That's what sport is all about - learning life lessons and building character in an environment that's best for each individual. Maybe my comment above was misleading...and a knee jerk reaction. Thanks for keeping it real 904.
If Fu thinks the Baylor job would be a better fit for his family and provide greater opportunities for those he cares most about...then he should make the move.
hey trust me NOOOO one is going to be more upset if fu jumps ship than me. maybe he didn't purposely lie to the kids because things change and at the time that wasn't his intention and he spoke what he thought was facts at the time, but man does it rub me the wrong way. makes me sick to my stomach thinking about the kids, and In some part i feel partially responsible because I trusted Fuente to take care of them for me.
i wasn't trying to come down on you. I'm trying to stay level headed and understanding that Fuente has to do whats best for his family, my HOPE would be though that he considers the kids he's been coaching, recruited, the friends he's made in Blacksburg, his fellow employees and whoever else is also his FAMILY. Ive been in his shoes (obviously not the magnitude) and its an incredibly hard decision, i hope at the end of the day the kind of man he is matters to him more than the money in his bank account. ive been told since a young age that where you are doesn't matter so much as to who you are. your problems will follow you, you cant run from them. i hope he understands that Waco wont save him from himself. hes started to build something here and he should see it through. (sadly when saying this Memphis keeps popping in my head and he would basically be doing to us what he did for us not 4 years ago)
I'm trying to just let all the chips fall before i judge to much or swing to much emotionally one way or the other but i hope at the end of the day he remains a hokie. he hasn't had it easy since hes joined VT but i believe that makes it all the more worth it to keep working at it.
loyalty is a funny word man. over loyal to corny, under loyal to the kids, over loyal to his stance on media, under loyal to his stance on commitment. only time will tell. sigh.
sorry if it seemed like i was coming at you. wasn't my intention.
I understand where you're coming from, but isn't this kind of how every fanbase feels whenever a coach leaves for another job? It's not like any of them stop recruiting a year before they leave because they don't want to leave kids they just convinced to come to their school
im 100% (except Fuente literally all but forces his recruits to sign on early signing day and most coaches move jobs between dec 1- jan 31st being the latest) sure you are correct every fan base feels that way. hence why i ended with what i said about Memphis.
he made the kids sign their LOI and now they are stuck. i don't mind recruiting till you are gone (we just offered a 757 recruit today) but once you sign your LOI you are no longer a recruit. your locked in. all you can do is enter the portal and lose a year or pray the school releases you of your LOI.
i know im to close to the situation as it is. to emotionally invested. so my rationality might be a little off.
If the Beamer years are any indication, I'd like to think VT would release your guys out of their LOI.
The problem is I don't think there are ton of good alternatives at this point, most everyone else's classes are locked up.
He built Memphis up. He came in, and made that program what it is today. He left it in a position in which it could continue to flourish. Memphis is not playing in an NY6 bowl if not for Fuente. His work at VT is incomplete at best, and his seemingly eminent exit is poorly timed (regardless of the timing being out of his control). These two exits are completely different.
For now, I have no ill will against Fuente, but we'll see how this turns out... if he knowingly misled recruits and/or Whit, I'll be disappointed.
Let's just hope he's not a huge fan of shiplap or it's a done deal.
I'm a big Fu fan, so this could be bad news. But Whitt has made good hires and Tech head coach would be a very appealing opportunity with the talent we have returning.
Side note: shocked at how quickly like 100 TKP'ers got on here and commented during the off-season.
Well he is kind of screwing Whit on this one.
Lol bro called it earlier 😂— Malik Bell 🐃 (@flyboyleek__) January 15, 2020 " target="_blank">
" Don't you guys believe anything you see I will tell y'all everything " 🥴 toxic 💩— Malik Bell 🐃 (@flyboyleek__) January 15, 2020 " target="_blank">
Can someone please interpret this for me?
What did he call earlier? Fuente leaving? Fans over reacting?
Is he saying Fuente is toxic shit... twitter speculation is toxic shit... VT in general is toxic shit...
I don't twitter.
He's 100% quoting CJF.....saying he is telling the players to not believe anything they see and he will be truthful and tell them everything.....in turn he his saying CJF is a liar and toxic to the program.
That's how I'm reading it.
Maybe, but I'm also going off the tweets from Silas Danzsi and Tre Turner who seem like it's fake news, or to not buy into it.
From their tweets, it sounds like Fuente has reassured them he isn't going anywhere. Hopefully that's true.
Unfortunately, this seems like the interpretation that makes the most sense.
He's also not currently with the team, so it is possible that he doesn't know what Fuente has told Virginia Tech Hokie football players
He's also posted this a little over a week ago, so it sounds like he's pretty bitter towards the coaching staff:
Fuente DID let the RB coach go. Working hard in practice doesn't guarantee in-game results. We probably won't ever know what really happened, sorry he's bitter, but we have a lot of guys in the RB room, so hopefully Lechtenberg will make good use of it.
I would be more concerned if Bell ended up somewhere with a higher pedigree than Virginia Union. Essentially none of the players who have left during Fuente's tenure have had success elsewhere, despite most ending up at lower level schools AND the ones who badmouthed the program on the way out have probably performed the worst. For those reasons I have tended to give Fuente the benefit of the doubt thus far. I am concerned that Fuente may never be able to completely move past the toxicity that consumed the locker room in 2018 as long as he remains at VT.
Also I noticed this interesting interaction on that tweet.
I think he's saying don't believe everything you read on the internet (wait, what, stuff on the internet isn't true???), and if so, he'll sell us a bridge in the Sahara (I think the "I'll tell you everything" is him trying to say that if you believe everything, he'll tell you a lie because you'll believe it), and that people believing whatever they read on twitter and going crazy over it is toxic.
https://twitter.com/dematrius09/status/1217249264486748165?s=21
He's pushing for GOAT status before enrolling
Not sure how to embed tweets (would love for someone to explain), but this is some great news out of all of this
Pull up the tweet on a browser, tap the downward facing caret in the top right corner, select Embed tweet, copy embed code and paste directly into the comment box here
Can someone translate this into English? I'm so confused........
If Fuente goes well lose Damatrious. Damatrious "Nope, committed to VT"
Roughly speaking
Someone said Fuente leaving would cost us DD, he says no.
How do you embed this?
Open the tweet in an internet browser, click the drop down arrow next to it (looks like ^ but upside down) and click embed tweet. Copy and paste the code into the comment
I love this kid
Twitter is a blessing and a curse...
People on this website really struggle with folks and their sources. We instantly shut it down unless we like the way it sounds. Everyone saying why is he completing his staff if he's interested. The guy is not stupid. He can't quit working here. Folks just in denial.
The timing would suck. I would prefer us to bring in an offensive guy that is willing to keep the staff we just put together on board. But that seems unlikely.
I've mulled this over, discussed it with my family.
If offered, I will not accept the HC position at Baylor.
Can I start the V2 for coach thread now? I like him. Can he coach the whole team, outside if the O-Line?
I don't know, but Dabo was a special teams coordinator, and has played in 4 playoffs.
No.
Mike Leach and Lane Kiffin are now off the table. That hurt. Those are some good coaches that'd fit right in, and win.
Emphasis on WIN.
There's always the guy we post gifs of a kid wigging out about.
Cue our fireman type.
That's a no for me dawg...
I don't ever want either of them near VT.
Fuente does not get another extension after the last one. He has to earn the next one, and frankly he hasn't done so yet. Whit can't fall for this crap again. If he wants the Baylor job, take it. Not ideal timing and sucks to upset the apple cart this late in the game, but I'm not exactly devastated to be honest.
That tweet from Ferraro is savage.
But also very accurate
Kinda ignores the scenario where he interviews but decides to stay at VT but let's certainly not let things play out before making overly dramatic statements and jumping to conclusions.
Clark at UAB has to be an option, some old school football, with stingy defenses. Put some bite back into this team.
Sup Tony Elliot?
Okay, okay, I'm going to finish this bourbon on a work night. Y'all can yip and Yap, but Wild Turkey won't complain to me about this. It'll all be over soon.
No, fuck that, give me Like Fickell or Josh Heupel.
Let's just go for one of the young coaches who became a hot name over the past year or so. Oh, he has NFL experience, too.
Kellen Moore, OC of the Dallas Cowboys
I mean... he owes us, right?
Meh. I'm kinda indifferent whether he stays or goes. I personally think he's way underperformed, especially considering his billing coming in. I hope that, if he stays, he's finally able to put it all together next year. But I doubt he can so if he's gone I don't actually see it as a devastating loss. Timing sucks, sure, but Whit can work some magic and with all the talent and experience we have coming back a decent coach could get us to a bowl game with our schedule. I think Baylor might be making a mistake though. We'll see, I guess
I think for next season it would potentially be debilitating to the team, but I agree that the book is still out on Fuente as HC. 2020 is/was really setup to be the put up or shut up year and if the team underperforms, likely a large proportion of the fanbase would be ready to move on anyway.
The timing would be rough to try to maintain/put together a Staff, the situation would be a giant slap in the face to VT as a whole.
I'm reading through this thread and y'all are making me crack up. Thanks for the entertaining read. Good night. Will check in the morning.
We announced a coaching hire THIS AFTERNOON. I'm either reassured by that or prepared to completely change my mind about Coach Fuente.
That's why I don't believe this rumor at all. Either this is all a bunch of nonsense or Fuente is about to become the most hated coach since Bobby Petrino. I just can't see him screwing over all of the coaches he JUST hired.
Thought about this some more. The worst part about this if he does leave is that I will hate him and then we will ask a coach to do the exact same thing to his team to come coach here.
This is a great point!
Maybe we will get Barry Odom after all
/s
Is Justin Fuente capable of leading this program to a National Championship or even ACC championships? If the answer is anything other than YES, who really gives a damn whether he stays or goes.
Well since you put it that way, Yes.
Fuente got that shiplap all over the inside of his house. He's getting that Gaines money
I'm trying to wrap my head around this and be reasonable. Maybe he is using this as leverage to get more investment in the program from Whit. But even if that's so, this is a bold move when a significant portion of the fan base is already annoyed with you.
If he's one foot out the door coming into a season with the most experienced roster he's had in his time here and after a fairly average season, why should I have any faith that he stays and builds on any success he may have after next year?
Who knows what happens here. I've never been fully sold on Fuente. I'd rather him be our coach next year than the alternative and I can accept that there are better jobs out there than VT. But if Baylor seems like a better opportunity to you than VT at this moment, then please take that job and let us find someone who wants to be here and isn't just using this job for a stepping stone to a lateral job in their neck of the woods.
This is where I am. The fact it's even out there is so bad it almost means he has to go. His seat is already getting a little warm, we sputtered with the schedule we had this year, Fowler and Herbie were already on record telling VT fans they felt sorry for them for the way the football team was performing. We got smoked by Duke, lost the streak to UVa, are a year removed from losing to ODU.
This is not the time to get your name floated out there for other jobs. This kind of rumor with this kind of timing after this kind of season makes for an extremely rough relationship with the fanbase, and especially the boosters. To the point where he would have to win the Coastal, be nationally relevant, and possibly need to win the conference to not be run out of town on a pile next winter.
Counterpoint - it's not that bad
It's not good enough to start swinging your dick around and demanding an extension.
Who says that's happening? I don't think Babcock would cave to that. I personally think he's trying to reset his clock and Baylor is a good spot for Fuente.
Exactly. I think it is more of find a new job now on his own terms rather than potentially be fired at this time next year. He's still young and will have 3-4 more years as an up and coming guy.
Well the alternative means hes ready to abandon ship. So that's not much better haha.
I haven't heard any demands.
Come on. We are dealing with two possible scenarios as to why Fuente's name is attached to the Baylor job.
1) he wants the Baylor job. This is a shitty position to be in.
2) he thinks an eight win season is worth warranting a raise and more money. This is also a shitty position because we are already balls deep in this coach financially and it's too late to lose him.
Neither of those are a scenario I want this program to be in. No you haven't heard any demands. None of us have. We are speculating. This is not hard to understand.
Recall that time Beamer was ready to take the staff with him to UNC? It wasn't about him, it was about getting his assistants better pay.
3) He's leveraging for more money for assistants/analysts.
Not that 1 or 2 isn't possible. But there is at least one option here that is a net postive.
If Fuente needs to leverage for more money in the assistant's pool then that means there's a problem at the AD level, thus negating your "net positive"
Even moreso when you consider that everyone is going to use this as ammo when recruiting against you.
Or the donor level. It's possible that donors won't be willing to part with their money unless they absolutely have to. Hell, Whit could be in on this, perpetuating the message to donors to get more money (okay, probably not, but it might not be only a Whit issue).
We are dealing with the internet, Twitter, fanatic message board, and human emotion. And you think there are only two possible scenarios?
Are you implying that you think the multiple national sources as well as multiple local sources are wrong?
You are a hyper-reactionary person aren't you. I mean you have already made up your mind how this affects VT Football for the next 10 years and the rest of us are just waiting for a solid bit of news.
That's because it's still smoldering after the fire was somehow extinguished after the Duke game.... His seat has fluctuated from warm to en fuego for the last 2 years, and I honestly believe the only reason a change wasn't made last year was the buyout.
Right, I'm sure winning 10 games and going to the ACCCG game his first year then winning 9 games the next had NOTHING to do with it.
I keep hearing how Josh McDaniels really REALLY wants to interview for a head coaching position....
big if true
So...Justin Hamilton as the new head coach?
If he leaves, I'm all for Shane Beamer in a Dabo type role... bring in someone with knowledge of that Lincoln Riley offense. I would guess Shane knows JHam so the defense could be pretty set.
Also, this is why we're a basketball school now.
Beat me by 33 seconds. Happy to drink.
if we're really going to go that route, go Todd Grantham at HC, keep Hammer at DC and bring Shane in as OC.
Do you think Shane would be a good OC? For whatever reason, I just think of him as more of a team manager than a technician. I don't know why I think this, just a hunch.
Not really. I'm just not really in the Shame Beamer camp. I don't see how getting a guy ODU passed on would be a win for us.
People would freak out on this board if a non-Hokie with Shane Beamer's resume became our head coach.
Here's the thing about that... If you want to do the Dabo/Coach O model, you have to pay for top of the line coordinators and position coaches (not to mention support staff).
This was what VT's staff was making in 2019:
This was Clemson's staff:
This was LSU's staff:
In 2019, we had 7 coaches being paid less that the lowest paid coach on Clemson's staff, and three coaches being paid less than the lowest paid coach on LSU's staff. The only way we can pull off the 'Dabo model' is if we hire a bunch of up-and-comers (like we just did on defense) and get lucky.
Good info and valid points. I guess my idea of copying Clemson's IPTAY as the model for the Hokie Club better get implemented pretty quickly...
Todd Bates as the 2nd lowest paid assistant at Clemson is criminal.
Why in the world are we paying James Shibest almost $450k. Have not been impressed with the job he has done at all. Kicking game has been dreadful and our KO return unit has been truly painful to watch over 4 years.
What? Bradburn was a finalist for the Ray Guy, Brian Johnson was automatic from within 40, has never missed an extra point, and improved his 40+ accuracy over the last two seasons. 48 TB last year, an avg of 18 yards given up on kickoff returns for no TDs. 20 yards per when we return. I guess that number isn't stellar, but when you're only returning ~2 kicks a game, not sure why that would be the stat you use to define the job he's been doing.
I thought we were a wrasslin' school now?
If he is really gone, I think it's time to give Junior the keys.
I was adamantly against Shane for HC when Frank retired. I still think he was the wrong choice at the time. But he has crushed it everywhere he has been since leaving Blacksburg. I think he's ready and willing to take the reins.
The problem is... he didn't really crush it in Blacksburg.
And your point is...? He's done well since. You're telling me you don't want someone that has proven their ability to get better as a coach?
It's hard enough to replace a legend. Replacing the replacement with the legend's son just doesn't feel like the smart move and can only lead to disappointment and hurt feelings.
Shane has never even been a head coach anywhere. I'd like to see him get his feet wet in the G5 for awhile.
Shane interviewed for the ODU job and they passed.
I'm a little stunned people want ODU's sloppy seconds.
Supposedly he rubbed some people the wrong way when recruiting, the high school coaches didn't care for him, and he had a bit of an entitled attitude during his time at Blacksburg. If true, might not be the best hire for us.
He has 100% winning percentage has Head Coach, not sure how that wasnt crushing it.
I've been supportive of this idea. But with this short of notice and at this point after the season, if Fu leaves and we are out of the buyout, I call Urban Meyer and see what it would take to get him for a few years. Put all the chips on the table.
You're not wrong and this is the kind of hire that will get us to where we want to be quickly
But you'll have to accept you're selling out your morals to do it. He's basically the anti-Beamer in doing things the right way
We don't have nearly enough $$$ to get Urban Meyer here.
He's not coming anywhere long term, we could probably offer him more than Fuente for a relatively short-term contract, VT is a far less stressful job than OSU. Proven winner at the highest level. I don't see how you don't at least kick the tires with a pretty experienced roster coming back next year.
I'd take a three year deal to get us back on a high level again
Weren't the boosters allegedly willing to front the money for the buyout after the Duke game?
I would imagine that they would be happy to put up the money to hire Urban if he is the only option.
Any money you pony up for Urban up front you'll get back 3-fold in additional revenue streams from having a team playing at the kind of level he would have one playing.
That money you make will go to lawyers to clean up the violations he makes. Not the coach we want representing us. Quits every time the heat comes.
Flags fly forever though. Deal with the cops later.
*Houston Astros have entered the chat*
Yeah but look what they did when he quit. Still pretty damn good.
I hate to be that guy but this is the most delusional thing I've ever read on TKP.
It's delusional to at least reach out and see what it would take? The guy isn't currently coaching, no buyout to worry about, and we are really late in the coaching carousel cycle. Offer him a 3-4 year deal with a solid salary and see if there's interest for a proven winner. If not move on, but at least we tried.
Urban Meyer could have his pick of schools so it's not a stretch to say we'd be looking at $9+ million/year just for Meyer- and he'd require elite assistants and support staff. You're talking about doubling the entire football budget when we were told after Jerry Kill's hiring that we were able to afford him as a result of Danielle Bartelstein leaving to take another job.
In other words, we didn't have $200K to make a support staff hire 5 months ago. I don't see how it's realistic to think our athletic department can scrounge up an extra $8 million annually. Maybe we can get creative and entice him by offering Papa John's for life though.
We're not currently bidding against anyone for his services. Who knows what the market for him is right now, it's what he would be willing to accept. He's not going to coach anywhere long term. Sure, we can't offer $9+ million a year, but VT is a hell of a lot less stress and demands than OSU was. He could have had the USC job and other opportunities but didn't take them. I don't see why it's unrealistic to at least do your due diligence and put some feelers out there for the best available people who don't have massive buyouts attached to them.
You'd be bidding against whatever FOX is paying him right now, and his current job doesn't require him to wear pants during the week.
There is a movie for that if it happens - it's called "End of Days". No way - I haven't bought into what's happening as it's so new, but I can tell you I wouldn't support Shane in any form. He is not his Dad - period.
Junior was also the one who took Wake's game plan during the WakeyLeaks thing. That doesn't instill a lot of good feelings in me about him (yeah, that was the 0-0 game we all know and love).
Agreed - and if it turns out we need new hire this year, let's get someone who will stay for 20 years....that's how you build a perennial power house. Beamer part 2.
People need to stop living in the past. No coach is staying anywhere 20 years.
Dabo is already half way there...
Halfway isn't 20 years.
Dabo is the highest paid coach in college football. I'd hold off on any comparisons to Beamer until Dabo's loyalty is realistically tested or he starts taking a "hometown discount" for Clemson.
Or until Saban decides to retire and he has the opportunity to coach at his alma mater.
Since coaching opportunities are largely based on contacts, it's not a bad idea to accept an interview. You can never tell who's going to end up working with you in the future.
I would feel pretty pissed if he accepts the job, though.
If he leaves he leaves.
I'm with you, not going to burn the shithouse down just because Fuente does VT a favor
Yes sir and this basketball team is a hell of a lot more fun to watch than the football team last year. Things are actually trending upwards.
Actually we made the sweet 16 last season so... wouldn't we technically have to make the elite 8 for things to be "trending up" with the basketball team?
Expectations are a hell of a drug.
For the record I am very excited about what the basketball team and Coach Young have done, but a major reason everyone is so thrilled is because the expectations were extremely low. We will likely have a worse record in basketball this year than last. Meanwhile we had an improved record in football but everyone's expectations were even higher so it's still largely viewed as a "trending down."
I'd say the football team is stuck in neutral.
Well at least we now have our scapegoat reason when 2021 recruiting turns out to be pretty underwhelming.
2022 will definitely be the year recruiting takes off.
I have it on good authority that [current year plus 2] is where we will really take off.
Anyone have a GIF of someone hitting refresh on their computer? Lol
Who's the friend? Hmmm
Rewinding to mind set 3 months ago...
Hell yeah. You take him Baylor... Halleileuia
Yup. Half of this place wanted his head at halftime of the duke game, regardless of what it would have cost. Now we have an easy out of the contract with no buyout...
It's more manageable to fire a coach in November than have one walk out the door in January.
This is a fair point but Whit is also a fucking magician so I'm sorta okay with the possibility of Fuente walking. Fuente was a splash hire at the time. Buzz was a homerun, obviously, and Mike Young has looked better so far than anyone expected. Can't be perfect but Whit has a pretty solid track record. And that doesn't even take into account the "non revenue" sports which have done well under his direction.
So if Fuente walks I won't be surprised if Whit comes up with another miracle.
If I were Whit I would have had a running list of my priority hires 18 months ago. If this news is real I'm certain Whit has his priority list ready.
Maybe and I certainly hope you are right. You couldn't imagine a worse time to lose your college coach minus an off season scandal or something. The "miracle degree of difficulty" is WAY higher. I'm more prepared to be underwhelmed on paper, but hopeful we could find someone who is just vested through work to win. There is real smoke here.
Absolutely no disagreement on that from me. Timing sucks here, but that inconvenience may be the price we have to pay for getting the coaching change, and at no cost, that many here wanted to see a little over 3 months ago.
It kind of amazes me that people wanted Fuente gone last year, and have been saying they're not sure about him all this year, then criticize him for maybe leaving.
You know where I wouldn't feel all that loyal to if I was a coach? The place where the fans want you gone despite winning 10 games your first season and 9 games the next. Where they clamor saying you haven't proved your ability to win despite those seasons.
I think he can do well, really well here, and has made some good hires and set us up to succeed next year, but I can't say he should owe us any loyalty after how many people wanted him gone last year.
As for me, I hope he stays, sees success and the fans get to the point where they're happy he's here.
But the fan base is also completely frustrated with being locked out of the program, frustrated with the first losing season in two plus decades, frustrated by losing to UVA, frustrated by losing to UK (me, mostly) and frustrated with an unfulfilled promise of an offense that was supposed to let a legendary DC relax a little bit.
So you, representing the rest of the fan base, expected a new coach to come in and take over a team that had gone 7-6 the previous 2 seasons in the ACC and be able to turn everything around without having at least one bad season? I'm surprised you didn't expect him to win the Natty in year 2 and demand his head when he didn't deliver.
And yeah, nobody wants to lose to LOLUVA, but this isn't the same team that we used to beat up on. I don't remember a year in the past 16 when losing to UVA would have put them in line for winning the conference (or division).
Quite the assumption you make here. Nowhere did I say any of that. In fact, like you, I'd like to see him stay and succeed. I simply pointed out legitimate reasons for fans to be frustrated with Fuente as a head coach. Many of those reasons I stated are within his control, particularly simply being more open with the fans. Instead, he appears to be tone-deaf, leading to this divided attitude about him.
I get the fans wanting him to be more open. Those first two seasons built a lot of credibility in my book, and seeing him address weaknesses along the way (even though he doesn't talk about them) has continued to build confidence in him as far as I'm concerned, so I don't feel as strongly about feeling the need for him to share more.
I just really think people's expectations went crazy after the first season so think it's unacceptable to have one bad season (ignoring this season because people wanted his head LAST year).
2007 and 2011 were both winner-take-all games in the Commonwealth Cup.
I really should have looked that up. Guess I just remember us beating up on them so never I forgot they were ever in the running. Hopefully we'll win the next 15 in a row again.
I don't necessarily disagree with you on every point, but there have been just a few developments since his first two seasons.
Primarily this bullshit:
Then there was the 15 year streak thing.
I'm sure you haven't forgotten.
I get it. I really do. Last year sucked. Parts of this year have sucked. I probably wouldn't be on board withFuente as much if he hadn't been making changes/improvements along the way. People generally accept that the Kill hire was seen as Fuente accepting changes needed to be made. He pulled RW for HH. It seems like strides have been made in recruiting for 2021. We've got 19 starters coming back. The Defensive hires seem good overall to me.
If he doesn't want to be held accountable for losing to ODU and getting blown out by Duke, perhaps he should consider a different line of work.
So any coach who loses a big upset game should be immediately fired?
I don't quite understand some of you people. What exactly as a fanbase have we done to deserve Fuente's loyalty? We have proven ourselves to be every bit as mercurial as any fanbase out there. We've treated Fuente as a business asset and shown we care only about the results. Why in the world would he not treat VT in kind? Baylor is at least a lateral move in prestige, superior in pay, and probably (as pointed out above), superior in fit for Fuente. It makes sense for him to leave, and its not his fault the timing worked out the way it did (if all of this is true).
Apparently we think alike lol. I'd say, "great minds think alike" but not sure anybody on here thinks I'm a great mind.
Same. Really I'm just super salty because I've always liked Fuente, and this feels real. People wanted him gone, fine, but beggars can't be choosers.
Whatever.
We're now 4-2 in the ACC, we're a bball school now!
There's a lot going into this for me (I see both sides) but I think there's one fact that's unassailable:
Firing a beloved DL coach that's been at Virginia Tech for 24 years that didn't want to leave and then subsequently bailing on Virginia Tech is a dick move.
You assume that was 100% Fuente and JHam had nothing to do with it. That Even if JHam had wanted to keep Wiles that Fuente let him go anyway. I'm not buying that for a second. I think JHam wanted to go a different route and Fuente just did the firing/letting go.
The two events are (to our knowledge) completely separate and independent. Fuente released Wiles believing that he would be the head coach at VT for the foreseeable future. A month later, a new potential opportunity came up. This potential opportunity doesn't change that Wiles was under performing as of late in recruiting and developing talent.
Uh besides the fact that the university a lot of us went to and donate to pays his salary.....??? Baylor is absolutely not a lateral in terms of prestige. The rest of it I can agree with
The same Baylor team that almost got death penalty for running the shittiest program in history (see: Briles, Art; Starr, Ken; McCaw, Ian).
To be fair, Ruhle by all accounts did a fantastic job getting that program out of that gutter.
We gave him roughly 16 million dollars for starters
Checks Twitter. Comes on here. Logs on, because I always have to log on. Just to shrug and say whatevs. Not worried about any of this. Trust Whit. He's the best hire we've had.
My job can be pretty stressful at times. But I have no doubt, that I don't experience anywhere near the levels of stress that Whit must experience.
Also...I hope he stays, I like Fuente, he's the kind of coach I would've liked to play for...but if he goes, call Tony Elliott immediately.
I'm amazed Baylor would place a high priority on Fuente after the last 2 years performance in this division of this conference.
At this point though, I'd almost be more concerned if they were going after Kill.
Kinda misleading.
Says "just breathe later" and most took it as:
Edit: But I don't even have a twatter, so what do I know?
Just pointing out that current recruits are taking notice
Yup, no worries. Didn't necessarily mean you, just in general misleading. Sorry if it came across that way.
In a weird way that reinforces my point, I guess?
FWIW I talked to tyree last night. I really feel for recruits. its a tough business. i get that. but its tough for the kids involved. especially the ones that are now stuck in limbo with no way out and no idea what is going to happen next.
This is why I feel like the bridges have already been burned at this point and may be a reason to hope Fuente moves on... Hard to build a culture with no trust, and if this whole things has legs (which it obviously does), we might as well start rebuilding instead of being strung out another couple years. I've always been in the "give Fuente time" boat, but this at the very best is a PR disaster.
Hopefully, Fuente stays, and sees this thing through.
So I walked out of a movie to all this lol. Already almost 300 comments on this when I opened it.
Whatcha see?
Parasite. It was so incredible I wasn't even panicked when I saw all the commotion. It's starting to set in now with all these tweets I'm seeing in this thread from players.
I think we're gonna see it in a few weeks when it comes back to the Regal. Glad you enjoyed it!
great movie!
Tyrece Radford for Head Football Coach.
LOL
How is Les Miles liking Kansas? Nobody can like living in Kansas, right?
Actually, Lawrence is a fantastic place to live.
Regardless of how this shakes out, it's a damn shame this man never hung around in some coaching capacity.
I know it's not particularly relevant but I've always wanted to see him on the VT sidelines again.
His younger brother will likely still be the QB at Baylor next year so it's kinda relevant.
My initial reactions in order:
1) I hope we don't lose their Texas recruits (thankfully DD has tweet that essentially says he's committed no matter what)
2) Timing is a little rough.
What's missing? "Man, losing Fuente would suck". That's where I'm at with it. If he stays, cool. If he doesn't, whatever. Earlier this year (after the Duke game), it was a legit reasonable question to ask IF he should be fired (that's different from "omg fire him now!" so calm down people who get irked by that kind of stuff). The team turned it around well enough to cool his seat but he's also in a situation where if we underperform next year, you're back to asking that question again. So would it really be a huge loss if he left? I don't think so.
I also don't think the timing is that bad either. Miss St just hired Mike Leach like 4 days ago, proving you can still get good candidates right now. The early signing day makes hiring coaches this late easier to swallow since a lot of NLIs could already be signed. So really, I don't see why any candidate couldn't be available. None of the HCs that were just hired really wowed me so I'm not sweating bullets missing out on them. If it does happen, Whit just needs to be aggressive and go after the top assistants that are out there. There's some HCs that might be willing to move as well. I don't think its a barren wasteland out there that some think. What I do NOT want to happen is them just give the job to Kill or Bud for a year while they look. That just kicks the can down the road. You waste two years instead of one.
Imagine if you will a reality where VT pays Brent Venables that everything is going to be OK money and we have JHam being mentored by two of the greatest defense minds college football has seen...
Imagine if you will a reality when we keep Jerry Kill on as the cheap, stopgap solution and everyone is mad.
Continuing the Twilight Zone meme and upping the ante...
Imagine, if you will, a reality where Whit promotes Brad Cornelson to HC as the stopgap solution because no one else is available.
What happened to everyone hoping he was fired? I sure hope he stays and maybe our fan base turns it down a couple notches. Karma
I would assume many (but apparently not all) of our fans are capable of seeing a difference between firing a coach in November and having one walk out the door with zero notice, right after putting a new staff in place, in the middle of January.
Imagine the uproar if Fuente does leave and somehow Corn is named the new HC
for all we know he might be a better HC than OC :shrug:
What if it is actually Corny going to Balyor. There was that rumor before the Bowl that Corny was out.
Fuck it. Let's get Jason Brown.
I was thinking this too, why hasn't anyone picked him up.
The show doesn't show much of his actual X and O's coaching. So it's hard to say what he really does.
You're kidding, right? He actually said at one point on the show that he doesn't watch film. Also I'm pretty sure he's in jail.
For the record, I was indeed, kidding
Most of y'all
.
Me
If the man leaves, what y'all gonna do? Nothing.
If the man stays, what y'all gonna do? Bitch about him if he doesn't do what you want.
I don't want him to go. If he does, the sun will still come up tomorrow and we'll still have a football team. I'm still going to support that football team.
And at the end of the day, we're still a TKP family, warts and all!
IF this happens, there is one clear solution...bring Coach Frank Beamer back. Let him win a natty with a junior and senior laden group. JHam earns the trust of the fan base and becomes the HC in 2023 as CFB rides off into the sunset.
Ok, back to reality...WTF!
When you don't tell your AD you're interested in a job and interviewing and AD finds out via other outlet. You're gunna have a bad time. Sour Grapes all around
....... that's pretty shitty of Fuente.
It's interesting to me that we have multiple coaches make comments about how great and supportive of an AD Whit is.... and then they promptly throw that right back in his face by pulling this kind of crap. I've always been a supporter of Fuente, but what you're describing goes against everything he talks about week in and week out. It's Fuente's prerogative to interview/take a job elsewhere if he wants to, but just a couple months ago the man publicly supported him when the fanbase was ready to run him out on a rail and this is how you repay that? At least give him a heads up....
If that's the case:
Is there anything to substantiate this?
Jugs has obvious industry connections as a part of it.
I've seen reports of this also, but I am not connected. I can confirm other people are reporting this as well.
It matches with what I've heard from someone close to the program.
No offense to Jugs because I'm sure he isn't just trying to throw bad info out there but in November he said: "Corn is gone just breathe and get through the next few weeks." In December he was guaranteeing Odom or Walters for DC and reinforcing the Corn is gone expectation.
I'm not accusing JUGS of having bad intentions or intentionally spreading bad info... just saying that based on recent track record it would be best to take his info with a grain of salt.
And yes I realize how unpopular it is around here to question people who seem to maybe have actual sauces.
Different situation. Hiring/firing situations, much like recruiting require multiple parties to be on board. They are always going to be fluid and subject to change.
Whether or not Whit knew about Fuente setting up this interview or not is a discrete fact, no extra parties involved, no gray area. He either knew or he didn't.
*she not he
I was given bad information, it sucks but I think I've hit/uncovered enough to be a quiet source here.
In terms of Corn -> Whit decided he didn't have enough $ to replace a whole defensive staff and bring in a whole new offensive staff. The hires pretty much speak to that as well. Lechty to RB is a good but cheap hire, JHam is a good but cheap hire, the only cash that got splashed so to speak was Tapp & Bill.
I havent been TKPing hard enough long enough to be aware of your long term track record, and I do appreciate your contributions. I certainly don't attribute the bad information shared recently as a character flaw, or as bad intentions, on your part. I realize that there are a lot of moving parts in the business of college sports.
All that said, I think there is more wisdom for the casual fan in waiting for this process to wrap up and seeing where we stand before jumping to conclusions about what a horrible person Fuente is for how he might be handling this situation.
No worries wasn't taken in a mean way at all. I would also say people saying Fuente is a bad person is harsh.
Rhule made 6M and had all the cash he needed to grow that program. Is Baylor a better school than VT whose to say ? I do know they have $ and $ is King in college football.
Bill Roth, apparently
Is there a source for this?
Jugs is the source.
Jugs isn't a source. Jugs is a person who has sources. The only credible voice on a rumor like that is Whit.
If Whit's the source, it's certainly not a good look for Fuente. Anyone else would be hearsay, and potentially have an agenda attached.
I believe the normal protocol for an interview is AD to AD contact before a coach is contacted, though I suspect agents likely talk beforehand.
Whit is really good at this stuff. Other ADs may not be.
I can almost guarantee based on multiple reports (not just Jugs) that Whit was not informed. Now if you think good ole boy Justin always has the best intentions then go ahead and believe what you will. I've tried defending you here but the "Fuente can do no wrong" thing is tiresome.
Multiple reports doesn't mean multiple sources.
And "almost guarantee" isn't anything. Just OK is not OK.
I think Fuente is our best option at this point. But if he's interviewing without Whit getting proper notification that's bad.
Everyone connected to the program is saying that's what happened.
Everyone?
All I'm saying is that Whit is the only valid source here. And he may well be the source, but I haven't seen anyone say that.
If true, this is a guy (Fuente) who we've heard gets bent out of shape when a 17-18 year old takes visits after committing. Really poor on his part if true.
Wow. This whole situation is just all-around bad. In Fuente's defense, he walked into a super awkward situation where he was still tied at the hip to the Beamer era. It likely wasn't mandated, but keeping on Bud had to a pretty strong requirement for the job. Which wasn't a bad thing, but you're handcuffed to him and his assistants until he moves on. Plus you have a beloved former head coach who is still VERY close to the program and the fans literally standing right over your shoulder. It was going to take somebody with some major stones to be able to handle this very forced situation.
But on the other side, a lot of Fuente's actions are self-inflicted. He was too stubborn and set in his ways to make a serious commitment to staff improvement and recruiting, and decided to surround himself with buddies (one of the absolute worst Beamer traits and his overall downfall). It took him nearly getting canned this year, the donors getting in an uproar, and by all accounts Whit saying we were going to tear the thing down and start over to make some adjustments. I can honestly see why both sides likely are bitter at this point. If he truly wants to move on to go back closer to home, I think he should take it. The damage is done at this point.
If this is true, (and you personally have given us no reason in the past to doubt anything you've ever said, you clearly have sources you aren't willing to disclose and that's ok) there's no way Fuente can come back and be our head coach. None.
Damn.
I forgot how truly awful the off-season can be when you're a Hokie. Lol.
My personal thoughts are I hope he stays. When he came in, he had the choice as to whether to keep Bud or not, but had he let Bud go, he would have lost the fanbase from Day 1. It feels like 2020 is the first time it's truly 100% his team from a staff standpoint.
I realize it's a job, and aside from being here for the past 4 years, he has no real ties to Blacksburg or VT, and the fact that Baylor can more than we can; but I feel like between having just completed his staff (which leaving now would put a lot of guys lives in an uncertain place, some of which just days ago left their previous job to come to VT), knowing what he has returning on the field in 2020, and seeing what he has been building for 2021...if he leaves at this point, then Fuente is not the type of person I thought him to be. Maybe I'm naive.
agree with you. between the amount of upperclassmen on the roster and recent coaching changes, and what seems to be a promising start to the 2021 class...it would be pretty awkward time to leave.
if he wants to be in the texas/oklahoma part of the country, maybe he sees this as his best opportunity. candidates would be texas, oklahoma, tcu, okie state...who knows when those open up? that might be his point of view.
that being said, all indications are, whit is a stand-up guy who deserves to be informed by fuente if he plans on interviewing somewhere. if fuente did this behind is back with no notification, he'll lose some respect from a lot of fans (not that that matters much)
i want to him to stay as well...i really want to see the impact that teerlink and tapp have on recruiting
In the end, it is what it is.
The whole "firing Wiles then living is a dick move" thing is irrelevant. Chances are, the next guy in line for head whistle would probably have let him go anyway.
The big losers in this would be the new hires over the last month and a half, and I would feel genuinely bad for them, that would be the "dick move" in all of this, though I'm assuming in the world of big time athletics that this is all big-boy rules and everyone understands all of this.
Newsflash:
The people who didn't like Fuente before STILL don't like Fuente.
Yet somehow, he's still in demand.
And no, I don't blame Fuente for interviewing. He has a market value, and it's OK if he knows what that is. But I really hope he stays, because my feeling is that he's right in that stage where I think we'll see results.
Trying not to give my own commentary on this until something is final, but this is a real Monkey's Paw situation for anyone who wanted Fuente gone.
Yup
Rhule left in January. Baylor is working on the same timing we are. How many great candidates are out there right now? Fuente's "demand" is not because VT lost to Duke, I can tell you that.
Still need time to confirm that all these things are true.
If Whit was completely unaware, and the players were completely unaware, then this is a major dick move by Fuente and potential PR disaster.
I haven't seen anything to substantiate that Whit was unaware of the interview. I'm guessing the players may not have been aware but I'm not sure its necessary for a coach to let his players know about interviews and interest from other programs.
I'm not as worried about that part, though I think it's bullshit the players have to deal with that. I'm worried about multiple VT insiders reporting that Whit didn't know about this and is not happy. Also, people need to remember that Jugs, who has said the same thing, works in the industry and is a legit source for this kind of info.
I don't really understand the "this is a dick move" thing. Coaching is a job, albeit a lucrative one if you get into the right situation. I don't go around announcing to all my bosses and co-workers that I'm looking for another job, nor do I tell the people who work under me. I just don't see this as any different. Players should understand that as well.
We as VT fans were spoiled for a very long time with coaching loyalty, and even took it for granted and Beamer almost left. I think some of us are having a hard time understanding what the P5 coaching profession looks like.
So I don't blame Fuente if he listens to Baylor, called and all but campaigned for the job, whatever. He's in year 4 here, he's had what I consider mild success with lots of questions, and he has a chance to reset his clock and make more money for the next 3-4 years; most likely guaranteed in lieu of a high probability of only 1 year if things break bad.
I also do not think this is a disaster for VT. It's still a compelling job, and there are a lot of really good coaches that would come to VT and could be better then Fuente - Venables, Napier, Fritz, Houston, etc. There's still really good coaches out there. And I'm not even going to pretend I know what makes a great coach. I thought Ogeron was going to be a disaster, Herman was going to be awesome. What do I know?
Are people flight tracking yet?!
The answer could be simple...maybe he just likes mesquite smoked bbq more than hickory. If so, that's a dang shame because everyone knows hickory is way better.
Hickory is indeed better than mesquite, and apple trumps both.
I prefer cherry
I primary switch between cherry and apple. Prefer apple for my ribs and cherry for my pork. Sometimes I'll mix in some of those jack daniels barrel chips.
Apple for pulled pork and cherry for everything else (including brisket) for me
How are you guys not using post oak?
i'm a cheap smoker - i use oak as my base and augment with hardwood chunks. I prefer apple (i smoke mostly chicken and pork), but I will use hickory, mesquite, and cherry when i need to mix things up.
I've been using this as my base recently - awesome stuff [fogo]
I feel you with the Fogo. That's my go to as well, but try the post oak chunks at least once with a brisket. It's going to be life changing.
I'll have to give it a try next time! Thanks for the suggestion.
pecan and cherry for brisket oh baby
This is why we TKP...to discuss wood smoking preferences on a thread about our football coach potentially leaving!
let us have our distraction
Exactly, I already got a little snowboarding discussion in way earlier on this thread.
I trust Whit to make a good hire if this happens and you can't blame a guy for taking an interview that could advance his career and get him closer to home. Also, he had to continue doing his job here and filling out his coaching staff because nothing is guaranteed for him until he signs that contract.
Astounding how many people can't grasp that it's possible to think Fuente isn't the right guy for VT and still not want him to leave 2 months after coaching carousel season. Regardless of whether he should be our coach or not the timing of this would fuck our program so bad and set it back years.
Some information that Kill's office/desk has been cleared out. Not sure how concrete this is but it's not going in the right direction for VT
Apparently Kill has been approached by Gary Patterson at TCU for a position there. A lot of dots connecting.
It really sounds like Fuente's inner circle knew this was going to happen and kept it quiet from VT.
If this all goes down like you're portraying, Justin Fuente will immediately vault to the #1 most hated person in Blacksburg. This timing has potential to seriously damage our program going forward.
Most hated in Blacksburg? I don't think he'll ever trump the guy who owned (owns?) Tech Tow or whatever it's called now.
#truth
I wouldn't hate him, but he'll definitely have some interesting footnotes on his VT resume., not the least of which is a "do as I say, not as I do" reputation. Overall, his time here has been alright. We don't have to slap a Tyrod Taylor in the game and tell him to "do stuff", in order to score.
It has the potential to seriously damage the program, but I don't think it will. VT's football brand is stronger than 85% of college football, so there will be great candidates who'd want to come in and lead the team. Even if that means we tab an interim coach for next season.
Depends who you ask...
VTtoB1G
My personal preference is that VT, Tennessee, UVA, WVU, PSU, Cincy, Navy, UMD, Kentucky, App State, Louisville, and Ohio all leave their current conferences in order to form the Appalachian Athletic Conference, but unfortunately, I don't see it happening.
Sweet Jesus!!! NO!!!
My Apple-at-chuhn ears wouldn't be able to handle the constant mispronunciation.
That conference would be trash
I disagree with your assessment that only the last 15 years matters to recruits. You and I have no clue how that really works anyways but the case and point is that Miami still recruits great classes and in comparison to VT's accomplishments over 15 years, they're not even on our map. It's the brand that gets it done.
95 sugar bowl over texas, NCG appearance, 7 conference titles, Bruce, Mike, Kam, Deangelo, Tyrod, Fullers's, Edmundi, yada, yada, yada....these are the things that comprise VT's brand, it's a pretty good one, and I think the kids are probably more aware of that than you're giving credit for here.
Bud Elloitt wrote a pretty good piece about this exact topic about a month ago:
Da U (aka Miami in the 80's through early 2000's) so ubiquitous throughout not just college football, but sports and pop culture in general. They are absolutely the exception to the rule.
Mike Vick is once in a generation player, someone who was on the cover of Madden, so I assume recruits know him. Bruce Smith is known for his pro days moreso than his college days, but an obvious hall of famer. Kam, Tyrod, Fullers, Edmundi are all current players, though I'd argue of these only Kam was/is a star player.
Anyways, to my point - you've listed 2 hall of famers (Bruce, DHall), 1 cultural icon (Vick), 1 star NFL player (Kam), and 5ish solid, multi-year NFL contributors. If you can name 15 schools with more recognizable past players, you've just put us outside the top 25% of P5 Programs.
Unless any of the coaches Christmas trees are out in the yard, we have no reason to worry.
I wouldn't have cared if Fuente left two months ago, but the timing of this fucks us all.
Going to be an awkward week for Fuente when Napier gets the Baylor job.
Wouldn't count McGuire out either.
If the rumors are true and he's on the way out.
Hear me out.
Stiney.
I actually don't think it would be a terrible hire IF we surrounded him with the right staff.
If you are objective and look at big picture results, Corny is no better than Stiney was. No better
If Corny had Tyrod, DW, and RMFW, I would say he could've have done a smidge better.
When I say smidge, I really mean a whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooole fucking lot better.
Disagree. DW wouldn't see the field when he fumbled, and RMFW would split carries with a jet sweep guy.
I'm just going to believe you're joking, and you can't convince me otherwise.
Nice one.
Stiney was a heck of a recruiter and closer. He was a great position coach during his time here as well. He was vastly over his head as a coordinator. As HC, he wouldn't be calling any plays.
Agreed. Although when Stiney had the horses, he knew how to call the games. The bowl again against Tennessee was glorious, but then there's always the blight of losing to Kansas and Georgia. Ah...
Whomever steps in will have a great team to work with like Fuente did in 2016. Then rebuilidng, etc.
If you want better results, need to donate more money to get quality people who will stay. Simple as that.
I say this having never donated to the AD, but hey - I'm not saying i'm practicing when i'm preaching.
Start donating. You can set up reoccurring payments for $1.00/month. Something is better than nothing.
I guess the real question here is..if Fuente doesn't take the Baylor job immediately, but comes back to VT wanting "Baylor money"..let's say $6/mil or so..does VT sign him to another massive extension based on the hope that 2020 is finally the year that things come together on the field and that 2021 is the year Recruiting finally pops?
I say no. The guy simply hasn't proven enough to warrant gouging your Athletic budget for years to come.
Let him go to the Big12...honestly it fits his style much better. The "defense optional" Conference may actually make his Offense live up to its billing.
No, the financial commitment, if any, would be for his staff, not him.
If he he comes back and asks for a raise after losing to UVA, we better tell him to go fuck himself. He's already overpaid as far as I'm concerned.
If Fuente comes back and expects Baylor money or an extension, Whit should laugh him out of his office.
I would treat him like Fuente treated the 1999 team by pretending to be too busy to talk.
Swing for the fences....give Mike Tomlin a call 🤔
Great minds...think alike
We could save a lot of money by giving QP a headset. Just sayin'.
Looking at LSU and Clemson, Ed and Dabo are great "Salesman" - someone who can understand their client / target (either a recruit, player, parent etc) and really sell them / get them motivated.
I'm a Fuente fan, and he might've been a great X/O's guy but he wasn't much of a salesman. Maybe we need someone who's like that next.
Agreed. Not only do we need someone who is Always Be Closing, but we also need someone who is more of a CEO-type that entrusts the offense and defense to do their thing. That's what made Dabo so appealing to athletic directors.
Whether he stays or goes, VT never needed Justin Fuente in order to succeed after Frank Beamer. What we needed was some sort of offensive identity, and we got that. Unfortunately, the defense lost a step but the recruits seem to really like Justin Hamilton.
Whit's got his short list of guys and I have no doubt that we can get a great team leader to come in and run the program. For all the things I like about Fuente, such as his program management strategy, being the focal point as a leader for a group of young men, both in public, and possibly in private, was not part of his top skills based on my observation from afar.
Assuming he goes, we'll see how our recruiting is impacted. If I had my pick, I'd lean towards more of the inspirational leader mold.
Can we get the LSU OC who just went to Carolina to come coach here? :D
Contractually, he cannot. I think he's held to OC at collegiate level. Don't quote me on that, as I don't have any legit sources, just readings on Reddit.
Also, Bud to HC seems like a real option now. Maybe he won't ask for BIG dollars and he'll use that money to get better support staff etc.
I think he's legit done though, that health scare really shook him up. He's ready to relax and enjoy his retired life. Understandly so.
Bud isn't going to be the HC.
As has been mentioned, given his heart health, I don't think this is a viable long term option...however, with the shitty timing of this if Fuente walks, maybe he is brought in for next year, just to keep things together, giving us time to do a thorough search moving forward...if he would be agreeable to that.
If his heart can handle it long term, I'd be all for giving it to him.
This is what I'm thinking. With this hire, you can keep on some of the Defensive Coaches, Bud can still act as a "mentor" and Whit Can bring in a new O Coordinator with the buyout money..
Buyout money is only 1 million.
You missed the memo about his health problems and near death experiences huh?
Bad News: The timing is awful, many players will leave in the shuffle either way, furthers VTs reputation as a stepping stone and declining program, another "rebuild" on the near horizon, re-seating and donations will continue to be a disaster compared to top ACC teams.
Good News: Justin Fuente is not a big time head coach. Let's be real here. We aren't losing Vince Lombardi or Urban Meyer here. His performance and staff can be replaced by Whit rather easily.
True. If we have a horrible season with Fuente next season, he would probably be gone anyways. The timing sucks but could be a similar situation next year regardless...
Many players were leaving anyways right?
Define many? House Gaines, Keene, Pritchard, Hazelton, thus far.
That's one player who wasn't on the roster in 2019, one player who's going pro, one player who had concussion issues and retired, and another player who literally actually shouldn't be on any list of players who have left "thus far"
There will be more. Even if Fu stays.
Of course, there needs to be more even if Fu stays. But I don't think House Gaines counts as "attrition" if he wasn't on the roster this year. And Hazelton certainly doesn't at this point.
We've got Keene and McClease going pro. Pritchard and Rivers are retiring for medical reasons (concussions and neck, respectively). Joe Kane (Elon), John Harris (Mercer), Louis Mihota, Robert Porcher, Dejuan Ellis (Maryland), and Nathan Proctor are the scholarship players in the portal.
Did I miss something on Hazelton?
No, DC has just considered him "gone" in multiple threads now. Not saying he won't leave, but it's definitely not official
"Rather easily" sounds like sour grapes. We all know your disdain for Fuente.
If Tech really is just a stepping stone for others, then there's no real chance we can hold on to an Urban Meyer or Vince Lombari-type coach for long.
My disdain is for the product I watch on Saturdays, make no mistake. I don't know Fuente personally, I have only met him for 5 seconds. Seems like a nice guy. My disdain is watching VT's tiny defense get mauled by a basketball school with one good player. My disdain is defensive backs running into each other against another basketball school in the worst loss in lane in 40 years. My disdain is losing to fucking ODU and their 3rd string QB while Liberty and Tulsa kick the living shit out of them. My disdain is signing a recruiting class ranked below Western Kentucky. I'm sure Justin Fuente is Bellichick in hiding, but fuck the product he has put on the field. fuck his soft ass teams, fuck losing to UVA. Get someone in here that can beat Duke for fuck sake.
Lotta that seems D related. An issue we had before Fuente showed up. You can argue Fuente could've fired Bud / done something different, but Beamer had those issues with our D too.
My problem with Fuente is that the offense is up and down. we are a pass team, then we are a run team and then we can't beat bad teams, there seems to be no balance. I do agree that we need to pay our assistants more money to compete with other schools. There are a few guys out there that we might be able to pull for HC:
Eric Bienemy - Got passed over for HC in NFL, this could be an Opportunity for him
Josh Huepel - Had a good run at UCF
Bill Clark - UAB, has done a lot for that program
Shane Beamer - Could carve out a Special teams role similar to his Dad and turn the offense to an OC
Tracy Claeys - Has HC experience and is already on staff, not married to Fuente
There are a few head coaches who are out of a Job and whoever is at Alabama on their Analyst staff
This is definitely not a done deal though:
Bill Napier is getting a look
The Baylor players want current assistant Joey McGuire
Plus Dave Aranda could be in the mix
I dont know about Claeys, because he was connected to Kill and if Kill is gone then Claeys could be leaving as well.
I'd be on the phone to Eric Bienemy right now, if he comes here and gets us into the CFB playoff, he would prob be gone in a few years as well...
if he comes here and gets us into the CFB playoff,
Not bashing you but these types of statements are getting laughable. We are nowhere near that point
Look at Corn/Fu's offensive numbers against P5 competition. That's all you need to see. Run those numbers and come back and tell me if we are losing Steve Spurrier and Kendall Briles.
As this point hope CJF leaves and we can convince Grantham and Gray to return to Blacksburg! doubtful we can afford both.
Wes Durham on Packer and Durham on ACCN said "I can confirm that Babcock has started to formulate his next move"
He'd be dumb not to
I'll catch flak for this but here's one take. We can take solace in the fact that if Fuente leaves, him in the Big12 with no Kill to back him up will be an absolute shit show. The guy was average in the worst P5 division. What's the likes of Oklahoma, Texas, and Ok State going to do to him?
You saw what Ok State did to him. convert every key 3rd down in the second half, while his offensive guys were dropping passes.
Edit: Over 6 minutes? HF is slippin.
I can't decide if I want to up vote this for trolling or to down vote it for trolling. Either way, damn good post.
Wrong Arizona coach.
We just got Richrolled
We need a fully dipped Sam Rogers on our staff somewhere!
---We need a fully dipped Sam Rogers on our staff somewhere!
Tight Ends/Special teams, heck I would give him the running backs gig.
i want more former Hokies, JC Price, Justin Harper
Man I get the business side of things but I think the thing that bothers me most is how we literally just hired coaches in the past few days and those guys have left their jobs to come here and now dude is looking to jump ship. This is a bad look for Fuente but man I can't imagine it will endear him with other coaches either, especially if Henry's theory of Fuente being in Waco last week is true. Signing on to come to Blacksburg and leaving your job is one thing but now what? Move to Texas instead or be out of work? It's fucked up.
Look at it differently.
What if you worked for a major firm, and had just hired some managers to work for you, but a job came open that would double your salary, and they told you that you'd be a leading candidate. Also, it's significantly closer to where your parents live.
Would you interview for it?
I would. Even if I weren't really all that interested. My current employer may even figure out how to pay me more to keep me.
I'm not pretending to know what goes on in Fuente's mind, but I don't blame any coach for knowing their options.
Three months ago, some (read: a lot of) people on this site were screaming "Fire Fuente!" Well, be careful what you wish for.
It's been repeatedly pointed out that people can still feel that way while acknowledging that the timing of this whole thing would be terrible for VT. You're acting like people are just being hypocrites.
The timing is bad.
But those people who never have a good word to say about Fuente still don't have a good word to say about Fuente.
As far as I know, he hasn't reached a decision.
From a business stand point I totally get it. I know the industry is what it is and from a Justin Fuente it makes sense for him. I just hate it for the coaches who got hired in the past week and the timing is awful. It's just a shit move for everyone not named Justin Fuente, especially if he knew about it before he was hiring guys.
The business is dirty and hindsight is 2020, but maybe this is why a guy who was a QC coach 2 years ago is now our defensive coordinator? Perhaps Fuente had 1 foot out the door all along.
I think you're on to something. I have the feeling all the new hires could have been BECAUSE Fuente was leaving and they are all aware. Whit has some stressful days ahead of him.
The guy who was a QC coach 2 years ago is the defensive coordinator because our LEGENDARY retired defensive coordinator fully endorsed said ex-QC coach to be the new defensive coordinator. I SERIOUSLY doubt JHam would be it if Foster hadn't given him that endorsement.
More than 1 thing can be true... JHam was in fact a QC coach 2 years ago and has never been a coordinator at any level and VT promoted him. That is fact, and we did not hire a proven guy for big money. Maybe that's what Fu wanted? It is also true that Bud loves J Ham.
Technically he was a coordinator at a lower level
That can be our slogan for next season... "Hindsight is 2020"
If this is all true, Fuente literally just hired a guy hours before boarding a plane to go to a final interview (possibly put pen to paper) for the job at Baylor.
That's... fucked up
Yep, totally agree and that was the point I was trying to get across. If he knew he was looking at this job and going for this interview as the final guy hired was being announced on the defensive staff, it is absolutely fucked up.
The recent hires have been in the works for weeks, if not months.
Right. I get that. I get this is good for him. Most people would do it. But it doesn't make it right. And it does screw over guys that just came on. And it does put our program in a shit position. That's all I am saying.
i'm speculating, but i dont think Fuente would have been making those moves if he had the intention of leaving. I think the Baylor position opened up, they thought Fuente was a fit and reached out to gauge interest, he said yes he was interested in talking, and here we are having a meltdown.
I'm guessing he'd bring Teerlinck and Claeys with him and the offensive staff he wishes to retain as well. It would probably not bode well for Tapp and Smith but you might have to take some risks when you break in as P5 assistant.
Exactly.
He just spent the last few months putting together the best staff he could assemble.
Ummm... that's why he is leaving. He was given a budget that got him a 1 year full time coach for DC, the CB coach from JMU, and an out of work friend of Jerry Kill. Maybe Baylor has a better assistant coach salary pool?
I take full responsibility for not better monitoring his Christmas tree.
TCB on 247 posted awhile ago that Kill is going to TCU. Connect the dots.
I feel for all of the new coaches, especially Ryan Smith who was just added 2 days ago, that left their current positions only to likely be let go a short time later.
Especially Hamilton, who was given his first chance at a major P5 position.
Yep, that's why I am pissed, more so for those guys. Its a crap situation for them.
That's a huge stretch. Maybe he just wants to work for Patterson (Kill may know Fuente, but he was literally in Patterson's wedding)
This could be pure coincidence for Kill. May not be related, though definitely fans the flames in the speculation world.
or Kill didn't like the coaching staff in blackburg and didn't want to deal with another season of that crap?
I've slept on it. I feel like he's gonna stay. But then again I could be wrong.
He better hope he doesn't stay at this point. The damage has been done. He looks like a complete prick regardless of how this turns out
What has he done? Its been rumored he has interviewed for a job. Beamer did the same thing (actually verbally took a different job) and we all forgot about it and moved on. This is how the business works, actually every business, and any professional in any situation is foolish not to explore their prospects. Its not personal.
If he stays though, its quite an endorsement for our program, considering that most objective observers think Baylor is a good gig for him. Having a coach that is sought after is better than the reverse, and Im pretty sure most recruits understand that nuance.
Exactly. Wake me up when it's confirmed.
Wake me up when Fuente addresses it and says it's not true. The fact it's now after noon and he's allowing these rumors to pick up more and more steam tells me he's already gone. If he was staying, he would've told us by now.
Good point. Concur its not a rumor anymore. I just don't think this situation is unrecoverable, if he stays. Although, the tweets from Turner are not great. I just don't know. I really don't.
Are you shitting me? Andy Bitter confirmed it. Will Stewart confirmed it. Other folks in their website confirmed it. Why stick your heads in the sand and ignore it?
At this point, I think it's safe to assume he's talking to Baylor.
What's not confirmed is whether he's going to accept the job or not.
I heard he sat in his car when picking up his kid from soccer practice once.
I get it's the business and it's a move that ultimately makes sense for him. But literally, in the nicest way possible, screw him for what he's doing to Virginia Tech right now. I don't care if he stays or leaves, or if he's just trying to grapple for more money, this has created a load of problems. Beyond it being a classless move, it's created a bad look for our program and has depleted a lot of trust between the staff, players, and fans (who were barely on board and already didn't trust him much anyway). The energy behind the scenes and in the locker room if he stays? I'd imagine not great, Bob. That damage has already been done and I personally don't trust him with the reins of the program anymore. And if he does leave? He's screwed over the program, Whit, the staff he JUST hired, the players that were excited about next year, and all of us. Not to mention putting us in a position to search for a new HC at a horrible time. Maybe I'm petty, but he'd deserve to be the most hated guy in Blacksburg.
This is a little over the top.
Interviewing somewhere else is a classless move? What if he were interviewing here? Baylor isn't allowed to fill their coaching position? Fuente isn't allowed to interview at other schools?
I mean, three months ago, TKP was screaming to fire Fuente. More recently, after the UVa loss, the official TKP twitter account tweeted that VT should fire Cornelson.
I think Fuente stays. But one of our selling points is fan patience, and I think that has been in short supply lately.
It's clockwork at this point for you to defend Fuente at every possible opportunity.
People who wanted him fired aren't suddenly upset because they now think Fuente is a great coach, the timing puts VT in a terrible spot. We may have to rescind every single LOI we have signed because school hasn't started yet, and he just hired a bunch of guys in the last month who may also be screwed.
It's classless to interview for a job in the way he went about things. Catching multiple important figures off guard, like Babcock, and the players feel very betrayed. It's been stated that this was NOT handled the same way when he was considered an option for Arkansas.
I still think Cornelsen isn't a very good OC, and so do a lot of other people. Why is that relevant to this particular issue?
Amen, and people wanted him fired for good reasons. Like embarrassing loses and recruiting like UCONN.
I just wanted to see if Fuente could help VT turn the corner, but most of the folks here didn't seem to have the patience. Fuente leaving now is the thing I DIDN'T want.
If he leaves, I won't be among the haters. I'll feel as if the Fuente naysayers got what they wanted.
I'd have preferred that we gave Fuente a bit more time. Because changing coaches now sets us back again.
Maybe he won't leave. He has invested a lot here already. But if he does leave, I'm hoping we choose well, and give the choice the time it takes to get the results we want.
I can disprove your argument in your sign with Lean and Takt. I'm just saying
I am trying to decide if these are drugs I ever did?
lol I was gonna say, there's a reason that sign looks like an antique
Would cost you an awful lot in consulting fees, with no better results. Just saying.
Basic variables in project management are time, cost, and quality.
If that's your experience then it got done incorrectly
He's had 4 years. How long does he need, and why is that somehow longer than Bronco needed at UVA?
You think UVAs program is set up for a better 2020 season than ours was?
I think they've had better records the last two years than VT, more division championships, and are more stable. They also have a win over VT and really should have two but for divine intervention. I don't see UVA imploding in 2020 even if they step back.
The larger point is that UVA was a smoldering dumpster fire in 2016 and somehow got their act together while people talk about giving Fuente "more time". No one gets a decade in college football to figure it out. You don't get unlimited years and resources. 2020 needed to be the year for VT under Fuente.
I know they have improved, but so did VT at the end of the year. We have almost everyone coming back and the start to an excellent 2021 recruiting class that UVA wouldn't get near. I guess we will have to disagree on the state of the VT program... which is fine with me.
It's a good thing VT has never had committed recruits bail before Signing Day. That just doesn't happen here!
Just about everyone coming back is nice. It would mean more if I had faith in the coaches. I don't have a ton of faith after the last two years.
Recruits bailing happens at UVA too. In fact, one of their two 2021 commits backed out last month.
https://247sports.com/college/virginia/Article/Virginia-Cavaliers-Football-recruiting-Terion-Sugick-decommits-from-UVA--141261166/
UVa got lucky on a transfer QB.
I'm thinking they take a step back next year.
We may beat them without a coach.
UVa got lucky on a transfer QB.
I'm thinking they take a step back next year.
We may beat them without a coach.
If we had beat them this year, it would have been in spite of our coaching. Tech was out coached in all phases of the UVA game.
Ah yes, everything good that happens to a rival is luck. How could I forget.
They got a good QB to transfer. Fuente went after Willis. Luck is the residue of design.
Hear me now, believe me later.
Next year, UVa isn't contending for the ACC championship.
They did, in fact, get lucky on a transfer QB who could win games on his own. They aren't going to have that next year.
Take away the good players on a team and they would be bad. How revelatory. Guess we can say LSU got lucky they signed a ton of 5 stars and hired a smart coach to fix their passing game.
100% agree the timing is terrible. That's not the debate, and its OK to be upset about it, and to recognize that wanting him gone and wanting him gone at a time convenient to the Hokies are different things and not hypocrisy. I see that now. BUT, I think the two camps here are really fighting over whether or not this is personal. I think stating this move is classless is a personal attack on Fuente and not necessarily justified, because as far as we know at the moment the timing was not in his control (this assessment can be revised if more facts come out, just like for Brent Williams).
Well, now we're all arguing semantics, but hey, thats what a good old fashioned melt down is all about.
I doubt Baylor called up Fuente in December and said "hey, we think Matt Rhule is going to leave, what's the best time for you to come in for an interview?" And he said, "I really want to screw Tech, let's make it in January right after I name the last new coach (which he couldn't have known when that would be)" I'm assuming Rhule left, Baylor put together their list and reached out to candidates in their own time. I don't know how people can say the timing is even remotely on Fuente.
because he could just as easily say "sorry Baylor, I just finished assembling my staff here at Tech for 2020 and just signed a recruiting class -- i just don't feel comfortable making that move right now"
Fair enough, but that's a different point than calling the timing into question.
i don't think it is. if he had interviewed and left for Arkansas after the UVA loss, we wouldn't be having half the meltdown we're having.
Obviously he doesn't control the timing of the available positions (especially when swapping NFL/NCAA comes into play like with Rhule and Teerlinck), but he absolutely does control his own availability.
Rhule was an NFL candidate last year. Baylor had to know teams would take runs at him this year. Carolina fired their coach a while ago. I can't prove anything, but I strongly suspect Baylor knew their coach would likely be gone once the season ended and started quietly looking around for candidates.
Personally, I think the timing of it is pretty classless. Again, I know it's the business, I know it makes sense, and I obviously know that coaches are allowed to interview for another job, but it doesn't make this any less shitty or classless for all of the people who are being blindsided by this. That's just my opinion.
I was never in the "fire everyone" camp, but I think the people who were and who are now upset with this development aren't being hypocrites. The timing sucks, regardless of the turn around we had after Duke.
And if he stays, fan patience will be even worse. And that's understandable to me. Like I said, a lot of damage is done here already regardless of what happens.
If this all goes down how are you gonna feel about our next coach, who will leave their current team at an even later time in the offseason, putting their team in an even harder spot than Fuente leaving VT in mid January?
Yeah, kind of puts us in a bad position to have to be the bad guy too. Not great Bob.
That's for fans of that team to deal with. This isn't some philosophical matter to me, I care about Virginia Tech and Virginia Tech only. I care about the damage that this is doing. If a guy decides to leave another school to come here, I'll support him, just as Baylor fans will support Fuente. Why people are defending this makes no sense to me. Why can't I point out that this is bad for all parties involved on our end? I'm not wrong. Anyways, backing away and want to say that I love this team and will be a diehard Hokie all of my life, no matter what happens.
well put and agreed.
I'm not defending it, just pointing out that we're gonna be the bad guy to another school, their fans are going to have the same feelings toward our potential future coach.
Frankly, I blame the god damn Carolina Panthers.
I'm 100% Hokie and O&M, but I struggle with this kind of logic.
Though it's almost impossible for the timing to be worse than this week.
EDIT EDIT: Sorry I rubbed everybody the wrong way. Doesn't make me feel good as a co-fan how scathing some people have been on here. Seems like people have fed into each other and the downward spiral was fast and intense.
We've been spoiled big time by the loyalty that Beamer and Foster had for VT. I really hope we can get back to that with another coach, but the norm seems to be for a HC to stay at a school for 6 years or less for whatever reason.
Boy, someone really pissed in your Wheaties this morning.
Found Fuente's burner account. What a loon
He's leaving, it's done- brace yourself. Hope Whit hits a home run on the cheap
Your edit is just as shitty man.
What do you want me to say? So many people wanted him gone last year, now he interviews to go somewhere else and HE is the classless one? And we treat him like garbage because he leaves? If I was a new coach considering coming here, I'd look at how fans have treated him and be like "no thanks."
We have officially turned into a school that fans expect a new coach to win 10 games and the Coastal in their first 3 years or they're gone. And not that it's the goal to get there and then sustain, they better do it NOW.
Why do you think people wanted Justin Fuente gone after last year? why? Irrational mouth breathers? Or the product on and off the field? The constant locker room issues? giving up 600 yards to ODU? finishing with a losing record? Or is it just the Harvey Updykes in O&M?
Wait, who coaches the defense? Fuente? Oh, wait, no, that's Foster, and Foster is NEVER to blame. You could make the argument that we should have scored more points than them, but our defense gave up 600 yards and 49 points. Should Fuente have, despite his promise to not get involved in Foster's defense, taken over? Stop blaming shit on Fuente that isn't his fault.
Let Fuente get his ass handed to him by UTSA as Baylor coach and see how their fans react. He lost to a 3-9 ODU team, that fired their coach a year later. He is the head fucking coach... you rally the defensive players as a leader of men, you tell Bud to pressure their 3rd string fucking QB, you recruit better players than Bryce Watts. You are the fucking head coach. you dont let a shitty in state CUSA 28 point underdog win the game- in any scenario. Wille fucking Taggart found a way to get by La Monroe in OT this year before he was fired. He found a way to actually win that shit storm of a game at the end, not lose it. Fuck ODU, too bad Fuente got his ass kicked by them. Blame Bud though- and I was suspended from this site for killing Bud about ODU, BTW.
From the TCU article:
rip
Not sure if this means anything at all. Kill was an adviser, and maybe his advice is why we have all the coaching changes we've seen over the last few weeks. With not much more input to offer he's changing scenes to go fix another mess.
So essentially what he did here, for probably more money there.
Telling. Players are more upset about Kill than Fuente.
Not sure you can take that from this tweet. Kill is confirmed gone. They apparently only know what we know about Fuente and they are still off on winter break
Jerry Kill to TCU
edit: drink -- been busy at work and haven't been able to keep up
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Live look in at VT football
Been that way the past 2 years, at least.
- Loss to ODU
- Biggest home loss ever. To Duke no less.
- 63rd ranked recruiting class. Below Rutgers, ECU, Indiana, Kansas etc.
- 15 year streak against UVA snapped
- 14-12 in the last 2 seasons with arguably the easiest P5 schedule in the country.
It was trending down long before Fuente got here.
Don't disagree, but you hire a new HC to change that trend, not drive it into the ground.
LOL. Who cares??? FFS.. you don't get 6-8 years to "rebuild" in college football. You don't. Stop whining about Beamer, Brewer, Bucky Hodges.... I fucking get it, they weren't Vick and Suggs... Beamer deserved to stay those last 2 years, and even he beat UVA and won a couple bowl games at the end. Fuente was in fact the wrong guy if we are still blaming Beamer today. Jesus.
In my opinion, giving someone 6 years is better than giving two guys three years.
Cheaper buyout, less thrashing about, less nonsense, better chance of actually working.
Fuente was going to get his 6 years.... until he quit and left for Baylor. so now maybe we can stop pretending that all of this is Frank Beamer's fault, mmkay?
name a more iconic duo than Dcwilson and the Frank Beamer's Fault Straw Man Argument
Strawman that I did not bring up first in this very thread. You need to look up what that word means.
literally nobody in this thread is saying that Frank Beamer prevented Justin Fuente from success as Hokie's head coach. You're arguing as if people are indeed saying that. You look it up.
Is it possible that the program was on a downward trajectory before Fuente got here? Is it possible that Fuente didn't do enough rebuild and restore the program since he's been here? Yes. Can both of those things be true at the same time? Yes.
This isn't Beamer's fault.
But the program wasn't humming along smoothly when he left. We needed some changes. We need to stop looking back and start looking forward.
Fun fact: I have never once said Beamer should have left before he did. I didn't see any whining, just making a factual statement, our downturn happened long before Fuente.
The last 4 years of Beamer's tenure, we went 7-6, 8-5, 7-6, 7-6. I want to know (seriously) what peoples expectations were in terms of wins and by when (and apparently acceptable losses) for Fuente before he got on campus. It's not like we were 10-3 the 4 years before Fuente got here. Would he be allowed a year worse than 7-6 as he brought in new players and changed schemes?
I expected to beat Old Dominion.
Counterpoint: our offense didn't score THEIR 49 points.
Counterpoint: Justin Fuente is the head coach.
I expected to not get mauled by Duke with the best team in school history in the building and ignored by the head coach.
I try to be an optimist and just come for the memes, but right now (and for a couple of years) it really has felt like this team just gets hammered back down every time they're on the verge of getting good-to-great again.
Not a good look
Hate it for all these young men.
No players have had any direct communication on what is happening.
Can confirm there is a Target in Waco Texas.
This sucks for us fans but my heart really breaks for the players. Seeing them upset on Twitter because that's where they're finding all this out on instead of from the horse's mouth itself. Fuente is a snake in the grass. At this point I feel it's best if he doesn't get the Baylor job, to kick his ass out for just cause. It'll suck in the short term but going through this shit every offseason makes a far larger impact on our culture and our recruiting.
Honest question- after the issues we've seen over the past 2 years (yeah SOME good, but the lows were horrendous) can he regain any trust among the fan base if he stays? I mean, this is a really BAD situation we're in all-around.
At this point after hearing the news last night and getting frustrated and then coming to terms with he is leaving.....He NEEDS to go. Not in the pitch fork and flame kinda way, but in the way of his ability to read a room, read a situation is awful. We complain about recruiting classes now? Think about what this gives our competition in terms of fuel. You wanna play here at college XYZ or over at Tech where the coach has one foot out the door and doesn't even tell his boss, team, or coaching staff he HIRED THE SAME DAY about possible changes. He's handled this in an awful fashion and he's made Tech look terrible while doing it.
We need a culture change - top to bottom. If what the rumors are about money are actually true......Respected HC's who we may be interested in or in their elite staff members we want to take the position are going to not be interested.
Whit is at a tricky spot. Frank clearly did more with less, but it's not how it works anymore, unfortunately. This may be a good kick in the groin for us. Whit can look in the mirror and say he is happy with our path continue on it and we stay mediocre and a farm system for bigger programs. Or we get a little bit uncomfortable and try and make that step toward the top. I know what the folks on here expect and it's going to take the good ol' saying of "spend money to make money". Otherwise we are going to keep falling further and further behind the curve.
I think people are forgetting that Fuente's agent is Jimmy Sexton, the master at using one team against the other to get a coach a raise and and extension. This play for Baylor makes ZERO sense on that front. He's gone unless Mrs. Fuente doesn't like shiplap.
If this last sentence was a subtle reference to Fixer Uppers, well done!
Came here to make a crack about Fixer Upper and you beat me to it. First and foremost, I'm disappointed in me. Otherwise, nice joke.
in true Gaines fashion, I've used the shiplap joke twice now!
I hadn't been on any social media or sports pages since yesterday afternoon. I checked the score from the MBB game and came here to discuss and see this thread. Da fuq is going on?!?! Horrible situation for all involved now. Fuente's only hope in saving face in Blacksburg is if he is doing this to get a bigger budget for assistants and support staff. If he leaves, I will be disappointed. If he stays with no changes, I will have some trust issues. It is a bummer because it really seemed like things were close to taking off with the talent we have returning and the 2021 recruiting momentum.
Yea, but you don't do that after you literally just overhauled your staff days ago. You do that before you make hires.
I'm not a big fan of this move, if it happens, but the reality is that this job wasn't open four weeks ago, when these hires were being made.
NickVT10 logging on to TKP:
Pretty much...
Well FUCK! I have been on the Fuente is not coaching up to expectations team, but still thought he had made the right moves and have been hoping he turns things around next season. If he ends up at Baylor and half the rumors posted here are true, it would feel like he used us like a cheap whore and kicked us in the shins on the way out the door. I hope this is all bunk, and tomorrow we find out the assistant salary pool has increased and Fuente has turned down the job. I don't want to be Miami or Tenn and spiral into obsolescence while cycling coaches every two years.
If he goes, it means he left his job without finishing his job (which in my view was re-solidifying the program) and left the entire program in a bad spot. That's bad for his reputation, and it's not like any of the on-field product at VT was bolstering it.
However, Baylor is flush with cash, and he can probably re-establish reputation and then some in a few years.
From both the cash and the potential value to his career perspectives, the only reason Fuente isn't coaching Baylor next year is if he isn't offered the job. And....if Oklahoma comes calling the year after that, he'll probably go there too.
Fuente's New Year Resolution to get better connected to the fan base doesn't seem to be working out. Seriously, if he is interviewing today, he almost has to get that job because coaching here next year would be nearly impossible
Maybe he didn't say WHICH fan base. Just kidding.
I wouldn't judge the entire base by the hot takes from the people who spend time on football message boards in January.
If he stays, most fans won't even know he interviewed somewhere else unless someone tells them.
Man, how awkward would it be if Baylor turns him down?
If he doesn't get the Baylor job and we don't win the Coastal this year he'll get canned. I can't imagine there's any goodwill left on Whit's end.
If what JUGS is saying is true and Whit found out at the same time we did from the Thamel tweet, I don't see how Fuente would be allowed back into his office.
And say what? "You can't quit, you're fired" then pay him to leave? I don't see how that's preferable.
No but you basically tell him that this kind of shenanigans is embarassing for the university and if he isnt all in 100% you can him and start over, its like if you were interviewing at other companies and your boss didnt know until he saw a post on facebook from your cousin congratulating on a good interview at a competitor. Shit is not a good look and for fuente may be the anchor that sinks his ship here if the next season doesnt go so well.
Sure, but ultimately firing him now is counterproductive financially and leaves us in the same undesirable situation in a search for candidates. Fire him after another season and suddenly the buyout is lower and you have your pick of candidates.
Or, just let him go, if that's how you feel. Save the buyout money.
Not up to me.
I'm speculating purely on a scenario where Fuente doesn't get hired by Baylor.
In that case, I think you hold on to Fuente and see how things go next year.
In other words, back to Plan A.
Sure, and if he doesn't win the Coastal he probably gets fired.
Please understand that I'm decoupling what I hope would happen with what I think will happen, and I think he'd get fired.
Total speculation, but if Whit were to have asked him when the Baylor position came open if he had any interest and would be interviewing, and he said no and secretly interviewed anyway, that could constitute lying and a cause for termination. Especially if there is a complete loss of faith and trust trust between the two parties so severe that an employment relationship could not continue.
Oh if we can fire him for cause then absolutely. I'm just worried about paying money to be in the same shitty situation we could find ourselves in tomorrow anyway.
to consider that sole lie a "cause" would be a huge risk. In your scenario, VT will end up in a lawsuit and probably will end up paying the value of buyout plus more (legal fees plus some settlement).
No doubt it would be risky. We obviously don't know all the facts. Could be more there we don't know, could be nothing. At this point we have to hope he leaves on his own.
That's a completely unrealistic take.
I can think of 10 million reasons why.
PSA: we couldn't afford $200K for Kill until Danielle Bartelstein left. I know you all hate hearing it from Fireman, but all signs point to VT not having near the financial leverage many seem to believe.
When the Athletic dept. is laying people off after them just being hired 3-4 months before, there is a big sign that funds are tight.
If funds are that tight, maybe its time to start trimming some non-rev sports to free up the funds to keep up in the one sport that actually makes us money
Yeah we honestly have no one to blame but ourselves (read, the Athletic Dept) with most of this. We pay Brooks a ton for a marginal at best product, baseball has been a huge suck of funding...
But that's not as concerning as the money left on the table. Charge $10 for adults and $5 for kids at the Spring Game, while charging $20 for Lot 1 and 2 parking. Sell beer and seltzers at Lane. Ask for $5-10 donations via text every once in a while...Honestly, you could probably approach another million/yr in recurring revenue instituting a couple initiatives.
Revenue strategies, AND expenditure strategies need to be looked at very closely if we're at the point where football, the cash cow of the department and a huge piece of VT's identity is seemingly on the brink of financial collapse.
Absolutely agree. Alcohol sales at the stadium will bring in a lot of money.
Just keep the regular food /drinks in stock would help, haha. Last 2 games I went to, a lot of the vendors were sold out by half.
I have been fairly pro-Fuente over the past couple of years. However I am totally out. He has not shown enough as either a tactician or a talent evaluator for me to keep defending him. Not gameplanning to attack UVA's depleted secondary in the first half along with not realizing that HH or QP were game ready above RW are two unforgivable mistakes.
Add this to potentially scummy greed, fuck him. Give Bud the keys for a year if his health can take it and do a proper search next year or take the buyout money try to hit a homerun with Fickel or something.
I agree with your points and also...
Is it irrational that I'm still hung up on the fact that Fuente didn't choose to kneel at the end of the 2016 Pitt game and instead ran a play (with our backup QB) that had caused numerous fumbles throughout that season already?
And I think the buyout for VT if another school hires him away is $1M. If we fire him I think it is now down to $12M(?) for VT to pay him.
Someone make a part 2 thread
No!
What happens if a thread hits 1000 comments? Free Hardees coupons?
I need Bojangles more right now
FTFY
I'd say that we should wait until we actually find out if he's gone or not, but this situation has spiraled so quickly that i'm not sure he will be our Head Coach after next season regardless of how well we do
Largely agree; at this point, even if for some reason he doesn't go to Baylor, he's potentially sabotaged a lot of his relationships at VT
1. How do you recruit to VT now that it appears quite clear that you are (at very least) looking seriously at other offers?
2. If the rumors about not communicating with Babcock are real...that relationship is going to be torpedoed.
3. Current players, clearly not being kept in the loop
4. Staff, including guys that were literally just hired, now in complete limbo.
So lets say theoretically he stays for 2020 and has a successful year...this cycle all starts again next year.
I think the fact that no one from Fuente's Camp has come out and made a declarative statement (or any statement for that matter) as well as the timing of the Kill to TCU Announcement is essentially writing on the wall.
In the near term, this stinks for VT either way. In the long-term (3-4 years from now), I think VT actually ends up better off. A Coach who deals with those he works with in this manner is never going to have long-term success.
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Toxic. Really all around disappointed today, and it has been building since the Devyn Ford/Quinn Carroll spring game/recruiting weekend. After giving the benefit of the doubt and looking for something positive, this burns the bridge with me.
What happened at that recruiting weekend?
If he moves on, I will share. It was just something I observed that weekend that didn't sit well.
I hope you have it drafted already and ready to share at 2:31.
Is there a 2:30 press conference for either VT or Baylor?Found my answer
Company blocking what you embedded. Can someone summarize what it said?
its a ron swanson unamused exhale/sigh gif
Could you share a quick synopsis of that spring game/recruiting weekend?
I agree. I think at the very least his silence on this issue puts him in an impossible position to be the HC next year.
Apparently Baylor has a press conference at 2:30 today?
Me listening to that livestream.
Anyone have the link for the livestream?
I'm assuming this is 2:30 Central?
Whoa, step away for a few days and shit goes down.
Haven't read all 700+ comments but saw a lot of talk about how shady it is to take the interview. Here's real talk from someone that employs a lot of people:
The only person that looks after you in business is you. You have an interview you feel is worth your time. you take it. You think there is a possibility of another job making your life and your family's life better. you take it. Timing of resignations are NEVER good. Sometimes, like now, it's the worst timing imaginable, but nobody has the right to stop you from looking after yourself in business. Nobody. It's not shady. It's prudent for you to know what you are worth in the market.
But you have to live with the consequences of that.
If he's gone. We're going to lose recruits and coaches. But getting upset that he took an interview is horseshit. Just like people getting bent out of shape when Buzz left. It's the nature of college sports. That's it.
Just because he was hiring coaches the other day doesn't mean he should restrict himself from taking the interview. Shit happens and you gotta do it in time that it comes up.
This is big boy business and any AD worth the money they are paid is prepared for these things, or should be. There was a lot of questioning of Whit's hire of Coach Young and it seems to be working out quite well. If Fuente leaves I believe Whit has his hire on speed dial already, if not actively talking to that person now.
I'm not trying to defend Fuente either. This is just about being realistic.
this is about as well said as it can get. I am not mad about him interviewing, I am just upset about the repercussions for Tech and the team. Legged.
What a lot of people forget it is the AD's job to have a replacement list for just about everybody that works under him. Not only do people leave for other jobs, they retire suddenly, develop medical conditions, commit a scandal that forces them out, or just plain kick the bucket unexpectedly.
I have faith that Whit has a list of people that he would like to interview for the HC position in the event that Fuente leaves.
Taking an interview is different for an Executive than it is for a run-of-the-mill employee.
Taking an interview and not letting your boss know, who has publicly supported his every move, is a dick move to that boss.
Taking an interview after you hired a full staff sends a terrible message to that staff if you come back. If he takes the job, he will pluck his Offensive staff, Claeys and Teerlinck away. It will leave the other coaches in a very awkward position at a very terrible time for job searching.
But yes, Fuente should be looking after himself. He is, but he also did it at the expense of his new staff and Whit. That's my complaint.
Hard disagree.
I'm an Executive and there's not a chance I'm not talking to people about the opportunities that I have in my life just because I am in that role.
Taking an interview and not letting your boss know is absolutely NOT a dick move. Why does your boss need to know? It's your decision not his. Nobody should feel beholden to their boss to inform them first. ever.
Hiring staff while taking an interview is certainly not ideal timing but also something that happens every day in business. Business needs to keep moving forward, regardless of whether or not you have an opportunity come up. That means employment and filling vacant positions. What should he have been doing? Just not filling any position? That's not how business operates.
And is it at the expense of his staff? Some of them are for sure going with him and whoever the new hire is will certainly be bringing their own people in. Right now the only person I think has a legit gripe is JHam. New HC is most likely not going to keep him at DC no matter how much Bud goes to bat for him.
I agree with everything you are saying. However, for me personally, it would weigh heavily on my conscience. I have no problem with someone looking out for his/herself and putting their family first. At the same time, I would certainly try to navigate the situation in a way that softens the blow to others. Maybe Fuente is doing that. Maybe not. We may never know.
College football and coaching is just a very weird business. Fuente has to work so hard to sell a message to his players, recruits, his staff, fans, etc. And then at the blink of an eye, he walks away. Even Tre Turner said per 904, "I don't think coach leaves, but everyone's gotta price." That stinks...because Tre, such a good person, a good player, has taken Fuente's message these past few years to heart. He has believed it and put everything into it. How could he not feel like it was all a lie if Coach can walk away that quickly. The only way for these players to be successful is to buy in the way Tre has, and yet he will have to face the hard reality that everyone has a price. Fuente can believe what he is selling, but how can someone believe what he is selling, knowing that he would walk away from it for a price. Just a weird business to be in. Nothing quite like it. I could never do it.
EDIT: this may have come across as very judgemental of Fuente. I try not to judge people, and I was mostly was just trying to explain how unique this situation is. Because it is very different from a business where employees come and go, making lateral and upward career moves all the time. For most of the players, they have 4-5 years and then their football career and experience is over. So you commit thinking you will get one thing out of it and you end up getting something entirely different.
I agree. As I said you gotta live with the consequences. In this case Fuente is going to be persona non grata in Bburg for the rest of his days. As you said, I hope he is trying to be as respectful as possible as well. We may never know but I personally don't believe he needs to inform anyone first.
In regards to the players. Yeah it's tough. Especially for any new recruits but also it's the nature of the business. And as many of them want to make it to the NFL, a fact of life they just need to get used to. Coaches change. Regularly.
But yes, I imagine it's quite difficult for everyone involved. In the end though Fuente, you, me and everyone else needs to do what we feel is best for our families. And as much as he may care for his players (whether he truly does or not) his wife and girls are priority number one and the only people he needs to truly be accountable to.
I think we agree on most points here. Hard to turn down more money, because that will benefit his family. But Bud turned down more money for the entire second half of his career. Not saying Bud is a better person than Fuente. I don't know either of them. Just pointing it out.
For me, the biggest issue is that Fuente is under contract. I don't know what language is in his, but you would think that there would be a provision where A) Baylor would need to ask permission from Whit to talk to him, or B) Fuente would be required to notify Whit that he's looking elsewhere. If neither of these took place, that's a big issue.
Not arguing that and I have no idea if those are in his contract or not.
If they are then sure Whit has a complaint and leverage to use but it wouldn't stop Fuente or any coach from leaving if he wants to go. It may get you more money in the buyout negotiations though.
I should have made my point about executive more clearly. There are literally about 50-60 step-up positions for Fuente. 32 HC jobs in NFL, about 20 to 30 in college. The way you were describing about moving up doesn't apply to Fuente. The same would be true (but for different reasons) for Executives for S&P 500 companies. That was the point I was trying to make.
Taking an interview and not letting your boss know typically isn't a dick move, but it was here (from the appearances we have). Fuente was put into a doghouse by the media, fans, and Hokie club donors for his poor performance over his tenure. His boss supported his every move and calmed the storm. From our vantage point, he let Fuente run the show and trusted the keys to the VT's football program. That trust was eroded. I personally have been given major advantages to advance within my firm and they've put a lot of trust in me to do certain actions. If I was interviewing for other positions, I would let my firm know and the reasons for doing it. It's a trust issue.
Again, this isn't just a typical business. This is very limited business with very few opportunities. When a large company makes a new hire, and that new hire's boss leaves, that hire can simply work under new staff or find another job at another company. If Fuente leaves, essentially the entire coaching staff is blown up and opportunities are extremely limited. We'll see what happens, but this puts an extraordinary amount of stress on those you just hired. Some will get an opportunity to move with him. Some may not. The opportunities at staying at VT will be indeterminable until a new HC is hired. This will negatively affect JHam, Jafar Williams, Ryan Smith, Daryll Tapp, and Jack Tyler.
This isn't typical business? Coaches change every year. It is typical in college football. Atypical is someone like Beamer and Foster staying for decades. Just because there are a limited amount of positions doesn't mean opportunities at another equally leveled position isn't better. Companies are different. Locations are different. Compensation can be different. Loads of variables that make it justifiable.
We'll have to disagree on notifying the boss. I think it's great that you would do that. And to be completely honest, I've always tried to be someone that does that as well. But having moved up to the position where I am directly employing people my perspective changed. Healthy businesses can never be about one person. Everyone should be replaceable, no matter what. And so I stopped worrying about if someone would or wouldn't leave. Or if they told me or not. Because the business needs to keep moving forward. So it's not a matter of trust at all. You may personally feel obligated to say something but in fact you aren't obligated at all. It may seem cold but logically if you leave your firm they will simply give the next person the opportunities they were giving you because that's just how business operates.
What you're stating is true, but it doesn't change the fact that there are 32 NFL HC jobs and about 50 desire able P5 coaching jobs and 1 month window for job changes. That's atypical (and so many coaches harp on this fact) for a job.
And it sounds like you've hired hundreds of employees. Football HC is the second most important job for a successful athletic department. It seems to me to be a different hiring procedure and a different working relationship than what you're describing.
Sure. Every company and industry is different. I'm not in the public eye for instance. But business in principle either keeps moving or dies. That's true for any industry.
It may be atypical to have so few positions in the industry, and certainly it is a highly important position at every university, but coaches changing jobs is definitely a norm.
And yeah I have hired a lot of people, sure. Some in what are very critical roles for the company. Positions that determine if that company is successful or not and ultimately if employees are retained or not, but even those people must be replaceable. And if they are then why am I upset if they leave or are looking at another opportunity? I'm just going to find someone new for that role.
Ironically, I credit this philosophy on why I have employees that have followed me across multiple businesses and have been loyal to me for very long time. Because they know that I'm never going to be upset with them for things like this and that ultimately what I, as their boss, wants most is for them to be happy and succeed. No matter that's with me or in another company.
Anyway, I'm just saying the same things. Look I get it. It's a kick right to the feels but I'm not going to begrudge anyone that is trying to find a better opportunity for themselves.
Fuente is definitely replaceable. The ability to replace is severely hampered by the timing, but that's not Fuente's fault. It's also not his fault that he has this opportunity. And I'm not begrudging the fact the Fuente is trying to find a better opportunity for himself, I'm begrudging the fact that he's doing it at a great expense (and much greater than typical) due to the circumstances.
Objectively, without considering the new hires and the relationship with Whit, this is totally fine and should be the norm. I just think it's a little bit different due to circumstances.
So, I think we just disagree on whether particularity and recent circumstances matter. It seems you have the thought that if the opportunity exists, regardless of circumstances, you should take it. I think that in most (nearly all) scenarios, you take the interview (and job), but not every scenario.
Oh god no. Only take the interview if you believe it could be better or you want to find out your market potential. But I would never take every opportunity out there. Hell, I've turned down loads of people wanting me to come talk to them about a potential position. But if you feel that it could be a good opportunity then yeah take the interview if you want to. There should be no guilt or obligation in that decision.
I agree with you here. I have told my supervisor for the last few years that I have ambition to move up into a Quality Engineer Assurance role. I never felt supported or taken seriously in spite of taking online classes to complete requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree. I applied for an Engineering Assistant and Industrial Engineer position. However, I must had made a great impression on my soon-to-be-boss for her to reach out and inquire my interest in a Technical Writer position. I jumped at the chance, applied for it, and was offered the job in October. Fast forward to today, I am transitioning into the Technical Writer position and I could not be happier.
I did not bother telling my supervisor my intention because I felt action was louder than words, so if Fuente feels that his welcome is worn out in Blacksburg, or he feels the fan base are being unfair to him, or he feels that Baylor is a better opportunity for him, then so be it. Babcock is Fuente's boss, and Babcock, as you suggested, is already working the phone to get another coach lined up.
How many 17-22 year olds did you promise you would be there for them, and they made decisions to come along with you based on those promises? Did you pull out 3 weeks after they signed a contract locking them into your company?
Probably not 85+. If any at all, because...
It's not a direct analogue to the traditional business world.
False logic my friend. How many teams go through exactly this every year? Hell we have a thread about coaching changes every season. It's exactly what happens in football all over the country. It's more public and it's more personal because it's a business about relationships in the public eye but this is the norm for the industry.
And btw, last year I closed a business with over 200 employees, including a department that had been hired less than 6 months previously. And this past November I shut down an office in another company weeks before Christmas.
Business isn't pretty sometimes. This is one of those times.
Fuente has accepted the position in principle. Only minor details being worked now. He is leaving to coach Baylor. Let's move on. Hope Whit makes a good hire, but Fuente is gone.
To be fair, that Tweet was a reply to someone asking Will to bet on what he thought was going to happen. And it was 8:38 AM.
So, while I think he ultimately is leaving, this wasn't Will posting inside information or recent confirmation from Sources.
Maybe it's different in big time college football but I'd think you'd bring the wife along to go house hunting, not job interviewing.
I think this is more about being there for his introduction, not the gender stereotype. But I agree with your point - this isn't a job interview, its a new HC announcement.
Yeah, I just meant that buying a house is a decision made with both people, not necessarily "the woman's job." But, now that more information is coming out (re: Baylor press conference) I think we're all on board with it's for the announcement.
You bring her along to be there for the press conference announcing your new position.
Fuente is a hooker with a penis
HA! Comment of the thread.
*sips coke*
Fuente is sellin us out
I thought he was an OGT but i guess not😢
I am rapidly trending towards the lolgf end of the spectrum with Fuente.
This is insane. I'm not sure how this will turn out, but if Fuente wants a future in Blacksburg, he'll have to address this publicly and be more genuine then he is in press conferences. I've given him the benefit of the doubt about his press conferences, where he shows a clear disdain for many questions and is not very forthcoming. I've given him the benefit of the doubt, in that he is trying to protect his players. But I think that may have been wrong. Let's see how it plays out, but it is not looking good. VT fans expect high moral character from coaches due to the Beamer and Bud standard.
EDIT: Posted before seeing comments above. Looks like he is almost definitely gone. Wow! Just such a weird situation given Bud's retirement and replacing the defensive staff.
I feel for the players. Especially guys like Tre Turner and Dax who have been such great Hokies, vocal supporters of HokieNation, Coach Fuente, and trying to build a program.
This go around...any player that enters the portal will have my full support. Just stinks that whether you like Fuente or not, it was looking as if he might finally have the roster positioned for success over the next couple of years and consistency at the QB position. I hope we minimize the attrition, bring in a coach that can get the players to believe, and the team can stay on track.
Counterpoint: In the modern age of college sports players need to know by now that coaches change often. There's no reason why Tre Turner and Dax can't be even more vocal supporters with a new coach and keep building a program.
Valid point. It is more complex though. Fuente sold them a message and he sold it hard. Tre and Dax believed it, committed to it, and just like that Fuente walks away. So players can understand that coaches change, etc. etc., but when a coach is selling to you his vision, why should any player believe any coach fully. "okay, so that is your vision, and you want me to commit 800%, but don't tell me you're 800% committed to your vision if you're going to walk away that quickly" Can't expect players to be 800% committed if the coach is only 100% committed.
In that case college football is cancelled.
Exactly. Just pointing out what a weird business it is.
They should and shouldn't. Believe in the coach while they are there but they should also be cognizant of the fact that coaches change in this business. I mean, we are all watching the same thing happen every year right? Coaches change on the regular. Why is everyone so surprised that it's happening at VT?
Surely it sucks and timing is the worst but these events happen every year all over the country.
Because Beamer. We were spoiled children and now we're acting like it.
Exactly, we've had the luxury of laughing at other schools churning through football coaches, but now that it's happening to us it isn't quite so funny. I won't lie and say I haven't derived great pleasure from watching Miami and FSU get screwed repeatedly. Karma is a bitch, I guess.
The best part is going to be watching all of the people who want Fuente tarred and feathered for leaving bend over backwards to justify why our new coach doing the same thing to his current school is totally fine.
TL;DR:
Fuente leaving Tech for Baylor is an untrustworthy scumbag.
Our new coach leaving wherever he is to come to Tech is a stand up guy making a smart career decision.
I was actually thinking about Dax the other day. I know he didn't want to go to Clemson, because of Bud, but I can't help but feel for the guy, knowing he could've been apart of 2 teams that played for the national championship, and won one. Granted he might've been a bench warmer, but I'm sure a kid would prefer to be a bench warmer on a MNC team, versus a starting LB, on a team that underachieves and has a coach flirting with other schools.
Can we hire someone with no Texas connections? No class upon exit.
Say he is announced as the new Baylor HC. Are Baylor fans excited?
Doing some lurking on their 247, some seem to think the Fuente rumors are B.S.
Most are "meh" about it, more VT fans saying please take him than anything else.
I think Fuente is exactly what he has shown at VT at the P5 level, an 8-9 win coach. His offense may work better in the Big12, but ultimately I think his personality will derail him from ever being an above-average recruiter and will continue to turn-off potential donors..which is an even bigger problem at a Private University.
Not exactly a hire to jump up and down about.
Hard not to have a biased perspective here, but I would have a hard time getting excited... cautiously optimistic maybe because of the B12 and Texas connections...
This is the first time as a sports fan of any kind where I'm legitimately annoyed and mad at something like this. Just incredibly classless. Justin Fuente quickly becomes the most hated person to ever come through this program.
#1 Markus Vick
#1a FU
Baylor has a press conference incomming hold onto your britches
Does anyone have a link for this?
where is this info coming from?
I think my favorite thing about this whole situation is there is a twitter search for "Justin Fuente" and also "Justin Fuentes". I can't stop laughing about that.
twitter is probably 80%+ a phone app. that's probably just a result of auto-correct.
My day has shifted from hoping he stays this morning, mainly for the potential in the next 2 years, and for the sake of all the assistants that were just fucking hired...
To thinking, "well, if he does come back, this will be awkward"
To now thinking: "Get the fuck outta here"
same.
yep. Thank goodness we have a fun basketball team to watch and help distract me from the off season.
757 coming in hot after lunch
I love all Hokie football players, past and present. These two will always stick out fondly in my memory.
*Shotguns Natty Light and punches cardboard cutout of Fuente*
NBA
This is the right answer
Coaches will come, coaches will go, but I am a fucking Hokie through and through. If you want to stay, come win us some games Fu. If you don't, GTFO and we'll find a way to win without you.
Whoever is in charge of our team next year, I hope you win some games and kick UVA's teeth in after Thanksgiving.
When's the press conference?
3:30 EST
Wouldn't there be a link on the Baylor athletics website for people to watch?
It's a private press conference. No cameras or reporters allowed.
They're actually just ashamed and don't want anyone to know. They're just taking the fall for us so we get out of the buyout. Thanks, Bears!
Just how Fuente likes it...
Fuente to Baylor confirmed!
Link?
Where are you guys getting actual factual news confirmation on a Baylor press conference?
The baylor fans on Reddit and TSL had a couple people echoing similar stuff is all
Was very excited about the defensive staff hirings hopefully they dont all follow him to baylor if he is the one whos got the job
My guess is JHam and Tapp aren't going anywhere. The rest are probably a toss up.
That's not really their decision. If Fu goes whoever is brought on at HC makes the staff.
I'd like the think a new coach coming in would want to keep some guys like Ham and Tapp around to build with and not start completely from scratch
I would think Tapp Ham and Prioleau all want to stay around the program. Tapp and Prioleau probably fit their roles fine but depending on who they bring in they might have a hard time justifying Ham at DC without someone like Claeys to work directly with him.
Again, hopefully who we bring in realizes the importance of having these guys on the staff but you really never know.
My opinion on the Jham situation is hes who Bud reccomended not Fu no I would hope a newcomer would recognize Buds opinion is far greater than Fus' and go with Jham
True. I should have said if given the choice those two stay. A lot of it probably depends on whether we hire a current head coach. Current head coach will probably bring a lot of "his guys", but if we hire coordinator then his options for building a staff are limited at this point in the game.
I don't know if either, especially J-Ham, is going to be allowed to make that decision. His hiring always seemed suspect to me, how easily it occurred in fleeting up an inexperienced coach with less than 10 total months in FBS, let alone P5. I wonder now if Fuente was so cool about it because in his head, he had no F's to give with one foot out the door.
I think you can bank on Claeys and Teerlinck scanning Zillow for properties in Waco at this very moment.
Yeah, those two are certainly gone. If this goes through.
Found this while looking for confirmation of press conference.
Yes, but still don't know if Gary was looking, or if Fuente hinted to Kill that he may be moving if the right opportunity came. That could've prompted Kill to call Gary and ask. Who knows. Probably won't ever know for sure.
Just don't think about how much UVA fans are enjoying this. I think my "sober January" just went off the fucking rails.
I kind of thought about it for a second but they are keeping their coach and their team will be trash next year, so eh, it's whatever.
I ventured over to Le Sabre earlier - its a mixed bag of opinions. They are certainly having their fun with the situation, but also pointing out that they can beat Fuente and if Fuente isn't around any more then things could go right back to normal.
Wow, even after they finally beat us we are still haunting their dreams.
I can't find any info on a press conference, is there at least a link to whoever put that out there?
I've seen some scuttlebutt on SicEmBears or whatever its called that there was a presser at 2:30 central. I've also seen that there's no announcement today and Fuente isn't their man. Couple all of that with people saying they'll name a coach at 2:30 and introduce him at the basketball game tonight and I would wager no one has a clue.
My overall take -
If all of this is true, Fuente is either an ice cold-blooded Machiavellian mastermind, or a dodo bird with the emotional intelligence of a dirty dishcloth.
Can't wait for him to guide Baylor to multiple 8 win seasons
Having watched him in person at the Rhode Island game this month, I can tell you which one of these I think it is.
Oh Boy
Jesus...
That happened this morning. Somebody gotta feel like they're way ahead of a rumor.
Jesus Christ. I could go on an edit that page and say he's the HC of the Patriots and screen shot it before it gets changed back.
Check it now. Back to VT head coach with salary of $99 billion
Seems high
God damn. He should start paying recruits himself.
Good to know that my check to the Hokie Club finally cleared.
Its been changed a few times already today was "Not Baylors Head Coach earlier
loleditwars
I liked after the Duke debacle when the salary just read "Too Damn Much."
You are welcome for that! Haha
Well it's 3:30 and neither Baylor nor any of its beat writers have even hinted at a press conference so I think yall full of shit
came here to ask how that press conference was going.
Leg for you.
Hard to have a press conference when you don't invite the press!
It's past 3:30. I see no press conference info. No fire to that rumor for now
RUMINT coming from Sic'em365 is that Fuente isn't the guy...
linky
link is bork -- tries to redirect to a TKP page that doesn't exist.
works if u copy and paste into browser
fixed it
Fuente is the guy.
Boom provided as much credible source as that guy.
Unless I missed something, that literally just some rando saying "he's not the guy" and later on says "I hope its not Fuente"
It's just the first stage of grief for them. They are now in denial.
So a random, anonymous internet poster is an okay source, but people believe yahoo sports is not? Okay.
That said, this tweet is hilarious:
https://twitter.com/adamabramson/status/1217537260658122757?s=21
Obviously no one besides maybe OP thinks an internet poster is an okay source......
that tweet was hilarious
I did preface my post with RUMINT (rumor intelligence).... I can't confirm those guys or their sauces (just like I can't here) - I can only take it at face value.
Journalism these days is just quoting twitter posts anyway, right? If it's good enough for every major news outlet, it's good enough for me. /s
Ironically Abramson was the editor of sports, then maybe the full editor of the CT while at VT.
Journalism is Peter Thamel using his sources, verifying, cross checking, and ultimately reporting on it. Click baiting is just quoting twitter posts. Legit news outlets consistently do the former and are fairly reliable, just so happens to be a lot of click-driven outlets that people tend to flock to when they need constant updates despite the lack of new information.
The best quote in that whole thread:
Tidbit from an actual reporter, not a message board sleuth
I got beat by 19 seconds. I'll gladly drink when all of this is over.
You haven't started drinking yet?
Wooooo weee *insert rick and morty gif
This is gonna get so spicy if Baylor actually picks somebody else with the way players are openly expressing disappointment at being kept out of the loop and credible sources saying Whit is upset
Do we make him do the Cersei walk of shame?
Only if he wears pants. He's no Lena Headey.
That was a body double in the scene though
I don't want to see Fuente's body double naked either.
What's the best outcome here? I think it might be Fuente comes back. Whit makes a plan for more money towards football staffing and facilities. Hokies win the orange bowl next year. Fuente gets hired away during the normal coaching carousel and Whit has more options.
I was just coming here to type this/have some fun with a situation that has aggravated me for some reason. If he has to arrive back in Blacksburg still being the coach of Tech....what's the O/U on how long he tries to avoid Whit? With the lack of mental marbles that Fuente has...I assume he sends his agent or brings his wife to the first meeting with Whit.
Fuente is a pretty no nonsense person by all accounts. He's not hiding from Whit.
Damage control teams to deck........
Part of me hopes Whit has started lining up interviews, we announce a new HC before Fuente even steps foot back on campus, then Baylor announces someone else got their job.
Maybe I'm bitter about how this has transpired.
I think the tweets from Barber and Wolken above is what is going on. Either Fuente does get/take Baylor job, or he'll have to come back and explain to his players and staff that he was looking into a good opportunity for himself. Tell them that he is sorry he had to do it, but he had to, and that he still believes in what they've been working on in Blacksburg. Let's all move forward. Or was move forward the message last off season. He'll have to come up with something. Hard, Smart Tough. There is a storm brewing. Move Forward or whatever it was. What will it be this year?
Baylor hires Aranda apparently.
Source???
Link to any tweet I don't care 😂
Random Twitter user
The guy whose entire twitter existence seems based on Rick Sanchez being a Baylor fan seems as believable as any
seems reputable
Lol 4 followers
So, what if Fuente shows up to campus and tells the players the reason he went to Waco was to tell them to go fuck themselves and he had to say it in person. I sincerely doubt it happened, it just makes me smile imagining it lol
Fuente is really doing a hell of a job of winning over fans. /s
The vast majority of Tech fans probably have no idea this even happened.
You underestimate the power of social media and the interwebs. My brother who didn't even go to VT alerted me to this last night. He saw it on twitter.
It was on every "sports news" update during the break on the local DC sports radio station.
Has ESPN picked it up yet?
my coworker told me about it... and he's an Oregon native, OrSU alum and knows very little about ACC football. I think any casual NCAAF fan is aware of it considering it's the only motion in the coaching carousel. Someone else here mentioned it's a headline on ESPN's NCAAF front page
If I flirt a little with the hot waitress, I'm not cheating on my wife.
No, but don't expect your wife to be happy about it.
If you go to the waitress's home, even if you end up leaving before you cheat you probably will have some problems back home with your wife.
I'm hoping the real reason Fu is talking to Baylor is along the lines of "Thanks for your interest, but I'm staying at Virginia Tech......however, I highly recommend you talk to my offensive coordinator, Brad Cornelsen."
I was wondering about this. There had been rumors before the bowl that Corny was gone. So wonder if this is the final follow through.
All while not informing Whit or any of his players about his plan, lol
IF they can get Aranda to leave LSU he will absolutely be the top choice. Aranda can be as choosy as anyone in the country though. He's making $2.5m/yr as a DC right now.
Everyone seems to be so hung up on a coach taking an interview and being angry if he comes back. What level of loyalty are we demanding from a coach here? I like my job, but if I see an opportunity to be in a better situation money- or resource-wise, I take the interview even if I don't think it will pan out.
Some of this is just ridiculous. I don't see any evidence that he's lied to players or coworkers about his intentions or broken any promises or anything. This is when the opportunity presented itself, this is when he takes the interview. It isn't like he left at halftime during the UVA game to have an interview with another school. It's the offseason.
Yes, it has the potential to make a replacement difficult, but I think Hokie nation needs to accept the fact that the days of decades-long coaching tenures are past. Any coach we hire is going to take interviews for other positions. Any coach we hire is going to be already be a coach when we interview him. It is just the nature of the college football world now.
I'm not sure if that would have been better or worse than losing to UVA. /s
I think people are having a more difficult time with Whit being left in the dark. Whit was going to find out at some point, so why keep him in the dark. Maybe Fuente didn't, but rumors are that he did. Plus, I just don't like that now players have to block out more noise and try to annoy the fact that their coach was interested in leaving what he has been selling. That isn't Fuente's fault, but just creates a tough dynamic that they'll have to overcome this off season.
Just going to point out that that is total speculation, it only seems real because it's been repeated ad nauseum.
Fuente should look out for himself. I don't necessarily care if/that he interviews for other jobs. There is a level of professionalism that I expect from someone who is a key piece to not only a huge number of jobs, the largest revenue stream in the Athletic Dept, but also a large portion of the brand identity of the school.
Fuente has done a series of things over his career here which makes me think he just 'doesn't get it.' Program optics, brand, basic, personable human interactions with players, fans, media... something never seemed right. This...assuming he actually doesn't get the job...should really remove all doubt for anyone on the fence.
While I'm with everyone being annoyed he would even interview for the job, that it's not a great look, even if he ends up not taking it I think we need to cool it on all of the "how this went down" talk. How it went down is that there was a report that he was a target and might interview for a job. He then turns it down (or is turned down). And within 24 hours it is resolved.
The absolute only reason that this looks like some grand shit-show of mismanagement is because people on the internet hammer their F5 keys and expect constant updates, and when they don't get that they start to speculate, back up others' speculation, hit F5 again, feel entitled to know immediately what is going to happen, fire off some angry posts/tweets, hit F5 again, then put hands up in disbelief that the people involved could allow any of this to happen.
Versus just a decade or so ago, when a reporter would say "hey, maybe this will happen", coach comes back and says "nope, we're good", and everyone carries on with their day not bothering to be personally offended by something they have no knowledge of. Which is a long way of saying, the "handling" has much more to do with people on the internet being impatient and entitled then how professionals handled a situation, but if Fuente does come back and people are pissed, it'll have more to do with ourselves than him, and we'll be hurting our own brand trying to publicly push him out the door.
Which is an even longer way of saying, dude should not be taking interviews right now, fuck that noise, but maybe we should just move on and accept that the business side of football sucks.
Today, I learned what the F5 key does.
If VT fires him for interviewing with Baylor, good luck convincing any top shelf candidates to come take his place. Just ask BC how well that worked out for them.
Unless Whit really likes coke binges I think we're safe. Costing the program 15 mil because he interviewed somewhere is pretty nuts.
Playing the game of hypotheticals:
I'm a Baylor Alum/Supporter with $200+ mill in the bank and I donate enough to have a say about these types of things. I don't think I'd love this hire. Does he have everything he needs to dominate college football at this finger tips? No. Did he turn around Memphis? Sure. But he hasn't done anything at Tech that makes me think he is the next Dabo.
I'd rather hope for the Kirby Smart type hire. Steal LSU's DC (apparently in the mix). He's got momentum. He's got a ring. He beat Bama and Clemson this year. He is the type of coach that would make me excited.
Fuente has shown his hand now. He took over a program from a hall of fame coach, and retained one of the best DC's to ever do it, had a well respected AD, some of the most loyal fans in the country and top 5 in wins the past 25 years. And that wasn't enough. The "cupboard" was bare, the fans are too tough, the facilities aren't good enough, recruiting the state is too tough, the roster was too uneven, too many knuckleheads left by the last coach. It's no secret now. For Justin Fuente to be successful, he needs a loaded roster perfectly balanced, a top 5 locker room/football facility, cream puff fans with no expectations, and an unlimited budget. Give Fuente that, and he can make it work. That's what Baylor is getting into. God help them if TCU builds a better weight room.
Yep that's exactly the situation he walked into at Memphis. Where do you come up with the stuff you throw out?
OK, so his Memphis resume is what you are hanging your hat on? good luck Justin. That win over Ole Miss really makes you stand out in a crowd.
That last line is why they keep you around dc
I like the cut of your jib.
Exactly. In 2015 if the Hokies are swimming in Fuck You money, who are you going to hire? The Memphis guy, or Kirby Smart?
I would like to at least be wading in You're A Doodiehead money.
If he stays I will hold no grudges. It's a business. A lot of y'all are making our fan base look desperate and insane over a "reported interest".
We all knew this was borrowed time with Fuentez, especially if he was successful, but him leaving now would be one of the worst positions possible for VT to recover from and that's where you see a lot of this heat coming from. I think it's totally warranted. I am sure there is a worse time to bail, but I can't think of it.
I wonder what would've happened on TKP (or the rest of social media) if it had existed when Beamer was leaving for UNC?
This. This would have happened.
Exactly.
We'll there is 90 minutes of life I'll never get back!
SI Article on all this Shit
Bad day to stop sniffing glue
](https://postimg.cc/GBFKrmcV))
And you owe me ten minutes of my life back for making click on that pathetic link.......which hit bottom here
"He's a proven recruiter in the Lonestar state and carried his prowess in the hot bed of talent to Blacksburg. We are all familiar with the "#TX2VT" recruiting movement blasted on the official VT social platforms. That's all because of Fuente"
Is that bullshit really on "Sports Illustrated"? That "Sports Illustrated"? They are bleacher report now? fuck
Still.
I think that's the word you are looking for.
SI was sold to a corporation whose angle is more toward that of attracting social media influencers than journalists, which was highlighted by their gutting themselves of basically all their talent last year. They are absolutely a bottom barrel trash site for content going forward. They're more about profiting off the SI brand than actually continuing to make that brand proud.
well, tbf, the magazine (and newspaper) market is dead. social media is the current major money maker. probably says more about society than SI.
I check TKP for the first time in 24 hours..
WTF IS GOING ON
I checked before I left work
I checked as soon as I got to my destination.
Elapsed time, about 40 min.
About 350 unread comments.
Looks at bottom. No presser. No coaching announcement.
Skips maelstrom.
TKP harder.
He would've know about all this if he joined TKPC
I was really hoping we wouldn't lose Fuente for a few more years so Shane can get some G5 experience. I'd prefer Fickell but if we can't get him, I'd roll the dice on Shane. He has been under his dad, Lincoln Riley, and Kirby smart. He would leave this defensive staff intact and probably improve the offense. If we are just left with nothing, I'd see what happens. If it's good, at least he won't bail.
https://twitter.com/MichaelVick/status/1217580388782149634
#ShaneTrain
https://twitter.com/KirkHerbstreit/status/1217573258859622400?s=20
#ShaneTrain
With so much support, it looks like the #ShaneTrain is on the right... track
I love Marty Smith and I love how Herbie, Fowler and the GameDay crew love Blacksburg and VT.
Had to embed this one. Refreshing to see a national voice / neutral perspective be so excited when talking about us.
If someone said this then I will drink ..... Fuente has no issue interviewing anywhere he wants because if he is fired for doing it we have to pay him to leave. He does not give 2 shits what any of us think. Bring me Shane Beamer.
#ShaneTrain all the way
The Shane Trains coming!
Terry Tate for LB coach!
lol Shane Beamer doesn't give a shit what you think any more than Fuente does
Fu is coming back! He has unfinished business. There is still a bowl streak to end.
Had to read this twice before I got it
Well it looks like we may get Shane Beamer about a year or two before I expected. I can understand people's frustration if we're to lose Fuente this late in the cycle, but on the flip side I really don't think he's a big time coach and in the long run I think VT will be a lot better for it
I'm curious to see if Fuente takes cornelson with him. He has to be aware that cornelson is the reason his reputation as an offensive mind was almost ruined in Blacksburg, right?
Please take him
Edit: could it hurt recruiting, player development? Sure. Is it a new positive? Possibly. Our offense has been okay. I don't see Corny sticking with a new coach, and also he's been joined at the hip with Fuente. Likely, he leaves with him.
That would make me hate Fuente worse if he bolted for a new job and THEN canned the offensive coordinator who should never have even been hired
At this point, is it too much to ask for the athletic department to say something?... even if it's just some vague damage control statement? Am I correct that the official response has just been silence from everyone?
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