2020 - Let's go! pic.twitter.com/hSE2uNR2LB— Justin Fuente (@CoachFuente) January 16, 2020
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2020 - Let's go! pic.twitter.com/hSE2uNR2LB— Justin Fuente (@CoachFuente) January 16, 2020
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Beat me too it!
That is interesting.
Awk
Only one thing left to do now.
Run him up in front of a microphone so he can try and put some faith back into everyone, because this is all still a bad look.
Wonder if we'll ever get a first hand source to talk about this episode on the record. Otherwise the speculation about the past couple of days will still eat away at the program unless we win and win a lot next year.
Or everyone on this site is losing their goddam minds over what, outside the insulation of the peculiar stability that Frank Beamer gave our program, is a completely normal occurrence in major college football, and this will be completely forgotten by everyone except the compulsive handwringers in a month.
Whichevs.
I don't think I'm owed an answer and I'm not particularly miffed about all this, but I'm worried about the effect this will have or has had on our perception, particularly to recruits.
It will have zero effect on recruiting, despite whatever public anxiety attacks have been had in this online space.
This is normal.
Hard disagree. Our recruiting is among the most fragile in the P5... this throws fuel on that flame. Fuente is the guy that former players feel shunned by anyway, and now he wanted to leave? lol you think those guys are going to do him any favors in the 757? nope. And Franklin and Mack Brown who recuit the same kids Fuente does will absolutely use this against VT.
Yeah...
Those schools used Beamer's age as well as 4/16/2007 to negatively recruit against VT in the past. They're going to have a field day with this.
Somehow, Fuente talking to Baylor seems like absolutely nothing with respect to recruiting.
Our coach is in demand, but believes in the program in Blacksburg? Cool!
It is one thing to be in demand and another to start the interview process. That conveys a totally different message than a "thanks but no thanks." If I was a recruit I would say crap is this guy just going to entertain any opportunity that may come up or is he truly committed to me and my 4 years in Blacksburg.
do you think there is a difference between "on the list of wants" and "went out of his way to interview"? the fact that it's a talking point at all is a losing proposition because it takes focus away from VT and the football program and puts it on fuente and his interview.
I'm pretty sure this won't matter to anyone who is seriously interested in playing football for VT.
Will matter a LOT more to the folks on this board who already didn't like Fuente, for unrelated reasons.
that's a pretty bold statement to make when it seems like there are plenty of players who seem "seriously interested" in playing football for us only to ultimately wind up elsewhere.
I'm saying this isn't the most important factor.
but it is a factor. you can't just assess it in a vacuum and say that if it's a factor for someone, they weren't coming anyway and if someone joins us then it must not have been a factor.
I'm impressed with your attempt to turn this into some kind of condemnation about people who dare criticize the staff
I'm impressed by the people who want to question the motives of Fuente for anything he does.
People who wanted him gone were mad when there was a possibility he might leave. And now that he decided to stay, they're claiming he did harm to the program, won't be able to recruit, has lost the trust of other coaches, etc.
A lot of the criticism of Fuente isn't based on anything he actually did, but an attribution of motives that isn't based on anything at all. Am I wrong for pointing that out?
Some people have already made up their mind about Fuente. And now anything that happens has to fit that narrative. I think the experiment isn't over yet.
At the end of the day:
Well, it's just my opinion, man.
A Penn State player just accused Franklin of fostering an environment where players bully, abuse, and molest one another but yeah Fuente being rumored to interview with another school is so much worse.
And guess what - he'll still out recruit us!
Sure but why are we acting like that's a Fuente-related issue? Penn State outrecruited Virginia Tech in the wake of Sandusky too.
No one's jumped ship to the portal....so that's good news...
I guess it's all speculation and rumor about what Fuente was trying to get out of this. But, if he really was trying to get more resources for the program, it seems good the kind of thing we'd praise a coach at another school for doing. I think you're right.
Is this a joke? Does he think we are stupid?
no, maybe he thinks people can understand how college football and careers work
oh right and not explain anything to the people that help pay his salary
lol he posted the tweet 1.5 hours ago, presumably after an early morning meeting...i'm not shocked his first order of business wasn't "placate the internet masses"
lemme know when he does address anyone at all because after 4 years of Fuente I don't expect him to be open or transparent at all
Can't wait for the details to come out...
They're starting to come out. For the most part, many had it fairly wrong.
Lol, and we get no further explanation like nothing happened. You can't make this crap up.
This happened before 9 am the day after he went to Waco. You apparently want an explanation so fast that he should have held a press conference in the AD's office immediately after the interview, or possibly during.
Its called entitlement...
I don't think it's entitled to expect some answers on something like this in a time where the athletic department is making an effort to raise more money.
Nope. Absolutely nothing entitled for donors to ask a simple, "WTF is going on?," with this one.
"donors" possibly. rando on a fan board, nope.
I'm going to guess the Venn Diagram of athletic donors and members of TKP is going to look very similar to a small circle inside a bigger one
Corrrect, especially since VT is asking us donors to give more money to keep our same seats next year. The timing couldn't be worse for this. Hey donor, give us more... but our coach is trying to get the hell out of dodge. Please send your check to....
Are you buying seats based on who is wearing the headset? Or based on what logo is on the side of the helmet? (As long as it's not the foghorn...)
I'm buying seats at the level I buy them based on a winning, entertaining product on the field. The coach listening to any program within a thousand mile radius of Tulsa Ok is not what I call entertaining or winning.
This. I'm not donating a few thousand dollars every year if I think a coach is going to jump ship, especially if it is because most of my money isn't going to improving our revenue sports. I am all for supporting the non revs, but in a proportional manner
So what you are saying is that you want a mediocre coach that no one wants. Cuz if we have a really good coach, some other program is going to want them and sometimes if we have a mediocre coach, some other program is going to want them.
No, I'm talking about giving the coaches we have everything they need. If a coach jumps because they are great, fine. But if they are jumping due to poor resource allocation, it makes me feel less charitable.
That's not charity, nor a donation. That's a reward system. Don't confuse the two.
oh please. you and everyone else are ten times more likely to give the homeless man 20 bucks if you know he's going to spend it on a hat and gloves rather than a handle of crappy vodka.
Ha. The point that he says he "donates" in good times for winning. That's rewarding the winning.
If you turn your nose up at "donating" after a bad season, that's not a donation.
Nothing to do with the need.
where did he say anything about winning or losing?
Yes, I am sure you are far more likely to donate to a charity that you feel like is allocating it's resources poorly
Hokie a club donations don't pay salaries at Tech hell they just started covering scholarships 3 years ago because they finally got enough money to cover them.
It's ok. He answered my question...
WTF am I donating to?!
I thought it was for scholarships and general athletic expenses
Scholarships. Period. Full stop.
Thought the money was spread out more than just scholarships. We are limited on those. Well damn. Suppose I will donate what I need to for Hokie Club and everything else as a gift. What is the point to donating a ton if the money isn't being spent beyond a scholarship fund for limited scholarships
First Tech has only been recently meeting that "limited scholarships" goal so removing donations means more money out of operating budget to pay for them instead. Long term the goal is to bring in so much money that Hokie Club general fund money can be used for things like updating facilities, coaches pay etc. now you can directly donate to things like equipment, facilities, coaches pay but it has to be directed to those things by you and the Hokie Club working together.
You are in effect achieving what you want with your money just not how you thought. Because your donations in part cover scholarships it allows money from revenue and other sources to be used more widespread. Your exact dollars may not get spread but you afford VT the ability to spread other money.
This, I like
Expecting it immediately is. Fundraising money doesn't have a deadline. Nor does it mysteriously evaporate. Fuente is in a Football Staff meeting. No need for a long winded bs press release. His tweet serves the purpose.
The tweet is the problem most people are taking issue with. I believe it would've went a million times better if they would've just waited till after his meeting or whatever and announced something a little more put together
Exactly this.
Like what? "I'm staying! #thisishome" I mean, that's more than what he tweeted.
I don't need bs from him. I need wins. And getting back to work. Only one can be addressed right now...and he's doing that.
He's saying why address it at all right now? Have the meeting. Let us know that he's staying and what the hell is going on afterward with more than a goddamned hashtag. After everything flying around in the past 24 hours, the tweet seems condescending right now.
Edit: I thought it was a hashtag. But it might as well have been.
Condescending? Ok. Not sure what you want the man to do. But I guarantee no matter it will be wrong.
Since all this seems to have resulted in a new game plan for funding, announce that. Give fans something to buy into. Then it would at least prove that Fuente had good intentions.
And i'm sure that will come in due time.
The tweet took 15 seconds to push out. A press release of the magnitude you are speaking of needs to be crafted, and should be coming from Whit. A lot more goes into that.
Exactly. The point is, the tweet shouldn't have happened.
I literally just said what I think he, and Whit, should do. I'm fairly certain that is what VTWarthog was getting at as well. Why say anything right now? Especially, a simple "2020 - Let's Go." Which, yeah, is condescending after the madness swirling around. Address everything later after the meeting in more detail. It isn't that difficult.
If he hadn't tweeted this morning, there would have been another 3k posts on this site alone. He stopped the craziness of guessing and suspicion. It took 15 seconds to do. You can consider that condescending if you like, but that's a reach in my opinion. And he madness is self-created. All the way.
If they're making decisions to keep angry posts off of TKP and the like, we have much bigger issues.
*And if they were making decisions to appease TKP, they need to start with listening to French. Not about food though. Obviously.
Not what I was saying. It was a stopgap. A simple statement saying he was staying. Period. Now he's on to his regularly schedule programming at Tech. I don't have issue with that.
Then why was a stopgap needed?
He didn't do it to keep angry posts off TKP. It was informational to everyone. National media, players, Joe Schmoe in Alaska. Wide reaching, easy, quick, free.
I get what you're saying, and it doesn't change the fact that the stopgap wasn't needed. A press release or full on presser later today would have been fine. The tweet didn't need to happen and just pissed me off more.
Are we sure he was actually in Waco?
Can't wait for Fuente to figure that this doesn't merit any kind of public media discussion. How many times did he have to reset his Twitter password to finally remember it in order to send this tweet?
Hopefully he did this to get more money. And I mean that. I hope that if Whit, etc. needed leaning on in this area this much that he wanted to send a message, then good. I'm not trying to be an ass here. I mean it- I hope he did this to get more resources for VT. If he did this because he wants out and any midwestern job is attractive to him, then he's an ass.
If he did it to get more resources for VT, I may be with you.
If he did it to get more money for himself, he can get bent. He has done nothing to earn a penny more than he currently makes.
atrain99
Posted on 46 mins, , User Since 139 months ago, User Post Count: 969
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In the final results, I believe we are going to hear that Baylor offered Fu the job with mega resources, he could bring his entire staff with him, and he still turned it down because he wants to finish what he has started at VT. Fu and his family love Blacksburg
Not VIP fysa
Is there a way for us to eventually figure out if he did get more money for support staff, recruiting ect..?
This was my stance. Hopefully it's for more money. Like we've seen James Franklin, Mike Gundy, and various other coaches do before. Like we all know Frank Beamer did.
What a fucking nightmare. How do you explain this to recruits, players, fans and boosters?
I don't recall Frank explaining he actually verbally agreed to take a job until his book came out years later.
I don't recall Frank flirting with other schools after losing to UVA.
No even worse he did it after going to a NC game.
Stop licking Fuente's boots for a second and realize how dumb all of this is.
You mean unconfirmed rumors. Yea let me go find the nearest y'all building to jump of off.
I can't believe you people want to stick your heads in your own asses and ignore the national media who have legitimate sources everywhere. Please give me one good reason why you don't buy that?
He clearly interviewed. He clearly was interested in the job either as a way to better himself or put pressure on VT. Nobody is saying these things aren't true. We are saying it isn't illegal, immoral, unethical or otherwise perverse for him to have pursued this opportunity. The timing was/is awful but he, and really nobody, had no control over the timing. We have no confirmation that anything Fuente did was unreasonable, the sources that claimed yesterday Whit was upset and offended now claim he was working to keep Fuente happy enough to stay. There is nothing here for a mature, rational, emotionally stable person to get worked up over.
Not a single sourced national or even local beat writer has confirmed Fuente was in Waco, and as Andy Bitter pointed it out candidates don't go to the school to interview they meet neutral location or coaches home, not a single real media has confirmed Fuente was top or even near top of the list for Baylor. So yes I think Fuente listened to a pitch from Baylor I don't think he interviewed nor do I think Baylor offered him the job.
what the actual f are you on about?
Multiple sources also confirmed Odom was coming to Tech as DC. Again I think Fuente thought about the Baylor job I don't doubt that. I think he listened to their initial pitch I don't think he and His wife flew to Waco and I don't think Baylor offered him the job. Y'all keep on being angry about this. I'm going to hope for a quality 2020 season before Whit has to fire Fuente and Tech takes a major financial hit.
Funny how you take Bitter at gospel here but not when he and the Athletic confirmed he planned to interview.
Don't you typically add a little more merit to the most recent breaking news?
*misread the thread. ignore.
DO YOU KNOW how much shit I got on this message board for saying this exact thing and being skeptical... it was insane... sorry I don't trust everything I read on social media. I made a post saying wake me up when this is confirmed and I got a bunch of angry responses saying to take my head out of the sand.
there's a huge difference between "wake me up when this is confirmed" and "i don't believe any of the reports that were published because nobody who reported on it counts as real media"
Okay and here is my post in its totality that got shit from 23 hours and 35 mins ago:
Quote:
Exactly. Wake me up when it's confirmed.
End Quote
I interpreted this as "wake me up if anything actually changes here".
Most VT fans won't even know about this unless someone tells them, and then they won't care. Since nothing actually changed.
I made it exactly match my original post that I bolded rumored.
ESPN Senior Writer Andrea Adelson:
Are we really thinking that no meeting ever took place? goodness gracious
Watch out, you don't want it to appear like you're defending the sources!
obviously it's a damage control piece, but it telling that it makes it clear that a meeting did happen. would have been a slot stronger with a statement from Fuente though
could you please demonstrate for everyone the mental gymnastics you have to go through to conclude that the bitter tweet you embedded somehow disproves that "not a single real media has confirmed Fuente was top or even near top of the list for Baylor". Bitter even confirmed that he planned to interview! Also can you acknowledge that an "in-person interview" doesn't have to mean that Fuente went to Baylor's campus with his wife?
You've gotta just be trolling at this point. Even Teel confirmed it.
The usual suspects are working overtime on this one today
I can't figure out why. Do they think all these people are just lying? I'd also like the point out you can't say Fuente didn't take an interview and he did this to negotiate more resources for the program. They are mutually exclusive.
People want to praise Fuente for negotiating more resources but don't want to acknowledge he flirted with another program. Just like a million other times, we have a problem swallowing the sources pill.
I mean its to the point where it seriously makes me question if the usual suspects are part of an inner circle with an agenda. It an absurd theory, because I can't imagine anyone on the staff is petty enough to stoop to that level, but man... The behavior is similar to how that scenario would play out.
You're just getting there now?
Welcome.
I want Fuente to win as much as anyone on this website. But the lengths people go to in an effort to fall on the sword for a guy who has had one coastal title in four seasons is bonkers. They put Frank Beamer on a stake to defend Fuente. What's the harm in calling a spade a spade?
I guess I don't understand why you fall on the sword to defend sources that by all accounts appear to have been wrong about important details. Does it make a difference to you whether Fuente flew to Waco or they flew to him? Let's let the dust settle before we call the event anything more than a Wednesday (I was getting way ahead of myself yesterday too). I bet you for every time fans learn of something like this there are three or four other times where nothing leaked.
Nope. If you go reread my posts I have never argued the location of the interview. Just that it happened just as Jugs and others have said. And FWIW I spoke to someone who corroborated JUGS story.
I'm not saying anybody lied. But there were so many things flying around it was like the game where you whisper something in somebody's ear and go around the room and the message completely changed. I saw tweets that said I know for a fact Fuente is in Waco. I guess now we know he wasn't.
What other subtle differences are there to the truth. Anybody mad just because he heard them out better get used to being mad, because if we are where we want to be it is going to happen a lot. As for how bad this is or isn't, we will see. It could completely blow over, but I do think there needs to be some PR.
I agree that there are some (literally one or two) people here who go to any and all lengths to defend Fuente. However, there are many many more who will never be able to see past their disdain for him. We went balls deep yesterday commenting about this situation and (what seems like) the vast majority were nasty comments about Fuente, when the only reputable reports were that he would be interviewing for another job.
Edit: it's hard to follow a legend, the ones that I find myself most frustrated with are the ones who make it harder.
The neutral location thing is only, as far as I can tell, if a school is trying to keep the search secret. Baylor apparently had no intention of trying to keep this secret.
Baylor keeps their coaching searches locked down. Members of their search committee aren't even allowed to tell their family about any potential interviews during those processes. If there was a leak here, it wasn't from their side.
Except NBC Sports knew that Billy Napier already interviewed and Dave Aranda and Blake Anderson are also candidates. Article
Zero secrecy. OR you think that every candidate that is or has been a candidate went out and told everybody they were a candidate. Your choice on what you think makes more sense.
That's odd, since on any given day we all seem to know who their top candidate is.
I'm really not sure what the value is, or what you are trying to prove, in making this argument. There was clearly mutual interest between Baylor and Fuente. Whether Fuentes interest was to get a new job or force Whits hand... who knows. Whether he got an offer or not... who knows. Where the interview was.... who cares?
Yeah Marty Smith, Kirk Herbstreit, MV7, and multiple real journalists giving their input on the situation probably means it was all fake
does this confirm the rumors enough for you? or did none of it happen and everyone is making it up
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/28495788/virginia-tech-...
He's very specifically arguing that Fuente never flew to Waco with his wife. I may be misreading but I haven't seen him dispute anything more than that.
Keep reading. Says he doesn't think fuente even interviewed and that nobody reputable even reported that fuente was at or near the top of the list of candidates
https://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/925543#comment-925543
Once Baylor makes a hire they will swear they got there top guy too.
great! but that doesn't mean that there wasn't a yahoo sports reporter who reported that fuente was a leading candidate. it also doesn't mean that fuente didn't interview.
I'm not denying that. Whether he interviewed or heard a preliminary pitch it doesn't make any difference. I was just stating it is funny because a team always gets their top guy in the end. Just like coaches get the best players on their board on signing day.
It makes sense to look for bigger and better opportunities after success, which Fuente has not had recently.
Frank had leverage for being the National Coach of the Year and took VT football to the BCS Title Game. We couldn't afford to let him go
Fuente's leverage basically comes down to 'its January and the timing kind of sucks'
That doesn't matter. Fuente and Whit are asking us to give more money. They must think fans are stupid if they think people are going to up donations after this shit show.
The two situations are hardly comparable. Fuente did this coming off an 8 win season. Beamer did it after a national title run.
Yea if that had happened in the social media area it would have been much much worse.
"Beamer looks at leaving NC runner up for UNC!!"
"Recruiting class after NC game appearance is awful"
"Beamer is too focused on looking at other jobs to worry about making Tech better"
Exactly. Not even comparable situations. Beamer was one of the hottest coaching candidates in the country at the time, and I remember it being very well reported on the news that he had serious interest in UNC and decided to stay at the last minute. This whole pretend like nothing happened bs with no official statement is ridiculous. This is going to get spun like Fuente is some hero who was fighting for resources. Even if he was, horrible optics to pull a stunt like that at this time when he's not exactly killing it from a coaching standpoint. If we caved and gave him a more ridiculous buyout or extension I am going to be livid.
Yea that's not what happened. No one knew until
His book came out how close he was to taking the UNC job.
Dude I remember the news reports at the time. Of course no one knew every single behind the scenes detail, but it was reported there was real interest in UNC and it looked like he was going, then he decided to stay at the last minute and Hokie Nation rejoiced. You can't even compare that to the massive uproar that happened yesterday and we aren't even going to get an official response that anything at all happened.
I remember the news reporting that Beamer was going to take the job at UNC. I was very upset at the time and very relieved when he decided to stay at VT. Perhaps you weren't a fan at the time or maybe too young to follow VT football. I don't know, but your narrative of the news didn't come out until his book was out is inaccurate. I do agree that this situation is similar to Fuente's situation now. The problem is that we are in the age of social media and news is spread more quickly. Beamer also had much more success at the time so he was a hot commodity and UNC pursued him. We don't know, and may never know if Baylor pursued Fuente or of it was the other way around.
Okay?
It was also 1999 and twitter and 247 didn't exist where everyone was a source of information
And now how I long for those days.
That also pre-twitter
Frank did that explicitly to make the point to Weaver that he needed additional pay for assistants which Weaver had outright rejected. Frank wanted nothing for himself. It was only after Paul Torgersen stepped in and told Weaver he in fact would increase assistant pay that Frank stayed. If it comes out that Fuente was doing the same I'd be shocked. Whit has stepped up with most everything needed for football within the financial means of the department.
No Frank agreed to the job. They had the press conference scheduled. He slept on it and woke up the day he was supposed to announce and told UNC that he couldn't do it. That was not a facilities or pay or money stunt by Frank. He was all but gone.
Now more money and stuff may have come from that but he didn't do it just to get facilities. He was leaving.
You are correct
Unless Whit was on board with him going so Whit had additional fuel to ask for more money.
Frank didn't have to manage a 24 hour news cycle at the time. What percent of donors, fans, and recruits knew Beamer had verbally agreed to take the UNC job? What percent knew it was going on as it was happening?
The responsibility's of a coach have changed from just coaching football to being a figurehead for the program. I will never blame someone for seeking out (much less listening) to opportunities to improve life for them and their family. That said, with so many parties in limbo, a coach must account for a potential leak, and the resulting PR fallout.
Who knows, maybe at the time he thought the interview would be secret, similarly to how his was when he was coming to VT, and when tweets came out and the shitstorm hit, he sat there, face-palmed, and thought to himself, "fuuuuuuuccckkkkk."
I 100% think that's exactly what happened. But he has to have a backup plan for that.
An opportunity presented itself. I had to do due diligence for my family. In the end it wasn't right and this is where I want to be. Lets go win the coastal.
that's probably what they're discussing in that picture!
"Was offered X Y and Z but I like the Burg so I'm staying because A B and C"
Hokies?
So was this whole story just rumors that blew up? Did he even go to Waco? Did he even interview. VT twitter says he was hired, Baylor 247 says he wasn't even considered. This is so confusing!!
It would behoove him to give a presser on this.
I have reliable information that there is a presser yesterday at 3:30 central.
He was probably just down there taking his wife on a tour of all the Chip and Joanne sights and it blew up.
Fuente was in Waco, interviewed and was back in Burg by 3-4ish yesterday is what I was told. VT/Whit was working under the impression that Fuente was offered the job and asked what does he need to stay/be successful here. Fuente needs more support and money into the program if VT wants to be a crucial player in CFB world.
This is either going to open eyes in VT administration or it's going to fall on deaf ears and nothing will happen. Good thing is we will be able to see which path gets taken. Still somewhat leery as to how this helps with fans recruiting donating and a lot of other things within the program.
Yep. Not sure this won't backfire if that was the case.
I'm confused because yesterday it seemed like you had sources saying Fuente was doing this behind Whits back and Whit was not happy about it (in one post you even said, in your opinion, Whit wouldn't let Fuente come back based on how Fuente had handled things). Now it seems like your source says Whit new and rather than being upset he was asking questions about what he could do to keep him.
The second scenario seems more plausible to me, are you getting these conflicting stories from the same source? Am I misunderstanding something and the stories don't conflict? Like I said yesterday, I know there are a lot of moving pieces, and I know you weren't encouraging people to act like dumbasses (you even said it was ridiculous); however, the level of anger, atleast from TKP, ratcheted way up yesterday after your post about Fuente working behind Whits back and the accepted narrative seemed to become all about what a horrible person Fuente is for creating such a mess.
Whit didn't know Fuente was going to interview for the job, but he knew Fuente had issues with $$ available for VT Program. I don't think Whit knew how big of an issue it was until Fuente went ghost and all of a sudden is on his way to Waco for said interview. Fuente was either going to take the Baylor job or VT was going to pony up and get things moving in the right direction support staff wise and upgrade wise to certain football things.
Whit was absolutely upset but at the end of the day he can't let emotions get in the way and go all crazy like we get to as fans. Whit cares about football and really believes in Fuente. Whit also knows that if Fuente leaves this puts VT in a bigger mess and could really put the program in a huge hole. It comes down to a few million in funding (which really was needed) or the possibility of cratering the football program for awhile. Seems like they got the approval from above (Sands or someone else) to make some changes and get VT back in it.
End of the day Whit will need to address the media and the proof will be in the pudding.
This seems reasonable and mostly what I expected. The only thing I wish is that Fuente could have had a conversation with Whit before interviewing; however, my guess is these conversations have taken place often in the past and Fuente felt the need to force Whits (or Sands) hand. I'm glad Fuente is staying and I'll be glad if/when more money is directed to the football program. I'd be really really happy if we could go back in time and prevent TKP from becoming a freaking cesspool of toxic fan reactions.
If this is true, and all pans out (and I have no reason not to believe you), then Fuente is back in my good graces, and THAT is all that really matters.
I, too, only care if Fuente is in 757hokie83's good graces.
I believe you're misunderstanding. Whit didn't like CJF interviewing behind his back, but convinced him to stay anyway after he returned to the Burg
According to Bitter he was never in Waco. I don't think any sources know for sure what is going on.
If you still go on visits when you are committed, are you even committed?
Can't embed right now but Whit's comment seems to make this official. Nothing to see here folks, move along.
https://twitter.com/WhitBabcock/status/1217798058873847808
Why are y'all so up in arms? WHAT DID HE EVEN DO?
He contemplated a career move that would make him and his family potentially happier! How dare he!
and a bunch of his staff
And screw over the school I attended in the process! Just because he does what's best for him does not mean it is best for me (Hokie faithful and VT). Sorry if I am not shaking his hand and congratulating him on interviewing and causing a shit storm.
First off, interviewing is not the same as taking the job so no one got screwed over. Assuming Fuente has a shred of moral character, which I think is a safe assumption given his time at VT, considerations regarding the position in which he was leaving the school would be part of his decision making process. It's very much a balance between his interests and ours. He's not always bound to do what's best for the university and our fanbase.
Secondly, there's no need to congratulate him, but I think we as a community, and I'm including myself on this, can be a bit more understanding when people make self-interested decisions.
And finally, one day of disapproving internet comments does not a shitstorm make. Is it unfortunate? Probably. But as of now, no harm has come to Virginia Tech football team's roster, on-field performance, or financial standing. So let's see if this really ends up causing any lasting problems before lambasting the guy.
He interviewed for a job at a time that would completely screw over the team and our fundraising efforts. It also sounds like he leaked information of this interview to the press in an effort to force Baylor's hand.
Then after all that, he just tweets "2020 - Lets Go!" like nothing happened and he's been dialed in the whole time.
And folks will rationalize it to themselves by saying "he was just trying to get more money for the VT program" or "well he turned Baylor down, so he's all-in at VT"; neither of which are very likely, if you look at the situation objectively.
He is basically Buzz Williams. He will stay with the program as long there isn't a better opportunity for him. I would bet money he doesn't finish this contract with VT. If he coaches well, he gets a better job than Baylor. If he's averaging 7 wins a season, he is gone once the buyout is less.
Buzz William's orchestrated a deal with ATM months in advance, then used all his time recruiting on VTs dime to build a class he knew VT would never see. Buzz actually was a snake. He was also more successful than Fuente. The two really don't compare other than knowing neither has an emotional attachment to VT.
You speak no lies.
The fact he changed his personal logo to Aggie colors on his YouTube videos detailing our Tournament run during that same Tournament run will never sit well with me. For a guy so hyper-focused on the little details, that will always bother me.
How is this not like any other person in the world? If there is a better opportunity available for my family and I, you better believe I'm leaving as soon as I can get to the greener pasture. In my opinion, that's how most careers go. I don't necessarily agree with how he handled things. I think he played a major hand of poker, and appears to have won; however, I'm curious to see the dynamics of the locker room after all of this. If he voices to them that he was was doing this for the sake of improving the finances for the football program, I'd assume the team would be back on board like they never left. He better hope he can translate that message though, or in the end, he lost the poker game.
I've worked in the world of government contracting all of my professional life, and you better believe, when a more stable long term contract comes along, I jump ship, because my family matters the most to me. If CJF, is anything like me, I can't fault him for his momentary interest.
On a side note, I wouldn't have been too bummed if he left at first, till I realized that the options that would be available would be few and far in between. I think there is a lot riding on this season, and for the sake of our football team, I hope it goes well.
I guess what I am saying is that it's obvious that VT isn't his dream job, which is fine. If he can stay here long enough to elevate the program from the late beamer years to make VT more attractive to the next coach then that's great.
We are just going to needs to get used to his name being rumored for any Big 12 or lower tier SEC school for the next 5 years.
1. He had no control over the timing.
2. We have no idea who leaked the interview, or what the motive was.
3. If your biggest issue with all of this is a tweet that isn't much to complain about.
4. Objectively, there are two reasonable assumptions.
A) He was trying to get a bigger salary closer to home at a place with more resources and didnt get the offer.
B) He was trying to force VTs hand to get more funding allocated to the football program.
At this point we don't know. According to folks that claim inside info at Baylor it could be A and Fuente was never the guy; however, this would fly on the face of some national reporting. According to JUGS, who claims insider info here, Whit has been able to move some money around to make Fuente happy and keep him here.
In the end the timing sucks but there isn't any real evidence anything immoral, unethical or at all shady was done. We have all assumed Fuente would leave at some point for a job in the BIG XII. Nothing has really changed all that much.
Your levelheaded, rational and logical thinking has no place in here right now.
/s
Is there a reputable source that proves he actually went to an interview?
Awesome 1000 comment thread with people freaking out. Yeah it would have mega sucked if he left, but that's the way she goes and what we had for 3 decades is the exception. Better get used to stuff like this happening pretty much every off-season, especially if things improve like we expect and also we'll be the ones doing coaching searches every so often if they don't.
Look he owes the public nothing..... if this was handled correctly. AKA a whit search that stays quiet. Think about all the coaches Whit has talked to and we have no idea because he respects the privacy. They go back to their team like nothing happened.
The fact he let this get so out of control he now does owe a BS PR statement. Because a "2020 let's go" looks bad. For the folks that say this is like every other professional in the world.....wrong. This isn't Johnny call center agent. This is like the CEO saying "I'm selling company xyz and interviewing with" then 3 days later posting on Twitter "company xyz lets go" your not excited to be back, you got denied and have no other choice. You have now lost all the respect and true of the employee base.
LETS GO.
Yall get over it, its how coaching works. This was the best outcome for VT. Now on to 2020, win and everyone is happy.
All of this blowing up is our fault. Fuente shouldn't apologize for our inability to react maturely to a grown man looking into or pursuing opportunities that he feel may present a better life for him and his family. He interviewed for a job with access to more resources closer to home. He may or may not have notified his boss about it. His agent may or may not have leaked details about the interview. We lost it. We cussed him out. We questioned his morality and ethics. We questioned his intelligence. We got mad at the idea we aren't as desirable as Baylor. We are responsible for how we react to a grown man interviewing. If its awkward for anyone it should be awkward for us because there is plenty of first hand evidence for what a shitty job we all did over the last 36 hours... all we know about what he did is that he interviewed.
Thank you.
Totally agree... cannot believe we had people tearing at Roth and tweeting up a storm before any news came out.
Better news is how this appears to recruits is vastly different than how it looks to fans
I totally disagree. Fans have a right to be upset at the way this was handled. The current players, recruits that signed in the early period, and presumably a lot of the recent staff hires all found out via social media that their boss - the person they've hitched their wagons to and will directly impact the potential for a better life for their families - was considering jumping ship for what should be considered a lateral job. How about Darryl Tapp and his family as an example, he just left his job to work for CJF, do you think he would have been retained and kept on staff at Baylor?
I understand this happens in college athletics all the time and that we were spoiled over the past decades, but the way this was handled is off-putting. The timing of it would have set VT athletics back decades. Not to mention, it has the potential for a huge setback in recruiting and how successful the program can be moving forward.
The timing is awful. Nobody is responsible for the timing, it is what it is. Fuente certainly didnt choose when the job came open.
You say fans have a right to be upset at how this was handled... what was handled poorly? I cant see that anything was handled poorly. The timing sucks. The players finding out on twitter is a draw back of social media. Should Fuente have called each of them personally while they were on break? Sent DMs? Snapchatted them? Have you notified your employees and employers of past interviews? Our piss poor reactions are on us. I get that we are fan(atic)sand we are upset that a coach might considered Baylor a better job and that might tank our chances at a 2020 coastal run... but the dude did nothing wrong, there is nothing to be able to rationally say he handled it poorly.
Your entire perspective rests on the fact that Fuente or his agent didn't leak the interview. I don't see Baylor leaking that information, what would they have to gain from that? So if not Baylor, then who?
Regardless of industry, there is a way to handle career progression moves responsibly. Do you leak news that you are interviewing with a new employer when you are looking for a move? Or do you wait to tell them once you have accepted and are definitely moving on, rather than causing a distraction to coworkers and future job performance issues for your current role?
So in my mind, dude did do something wrong.
Fuente didn't leak shit. All of the candidates Baylor has been interviewing have been made public, as far as I can tell, through a VERY sieve-like staff. You're only aware of Fuente.
It's all over that they're looking at Aranda now. Apparently people knew Billy Napier interviewed.
Article here
I have no idea if he leaked it, neither do you, you also don't know if his agent leaked it and Fuente has chewed him out or fired him. Maybe Baylor leaked it. Maybe Whit leaked it to have more traction to get more money from Sands.
My perspective rests on the fact that you and I don't know. It is ignorant and irresponsible to hold something against someone when you don't know what happened. Even if it was Fuente himself who leaked it who are you to attribute motives to his actions? My perspective is we dont know and innocent till proven guilty.
If Fuente did something wrong "in your mind" that's on you, because in reality there is no evidence.
And yours assumes Fuente or his agent leaked the news. It is unlikely we'll ever know who leaked this but I'd place much more money on someone connected indirectly to the Baylor program (i.e. booster) who had inside knowledge and wanted to appease their fanbase who were going apeshit over losing their coach at the worst possible time.
Totally agree, the man has every right to pursue what is in his best interest. It's no big deal. At the same time, he's made little to no compelling progress with the VT program in four years. His outlook in B-burg should be tenuous. It is time to make a statement, on the field and with the record, in 2020 to justify retaining his position. His interest with Baylor is just a blip, that just makes his road ahead at VT a slight bit steeper. Still behind him and the program, but the time has come for CJF to produce and earn the full support of VT Nation.
I agree he needs to produce wins... that would be the case regardless of whether or not he interviewed with Baylor.
Hokie Nation waking up this morning..
Everyone saying he did what is right for his family and good for him, try considering the coaches who he just hired. From their prospective, this is the equivalent of moving to a new city for a new job that you are excited about only to find out days later that your boss quit. Now your job is in jeopardy, you've already quit your previous job and moved, and who knows what the future looks like for the company you were so excited about joining.
Maybe it was a power move for more money, or maybe it was a selfish move that didn't pan out and will forever haunt CJF.
You cannot equate coaching in football to working "out in the world." Two completely different animals.
I agree, but that's not my point. I'm not comparing coaching to working. I'm stating IF Fuente was really interested in the Baylor job, good for him looking out for him and his family (who is already in a good situation for 2020), but he is not looking out for the people who uprooted their lives to join him. Regardless of "it's football", that is selfish and extremely inconsiderate.
Maybe it was a power move for more funds for the team and coaching staff though. I don't really know.
Yeah that happens all over the country all the time though....its life, life's hard, any job transfer comes with that risk.
But that is my point. When you go into coaching...no matter if its head coach or support staff...you understand the volatility of every job and situation. They know going in. It's part of the "game."
100% agree. Every college football coach knows his job is on the line every year.
What was Fuente supposed to do leave coaching positions vacant until February in case an NFL team poached a coach from Baylor or Oklahoma and then interview for that job... then if he didnt get it come back and try to fill position coaching slots he had ignored for a month plus?
Use some damn common sense. The coaching positions we just announced, Teerlnick and Smith were announced so recently because their teams were still playing. The Baylor job came open extremely late because they played a late bowl and the coach went to the NFL, sure the timing sucks for all involved but how is that Fuente's fault?
Those coaches that came here also left jobs and people that we're counting on them behind for better opportunities. If JUGS comment above is true then hopefully this move by Fuente will result in the coaches he just hired for our program getting better support and resources than they would have otherwise.
remember when this was funny in reference to Larry Fedora?...SMH
LMAO we mocked the hell out of UNC and Fedora for this. Now when our coach does it it's all good.
I mean, as long as he can avoid Lawrence AssHat's fate then I'll get over it.
Herbert Headcheeks
Fedora needed to pay the bills... Fuente supposedly did this to get more staff and resources
Almost true. Fuente was gone if Whit said no.
Top tier post.
In this case it could be Fuente turning Baylor down though, but I don't know that we'll ever get a clear answer on that.
I don't know that we'll ever get a clear answer on that.
and it doesn't matter
Woo, that karma, she'll get after ya!
Screw Fuente and Cornelsen...4 Million dollars and they can't get the running game going. We have 10 Running Backs in the roster and then we want the QB to run the freaking ball. I find these two incompetent to run the offense, they can't recruit and poor management of players. I wish for Fuente and Corny to be gone. I'm boycotting next season...bring someone who can get us at least into the Orange bowl...I'm tired of Fuente with his smug press conferences, excuses, and dumb phrases...Just freakin be gone
The orange bowl is the National Championship next year.
No. The NCG is in Miami but the Orange Bowl will still have it's normal NY6 slot. Only if it's a semi-final does the conference tie-in stuff get messed up.
See the Sugar Bowl this year.
That's not how that works.
via GIPHY
I'm boycotting next season
Hopefully Fuente doesn't find out you are boycotting...he might go ahead and cancel the season.
Bye Felicia
Sometimes to know what you have you have to consider losing it
Press conference to follow ...
"#ItStartsNowAgainButWithMoreTurkeyBacon"
Ok, can we all stop freaking out and acting like the Virginia Tech coaching job is some sacred position somehow different from every other coaching job in the world. Get a grip people.
Coaches interview for other jobs all the time. This is how the world works. The fact that the interviewee was an employee of Virginia Tech doesn't change that. He doesn't need to tell his coworkers, his employees or his boss beforehand and he doesn't even really owe anyone an explanation because the explanation is self-evident.
Fuente doesn't owe anyone an apology and he shouldn't be on "thin ice" or "the hot seat" because he considered another job. If it is that important that our coaches never be caught seeing what else is available, Whit should have written that into Fuente's contract. If that were to happen, good luck ever finding anyone to take the job though.
This is where I'm at with this since we probably will get no more explanation other than all is well in Blacksburg. This is not comparable to the Beamer/UNC situation. Beamer was a top coaching candidate at the time, and there were at least official news reports to substantiate that SOMETHING was going on. The whole unofficial leaks and conflicting reports with no official response bothers me.
I'm not upset at all that he would explore another job opportunity closer to home. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
If it was for leverage for more salary/buyout protection, then I am livid. His performance to date has done absolutely nothing to justify that. Doing so would financially harm the program in the long run.
If it was for leverage to get more resources and funding for staff and the program in general, that is fine and no doubt we need that. However, all the money in the world isn't fixing the ineptitude that got us blown out by Duke and lost the UVA game. I still think there are issues with the coaching, and Kill leaving frankly makes me very nervous. I'm ok with buying VT football the Maserati, but I'm still uncertain about the driver.
Also the timing and optics of this situation - especially if there is no official statement or explanation - is terrible and will hurt us in recruiting and overall fan perception. Good luck drumming up more donations when it looks like your coach might have one foot out the door.
I'm moving on and I'm frustrated at the complete 180 from the information coming out yesterday. This really leaves a bad taste in my mouth regardless.
Everyone demanding loyalty are the same people that interview/take other jobs for their own pay increase.
If VT shows out vs Penn State, no one will care about these past 36 hours.
A wise man once said:
"These hoes ain't loyal" ~ Chris Brown, AKA: Breezy, C.BREEZY, KID INDIGO, INDIGO BREEZY, Khan chris, lil breezy.
probably because he hit them
Q: What did Chris Brown tell Rihanna when he saw her with two black eyes?
A: Nothing, he had already told her twice.
*Before people think me a woman beater; let the record show that SoupHokie in no way condones domestic violence nor supports those who take part in domestic violence.
Your first sentence is exactly true for Fuente, and is at least one legit reason I've seen people upset at him. He didn't follow the expectations for loyalty that he demands from 17 year old kids. Logically Fuente doing due diligence is fine, but in the context of his entire schtick the past few years it comes across as pretty hollow.
I can understand that view point of didn't follow the expectations for loyalty that he demands from 17 year old kids.
My viewpoint is this: A collegiate head coach has to be a salesman and secure that player's 4 year "loyalty" for the betterment of the program.
However, in college sports, there's an endless rotating door of players leaving and enrolling every year.
If coaches are supposed to show loyalty to every player that commits, then there would be no opportunity to interview and take jobs elsewhere.
Also, players have the transfer portal and from what we've seen, they aren't afraid to use it. So how do we delineate a coach's loyalty vs a player who doesn't play as much as he wants and transfers out after 1 year?
So it's kind of hypocritical to argue both:
"Fuente deserves to interview and look out for what's best for his family" vs. "Fuente needs to show loyalty to the kids on the team"
This topic is the least surprising thing I've read today.
Okay, now to move on to new speculation!
Our basketball coach's name is Mike Young....
Who's he trying to fool, he isn't even that young! He's a liar! BURN HIM!
So it doesn't seem like anybody is really picking up on the fact that there is absolutely ZERO secrecy about who Baylor is interviewing and interested in.
People have pointed out what Fuente interviewing caused in the fans, but also what it would do when we went looking for a replacement. Baylor apparently gives zero fucks about any anxiety them finding a candidate would cause. Maybe this is because it's after the season so they don't think it will have any effect on the programs these guys are coming from?
I have a newfound respect for Whit and him keeping his searches so under the radar.
I've seen Aranda's name multiple times in different sources, and NBC Sports has an article with Fuente and other candidates.
So if Fuente was their first choice, maybe he thought it would be secret and he could talk to Whit later. Won't know for sure about that.
Whit's a pro, which is why you don't know exactly what he's thinking until after he's told you.
You know exactly what he wants you to know.
I was really mad when I first heard about the possibility of him leaving, and thought that he was and still kind of is being a hypocrite based on his comments last signing day.
However, the more I think about it the more him talking to other schools lines up with how he approaches the transfer portal with players.
Both our starting QB(Hooker) and RB(McClease) were in the transfer portal this time last year. He seems pretty open to letting players see what's out there.
One thing that makes no sense is if he actually went behind Whit's back. If he did that, then he's back to being a full fledged hypocrite.
I get that people interview for other jobs to create a better situation for themselves, but anything less than 10 wins, a Coastal championship, and an NY6 appearance would not sit well with me whatsoever.
We just signed the worst recruiting class that I can remember in my lifetime. We have pressing needs on defense but signed several running backs. We lost to Duke at home 45-10. We lost to UVA for the first time in 16 years because of pisspoor gameplanning, and you can't tell me otherwise. We lost another bowl game because Fuente refuses to go out of his comfort zone and step on another team's throat unless they let him. He then wants to bolt for another job after assembling an entire staff and is looking at HIS best team (2016 was Frank's team, minus Evans) since he took over, but he pulls Tahj Capehart's scholarship when he visits another school after he is committed (verbally, mind you) to VT?
This isn't Frank almost leaving for UNC in 2000. Frank took Tech to heights unimaginable before he took over and even several years after he took over. He was southwestern Virginia through and through, one of us basically. If he had left, it would have sucked, but it would have been understandable. UNC hadn't declined yet the the way they did under Bunting. It was an attractive job at a school where there was more football tradition up to that point. Kenan Memorial Stadium even had more seats than Lane back then.
All I'm saying is, it's time for Fuente to produce. No more playing not to lose. No more jet sweeps to the short side of the field when the other team's defense has lateral quickness. No more quarterback draws on 3rd down. No more quarterback sweeps with quarterbacks who aren't effective running it. No more counter screens when a team has literally three weeks to watch film on it. If he wants to look at another job after all the bullshit we've had to watch the last few years and leave us in an even worse place had he taken it, he better damn well make it right on the field this fall. If it was up to me, he'd be coaching for his job in 2020.
Since we love relating real world job experiences to coaches (like they are similar at all, right), imagine being told by shareholders every day exactly what you should do and what is gonna happen when you screw up, and then wonder how loyal you would be to the company. Just something to think about.
If you're not performing up to the stock valuations, yeah you're going to hear that from shareholders at every meeting. Its part of taking that job. If you can't handle that, you shouldn't be in that job.
Imagine declining sales quarter after quarter, embarrassing proposal loses, and a horrible new hire forecast for next year and thinking you are above criticism
The goal of the firm is to maximize the shareholder's wealth. When the shareholder's wealth is not being maximized, the shareholders offer opinions on how change should be made. If these changes are not made and wealth is not maximized, management will go down.
In football, that equates to winning games to please the fans. When enough games are not being won, the fans will offer their opinions on how to fix it. If these changes are not made, fans will become very critical, stop spending money, and drive the program further into the ground.
Yes. And shareholders have been known to throw out the baby with the bathwater - and see a stock completely tank as a consequence.
Before assuming it should be better, remember it can get worse. Sometimes much worse.
fUeNtE nEvEr InTeRvIeWeD
Andy Bitter confirmed Baylor came close to blacksburg. Fuente and his wife didn't go to Baylor which is what everyone was up in arms about.
Bitter also tweeted that discussions on allocating resources but those weren't a function of Baylor talks.
So either he tried to negotiate something Whit was already working on or he actually thought about leaving and got spooked in the interview.
Or he felt it was necessary to add a little urgency and pressure to those negotiations, which could ultimately be felt by Whit, Sands, or whoever else. It's like getting my kids ready for school in the morning. I can ask them over and over to put on their shoes but typically they need a constant nudge in the right direction if we're going to get out the door on time.
Ultimately, even if you take Fuente and your feelings toward him out of the equation, VT fans should consider it a wake up call that we aren't where we need to be financially.
So, it sounds like Whit knew, and Fuente told Baylor not interested this morning (offer not confirmed). If Whit knew about it, the only part that doesn't sit right with me is the players finding out via twitter, but I suppose with them home on break, it would be tough to call each one and give them a heads up.
just wanna point out that CJF informing Whit of the interest and Whit hearing it elsewhere first aren't mutually exclusive. i'm not claiming it went down one way or another, just pointing out
True, and it says he informed him Tuesday, which is when Thamel tweeted, plausible that he knew it was about to break
WE JUST "BIG DOGGED" BAYLOR!
There's your press conference opening line.
Boom! Boom!
