Fuente Tops Campus Insiders' 2016 First-Year Head Coach Rankings, You'll Never Guess Hoo Was Last

Justin Fuente earned top honors in Campus Insiders' rank of all 29 first-year FBS head coaches. Virginia Tech's 9-4 finish and ACC Coastal Division championship were also the catalyst for Fuente's consensus ACC coach of the year recognition by the league's coaches and writers.

Fuente was among the most coveted head coaches at this time last year. He showed why in 2016 by guiding the Hokies to their first ACC Coastal Division crown in five years. Sure, they lost to Clemson, 42-35, in a valiant title game effort, but Fuente has already eradicated all of the must and staleness that had accumulated during the final years of the Frank Beamer era. And he's wasted no time fixing an offense that's dogged Virginia Tech this entire decade. The Hokies are on the verge of regaining their ACC relevancy, with a young coach whose best days in Blacksburg are out in front of him.

Virginia's disastrous two-and-ten campaign secured Bronco Mendenhall a last place finish.

A smooth transition was not expected for a coach who'd spent the previous 11 seasons at BYU. But two wins? Mendenhall opened with a loss to FCS Richmond, closed with a six-touchdown collapse to rival Virginia Tech and suffered through a campaign season for the first time in his career. His offseason mission will be to continue changing the culture of a program that's endured eight losing seasons in the last nine years.