Justin Fuentes out at VT / Brent Pry in

[GreekFreak]

�

Virginia Tech Hokies (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2016–2021)
2016	Virginia Tech	10–4	6–2	1st (Coastal)	W Belk	16	16
2017	Virginia Tech	9–4	5–3	2nd (Coastal)	L Camping World	25	24
2018	Virginia Tech	6–7	4–4	T–3rd (Coastal)	L Military
2019	Virginia Tech	8–5	5–3	2nd (Coastal)	L Belk
2020	Virginia Tech	5–6	5–5	T–6th
2021	Virginia Tech	5–5Justin Fuente - Wikipedia

Expectations are pretty high there

Expectations are high there but, schools like Syracuse and Duke are really the outliers for P5 Football. Heck, even Boston College got rid of the Dazzler for a level of consistent performance far above what SU has had. BC isn't exactly a powerhouse program. Kansas has rotated a lot of coaches through their program. The expectations here are just much lower than most of the P5 schools and I'm not talking just the warped SEC.

 

[CuseLegacy]

Wow, they let him go without even having a replacement lined up? They didn’t even wait to see if they would make a bowl. College football and expectations are just different down south.

That isn't abnormal. Either the OC or DC will be named the interim coach...and those guys will probably have their resumes out this week.

 

[690West]

Swap Gerg with Marrone and you got it.

(but I assume your point was dripping with sarcasm as Grob was legendarily awful)

Correct. GERG can absolutely be labeled legendary and it’s a correct statement. Lol

 

[McNabb2Brominski]

Luke Fickell come on dowwwwwnnn

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Andrea Adelson @aadelsonESPN
Quick thoughts on VT: We all wrote stories in 2016 that praised the Hokies for the way they seamlessly handled the transition from coaching legend to next man up. Because at the time, it was true. Fuente did check off all the boxes, and VT appeared in good hands.

But for myriad reasons, things started to unravel: Inability to develop a QB; inability to recruit the state at a high level; player transfers; broken locker room culture; fractures among the coaching staff; Fuente flirting with Baylor; a disconnect btw Fuente and the fans.

The writing has been on the wall for year(s) now. So the biggest question I have for Whit Babcock today is whether he regrets not making this move a year ago, when we all expected a change to be made.

 

[TheCusian]

They obviously have someone in mind and feared the guy would go somewhere else if they waited.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

�

Virginia Tech Hokies (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2016–2021)
2016	Virginia Tech	10–4	6–2	1st (Coastal)	W Belk	16	16
2017	Virginia Tech	9–4	5–3	2nd (Coastal)	L Camping World	25	24
2018	Virginia Tech	6–7	4–4	T–3rd (Coastal)	L Military
2019	Virginia Tech	8–5	5–3	2nd (Coastal)	L Belk
2020	Virginia Tech	5–6	5–5	T–6th
2021	Virginia Tech	5–5Justin Fuente - Wikipedia

Expectations are pretty high there

To be fair I am pretty sure they have had more success overall than any team in the Coastal by a fair bit since they joined the ACC instead of us. Kind of shows how bad the league is but thats not the point.

We can't have another blowout but I do not think SU football is necessarily in that bad of a bad place at the moment.

 

[Stern]

I agree with some of that except the assertion that SU doesn’t care about lower level bowls, they do. In fact I would say that’s our goal every year. They also proudly display them in the Dome. As a Cuse fan I have no issue with this.

You misread what I wrote. SU does care about lower-level bowls. These other bigger football programs don't.

 

[David321]

You misread what I wrote. SU does care about lower-level bowls. These other bigger football programs don't.

That’s what I get for reading too fast. I’m sorry, you’re right.

 

[Chip]

Since 2010 550 million in buyout / dead money paid to college coaches.

I'm in the wrong business.

Too late for a career change? My pitch would be that I'm good at math and I'll never go for 2 before the 4th quarter. It's good for 2 wins, the talent has to do the rest.

 

[TheCusian]

Expectations are high there but, schools like Syracuse and Duke are really the outliers for P5 Football. Heck, even Boston College got rid of the Dazzler for a level of consistent performance far above what SU has had. BC isn't exactly a powerhouse program. Kansas has rotated a lot of coaches through their program. The expectations here are just much lower than most of the P5 schools and I'm not talking just the warped SEC.

I don't think it's that at all. I think the expectations here are P5 high.

If you do the exercise of "when should you have fired Dino" it becomes very clear.

year 1: no one gets fired and we beat a ranked team
year 2: we beat #2 Clemson before our QB went down
year 3: 10 wins > extension
year 4: 5 wins was disappointing but he just signed an extension
year 5: COVID makes it really hard to move on despite a horrible season... he's on the hot seat
year 6: 5 wins, marked improvement with 2 to go.. we'll see

EDIT: I think most SEC programs fire their coach after 1-12 Covid year. I'm proud that we did not.

 

[Hokie Mark]

�

Virginia Tech Hokies (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2016–2021)
2016	Virginia Tech	10–4	6–2	1st (Coastal)	W Belk	16	16
2017	Virginia Tech	9–4	5–3	2nd (Coastal)	L Camping World	25	24
2018	Virginia Tech	6–7	4–4	T–3rd (Coastal)	L Military
2019	Virginia Tech	8–5	5–3	2nd (Coastal)	L Belk
2020	Virginia Tech	5–6	5–5	T–6th
2021	Virginia Tech	5–5Justin Fuente - Wikipedia

Expectations are pretty high there

The trend doesn't look very good, does it?

 

[syrBossHogg]

 

[syrBossHogg]

 

[HRE Otto IV]

I don't think it's that at all. I think the expectations here are P5 high.

If you do the exercise of "when should you have fired Dino" it becomes very clear.

year 1: no one gets fired and we beat a ranked team
year 2: we beat #2 Clemson before our QB went down
year 3: 10 wins > extension
year 4: 5 wins was disappointing but he just signed an extension
year 5: COVID makes it really hard to move on despite a horrible season... he's on the hot seat
year 6: 5 wins, marked improvement with 2 to go.. we'll see

Agree with everything but marked improvement. Are we really all that improved from 2019? We can prove it these next 2 games. But 2 losses means more of the same. And you need to revisit years 1 and 2 now.

Year 1: only 2 ACC Ws which was worst in division and 3rd worst in conference. Dungey went down with us 4-5. Maybe we beat NC State if he is healthy. Going 4-8 is a failed season.

Year 2: lost to Middle Tennessee and only 2 ACC Ws. Which was worst record in division and 2nd worst in conference. Again Dungey went down with us 4-5. Maybe the BC game is different but our D was so bad those last 3 games, I doubt he makes a difference. Going 4-8 is a failed season.

Those 2 seasons should now be held against him.

Year 4: only 2 ACC Ws which was 6th in division and tied for 12th overall. The last placed team in the ACC beat us that year.

Year 5: only 1 W overall and in conference. Which was the worst record in the ACC since Duke beat us. Tommy went down with us 1-3. If he were healthy we maybe have a chance in 3 of those losses. Even if we somehow won those 3 games we are 4-7 which is a failed season.

Year 6: only 2 ACC Ws thus far. If we lose our last 2 then only one team will have less losses than us in conference. That will make 5 out of 6 years where we were 12th or worse in the ACC overall and 4 out of 5 years where we were 6th or last in division. Not making a bowl is a failed season.

2018 is great but it can't make up for 5 bad seasons.

Shafer deserved to be fired but with his backup QB he went 4-8 (2-6) the year he was fired. Even the year before he got an ACC W with his starting QB out. And Shafer's last year we lost a lot of close games. So Dino has improved us vs 2015 how exactly?

2015
24-17 in 4th Q vs LSU with Mahoney at QB
6 point OT loss at UVA with a true frosh Dungey
3 point loss on game ending FG to Pitt
34-27 in 4th Q vs Clemson with Mahoney as QB

I fail to see how Dino 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 is an improvement over Shafer 2015 should we lose these next 2 games. The records are the same and the games aren't any closer. Both 2016 and 2017 were a huge improvement in O, but were equally a huge set back on D. It evened out. We cannot be blinded by 50 passes a game if the end result is no different.

These next 2 games are huge. Any other program would fire Dino if he goes 0-2.

 

[Hoo's That]

Why would you not just finish out the season and save a couple million?

Never be the guy to follow/replace the legend!

$2.5M is nothing when you're spending other people's money.

I hope they blow their next hire too.

The rumor on the VPI board is that Daisy took a reduced buyout in order to pursue the TCU job. He did so well following one legendary coach that he wants to follow another. Funny that you mention not doing well with the VA HS coaches. That was the complaint about Al Groh and our board still wails and gnashes its teeth whenever we sign a recruit from Utah or Hawaii.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

They have some guys with serious money and a love for football.

Apparently part of it was Fuente not getting it with VA high school coaches. Of course that's the usual complaint so who knows...

Yep, boosters and the check book will help clean up the mess. It's easy when you have the bigger boosters. But but Syracuse has all this money!! They aren't committed!!!!

 

[storange]

Since 2010 550 million in buyout / dead money paid to college coaches.

Damn , if I could just bluff my way into a football factory job. Lose and take my 25 million buy out. Settle in Maui . Maybe learn to surf.

 

[orangecuse]

Expectations are high there but, schools like Syracuse and Duke are really the outliers for P5 Football. Heck, even Boston College got rid of the Dazzler for a level of consistent performance far above what SU has had. BC isn't exactly a powerhouse program. Kansas has rotated a lot of coaches through their program. The expectations here are just much lower than most of the P5 schools and I'm not talking just the warped SEC.

Truth be told...tough pill to swallow, but it is what it is. And, it sucks! Honestly, SU (football wise) is an imposter as it pertains to P5 ball, just as its current head coach is.

Perhaps, this 'ol good tune by Steve Miller Band is the most appropriate when entering the Dome.

 

[phil77]

43-31 and 28-20 in the ACC isn't good enough for VT but Dino's record is good enough for Syracuse. We are serious about football right?

 

[sufandu]

43-31 and 28-20 in the ACC isn't good enough for VT but Dino's record is good enough for Syracuse. We are serious about football right?

You also have to look at the state of the programs prior to the coaching hires.

 

[kcsu]

Yep, boosters and the check book will help clean up the mess. It's easy when you have the bigger boosters. But but Syracuse has all this money!! They aren't committed!!!!

Buying out Dino is expensive and i know the school doesnt want to eat it however in the grand scheme of things SU can stroke a check if the want to. Unless he completely craps the bed these last two games i have it that he is coming back. I hope he wins one, has his contract restructured and is given one last swing next year to see if he knows how to actually coach.

 

[Killdozer]

Agree with everything but marked improvement. Are we really all that improved from 2019? We can prove it these next 2 games. But 2 losses means more of the same. And you need to revisit years 1 and 2 now.

Year 1: only 2 ACC Ws which was worst in division and 3rd worst in conference. Dungey went down with us 4-5. Maybe we beat NC State if he is healthy. Going 4-8 is a failed season.

Year 2: lost to Middle Tennessee and only 2 ACC Ws. Which was worst record in division and 2nd worst in conference. Again Dungey went down with us 4-5. Maybe the BC game is different but our D was so bad those last 3 games, I doubt he makes a difference. Going 4-8 is a failed season.

Those 2 seasons should now be held against him.

Year 4: only 2 ACC Ws which was 6th in division and tied for 12th overall. The last placed team in the ACC beat us that year.

Year 5: only 1 W overall and in conference. Which was the worst record in the ACC since Duke beat us. Tommy went down with us 1-3. If he were healthy we maybe have a chance in 3 of those losses. Even if we somehow won those 3 games we are 4-7 which is a failed season.

Year 6: only 2 ACC Ws thus far. If we lose our last 2 then only one team will have less losses than us in conference. That will make 5 out of 6 years where we were 12th or worse in the ACC overall and 4 out of 5 years where we were 6th or last in division. Not making a bowl is a failed season.

2018 is great but it can't make up for 5 bad seasons.

Shafer deserved to be fired but with his backup QB he went 4-8 (2-6) the year he was fired. Even the year before he got an ACC W with his starting QB out. And Shafer's last year we lost a lot of close games. So Dino has improved us vs 2015 how exactly?

2015
24-17 in 4th Q vs LSU with Mahoney at QB
6 point OT loss at UVA with a true frosh Dungey
3 point loss on game ending FG to Pitt
34-27 in 4th Q vs Clemson with Mahoney as QB

I fail to see how Dino 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 is an improvement over Shafer 2015 should we lose these next 2 games. The records are the same and the games aren't any closer. Both 2016 and 2017 were a huge improvement in O, but were equally a huge set back on D. It evened out. We cannot be blinded by 50 passes a game if the end result is no different.

These next 2 games are huge. Any other program would fire Dino if he goes 0-2.

Unfortunately their are many Dino fans because he has a great personality and have the uber big orange glasses on. Wins, losses and stats go out the window for those fans. They will continually make excuses for his bad record and mismanagement of games.

 

[TheCusian]

Agree with everything but marked improvement. Are we really all that improved from 2019? We can prove it these next 2 games. But 2 losses means more of the same. And you need to revisit years 1 and 2 now.

Year 1: only 2 ACC Ws which was worst in division and 3rd worst in conference. Dungey went down with us 4-5. Maybe we beat NC State if he is healthy. Going 4-8 is a failed season.

Year 2: lost to Middle Tennessee and only 2 ACC Ws. Which was worst record in division and 2nd worst in conference. Again Dungey went down with us 4-5. Maybe the BC game is different but our D was so bad those last 3 games, I doubt he makes a difference. Going 4-8 is a failed season.

Those 2 seasons should now be held against him.

Year 4: only 2 ACC Ws which was 6th in division and tied for 12th overall. The last placed team in the ACC beat us that year.

Year 5: only 1 W overall and in conference. Which was the worst record in the ACC since Duke beat us. Tommy went down with us 1-3. If he were healthy we maybe have a chance in 3 of those losses. Even if we somehow won those 3 games we are 4-7 which is a failed season.

Year 6: only 2 ACC Ws thus far. If we lose our last 2 then only one team will have less losses than us in conference. That will make 5 out of 6 years where we were 12th or worse in the ACC overall and 4 out of 5 years where we were 6th or last in division. Not making a bowl is a failed season.

2018 is great but it can't make up for 5 bad seasons.

Shafer deserved to be fired but with his backup QB he went 4-8 (2-6) the year he was fired. Even the year before he got an ACC W with his starting QB out. And Shafer's last year we lost a lot of close games. So Dino has improved us vs 2015 how exactly?

2015
24-17 in 4th Q vs LSU with Mahoney at QB
6 point OT loss at UVA with a true frosh Dungey
3 point loss on game ending FG to Pitt
34-27 in 4th Q vs Clemson with Mahoney as QB

I fail to see how Dino 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 is an improvement over Shafer 2015 should we lose these next 2 games. The records are the same and the games aren't any closer. Both 2016 and 2017 were a huge improvement in O, but were equally a huge set back on D. It evened out. We cannot be blinded by 50 passes a game if the end result is no different.

These next 2 games are huge. Any other program would fire Dino if he goes 0-2.

Appreciate the thought - but you’d fire him in year 1 or 2?!

You don’t fire him then unless there’s a scandal.

My point is people like to use collective stats to make overarching points (he’s blank and blank in ACC play!) without really thinking through *when* you’d fire him. Or in this case, saying we have low expectations.

Also note me “we’ll see” at the end of my post. We have two games left - if we lose both, I’m not sure which way it will go.

 

[CA Monk]

Who’s available. No one. A crapshoot.
Bet on some young up and comer? An established unexciting guy?
Whoever it is their agent will negotiate some ridiculous buyout. And if the guy does really well he’ll be poached. And if he does poorly he’ll have the soft landing of a 7 to 8 figure buyout.
Man, we’re a long way from Floyd “Ben” Schwartzwalder.
I want Ara Parseghian to return, be cloned in abundance and coach all college teams.