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Former Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente is an Oklahoma native with deep ties in Texas and 10 years of head coaching experience. He built Memphis from one of the worst situations in the country into a conference champion in his third season. He won 19 games in his first two seasons at Virginia Tech, but things unraveled down the stretch, though he finished with a 43-31 record there. Fuente’s name has also been around the UAB job and some other potential openings. read more: https://theathletic.com/3941164/2022/11/27/texas-state-football-coach-candidates-spavital/

Doug is joined by former Virginia Tech and Memphis Head Coach Justin Fuente for the final conversation of a 3 part interview. He discusses taking how he landed the head coach job at Memphis, the tsunami of responsibilities as a first time head coach, how he turned around the program from off the radar to nationally ranked, the first time he saw future 1st rounder Paxton Lynch, why he left to take over for Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech, why he decided to keep legendary DC Bud Foster as a holdover on his new staff, how COVID stalled his momentum in Blacksburg, why it ultimately didn’t work out, and the lessons he learned from the job as he looks to the future. PART 1: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-ball-former-va-tech-hc-justin-fuente-on-qb-career/id1230116944?i=1000585174721 PART 2: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-ball-pt-2-justin-fuente-on-tcu-oc-break-patterson/id1230116944?i=1000585874257 PART 3: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-ball-pt-3-justin-fuente-on-memphis-turnaround-paxton/id1230116944?i=1000586344853

i found this and thought it provided some good information on Fuente and what happened to him at Va Tech: https://virginiatech.sportswar.com/message_board/vtfootball/6367bf4d719f3a00130a0ac0

Indeed, the pessimism surrounding the program is rampant. Tech (3-4, 1-2 ACC) is sliding toward its third losing season in four years, an outcome that almost certainly would end Justin Fuente’s head-coaching tenure in Blacksburg, a tenure that began so auspiciously in 2016 with the ACC Coastal Division title. The prevailing question now isn’t whether the 2021 Hokies can win the Coastal but whether Fuente can earn a seventh season leading the program. With sports gambling all the rage, let’s assess his plight in handicapping parlance: He’s a 17-point underdog. Perhaps that’s a harsh portrayal of a coach with a 41-30 record. But big whistles are, and should be, judged on far more subtle facets than overall wins and losses. What are the trend lines? Are you recruiting well? How is your game and roster management? read more: https://richmond.com/sports/college/teel-in-quest-to-save-his-job-hokies-justin-fuente-a-17-point-underdog/article_20fe580d-5807-53af-82e6-ac2181650181.html

Virginia Tech: Justin Fuente’s contract is a 6-year deal with $3.2 million compensation in year one, per Andy Bitter. Fuente’s base salary remains the same ($500,000) through the life of the contract with supplemental pay going up to $3.15 million by 2021. The salary pool for his assistants will be $3.4 million. VT will also reimburse Fuente the $500,000 that he owes Memphis to buyout his contract. read more: http://footballscoop.com/the-scoop

Fuente said several members of his staff — none he would identify publicly — turned down offers from bigger, established programs during the offseason to remain in Memphis. “We’ll (eventually) have turnover, it’s going to happen,” Fuente said. “But it is important, especially for these kids, (to have stability). They’ve been through so much. We’ve got guys that had five different position coaches in the five years they were here.” In his first season, Fuente and his staff led the Tigers to a 4-8 finish, including three straight wins to close the years. The U of M had won only five games the previous three seasons. Fuente said the continuity should come into play this fall as the Tigers try to build on the late-season momentum en route to moving from Conference USA into a Bowl Championship Series conference. “To have familiar faces and people they know genuinely caring about their well-being is important,” Fuente said. Among the returnees is offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey, a college veteran who spent nine years as head coach at North Texas State. Dickey led the Mean Green to four straight Sun Belt Conference titles from 2001-04 and understands the value of having consistency. “My experience is the longer a (coaching staff) is together, the better they learn each other,” Dickey said. “The kids also know what to expect. It is critical for a program, even a good program, to have continuity and consistency on a staff. “It’s rare. You don’t see it as much any more. People don’t understand what it does to a team when it has a new head coach or a new coordinator or a new position coach every year or other year. It’s almost like starting over because you are teaching new techniques, you’re teaching new schemes. We’re in an age where people change coaches at places like some people change underwear.” Read more: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2013/mar/02/memphis-football-staff-returns-intact/