Justin Fuente Fired from Virginia Tech

[MGNation92]

Hire Fuente and get the OC from WKU. 

 

[RBP79]

That must be some powerful Green Koolaid being pasted around.....

[Cr1028]

8 minutes ago, UNT Texas Hooligan said:

 

He got them ranked and actually won a bowl game for starters...

What kind of record would he have had with us this year? With all of the injuries plus Deonte Simpson’s BS?

[Wag Tag]

10 minutes ago, TreeFiddy said:

I would be ok with Fuente, but didn't Fuente's run at Memphis basically mirror Littrell's first few years at UNT?  Both struck gold with a QB (Lynch/Fine) and basically haven't done anything since that QB left.  

Should be an interesting few weeks.  Hopefully we get a win this week to keep the momentum going into nUTSAk game.

Interesting they fired him and did not give him an option for winning out? There is more to this than W/L. He lost his starting qb and the backup looked unprepared. Lynch was his lottery ticket. I still think he would be a great hire with his head coaching experience. GMG

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

2 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

What kind of record would he have had with us this year? With all of the injuries plus Deonte Simpson’s BS?

 

Without getting too deep into the hypotheticals, he has shown that he can coach through adversity of losing several QBs through transfer or injury and while being able to coach the next QB up to be successful. He has been a QB coach most of his career and the biggest thing we have complained about the past couple of seasons is the lack of consistent and successful QB coaches. I would bet my house that he would have a better eye for talent than Seth. One hypothetical I know would be true is that he would not keep leaving Aune out there to over/under throw receivers because he would have recruited/coached up a better QB. 

[wardly]

43 minutes ago, MeanGreen4Life1998 said:

Ive been convinced that since McGuire was hired by Tech that Fuente would be the next HC at UNT. I don’t see anyone else getting the job at this point

What makes you say that? Does he have a previous working relationship with Wren? If Dykes moves to TCU then SMU job plus a number of P5 positions becomes available. From what I read Fuente's weakness at VT was recruiting.

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

1 minute ago, wardly said:

What makes you say that? Does he have a previous working relationship with Wren? If Dykes moves to TCU then SMU job plus a number of P5 positions becomes available. From what I read Fuente's weakness at VT was recruiting.

 

He was the coach at Memphis when Wren was there

[Wag Tag]

22 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

What has he “proven” at our level that is so superior to what Seth did his first 3 years? He won his 1 bowl game appearance? Showed that in 4 seasons he could tie for first in conference once and never finish above 3rd in the other 3 years?

If Seth had left us for KSU and was getting fired this year, you’d be begging him to come build on the success he had early on here because he had “proven he could win at our level”.

His experience with Memphis in a new upgraded conference of the AAC is a plus. He has also won at a P5 level. Maybe the biggest plus is Wren knows him very well which should help the decision process. I know you would rather have FCS coach?

[TreeFiddy]

1 hour ago, TheReal_jayD said:

Not to mention he just got a $10 million buyout. That is going to help off set Seths...

Is it common for a coach that recently received a buyout to sign a contract where the first year or so is at some super low number so that the new school does not have to pay as much while the coach is still receiving buyout money?  If so, I could see how that would help the new school afford to buy out the old coach and then ramp up the salary later so that it nets out at breakeven.

This would make sense on paper, just not sure if that is how it typically works in real world.  If so, then definitely gives us options.

[MeanGreenTexan]

24 minutes ago, TreeFiddy said:

I would be ok with Fuente, but didn't Fuente's run at Memphis basically mirror Littrell's first few years at UNT?  Both struck gold with a QB (Lynch/Fine) and basically haven't done anything since that QB left.  

Should be an interesting few weeks.  Hopefully we get a win this week to keep the momentum going into nUTSAk game.

Once Norvell took over Memphis after Fuente left, he took Fuente's guys and kept winning, and getting even better.  Who's to say Fuente wouldn't have done the same thing with those guys?   BTW, Norvell is bombing at FSU too.   Look at what PJ Fleck, Josh Huepel, Scott Frost, etc..., all accomplished at their stops prior to struggling at the P5 level.   Some guys can just win better at the G5 level.   I worry for Luke Fickell, Jamie Chadwell, and Billy Napier, because they could very easily be the next round of successful G5 coaches who can't quite get the same production coaching in P5.  It doesn't mean they're bad coaches.   I also worry that Sonny realizes this and stays at SMU long-term.

Fuente is a QBs coach.  He can develop QBs himself.   Littrell is a RBs/TEs coach.  For those complaining about QB issues, Littrell can't really help there.  Fuente can.

Not worried about the game this weekend.  Should be a complete beatdown.   And yes, I'm looking forward to the real test on 11/27.

[wardly]

Just now, UNT Texas Hooligan said:

 

He was the coach at Memphis when Wren was there

I didn't know that. If fact I didn't know Wren was at Memphis. Thanks for bringing me up to date. [ your assumption is that they got along at Memphis. I hope you are correct. Brad Olson, long time Mean Green Club supporter, is Fuente's cousin].

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

2 minutes ago, wardly said:

I didn't know that. If fact I didn't know Wren was at Memphis. Thanks for bringing me up to date. [ your assumption is that they got along at Memphis. I hope you are correct. Brad Olson, long time Mean Green Club supporter, is Fuente's cousin].

No problem, the connections are definitely there. 

[MeanGreenTeeth]

1 hour ago, VideoEagle said:

Not sure exactly how Justin getting paid $10MM is going to have anything to do with us buying out Seth. His agent is NOT going to agree to less money because he just got a big buy out. 

I'm sure the buyout is structured so that any salary he earns as a coach offsets the buyout for a number of years.  His contract with a new school would likely be heavily backloaded.

[Cr1028]

7 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

His experience with Memphis in a new upgraded conference of the AAC is a plus. He has also won at a P5 level. Maybe the biggest plus is Wren knows him very well which should help the decision process. I know you would rather have FCS coach?

No, at this point, I’d prefer to keep Seth another year. I’ve seen enough growth on the defensive side of the ball to give me hope. The offense is very close but just a quarterback/receiver connection from being really good. If Aune could get his deep ball in the same spot he got it to D. Brown every time, we’d be a force.

[Jonnyeagle]

1 minute ago, Cr1028 said:

No, at this point, I’d prefer to keep Seth another year. I’ve seen enough growth on the defensive side of the ball to give me hope. The offense is very close but just a quarterback/receiver connection from being really good. If Aune could get his deep ball in the same spot he got it to D. Brown every time, we’d be a force.

Let me remind you we are in year 6 of Seth being the head coach.  How long do you think it will take to get us where you want us to go with Seth?  4-5 more years?

[TreeFiddy]

8 minutes ago, Jonnyeagle said:

Let me remind you we are in year 6 of Seth being the head coach.  How long do you think it will take to get us where you want us to go with Seth?  4-5 more years?

I would say that Littrell is 3-2-1.  Three positive years (2016, 2017, 2018), 2 negative years (2019 and 2021), and 1 wildcard year (2020/covid).  Pretty much meh. 

[Cr1028]

1 minute ago, Jonnyeagle said:

Let me remind you we are in year 6 of Seth being the head coach.  How long do you think it will take to get us where you want us to go with Seth?  4-5 more years?

If we had the original staff then I’d cede your point but that isn’t what we are dealing with. 

Harrell leaving was a bigger blow than any of us could’ve imagined. Reeder was thought to be a can’t miss by several schools and he has proven to be a failure at multiple FBS schools now. Last year we had Wallis’ unforeseen issue. This year the injury bug hit us especially bad and we had an ignorant star receiver hit his girlfriend. Despite all that, we are still pushing forward. Look at the Murphy twins, look at our quarterback and running backs, none of them have mailed it in. They haven’t given up on this head coach and I won’t either this year. Next season we will have a very clear picture whether he and Bennett need to go or stay. We will either be a young juggernaut building into a conference power, or we will recycle what happened at the start of this season. I really believe the Littrell/Bennett combo needs one more season to truly know what we have or don’t have.

[MeanGreenTexan]

22 minutes ago, wardly said:

I didn't know that. If fact I didn't know Wren was at Memphis. Thanks for bringing me up to date. [ your assumption is that they got along at Memphis. I hope you are correct. Brad Olson, long time Mean Green Club supporter, is Fuente's cousin].

I haven't heard of anyone who didn't get along with Wren Baker while he was on his way up.
If guys Wren has worked with are to be monitored, another guy I'd keep my eye on is Barry Odom at Arkansas.

[Wag Tag]

3 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

If we had the original staff then I’d cede your point but that isn’t what we are dealing with. 

Harrell leaving was a bigger blow than any of us could’ve imagined. Reeder was thought to be a can’t miss by several schools and he has proven to be a failure at multiple FBS schools now. Last year we had Wallis’ unforeseen issue. This year the injury bug hit us especially bad and we had an ignorant star receiver hit his girlfriend. Despite all that, we are still pushing forward. Look at the Murphy twins, look at our quarterback and running backs, none of them have mailed it in. They haven’t given up on this head coach and I won’t either this year. Next season we will have a very clear picture whether he and Bennett need to go or stay. We will either be a young juggernaut building into a conference power, or we will recycle what happened at the start of this season. I really believe the Littrell/Bennett combo needs one more season to truly know what we have or don’t have.

I can see this. A couple of issues would be if next year is make or break, how does that effect recruiting, how does it effect transfers in and out, and how would that impact assistant coaches retention? Would that be a negative used against us?

[MeanGreenTexan]

24 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

No, at this point, I’d prefer to keep Seth another year. I’ve seen enough growth on the defensive side of the ball to give me hope. The offense is very close but just a quarterback/receiver connection from being really good. If Aune could get his deep ball in the same spot he got it to D. Brown every time, we’d be a force.

We must be watching 2 totally different teams.

[UNTLifer]

2 hours ago, TheReal_jayD said:

I believe this is def something the MGF should be monitoring. I would bet my house that either Seth or Justin is your head coach next season.

 

 

Well, there goes Wren Baker.

[MeanGreenTexan]

9 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

If we had the original staff then I’d cede your point but that isn’t what we are dealing with. 

Harrell leaving was a bigger blow than any of us could’ve imagined. Reeder was thought to be a can’t miss by several schools and he has proven to be a failure at multiple FBS schools now. Last year we had Wallis’ unforeseen issue. This year the injury bug hit us especially bad and we had an ignorant star receiver hit his girlfriend. Despite all that, we are still pushing forward. Look at the Murphy twins, look at our quarterback and running backs, none of them have mailed it in. They haven’t given up on this head coach and I won’t either this year. Next season we will have a very clear picture whether he and Bennett need to go or stay. We will either be a young juggernaut building into a conference power, or we will recycle what happened at the start of this season. I really believe the Littrell/Bennett combo needs one more season to truly know what we have or don’t have.

My man, you're saying next year we'll have a clear picture...   The picture was clear after last year.   It's 8K clear now.
You're making the argument that the TALENT is here.   Not that the coaches can get us to where we want to be.   The Reeder/Wallis/Joseph arguments that you're tossing out are actually strikes against Littrell... not things to excuse away.
And who's to say next season wouldn't have some other kind of injury bug or <xyz excuse> that you're willing to toss away?    The excuses have piled up... unfortunately, so have the losses.

[Cr1028]

23 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

I can see this. A couple of issues would be if next year is make or break, how does that effect recruiting, how does it effect transfers in and out, and how would that impact assistant coaches retention? Would that be a negative used against us?

All fair points to consider, on the bright side, we won’t be losing very many seniors this offseason. It will be hard to replace the leadership of Novil and Torrey however.

[TIgreen01]

3 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

My man, you're saying next year we'll have a clear picture...   The picture was clear after last year.   It's 8K clear now.
You're making the argument that the TALENT is here.   Not that the coaches can get us to where we want to be.   The Reeder/Wallis/Joseph arguments that you're tossing out are actually strikes against Littrell... not things to excuse away.
And who's to say next season wouldn't have some other kind of injury bug or <xyz excuse> that you're willing to toss away?    The excuses have piled up... unfortunately, so have the losses.

I think you're both right to an extent.  I'd love to see another year of Bennett, but not another year of this offense or of Seth not bringing in an adequate QB coach/developer.

In a perfect world, Seth would find that magic bean of a QB coach who didn't also have to be OC, call the plays himself and he'd somehow keep Bloesch from leaving after this year (you have to think he's gone after getting stripped of playcalling duties as OC, but who knows).  He's swung and missed repeatedly on QB coach/OC after Harrell.

In my dream/perfect world we'd hire Fuente as OC next season.  Win big with a Phil Bennett defense that is humming and an offense that can, again, complete a downfield throw with regularity.  Then Seth gets another P5 call-up after the season, takes it and we promote Fuente to HC.

[meangreenJW]

1 hour ago, Cr1028 said:

What has he “proven” at our level that is so superior to what Seth did his first 3 years? He won his 1 bowl game appearance? Showed that in 4 seasons he could tie for first in conference once and never finish above 3rd in the other 3 years?

If Seth had left us for KSU and was getting fired this year, you’d be begging him to come build on the success he had early on here because he had “proven he could win at our level”.

Successful 2nd chance guys (like Dykes) generally have a way higher success rate than taking a chance on the up and coming guys. I'm a fan of Seth Littrell the person but he's had six years. He hasn't beaten anyone worth a damn (100 or higher) since 2017. And even the biggest homer can't look at these last three years and point to any measure of progress. There's risk to any hire we would make, but what we get with Seth is a known. And it isn't good.