Who will be the next UNT Head Football Coach?

[NT80]

1 hour ago, meangreenbob said:

If we hire Fuente it’s all over for UNT football. 

Glad you're not making the hire...

[Cr1028]

21 minutes ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

The guy literally turned a dumpster fire Memphis program into one of the best in the AAC. I don’t love how his personality with the media is similar to Littrell, but you can’t deny he has the EXACT experience we’re looking for. 

And he took a well-built ACC power and turned it into an average or below ACC program.

Here is Fuente at VT:

with legendary Bud Foster as AHC and DC: 33-20

without Bud Foster: 10-11

 

But what about Memphis and that magical 2014 season where they were co-champs of the AAC, ok, he beat FCS Austin Peay, the 6-6 MUTS, 9-4 Cincy, 1-11 SMU (who we beat like a drum with Josh Greer quarterbacking), 2-10 Tulsa, 6-6 Temple, 3-9 Tulane, 4-8 USF, and 2-10 UConn before beating 8-5 BYU in overtime of the bowl game. The FBS teams they beat had a combined 33-62 record. They lost to the Tony Levine-led 8-5 Houston Cougars and didn’t have to face 9-4 UCF. This is Littrell 2.0

[UNTcrazy727]

2 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

And he took a well-built ACC power and turned it into an average or below ACC program.

Here is Fuente at VT:

with legendary Bud Foster as AHC and DC: 33-20

without Bud Foster: 10-11

 

But what about Memphis and that magical 2014 season where they were co-champs of the AAC, ok, he beat FCS Austin Peay, the 6-6 MUTS, 9-4 Cincy, 1-11 SMU (who we beat like a drum with Josh Greer quarterbacking), 2-10 Tulsa, 6-6 Temple, 3-9 Tulane, 4-8 USF, and 2-10 UConn before beating 8-5 BYU in overtime of the bowl game. The FBS teams they beat had a combined 33-62 record. They lost to the Tony Levine-led 8-5 Houston Cougars and didn’t have to face 9-4 UCF. This is Littrell 2.0

How about in 2015 when he beat a 10-3 Ole Miss, 10-4 MAC Champions Bowling Green, 8-5 South Florida, and 7-6 Cincy? Sounds just like Littrell 🙄

[jwVA]

2 hours ago, meaniegreenie said:

Edit - looks like you may have answered some of my questions.

I recently made a post questioning what happened after the first 2 years of Fuente's start at VT.  I wondered if he had inherited a good team and simply reaped the results once they were seniors and with a good QB. 

I noted that in his 4th season (8-5) he had wins over  1-11 ODU and 2-10 Rhode Island along with a loss to 5-7 Duke and that was after a 6-7 finish in the previous season.   You say he lost his identity after a few years, but it looks like things started going south in year 3.  Did this affect his game planning/strategy or recruiting?

Also, you say the admin had a lot to do with it.  Was the admin support demoralizing or simply not providing the necessary resources?  We're VERY familiar with that problem, having lived through it for decades but we've finally gotten support since NS became president in 2014.

What's Fuente like as a person?

Does he support being "Selfless. Tough. Disciplined"? (sorry, inside joke)

Did he have many disciplinary issues with players?

Thanks for stopping by.  Oh, and regarding history, have a coke and a smile and feel free to browse our site.

Thank you for the warm welcome. To your questions…

Coach Fuente always structured his game plans to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses. Year one at VT he had some explosive playmakers on offense and a good/not great defense. So they let it rip.

Year two all the offensive playmakers left, but the defense was one of the best in the country. So his game plans were far more conservative. Ball control. Win time of possession, field position, and hidden yardage.

Every year was a little different.

And he was really good at game-planning for individual opponents as well. Their game plan against Clemson in 2020 was fantastic. VT’s defense was not good that year… but they had Clemson on the ropes until the QB fumbled a snap that Clemson ran back for a TD.

As for recruiting – I think the high school recruiting was consistent. He had one subpar year but every other class was top 30.

Where VT shined under Fu was with the transfer portal in the early days. He seemed to be one of the first to realize that you needed to have a separate process for evaluating and recruiting portal players. And it paid off.

VT pulled in two NFL RBs – Khalil Herbert and Raheem Blackshear through the portal. They picked up several other key players through the portal over the years as well.

Justin utilized it exceptionally well. And he made the comment that it’s a far more holistic process. The high school recruits expect glitz and glamor. The portal players just want you to give it to them straight.

On the admin...

Resources were definitely an issue. VT was way behind on recruiting infrastructure. And the football staff budget was towards the bottom of the ACC.

But I do get the sense that there was a little bit of a disconnect with the admin as well.

If you listened to his interview with Doug Gottlieb, Justin talked about how Virginia Tech was much more of a “northern” school than he expected. Then he talked about how the culture and the values would have to be a good match for him to get back into coaching.

We can read between the lines a little bit there.

What’s Fuente like as a person? He’s a good dude. Family man. Believes in doing things the right way. And he recognizes that success comes from all the hard work these young men put in. He’s not a big ego. He seems to genuinely love the game and the competition.

And no, not many disciplinary issues.

If we’re talking on the field, VT was always one of the least penalized teams in the ACC under Coach Fu.

Off the field, there were a few guys who got kicked off the team over the years. But by all accounts, they were in the wrong. And Coach never let those issues infect the locker room.

[Cr1028]

47 minutes ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

How about in 2015 when he beat a 10-3 Ole Miss, 10-4 MAC Champions Bowling Green, 8-5 South Florida, and 7-6 Cincy? Sounds just like Littrell 🙄

He also lost 3 conference games that season. That doesn’t scream championship.

[Cr1028]

14 minutes ago, jwVA said:

What’s Fuente like as a person? He’s a good dude. Family man. Believes in doing things the right way. And he recognizes that success comes from all the hard work these young men put in. He’s not a big ego. He seems to genuinely love the game and the competition.

See? Littrell 2.0, that is one of his taglines.

[meaniegreenie]

15 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

See? Littrell 2.0, that is one of his taglines.

Doing things the right way is what I expect from our next coach, no matter who it is.  You can call it SL 2.0, but I call it dignity.

[meaniegreenie]

38 minutes ago, jwVA said:

Thank you for the warm welcome. To your questions…

Coach Fuente always structured his game plans to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses. Year one at VT he had some explosive playmakers on offense and a good/not great defense. So they let it rip.

 

Year two all the offensive playmakers left, but the defense was one of the best in the country. So his game plans were far more conservative. Ball control. Win time of possession, field position, and hidden yardage.

 

Every year was a little different.

 

And he was really good at game-planning for individual opponents as well. Their game plan against Clemson in 2020 was fantastic. VT’s defense was not good that year… but they had Clemson on the ropes until the QB fumbled a snap that Clemson ran back for a TD.

As for recruiting – I think the high school recruiting was consistent. He had one subpar year but every other class was top 30.

 

Where VT shined under Fu was with the transfer portal in the early days. He seemed to be one of the first to realize that you needed to have a separate process for evaluating and recruiting portal players. And it paid off.

 

VT pulled in two NFL RBs – Khalil Herbert and Raheem Blackshear through the portal. They picked up several other key players through the portal over the years as well.

 

Justin utilized it exceptionally well. And he made the comment that it’s a far more holistic process. The high school recruits expect glitz and glamor. The portal players just want you to give it to them straight.

 

On the admin...

Resources were definitely an issue. VT was way behind on recruiting infrastructure. And the football staff budget was towards the bottom of the ACC.

 

But I do get the sense that there was a little bit of a disconnect with the admin as well.

 

If you listened to his interview with Doug Gottlieb, Justin talked about how Virginia Tech was much more of a “northern” school than he expected. Then he talked about how the culture and the values would have to be a good match for him to get back into coaching.

 

We can read between the lines a little bit there.

 

What’s Fuente like as a person? He’s a good dude. Family man. Believes in doing things the right way. And he recognizes that success comes from all the hard work these young men put in. He’s not a big ego. He seems to genuinely love the game and the competition.

 

And no, not many disciplinary issues.

 

If we’re talking on the field, VT was always one of the least penalized teams in the ACC under Coach Fu.

 

Off the field, there were a few guys who got kicked off the team over the years. But by all accounts, they were in the wrong. And Coach never let those issues infect the locker room.

 

Thanks for the additional info.  I don't know if I'm totally sold on the guy, but this explains some of his regression during the later years at VT. 

Definitely like that he knows the portal.  I'm not a fan of it, but it's there, so you gotta' take advantage of it. 

[MeanGreen01]

Like to see Gary Patterson. He’s been a HC, knows how to run a program, has taken the program to the next level from G5. Has recruited locally very well. Current salary with Texas is literally $150k. 
My biggest fear is we will hire a P5 OC with no or little Head Coaching experience and we’ll be right back in this same position. IMHO

[MeanGreen01]

Like to see Art Briles added to this list. Everyone deserves a second chance. 

[greenminer]

The hyperbole is getting wild.

Some of y'all are suggesting you know XYZ candidate will succeed, or ABC candidate will doom Denton.

[ExADofficeIntern]

5 hours ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

For a while, maybe.   Eventually, UNT needs to climb to a position like Houston where we are the destination these guys want to move to.   I truly believe we can.

While this is true, we need to have a long run of success and develop an actual streak of winning. We now see the pros/cons of SL not going to KSt..

SL is a great guy and great coach, he gave us everything he had and vastly improved the program. But give me 2-3 HC/ADs who are here 2-3 years and move on. 

[UNT 04]

Just need few more pieces to bring the old band back together.

[CaribbeanGreen]

6 hours ago, Anarkissed said:

Sam Houston was ineligible for the title. Here are the other teams that SFA had to compete against to win that title:

Abilene Christian

Southern Utah

Utah Tech

Tarleton

...That's it.

And they tied ACU at a whopping 3-1 in the five team WAC. Give. Me. A. Break. 

But hey, look at it this way. After ol' Colby .500 got run 52-17 by LaTech, he took it out on winless for the season 1,200 student Warner College of Florida by a score of 98-0. Classy!

[CaribbeanGreen]

3 hours ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

The guy turned a dumpster fire Memphis program into one of the best in the AAC. I don’t love how his personality with the media is similar to Littrell, but you can’t deny he has the EXACT experience we’re looking for. 

I mean, he was 26-23 at Memphis. He didn't exactly kill it there. He was.... Seth Littrell. His big "championship" year at Memphis? He finished in a three way tie with no conference championship game. He didn't turn Memphis into a power. He was Seth if Seth took the K State job and failed there. 

[MeanGreenTexan]

36 minutes ago, CaribbeanGreen said:

I mean, he was 26-23 at Memphis. He didn't exactly kill it there. He was.... Seth Littrell. His big "championship" year at Memphis? He finished in a three way tie with no conference championship game. He didn't turn Memphis into a power. He was Seth if Seth took the K State job and failed there. 

I think this is intellectually dishonest.  You have to also take into consideration what he started with (building during those early years was tough there) and what he left for Norvell to take over.  So yes, he did turn them into a power, because what he built sustained even after he left.  

UNT is not nearly in as bad of shape.  Fuente can win here NOW.   He’d be starting from 7-6, not 2-10!

[greenminer]

 

[Cr1028]

3 minutes ago, CaribbeanGreen said:

And they tied ACU at a whopping 3-1 in the five team WAC. Give. Me. A. Break. 

But hey, look at it this way. After ol' Colby .500 got run 52-17 by LaTech, he took it out on winless for the season 1,200 student Warner College of Florida by a score of 98-0. Classy!

Wow, I guess you didn’t realize that Cumbie and LaTech hired away 4 of Carthel’s staff members before this season. You probably also don’t realize that SFA was on their 4th string quarterback by the end of the Warner game trying to gain experience for the backups. They scored 23 points on defense or special teams and Warner turned the ball over 4 times. Warner went 1-9 as a NAIA school and routinely got throttled by even other NAIA schools. 

[Cr1028]

1 hour ago, CaribbeanGreen said:

I mean, he was 26-23 at Memphis. He didn't exactly kill it there. He was.... Seth Littrell. His big "championship" year at Memphis? He finished in a three way tie with no conference championship game. He didn't turn Memphis into a power. He was Seth if Seth took the K State job and failed there. 

Ten thousand f’ing percent we agree on this!

[Cr1028]

26 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I think this is intellectually dishonest.  You have to also take into consideration what he started with (building during those early years was tough there) and what he left for Norvell to take over.  So yes, he did turn them into a power, because what he built sustained even after he left.  

UNT is not nearly in as bad of shape.  Fuente can win here NOW.   He’d be starting from 7-6, not 2-10!

No, you are looking through the lens of 7 years of Littrell, if Seth leaves after ‘18 and fails at KSU, EVERYTHING he said holds true. You give credit to Fuente for taking over a bad team but ignore that Littrell took over a team that lost 66-7 to a FCS school at home. @CaribbeanGreenis absolutely right, if Seth leaves after 2018 and fails at P5, he is exactly what Fuente is. Exactly the same.

[FirefightnRick]

3 hours ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

How about in 2015 when he beat a 10-3 Ole Miss, 10-4 MAC Champions Bowling Green, 8-5 South Florida, and 7-6 Cincy? Sounds just like Littrell 🙄

By getting blown out in the Birmingham Bowl 31-10 by 7-6 Auburn?

 

 

Rick

[Wag Tag]

W-L as a whole can be deceiving. He was 10-3 and 9-3 his last 2 seasons. He was also AAC coach of the year. Andy Dalton and Payton Lynch qb’s he coached. Our new coach either needs to be or hires a qb whisperer!

[Cr1028]

23 minutes ago, FirefightnRick said:

By getting blown out in the Birmingham Bowl 31-10 by 7-6 Auburn?

 

 

Rick

Sorry Rick, I want to be on your side with this one but Dickey actually coached the bowl game bc Fuente had already fled for his greener pastures.

[Cr1028]

18 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

W-L as a whole can be deceiving. He was 10-3 and 9-3 his last 2 seasons. He was also AAC coach of the year. Andy Dalton and Payton Lynch qb’s he coached. Our new coach either needs to be or hires a qb whisperer!

 

[ExADofficeIntern]

5 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

 

Thank god we got input from Chris on Twitter…I really put a ton of weight into what he says since he has a fantastic track record…

the point should be Fuente has developed multiple NFL QBs, which is what we need at UNT. Paxton was 1st RD draft pick… if you develop QBs in college, it’s much easier to recruit and get peoples attention. 
 

SL found and “developed” the 2 best statistical QBs in UNT history, and neither of them got/will get a whiff of the NFL.