Virginia Tech football coach Justin Fuente will return for his sixth season with the Hokies, athletic director Whit Babcock said Tuesday.
The Hokies went 5-6 this season, and there was some question about whether Fuente would be given more time to get the program turned around. Babcock said he spent four hours meeting with Fuente on Monday going over various facets of the program, including recruiting, the depth chart, coaches and community outreach. He said he “saw and heard what I wanted to see, and it energized me.”
“I believe in Justin,” Babcock said during a Zoom news conference. “It’s not always the fashionable thing to keep somebody when everybody is yelling, but he’s our guy and I believe he gives us the best chance to be successful.”
He also said the decision was not financially related — Virginia Tech recently announced major budget cuts as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Under the terms of Fuente’s contract, his buyout decreased from $12.5 million to $10 million on Tuesday — and that helped fuel speculation the Hokies would be willing to part ways with him.
“Yes, we are in a bind financially, yes there’s buyouts, but we were determined to make the right decision either way because I cannot imagine a working relationship that you have somebody around that you don’t believe in that you just keep for money,” Babcock said. “You can lose or risk money no matter which way you go, so make the right decision and the rest will take care of itself. “
Fuente has gone 43-32 in five seasons as Virginia Tech coach, and Babcock noted the transition from legendary head coach Frank Beamer was more difficult than perhaps they anticipated. He also pointed out that Fuente has 4-1 records against main rivals Virginia and North Carolina — noting the way the team performed well in a 33-15 win over the Cavaliers last weekend.
But after a 4-2 start came a gut-wrenching loss to Liberty in which the Flames kicked the winning field goal after Fuente called a timeout that negated a miss. The loss started a four-game losing streak and added to the speculation that Virginia Tech would be best served by moving on from Fuente. The victory Saturday was even bigger considering what led up to it.
This is the second losing season under Fuente, though playing in a pandemic certainly changes much of the calculation. Babcock estimates nearly three-quarters of the team contracted COVID-19 since March, in addition to eight of the 10 full-time assistant coaches. In discussing the decision to retain Fuente, Babcock noted several times that tearing everything down is not necessarily the best way to move forward.
“We felt like this is the most likely successful path,” Babcock said. “I feel good about it. I’m paid to do what is best, not what is easiest or meant to pacify others.”
Babcock also mentioned they have a plan in place to bring the Virginia Tech football budget into the top third of the ACC, which they believe will help Fuente and the program compete for championships.
But there have to be immediate results next season, even though Babcock does not want to put a number on how many wins the Hokies need to get.
“I understand the hot-seat talk and the best way to get off that is to win some games and do it right, so that’s what we’re planning on doing,” Babcock said.
