Author : college football/basketball writer @MattZemek, Editor at @TrojansWire .
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Justin Fuente had one more chance, one last chance, to save this season and create a badly-needed turnaround at Virginia Tech. If his team could have beaten the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday, Fuente would have been in position to win the ACC Coastal Division championship and contend for the ACC title and a New Year’s Six bowl. Despite the losses to Notre Dame and West Virginia outside the ACC, Virginia Tech still had a shot to compete for the ultimate ACC prize: a conference title.
That would have saved him and the 2021 campaign.
Now? The season’s prospects are minimal to nonexistent. Another (likely) failed year means Fuente will be 1 for 6 in winning the Coastal. With Clemson being a dynastic power, winning ACC titles the way Frank Beamer did wasn’t realistic, but winning DIVISION championships was certainly a realistic goal and expectation.
Saturday’s blowout loss to Pitt — with fans grumbling throughout the noncompetitive contest — makes it achingly clear, with a degree of finality which can’t be denied:
This marriage isn’t working. It’s time for a divorce. Justin Fuente needs to find an offensive coordinator job at a high-powered program. Virginia Tech needs to find a new head football coach.
This should be beyond dispute. Whit Babcock, the Hokies’ athletic director, gets a second chance to hire the right man, having brought Fuente aboard before the 2016 season.
Where should Babcock look? Whom should he consider? Let’s put forth a realistic list.
One subset of possible head coaching candidates at Virginia Tech consists of prominent coordinators looking for their big break at a Power Five job. This might be the group which gives Babcock his next hire, though no one should presume anything at this point.
Marcus Freeman — formerly the defensive coordinator for Luke Fickell at Cincinnati, now working under Brian Kelly at Notre Dame — makes plenty of sense. Freeman coached against Virginia Tech a few weeks ago and has had to study film for ACC schools. Young and energetic, and noticeably credentialed, he would certainly have a strong resume to bring to Blacksburg. He is hungry for a first head coaching job. The main concern would be that he hasn’t been a head coach before. Making him to go an AAC or Conference USA job first might be viewed as necessary, but Freeman would certainly give Virginia Tech consideration if he received a phone call.
Jim Leonhard of Wisconsin is an even better candidate than Freeman. He should get some head coaching offers in the coming carousel. He continues to thrive with the Badgers even while Wisconsin’s offense struggles. Leonhard brings the competence and quality Virginia Tech craves.
Brent Pry is James Franklin’s defensive coordinator at Penn State, where the Nittany Lions have cultivated an outstanding defense. Pry, 51, would very likely listen if Babcock inquired about his availability.
There is also another subset of possible candidates for a head coaching job at a place such as Virginia Tech: coaches in the Group of Five who have made a name for themselves and want to take the next step in their careers.
The two names which jump off the page here: Jeff Traylor, who has Texas-San Antonio unbeaten in Conference USA, and Bill Clark, who has done an extraordinary job at UAB and has won two of the last three C-USA championships. Both men do more with less, and could be just the right fit at a Hokie program which hasn’t maximized its resources in recent years.
This isn’t a full list of candidates, but as a group of five (pun not intended), it’s a decent starting point for the Hokies once they fire Justin Fuente.
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