Virginia Tech announced on Tuesday that it had fired Justin Fuente, who was in his sixth season as the program’s head football coach.
Fuente, who came from Memphis, began his tenure well, going 10-4 and 9-4. But he’s been around .500 since then, and his Hokies were 5-5 this season.
Some might argue it was surprising that Virginia Tech didn’t give Fuente more time, especially considering how wacky last season was. But the Hokies decided to move on. What is surprising is that Virginia Tech opted to fire Fuente now when it could have saved more money on the coach’s buyout simply by waiting another month.
Fuente’s buyout would have dropped from $10 million to $7.5 million after Dec. 15. The two sides agreed to split the difference and arrived at $8.75 million to part ways now.
Firing Fuente allows Virginia Tech to get started with its head-coaching search. Apparently the Hokies felt the extra month was worth paying $1.25 million.
Good luck to Virginia Tech in finding someone who can rekindle some of the Frank Beamer magic with which the Hokies were spoiled for nearly three decades.
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