Justin Fuente would welcome a return to college football coaching — under two conditions.
First, he and his family didn’t have to relocate from their suburban Dallas home.
Second, he could work spring practice and the season opener, but take the remainder of the year off.
He says this with a laugh, so you get the point. The former Virginia Tech and Memphis head coach does not yearn for a return to a job that is essentially 24/7/365.
But Fuente is diving back into the sport full-time. And he doesn’t have to move, recruit or sweat about the scoreboard.
As announced Tuesday, Fuente has joined the College Football Playoff team as a “senior advisor for football,” a redundant title but a position that self-scouting told CFP officials that they needed. Indeed, since its 2014 inception, the playoff has not employed a former coach on staff to bring that viewpoint to matters such as game operations, officiating and school outreach.
Fuente said the CFP, through Parker Executive Search, first contacted him about a month ago. He consulted with Danielle Tyler, the playoff’s director of team operations, his former ops director at Virginia Tech and the wife or former Hokies linebacker Jack Tyler, and decided to pursue the job.
CFP executive director Rich Clark said the position drew 139 applicants and that after virtual and in-person interviews, Fuente emerged as the top candidate.
“My first job is to get in there and learn and meet and develop relationships,” Fuente said. “… I think the role will grow with time. They want a coach-player perspective and voice in the CFP planning process. There are probably going to be times when head coaches and football (administrators) are going to want that point of contact.”
What Fuente has learned in three-plus seasons out of coaching is he doesn’t miss the grind and the toll it takes on families. He and his wife, Jenny, have daughters in sixth, eighth and 12th grade, and he’s relished experiencing their volleyball matches, basketball games and other activities.
“I’m not going to move,” Fuente said. “I’m happy for us to plant roots here and have a home we know we’re going to stay in for some time. … (Not coaching) is a lot more to do with the lifestyle than NIL or the transfer portal. While NIL and transfer portal is a small part of it, I haven’t given up hope that eventually we’ll get our arms wrapped around all of that and they’ll make it a little more manageable. But for me, it’s more about finding some work-life balance and being involved in my kids’ lives and us staying right here and in this school district.”
Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente and his team celebrate their 52-10 win over Virginia in 2016. The Hokies played in the ACC championship game that season. (Steve Helber/AP)
Not to suggest that Fuente, a former Oklahoma and Murray State quarterback, checked out on college football. He and the family attended Bedlam, aka Oklahoma-Oklahoma State, two years ago and SMU’s home victory last season over Pitt.
(Having played SMU in each of his four seasons with Memphis and each of his five years as a Texas Christian assistant, Fuente marvels at the Mustangs’ upgraded facilities and instant success in the ACC under Rhett Lashlee.)
When he’s not in a volleyball gym or attending a college football game on fall Saturdays, Fuente is likely at home watching football.
“And I’m quite lucky,” he said. “I live with four women who are all sports fanatics, too. They were all raised on college football games.”
Fuente’s viewership includes Virginia Tech, so while not interested in relitigating his 2021 dismissal, he is well aware of the Hokies’ subsequent missteps.
“It’s such a good place,” Fuente said. “It really is. People think that (Tech struggling) makes me happy, but it does not. I really want them to do well. There’s obviously some people there that I really, really care for.”
The 2014 American Athletic Coach of the Year at Memphis and ’16 ACC Coach of the Year at Virginia Tech, Fuente is about to immerse himself in the sport’s premier games. But first, he will complete an abbreviated stint as TCU’s radio analyst Sept. 20 — he joined the radio crew just this season — before attending the Ryder Cup golf matches at Bethpage Black in suburban New York the following weekend.
Fuente’s credentials, calm demeanor and willingness to mentor and lead won over the CFP staff, according to Clark.
“Every now and then, an issue pops up where it would be helpful to have somebody that has the perspective of the coach, the perspective of the player,” said Clark, a former linebacker at Air Force. “Also to represent us in the room when we’re talking to coaches and people who are more involved with the actual on-field play.”
As an example, Clark cited a controversial no-call in the fourth quarter of Texas’ double-overtime victory over Arizona State in last season’s Peach Bowl quarterfinal. ASU coach Kenny Dillingham, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and many viewers believed Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe should have been penalized for targeting, but the on-field and replay officials ruled there was no foul.
“There were a lot of questions surrounding it,” Clark said. “I was involved in it. I worked with our head of officials, and we were able to work through it. But it took a significant amount of time and a lot of study for me to make sure I understood everything that was involved in this, and in the end we came out in a good place. …
“Having someone like Coach Fuente, someone that’s been there … and understands what’s happening on the field better than anyone on our staff, is going to be very helpful” when communicating with coaches and officials.
Fuente will not have a voice in CFP selection committee deliberations, but Clark said Fuente may be in the room as an observer, the better to assess the selection process.
Regardless of his specific role, Fuente is eager to start.
“I have been a part of a team since I was 6 years old,” he said, “and the last couple years, aside from my family, I haven’t been part of a team with a mission and a goal, and I’m looking forward to joining back up and working with a group of people toward a common goal, to see what kind of positive impact we can make on college football.
“College football has given me a lot, and this is a great opportunity, hopefully, for me to try and help find a way to make it a little bit better.”
David Teel: david.teel@virginiamedia.com
