Justin Fuente to...Kansas? What?
Well, well, well...we have a new internet rumor surrounding Virginia Tech's head football coach.
A tweet circulated on the timeline on Wednesday morning, linking Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente to Kansas' open head coaching job.
Receiving multiple reports that #VirginiaTech head coach Justin Fuente and the University of #Kansas have mutual interest in each other. Will confirm once I research enough reliable information. #Hokies #Jayhawks #Football #Coach #blaiseEdits @BlaiseHowington #ACC #Big10 pic.twitter.com/6KKQAE808C
Uh, what?
Let's start here. I have no idea who W. Keith Friedman is and whether or not he's credible. In fact, I don't believe he's credible at all, and I'm not alone in that sentiment.
The Key Play had a member of their online community pen a quick blog on this mysterious Friedman account back in December, questioning whether or not Friedman is who he says he is...you be the judge.
In the era of social media, news can be broken by anybody at any time. Because of this, I reached out to a source close to the team to verify the validity of the rumor.
"Less than zero validity," I was told.
So there you have it, Justin Fuente will not be departing for Kansas, which is probably a good thing for Fuente and for Virginia Tech. Regardless of whether or not you believe Justin Fuente is the right man for the job in Blacksburg, losing a coach to a bottom-feeding FBS school would be a new low for the Virginia Tech football program.
Plus, even if you're not a fan of Justin Fuente and believe a change should be made at head coach, hiring a new head whistle in the middle of spring practice in late March is not a recipe for long-term program success.
Heck, think back to January 2020 when Fuente was having his brief dalliance with Baylor. That was two months earlier in the calendar, and the general consensus at the time was that hiring a coach in mid-January was poor timing, as the coaching carousel following the 2019 season had already reached its conclusion.
A late-March, early-April hiring cycle would be even worse.
Lucky for Whit Babcock, that's not something he needs to worry about.
Co-Host, Hokie Hoops
As a first generation Hokie, I can't say that Virginia Tech has always been in my blood, but I can say unequivocally that I bleed maroon and orange now.
