Fuente out as Hokies coach days before facing Hurricanes
When the Miami Hurricanes host Virginia Tech on Saturday in UM’s final home game, the Hokies will be led by a new coach — albeit an interim one.
Virginia Tech and coach Justin Fuente “mutually agreed to part ways” on Tuesday, ending Fuente’s tenure with the Hokies after six seasons.
Fuente was 43-31 at Virginia Tech, but the Hokies were just 10-11 the last two seasons and have lost five of their last seven games to FBS opponents.
Hokies co-defensive line coach J.C. Price will serve as the Hokies’ interim coach for the rest of the season.
“While it is never easy to make a change,” Virginia Tech athletics director Whit Babcock said in a statement,” I believe in order for our football program to attain the type of sustained success that is expected at Virginia Tech, the time was right for new leadership of our football program.”
Virginia Tech’s changes come
a day after the Hurricanes had a shakeup within their own athletic department, with UM parting ways with former athletic director Blake James on Monday.
James’ departure may indicate that other changes could be on the way for Miami, including coach Manny Diaz,
whose future is uncertain.
James hired Diaz in 2018 as the successor to Mark Richt, who coached the Hurricanes for three seasons before abruptly retiring on Dec. 30, 2018. Diaz, who was UM’s defensive coordinator under Richt and had accepted the job as
Temple’s coach a month prior, was hired as Miami’s coach one day after Richt resigned.
The Hurricanes have gone 19-15 in three seasons under Diaz, including 5-5 this year after last Saturday’s heartbreaking loss to longtime in-state rival Florida State in Tallahassee.
Jennifer Strawley, Miami’s deputy athletics director, will serve as UM’s interim AD as the university conducts a national search for James’ permanent replacement, and is expected to have the final say as to whether Diaz is retained as Miami’s coach.
Miami (5-5, 3-3 ACC) and Virginia Tech (5-5, 3-3 ACC) both enter Saturday with hopes of notching their sixth win to become bowl-eligible.
The Hurricanes, who close out their season with a road game against Duke on Nov. 27, have played in a bowl game for eight consecutive seasons.
The Hokies, who plays Virginia in their regular-season finale, had their streak of 27 consecutive years of appearing in a bowl game snapped last season.