Sunday’s announcement that Mike London had stepped aside after six seasons as Virginia football coach brought about the official start of a search for his successor.
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While Virginia Tech is planning to hire Fuente, the coach has yet to notify the University of Memphis about his plans to accept the job at V-Tech or remain in Memphis. He turned the Tigers’ program around, guiding the team to 19 wins over the last two seasons, including its first ten win season since 1938. He turned it around last season with an AAC championship in 2014, posting a 10-3 record (7-1) in conference.
Three of the newcomers came up big during the second half and overtime on Saturday as the Hokies defeated UAB 82-77 in the third-place game at the Emerald Coast Classic.
Virginia coach Mike London won’t return as Virginia’s coach next season, ESPN reported. “But simultaneously, knowing that there were a lot of people in the media that believed he was an outstanding coach for their institution, I too had begun my process of putting together what I needed to do to put our football program in the best possible opportunity to succeed”.
Can confirm Justin Fuente will be the Virginia Tech #Hokies next coach, w/Bud Foster staying on as DC.
“I don’t make those decisions but I’m mature enough to know this is the profession we live in”, he said when asked about his future.
Welsh was an offensive assistant at Penn State before taking the head-coaching position at Navy. “I’m truly looking forward to working with him and supporting him”. Foster has been the Hokies’ longtime defensive coach.
Garry Smits at Jacksonville.com wrote about Georgia firing Mark Richt on Sunday and slipped this line in the article: “Richt has been rumored to land at Virginia, which accepted the resignation of coach Mike London on Sunday about the same time the Richt news broke”. The school offered him a contract worth around $3 million annually, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper. The two-day event was played at Raider Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida.
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“I am confident we’ll be able to build this football program to extraordinary levels of competitive excellence”, Bowen said. Part of that was a schedule that routinely had Virginia playing against some of the strongest teams in the nation, but questionable in-game decisions, penalties and quarterback controversies also contributed.
