Indiana adds former Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente as offensive analyst

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana has added former Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente as an analyst to Hoosiers coach Tom Allen’s staff, according to Richard Johnson of Sports Illustrated.

Fuente’s hiring came a week after Allen fired former offensive coordinator Walt Bell and promoted Rod Carey to that role without an interim tag. Before being named the offensive coordinator role, Carey was a quality control coach for Allen with the Hoosiers (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten).

Fuente coached Virginia Tech from 2016-21, taking over for the Hokies after legendary coach Frank Beamer retired following the 2015 season.

Tech went 10-4 and reached the ACC championship game in 2016 during Fuente’s first season, when he was named the ACC Coach of the Year. It never got better for him and the Hokies.

Overall, Fuente went 43-31 and 28-20 in the ACC during his six seasons in Blacksburg. After making a bowl in every season from 2016-19, Virginia Tech went 5-6 in 2020 and 5-5 in 2021, and did not play in a bowl in either year.

When Virginia Tech failed to make a bowl game in 2020, it snapped a 29-year streak of bowl appearances. After the 2021 season, Fuente and the school mutually agreed to part ways.

Some Tech fans were frustrated with Fuente’s management and retention of players, as well as his seeming lack of priority in recruiting in-state prospects.

Before going to Tech, Fuente was the head coach at Memphis from 2012-15. He finished with a 26-23 record during his four years there, 19-6 during his last two seasons. Memphis shared the American Athletic Conference title in 2014 and finished No. 25 in the Associated Press poll, and in 2015, Memphis ranked as high as No. 15.

Overall, Fuente has a 69-54 record as an FBS head coach.