Justin Fuente bemoans 'transcational' relationships keeping him out of coaching: 'The current state of things I'm not super interested in'

At 49 years old, Justin Fuente could still be coaching somewhere in college football. He’s just not interested in doing so in the sport’s current state.

In a story at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram after an interview on Monday, Fuente was revealed to be doing color on radio this season for TCU Football. That’s with him not wanting to coach right now in this era of collegiate football with where things stand with players these days.

“The current state of things I am not super interested (to coach) in,” Fuente said to Mac Engel. “It’s just such a big commitment with the players, and the basis of the relationship now is purely transactional.”

Still, Fuente isn’t completely retired. He does think he could see himself on a sideline again pending how these changes continue to evolve at the college level.

“I have reflected on how the whole sport changed during my career, and maybe I am naïve, and I know they can’t put the genie back in the bottle, but I haven’t lost hope they won’t get their arms around this,” Fuente said.

Fuente spent two decades since the start of the century coaching in college both in the FCS and the FBS. He spent six seasons working on staff at Illinois State and five more on staff at TCU before becoming a head coach at Memphis for four seasons and Virginia Tech for six seasons. He would post a record of 69-54 (.561) in his decade as a head coach with the Tigers and the Hokies.

Fuente has not coached since he mutually parted ways with Virginia Tech at the end of 2021. That would make sense as it was around that time that these new aspects arrived in college, namely the transfer portal and name, image, and likeness. That’s been an opinion of several coaches who have since left the college level either in leaving for the pros or not coaching anymore entirely.

With that, Fuente has now taken the place of Landry Burdine in the booth next to Brian Estridge on the radio broadcasts for the Horned Frogs. That job will allow him to still be around the game while also spending more time with his family with three daughters in middle school or older.

“It’s not 100 percent of it but I’d say it’’ that and the other large part of it is where I am at with my family with our three girls,” said Fuener. “I missed so many things over the years.”

This isn’t the same sport that all of these coaches at the college level came up in. Fuente is the latest to say so and because of that decide to stay out of the sport, at least for the time being.