With the coaching carousel spinning and three big name programs looking to fill a vacancy, Memphis is in the process of securing their head coach before anyone else comes looking to make an offer. Justin Fuente, coming off a share of the American Athletic Conference and wrapping up the most wins in a regular season at Memphis since an undefeated 1963 season, is reportedly renegotiating his contract with athletic department officials at Memphis.
The Commercial Appeal reports Memphis is in the final stages of the renegotiation process, and the timing of it all should not be overlooked. With job openings at Michigan and Nebraska and a coaching search already aggressively underway at Florida, Fuente is an attractive coaching option. If you can win at Memphis, let alone win at least a share of the conference championship, bigger programs with deeper pockets are going to take notice.
If Fuente is renegotiating with Memphis now, then it could be a sign that Fuente is happy where he is, at least for now. Fuente is in the third year of his contract at Memphis. He took over a program that had won just two games before his first season, and he quickly doubled that win total in his first season. Fuente’s Tigers won just three games in his second season, but the building blocks were put in place for a promising 2014 season. Memphis went 9-3 this season and clinched at least a share of the AAC title and is going to a bowl game for the first time since 2008.
