Another C-USA open head coaching job appears to be closed as the Memphis Tigers are expected to announce that Justin Fuente will replace Larry Porter. Fuente will go to Memphis from TCU, where he served as co-offensive coordinator under Gary Patterson.
In three years under Fuente, TCU's offense set school records for yards and points in 2009, surpassed both marks en route to a 13-0 finish in 2010 and is on pace to break the scoring record again in 2011 — and that's despite breaking in a new quarterback this year, sophomore Casey Pachall, for NFL-bound Andy Dalton. Meanwhile, the rock-bottom outfit Fuente inherits at Memphis finished dead last in Conference USA in total and scoring offense for the second year in a row.
Porter was fired on November 27 after a 2-10 season in Memphis.
From the Memphis Commercial Appeal:
Fuente is a former Oklahoma quarterback who started for the Sooners his freshman and sophomore seasons, but struggled during those two years before transferring to Murray State and reuniting with head coach Denver Johnson, a former OU assistant. At Murray State, Fuente set 11 school records and was named Ohio Valley Conference offensive player of the year in 1999. He also was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award as Division 1-AA national player of the year.
Fuente will be among the nations youngest coaches at 35 years old.