I think Babcock is huddling with lawyers looking for a way to get rid of him & not have to pay. Fuente's stewardship---or rather lack thereof---of the program during the pandemic might be bad enough for Babcock to fire him for cause. They had all those incidents over the summer, attested to by Caleb Farley in his public comments, and the season-long parade of numerous players who are able to play every single week. Other schools have had players who couldn't play, but I don't know of any school who has had the numbers VT has had, through every week of the season. I would bet Babcock is collecting evidence documenting every single incident where football players have run amok of the school's Covid protocols. It does seem like Fuente has done a very poor job of ensuring the health & safety of his players-----the exact opposite of Bronco Mendenhall, to cite one example by comparison. At the very least, VT might have enough leverage to force Fuente to accept a much smaller buyout, given what the evidence could show was/is his inability to meet even the most minimal standards expected of a coach in this environment. Fuente could tell Babcock to shove it & demand his full buyout. But if the school can build a strong enough case, Fuente could end up with nothing. I just think VT wants to get rid of him in the worst way & will explore every avenue open to it to do it without having to pay that huge buyout, which after all is what it is because of the extension Babcock agreed to back in '18