Never, never, never follow a living legend as a college coach. It did not work for Bud Carson following Bobby Dodd, it did not work out for Ray Perkins following Bear Bryant, it did not work out for Hootie Ingram following Frank Howard, and it will not work out for Coach Fuente.
I don't know why. There is not an overarching commonality to these coaches some were recruiting gurus, some were defensive specialists, some were offensive geniuses but all of them faced a sated and demanding fan base combined with usually subpar recruiting classes left over from the legend. I am sure some of you could think of exceptions to this rule. As I type this I am trying to think of that guy that replaced Woody Hayes seems like he was pretty successful at Ohio State. Perhaps the guy that replaced Darryl Royal at Texas. It is a tough row to hoe for sure. Poor old Ron Zook came in to replace Spurrier at Florida and was run out of town not long after unpacking the moving van. You always want to be the guy who come after the sucker who replaced the legend. Of course, sometimes even that does not work out witness Bill Curry following Ray Perkins.