James Franklin is targeting Brent Pry for his defensive coordinator job at Virginia Tech, sources tell me and @RJ_cfb.Pry was VT's head coach the last four years. Now, potentially returning to Va Tech under Franklin, whom he previously worked under at Penn State and Vanderbilt. pic.twitter.com/zQ7nEPI86E— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 7, 2025
Forums:
DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Comments
Really not a fan of this move. Great guy. Our defenses though the last few year were dreadful, especially the Linebackers. Fine with him having a role in the program but just dont like this move outside of the cost mitigation.
I also dont love this move out of the gate. I think we aren't far enough removed from the bad defense played under his tenure. Makes me wonder if a lot of the fan base will have him on a very short leash... and if things dont go well, asking to fire him again. At minimum, most of the defensive assistants should be asked to move on.
I also wonder if some of the current players were excited to move on and get some fresh coaching in. Hope it doesn't convince our best players to move on since they might not get a better coach than what they've had.
Id love to be proven wrong and for this to be a winning combination, but it doesn't feel good right now.
Bingo
Look...I figured he would be involved with the program going forward in some capacity, even after how everything went down.
However, I did not expect it to be right back in his former role under Franklin at PSU. I know Pry is the type of guy most of us would like to have a beer with - but as for being the Big Whistle, eh, not so much at this point.
Maybe now that he doesn't have to micromanage everything else, and can focus solely on the Defense, it will turn out to be a better move than expected...?
I see why people aren't going to be fans of this. That said...
Basically getting a free Defensive Coordinator for a few years, while putting Pry back into a position where he was effective.
Interesting choice if Pry is OK with it. Probably a good move from a financial perspective.
Will take some getting used to this idea, but I suppose it could work.
Not gonna lie this is a hard sell. How is anyone that played under him as HC going to take him seriously in a different coaching role?
For Brent, too - how is it going to look for applying to be head coach at another school?
(assuming he wants to continue to be one, I suppose)
Feels like Head Coach career life support, which I know Saban did a bunch at Alabama. IDK if any of those coaches had been coordinators for Saban immediately before their head coach flameouts and he didn't have them as coordinators, I don't think.
Yeah and to be clear I'd be fine with Pry in some kind of defensive analyst role. And I think he'd be an absolute monster in fundraising. But I'm leery of having him interact directly with some of the players he used to coach right after getting fired.
I dunno, I see the logic behind getting the band back together and keeping costs low so that money can go other places etc, but this is still an extremely risky move.
Definitely of the same mind - analyst/quality control, sure. Head defensive whistle? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Saban had at least three former Head Coaches come in as coordinators. None of them were from the same school that fired them
How many times did saban get fired by a university and land elsewhere?
How many had been his coordinator before?
To be fair, probably won't be too many players who played under him as an HC after all the portaling is said and done
I hope so, but realistically it will probably take more than one offseason to get them all out.
I certainly hope he isn't coaching too many former players next year.
most expensive DC ever
Yet not as expensive as paying ANOTHER DC AND the buyout.
This feels like a corn-fu situation....hope I'm wrong
Feels weird but unless we were going to get someone like Knowles Pry might have one of the better resumes of who we could get as a DC.
Does Knowles stay at PSU or is he looking for HC openings?
Love having him back but I think this might be in too much capacity. Hopefully he's on a short leash.
Pros:
Like Pry as a VT guy
Like JMFF putting guys in place on his staff
By Grabthar's hammer, what a savings
Cons:
Might be awkward
Let's give it a whirl if he's game
Edit: I'd prefer the analyst style role myself, but we fought hard to get JMFF here, so I'm not going to start second guessing before he's even coached a football game. The justification for hiring Pry as HC to begin with was his tenure as DC, so I feel like this isn't as risky as some are pointing out.
I agree...
I think this is less about Pry's defensive prowess, and more about him returning to a place he failed so quickly...
I'm also dubious of his actual coaching prowess as DC
I like the guy a lot. I'm not convinced he's actually any good, even as a DC. I don't love the move but I'll at least wait and see how he does. Maybe if he gets Franklin's talent he'll field a good defense 🤷
I think your comment is accurate. Color me skeptical.
AI Overview
+8
Hot seat bursts into flames for former Penn State DC Brent Pry
Brent Pry's defenses at Penn State were consistently elite, ranking nationally in the top 10 for scoring defense multiple times and top 25 in total defense, known for creating pressure (top in sacks/TFLs in 2018/2019), limiting explosive plays, and being disruptive, earning him a 2021 Broyles Award nomination before becoming VT's head coach.
Given this is AI, I can't tell if it's a ringing endorsement of Pry or not lol
That's ok, the AI can't tell either.
I love the Galaxy Quest reference here haha such an underrated movie
That quote works on multiple levels. I have about the same level of enthusiasm about this news as Alan Rickman (R.I.P.) had delivering that line.
Head coach and coordinator are two completely different things. Pry was an excellent DC for Penn St but a terrible HC for us. Getting him back to what he does best and just focusing on the defensive strategy while not worrying about anything else should be fine.
As for the players and listening to him, any player that was here this year and still on the team next year should just be thankful to be here.
I'm okay with it. Being the head whistle and having a DC, i believe Pry allowed the autonomy to run the defense while he kept his focus as the DC. Now with him being back as the DC , that will be his focus and should be much sharper and provide better results.
I think the optics will be the hardest part to overcome but also it may be a net positive. As someone said previously, this is absolutely a VT move in terms of "This Is Home" and even to a degree "Ut Prosim". Pry loves VT and knows it has massive football potential, which is why he would even consider this move. To anyone else, this type of move would be career suicide but in his mind (and Franklins) they see a much bigger picture and have a vision of success we haven't seen here since 1999.
I'm not sure that, in two years, there will be more than a handful of players that were here when he was head coach. We're looking at a total roster overhaul, here.
I trust Franklin/the AD isn't in a position to tell Franklin what he can/can't do.
Puts Brent and Franklin in an awkward position. Really hoping it works out for their and VTs sake.
I think Franklin would have no problem firing him if it comes to that. Pry is a built in fall guy.
Pry clearly loves him some James Franklin and VT. Really hoping it works out.
And Franklin clearly loves him some Brent Pry. Otherwise this whole thread would never exist.
I want to believe that Franklin 100% believes that this is the best move for VT's defensive future. But we were absolute ass on defense under his tenure, and it wasn't even an upward trajectory of ass-itude. Top on the fact that VT has a pretty bad history of coordinator hires leaves me extremely skeptical. Both Franklin & Pry better be ready to be roasted if this turns out poorly. I think it will be an absolute death knell for Pry's career if this fails in < 3 years.
I don't love it but reading posts here today I'm surprisingly on the more tepid side of not really caring for it. I'm willing to give him a chance there. My skepticism of his actual DC credentials is well known. But James Franklin seems to know what he's doing. He turned our 124th ranked class into a top 25 class inside of two weeks. He's had relatively good defenses with Pry as the DC before. I guess he's expecting to reproduce those, on some level. Maybe he feels that Pry's HC experience will make him a more valuable asset as a DC? I could probably get behind arguments there. I think if Pry gets the talent that JMFF can bring in his defenses will be fine. I'm more interested in who the offensive and special teams hires will be.
Franklin is going to need to prove it pretty quickly. I think he knows that and I think he'll be able to. His immediate impact on recruiting bodes well for his ability to put together a solid roster using the portal. I think he can assemble the type of talent that can win 10 games in one offseason. It might take a season or two for them to gel and actually win 10+ but I think he can get the talent here essentially over night. We'll see.
I'm luke warm on the Pry to DC move. I'm giving JMFF the same sort of benefit of doubt that I gave Pry with the Bowen hire. The difference is that JMFF has done it before.
But Franklin was always considered to be a better recruiter than in game coach, so an expected (maybe not quite THIS good) result. There was hope he would get some top notch coordinators to bolster the in game or on the field part of the job and Pry hasn't exactly knocked it out of the park in his time at VT and especially on the defensive side.
This is a fair argument maybe they've collectively made enough boneheaded conservative moves/clock mismanagement moves to lose games they can be their to remind each other that it was one of the leading arguments to get both of them fired
Well, he has Pry to help him with the in-game stuff. ;^)
[ducks]
great name for band
I imagine (perhaps wistfully so) that he's going to be pretty motivated to get the taste of the last few years out of his mouth, and will come out swinging. As long as the position coaches are good, I don't hate it, but we need some new blood in those rooms.
Don't love for a few reasons...
Also, does it actually save money on our buyout? That shouldn't be a deciding factor, but I'm just curious.
I am not a fan of this move at all, but I wonder if it's a color of money thing. Basically the money for his buyout has already been obligated for him (which is so much more than the value of a buyout) separate of the increase to the coaching salary pool and we can use that money to hire an expensive OC/assistants/analysts
Did we shoot our wad on NIL already? Does it save VT any money?
Who did the team quit on this year, and most importantly why? Until that's known, how could this even be considered?
Assuming Philip Montgomery is gone, wonder what his thoughts on Pry returning as DC.
We better not have considering we haven't touched the portal and probably need to take in 30+ transfers
Hate this in so many ways.
Didn't hold coaches accountable for continued poor positional play, never found a Portal LB who was a solid contributor, and D was utterly awful this year.
Defensively, if we bring back anyone other than Price (and I'm fine with him being replaced too) then I view this as a massive misstep.
This (if true) really would sour my view of the prospects going forward. Pry is a good guy but was an unmitigated disaster here. He should not be back in any direct coaching role.
That's my biggest concern is that this leads to keeping more of the old guard around. I feel like a fully clean house was necessary at this point
While I'd also prefer we go a different route, this just says what we already know - Pry was awful at being a head coach and didn't perform these tasks well.
We also know that he was able to do these things as a DC, so this in itself isn't a reason not to consider him.
We also know that Franklin is a CEO-type coach with an offensive background, so I find it unlikely that he's going to be intervening heavily in the defensive room.
And college football is a "what have you done for me lately?" world.
Yes, Pry was successful at Penn State, but everyone who has followed him has also been. None of his assistants from PSU came to Virginia Tech with him....I find that telling.
What Pry has done lately is put together one of the worst defenses in the country, the worst linebacker group in P4, and hire a group of defensive coaches who were almost universally underwhelming.
It's not a good move, and just because we want it to succeed, we shouldn't try and put lipstick on a pig.
That's what we've always done in the past here, I thought we were moving on to a new era. Hiring your recently fired head coach back is the absolute antithesis of that.
Pry absolutely didn't have the budget to out-pay staff from Penn State, and he probably needed to let his coordinators have a say in their own staff, so I'm not really sure if that tells us anything.
There was also an awful lot of buzz that Franklin was telling guys anyone who showed up in Blacksburg with Pry was dead in State College.
Yep, this.
Some people just can't handle all the varying responsibilities of being a head coach. Pry showed the last couple years that was the case with him.
But that doesn't mean he is a bad coach. He's just more suited to focus on one thing rather than everything.
Not a fan, bob!
completely against this. i don't even want him being an analyst. the players clearly quit on him this year.
and there is no way in hell cheetah and quinn stay, right??? they both failed miserably.
I am fine with this. Just look at the total defense rankings when he was a DC at PSU and before. I think it's was like 3/10 top 10 defenses and then was essentially in the top 25 every other year except maybe 1.
You don't put up consistently good defenses if you can't coach.
On paper, I don't hate it. But what happens when Tech defense gives up a first down in their very first game? It's gonna be real easy for a fanbase that had been calling for his head for years now to call for his head again.. Any goodwill Pry earned by helping us land Franklin will be gone in record time the second we give up a touchdown or a linebacker misses a tackle.
So who's going to fill out the Defensive Staff?
Doubtful it will be Franklin since he's an offensive guy...
Pry's hires and evaluations were awful. Marve was not a good LB coach, a worse coordinator, and a zero as a Recruiter. And I am firmly convinced that Pry was going to keep him for '25 until Whit forced his hand.
So we let Pry hire more coaches? Or just keep guys like Cheetah, Quinn, and Priloeau around?
Beyond that, for all of his success at PSU-- all of the coordinators that have followed him have been equally as successful.
Not interested. Bad idea. Thanks but no thanks.
I don't think Franklin gives Pry free reign on the assistants. He has too much at stake.
At PSU, it was my understanding that Franklin kept the assistant hires and coordinator hires separate.
Not a fan. Gives little room for maneuvering should the defense not perform well or changes need to be made. Can see it turning into a similar situation to Feunte and Cornelson.
I'm going to twitch uncontrollably every time they show Pry on the sidelines.
Can't say I'm not a fan of this but at the same time I'm most worried he keeps more of last years defensive staff around which I would now be okay with. I was hopeful this could be a clean break and clean out and new ideas/minds moving forward.
I find it awkward but Franklin is the one with the performance incentives in his contract. Maybe this frees up some $ to get Spencer from TAMU?
I talked to a Penn State fan when Pry was hired. He really liked Pry, and was disappointed when he left Penn State. At the time he was higher on Pry than Franklin, and attributed a lot of Penn State's success to him at the time. Penn State was still linebacker U when Pry was there. I'm open to it.
Two things on this
1) where were any of those linebackers the last couple years?
2) How easy is it going to be for other schools to point at how Pry failed to develop a winning defense or develop linebackers here the last few years when the Portal opens in January?
We hired a guy who recruited on relationships as we were entering the NIL era and then we didn't give him that much NIL. So it's not shocking that he didn't get talented players
But I also agree – it's concerning that the position group that was his pride. Enjoy for 15 years never saw any improvement while he was here. It's not like we had players who were smart enough/taught to make the correct play, but just couldn't make it; instead we went through what felt like a dozen linebackers, and the result never changed.
In general prize management of personnel was a huge reason he failed. I think Caleb playing in the South Carolina game was a shining example – there was just no accountability on the team.
So is James Franklin going to be the owner of those accountability issues and personality decisions? When we have a coach who's actually capable of starting a practice on time, will we naturally see a more disciplined team?
TLDR I'm conflicted
BRM at SOS says it pretty well. I like and agree with is take.
https://youtu.be/BlewxgfWHLs?si=1RNGL2AkeRVu76L0
I think we all would agreed Pry should've never been a HC. That said, if he wants the DC position and Franklin believes in him, do it.
He is a proven defensive coach.
Also, it is more about the jimmies and joes, if we have the right guys coached up, who knows what Pry could do.
Is he, though? There is a strong argument that when you have a lot of good personnel at your disposal, it is hard to be a bad manager. But when you are a bad manager with poor or middling personnel, it becomes apparent very quickly. We saw that with Pry as the head whistle, who ultimately takes accountability for those he manages. As others have already stated, there is too much stench of trying to save a buck and keep your buddy around. To me, it is a big gamble at a time when VT has very few chips to push on to the table.
I have the same fears as many about Pry as a coach. Given our history with Corn, I understand the fear about him being Franklin's buddy.
But I don't think Franklin is doing a friend a favor here: I think he's picking his preferred DC for the job. Failing at VT has the potential to send Franklin's career the way of Justin Fuente. Winning at VT has the potential to send Franklin to a top 5 job in the country.
I think he'll pick the guy he thinks is going to be the most beneficial.
Pry failing at VT, especially if it is BAD in the first year or two, has the potential to ruin not only Pry's entire career, bit their friendship as well. I'm just saying it is a huge gamble, and I am hoping that both guys are justifiably confident it will succeed, or prepared for the aftermath when it doesn't.
Unfortunately, given the shit show we have been through since the Tyrod days, I am not prepared for the aftermath. Franklin, Whit, the BOV, etc. will have lost all my faith if this fails.
Not really liking it but I am a huge fan of awkward moments and this will be a very awkward moment.
A few things:
Until proven otherwise, I just have to trust CJF. Many wonder what would have been if Bud got the head whistle - and I think we got a sense by proxy when Pry got the job. If Bud failed as a HC, I know we all would have taken him back as DC in a heartbeat.
The Bud analogy is a good one. This and typing out my post below is making me come around on the idea.
Does Pry get to keep his notepad?
Only if Fuente gets to keep his mangled Dasani bottle.
Knee-jerk reaction: I don't like this. Like others have said, I am skeptical that the players that clearly quit on him will suddenly embrace him with open arms. I also worry that this suggests that there won't be the needed cleansing of under-performing staff (coaches and in the Athletic Department). Having said that...
Pry is the living embodiment of the Peter Principle. Maybe, just maybe, moving him back from the level at which he failed spectacularly down to the level where he was unquestionably successful could work, in theory. This would be like Dunder-Mifflin firing Michael Scott from being the Regional Manager and the new boss hiring him as a salesman. It will be awkward at first, but winning cures all ills. It's likely that most of the players that quit on him will be gone and he'll have a clean slate to work with. I imagine Franklin will have the final say in who the assistants will be and with the newly discovered money VT has they won't be forced to keep underperforming coaches.
TLDR: Of course not. But maybe...
Big question is which players quit on him? Was it the guys he recruited out of high school or the portal players? Was it just upperclassmen or underclassmen too? Those are big questions we don't know the answers to.
With the amount allocated to Franklins staff this very much feels like he struck out trying to recruit someone else.
Brent Pry should be no where near any type of coaching position in Blacksburg. The defense was atrocious, players quit on him, and the area in which he was supposed to be an expert (LB play) was arguably the worst.
This is a truly terrible decision.
Saw some rumblings we wanted Kerhes but he took Cuse's offer
Franklin recruits players better than coaches??
/S...
I don't see any immediate connect between Kerhes and either HC so we just straight up got big dogged by Syracuse.
I'll just hope that Syracuse offered him more than Franklin was willing to pay
Which would be pretty sad. What happened to the huge budget Franklin was getting?!
I hear what you're saying and would agree if that's the case. what I'm trying to say is I hope Syracuse OVERpaid for him.
I said it multiple times... that budget was not as big as you think. It's top 10 by 2024 standards, top 15/20 by 2025 standards, and it will be top 25/30 by the time we kickoff in 2026. The arms race is real.
Just the penn state head coach search moved like 7 schools ahead of us
Miss State is doing something similar, but three years later.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/47221770/sources-missis...
I'm going to expose my own old take. In one of the James Franklin-centric coaching search threads, I posted:
After some self-reflection, I think it may be time for me to stop making concrete predictions or guarantees of any kind.
I guarantee that you will end up doing this in the future anyway
I'm 100% confident that you're right.
Looking VT's defense under Pry - i really hope it was a talent issue, and that Pry being HC, he decided to separate himself from the defense.
Looking at Pry's defenses at PSU, ignoring the past few years, this would be a homerun DC hire.
The optics of it are awkward, but if Pry is okay with it and he gets the defense back on track, it could be a great move. If the defense has another lackluster year next season, he has to know fans will be out for his head, great guy or not
It's this guy legit or putting this out there to up his view count. Franklin went out and hired Jim Knowles last year fresh off a national championship and now he's settling for fired coaches with a meh record? I would not have guessed that Franklin or that much stock in relationships and would be after the best guys he could get. Maybe it's a budget move and Pry will be mentoring his replacement while rehabbing his reputation for another head coach shot? I agree that I would prefer he find a lesser role.
So all that money goes to the OC now right? Imagine a $4M OC just below Franklin bc pry is technically "free". Guess I can dream a bit. Again the coordinator hires and staff hires are making me antsy
Word was he was looking at Ty Howle, which is def a budget hire and an absolute non starter for me
I think this is a great point and something I'm curious about too. The grade for the Pry DC hire is incomplete for me until we know the rest of the staff, especially the OC
Honest question - how many guys current on the defensive roster will be here next year? 10? 15?
I don't it's as bad as people are making it out to be.
I expect it will be more like 40-45 honestly.
Finish the freshmen class with 28-30 and then 30 or so from the portal.
Just the defense, not the offense.
At face value I don't like this. However, upon reflection, I think it could be a good thing for a number of reasons.
1. With James Franklin having to work on a complete rebuild the familiarity with Pry could help ease the burden a little.
2. With James Franklin out there doing his thing, killing it on the recruiting trail and getting Pry the players he needs... I think he could be just as effective of a DC at VT as he was at PSU.
3. One thing that Pry and his staff did really well was working the portal. I think this could be an asset to Franklin.
Could this be awkward? Sure. But if it isn't awkward for Pry then it won't be awkward. And if it works out, that means Pry is one helluva man - to be able to swallow his pride, take that "demotion" and continue to do what he does well. As stated above, some guys are really good at a certain things, but maybe not all the things (being the head whistle)
When PSU fired Franklin, I figured that he would hire Pry back as his DC at his next place. Wasn't expecting it to be here....
If I were a betting guy, I absolutely would have sought out odds the weekend he was fired that Franklin was going to Chapel Hill, taking Pry as DC, and the two of them would have combined to put us in absolute hell on the recruiting trail from PA to SC.
I hadn't really considered it before, but Pry has already been with Franklin to help completely rebuild two programs. So why not make it a third? They've already proven they can do this type of rebuild together.
This was my thought on this.
I just think Pry had problems as HC and a low budget.
Yeah. I don't think the money guys were ready to buy in for someone unproven, and Pry's management and staffing decisions as HC gave them no reason to change their mind.
Hmmmmm....
Im gonna trust JMFF. (Like there's a choice?)
Positives: Franklin and Pry had success at Penn State, and recreating that in CEO's model where everyone knows their duties may work.
Also, love Pry and his VT messaging and that should be very powerful on the recruiting trail. Pry got some excellent pieces from the portal and if we can land some playa's (maybe a pull for some of psu's roster) we may accelerate the time table.
Also, Pry should be super motivated to have some success at VT after his tenure.
Negative: Pry will be Franklin's all-time DC. Can't imagine him firing Pry is defense isn't good. AND fans may have a quick trigger if defense is not up to snuff.
The best thing would just be awesome.
On other hand, I can see Franklin firing Pry in a heartbeat if the defense doesn't show progress. He extended a Sabanish rehab offer.
BINGO.
I can see the pressure (justifiably) ramping up quickly in that case.
For one, good on Pry for wanting to coach immediately after getting his huge buyout.
Would have spent at least a year lying on a beach somewhere if the same thing happened to me.
ESPN saying its official now
Say it ain't so!
Oh I'm so glad I'm back on the boards lol
Some reporting from Kolby Crawford that at least some of the players are okay with it.
The players quit on him, this quote means nothing to me.
Yeah, if I were a player I might also like a coach who lets me show up late to meetings and exerts minimal discipline.
In a situation such as that I might also consistently miss my assignments....
Discipline on the football field starts off the field, nothing about Pry's tenure here suggests that is going to be better
Do we know this is true? I know there's been plenty of rumors and the play on the field certainly didnt have discipline has a core attribute.
The not starting practices on time has been verified...
How frequent this was is unclear because many sessions were closed to the media.
But let's put it this way, if you know media is going to be at your practice and you don't have the intelligence to start the goddamn thing on time...what does that say?
Also, letting Woodson play with a DUI the week of the game...
That last part is just big boy college football imo
^ Bingo
This quote suggests they quit on Siefkes not Pry to me
Can't really quit on one without quitting on the other though can you?
But you can quit "because" of one, but not "because" of the other.
But which players quit on him? Was it the guys he recruited out of high school or the one-year mercenaries out of the transfer portal?
Not sure, but every team will have 'mercenaries', especially VT, in the next few seasons. So even if it were 'just' those guys, it's not a good look.
It matters though because if it was just the one year guys then there's still support for Pry in the locker room and guys who will play hard for him. Getting portal players to buy in is obviously a needed skill, but it's clearly harder on portal reliant teams (FSU) vs teams that have a new coach and portal players follow the coach (Indiana). High school retention is still how you build championship teams. We brought in a boatload of transfers last year which, as a transfer myself, I find to be a recipe for disaster. You take a couple transfers to fill gaps and add depth, not to field your entire starting defense.
For all the talk about the team quitting on Pry (and they did), I think that happened because of his awful clock management and inability to win close games. Once we found ourselves in a battle with Vandy, we threw in the towel. But quitting was not a characteristic of Pry's teams before 2025. His teams actually had a lot of fight after routinely digging huge holes to start games. But over time, players realized that given the opportunity in a close game, he would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and eventually they stopped fighting. I don't have that concern about Pry the DC.
Franklin brought his top 25 class in to VT after 3 weeks.
Im going to give him at least once season to see how this works out.
It's only weird if it doesn't work
this
Winning cures all ills. (Except felonies)
But as we have seen at places like Florida, FSU, Oklahoma back in the old days ... winning can prevent people from being charged with felonies in the first place.
If Pry knows the X's and O's give him the Jimmies and Joes. Franklin just needs to be his boss and keep him accountable. He found a few decent players in the portal, but grabbing people from East Texas State or wherever wasn't going to cut it long term. We have a checkbook now and a head coach that every player in the US knows can win. I'm gonna have faith til I don't.
*digs Blame Pry binder out of trash cash*
Well, at least I won't have to work on new material if things go bad next season
Can't help but feel we were waiting on someone in a conference championship and they just turned us down. OTOH, if we win, i'm in favor of it.
Maybe hiring Pry 4 years ago was just step one in the long range plan to get James Franklin to VT
I feel like some of the reaction is a little overblown. If Pry was a HC at any other program and got fired we'd be ecstatic with his on paper resume as a DC failed OC.
I agree with this. Some of our fans were recently hoping we could get Rahne from ODU to be our OC. Isn't that like the same exact thing?
Well not really because Rahne's offenses at ODU have put up solid numbers and looked good. Pry's defense at Tech has been below average and his specialty position of linebacker has been a massive liability for several years.
But a lot of ODUs offensive success is attributed to Decker....a lot like we can easily point to Marve as a reason VTs defense was miserable.
Lest we forget Virginia Tech's defensive coordinator and play caller year 1 was actually Pry, not Chris Marve. Marve took over during the Liberty game. Pry said during the offseason he was heavily involved in that room, at least in year 2.
If the room consistently did not have good linebacker play despite him being heavily involved, recruiting the players to the system and that being his specialty, I am incredibly skeptical about this hire. Throw in that the players quit on him this year and the general awkwardness of it all, and I really do not feel good about it
If we never hired him and he was still the DC at PSU, then this would be the second layer of the Franklin Big Dawg'd hire. We here on TKP would be all over this hire.
Familiarity breeds contempt
I get that but I don't think either of these two gentlemen fall under this category. I think there is a total respect for each other and one where taking things for granted isn't tolerated. Franklin won't allow it.
Pry is a known commodity needing zero time to become acclimated to the VT nuances. I believe Franklin will hold Pry to the utmost accountability as Pry is the one "hire" who can literally hit the ground running. Franklin's position, there are no excuses and expects results.
Penn State admitted they under funded Franklin with the money they're throwing out there for Campbell. We were grossly underfunded. No one would have been successful with our prior funding levels in the money talks bullshit walks NIL/Portal era.
Pry is a proven DC. VT has brought in the funds to improve and be competitive. Pry should be able to translate that with a more "siloed"/foucused role as DC vs HC.
I was speaking about the VT fanbase.
We know Pry, therefore he can't be as good as some potential "other" we don't know.
LOL! That's my interpretation whiff!!!
Not if the Penn St defense looked like ours has for the last 4 years. Would probably be some reservations.
big difference between the jimmies and joes!
He wasn't the DC at VT. He was with Franklin at PSU and Vandy and was a proven winner on both staff's.
However, and I didn't mentioned it in my above post, regardless, due to Pry's situation, there is an unavoidable awkwardness to the whole thing.
But hiring him from the DC at Penn State vs. hiring him from the HC at VT are two very different things. From DC at PSU he doesn't have all the baggage of losing games, relationships with current players that may have soured, and a staff that underperformed. There's also questions about his Good Ol' Boys connections with Ballein et al.
https://x.com/sonsofsatvt/status/1997830724095988121?s=42
I think this is a good listen regarding Pry.
I don't view Pry as part of the Good Ole Boyz network. He wasn't here for two decades, he was a GA from 95-97.
I don't like it, but I don't HATE it. My preference would've been:
1. Proven DC from P4 school that we lure away
[decent gap]
2. Pry or Knowles follows Franklin from PSU
[50 feet of crap]
3. "Up and comer" position coach a la Justin Hamilton or Chris Marve
It's weird but I guess I have to give Franklin the benefit of the doubt for now and assume he's not actively knee capping himself with his first major decision.
It is funny to imagine the two of them doing a good coach, bad coach routine like "Well, shucks, if it were all up to me I'd start you this week, no question... but, you see, the thing is Franklin wants to see a little more from you"
A lot of mixed feelings on this one. I continue to like that Pry says the right things so often, which presumably helps with recruiting and relationship building, and I would love to see him return to the role of successful DC. But it's going to get awkward really quickly if it doesn't work out, and it's hard to be convinced by the idea that the defense and especially LB position hasn't been good because his focus has been on head coach responsibilities instead. It's been such a consistent issue over several years that I have to believe he would have tried inserting himself and using his expertise to address problems on the defense, without seeing much improvement there. I guess I'll continue anxiously awaiting news of the other staff hires and hope for the best.
He's probably thinking that having Pry back will help him get the "gang back together again" and get over the hump and make a deeper run. He knows and trusts Pry.
And it's not like Pry has been away from football. He's just been away from good football. Should come back to him pretty quickly.
According to some quick research (AI Chat slop) James Franklin has had a top ten defense in yards allowed in seven out of the last 11 seasons (2014-2024). Pry was his defensive coordinator for three of those seasons (2017, 2019, 2021). Either the AI bot did it's research wrong or we should be deferential to James Franklin's plans. I believe he knows a helluva lot more about building elite defenses than I ever will.
WITH THAT BEING SAID
This is a Questionable Decision
Buzz around PSU's linebacker coach coming to VT
He apparently followed a bunch of VT beat reporters which was strange
He's not just a really big fan of Andy bitter?
I mean who isn't? Always one of my favorites
I expected Pry to be involved in some capacity, but I would've much more preferred a smaller off-field role. In 2-4 years then I would've welcomed him as DC. I think this is too soon, but Franklin is one of the most successful coaches in the country and fingers crossed wouldn't do this if he thought it was a massive risk. However there could be some rose tinted glasses on Franklin's nose. I'm firmly convinced Pry is a good DC and a bad HC, so if the baggage isn't as big as we believe this could work.
I was hoping as like Director of high school relations or something like that. But it is what it is
But then where would James Johnson go?
High school relations or some blend of recruiting and defensive analyst
Put Johnson supporting Young and Duffy. Include International Scouting to his duties to identify other potential Neos for both programs.
People gotta remember that coaching is 90% about having superior players. Even Bill Belichick was able to win some Superbowls when get got the right guys.
Was just about to post the same thing.
As Franklin said plays seemed to work out better when they handed off to Barkley.
Saban said he thought he was a poor coach when he had avg players and when he has good players everyone thought he was a good coach.
You can draw up a great scheme but if the players can't ALL execute then it doesn't matter. Everyone thinks you suck as a coach. And no matter how much they do understand of your playing more talent players odds are they are winning.
Sometimes it's the X's and the O's but more often than not it's the Jimmy's and the Joe's.
This also explains, I think, how Penn State was able to be competitive against Oregon and Indiana this year. The talent was definitely there
Pry was a good DC at PSU. I see a lot of folks talking about our defense the past few years as a concern, which is valid. However, I think it's important to remember that Pry was not actively calling plays after his first year here. He had to delegate that responsibility to focus on being the HC. Perhaps focusing on one side of the ball is just what he's built to do. So on paper, I'm good with it.
That said, I am worried if he does not do well and needs to be fired from VT again. It would be devastating for him and just a really bad look for our program. I like Brent and want the best for him. This seems like staying friends with the girl who dumped you while she moves on to your best friend. That doesn't normally end well.
I like that he will be getting back to doing what he's good at and will undoubtedly have a chip on his shoulder. With the athletes that Franklin will bring in it can certainly work.
Agreed. The two biggest factors Pry didn't have was talent and money, which are correlated. VT now has given their HC a huge boost in both categories to allow the new staff to perform better.
Pry had double the money that Fuente had.
And still wasn't enough to rise to the levels we now expect Franklin to do. Now, Pry would not be as successful as Franklin with the renewed commitment , but if he was funded at a respectable level, I have to believe results would have been better.
And we were still significantly underfunded compared to other programs
NOT a fan of this at all. We just got divorced with Pry, and his defenses here at VT were not great. Bringing him right back into the mix just sounds like an awful idea.
Technically, they were Marve and Seifkis' defenses
Still a no for me. Pry, a defensive-minded coach, supposedly knows everything about how to be a defensive coordinate and picked both of these two and they failed miserably.
You're basing your analysis off of what he did here as a head coach and yes he hired the defensive staff, but it wasn't his defense.
It's like saying "i need a really good punt returner but i don't want Devin Hester because he wasn't a very good wide receiver "...
I think Pry has a good chance as regaining elite DC status but it's far from a sure thing. At PSU, he took over as the sole DC and play-caller in 2014. Led by Pry's defense, they became perennial top-25 (often top 10) program. His defenses at VT were not good. His best defense was 2024 (ranked 25th), but ultimately underperformed including some headscratching moments (like Syracuse) . Changing up the DC and scheme this year was an abject failure (notably, Pry only coached 3 games).
For 2026, it is unclear whether he can still scheme up a defense or what the scheme will be. As VT DC (as compared to VT HC), he should have better roster and better position coaches. I think he probably still has the ability to call up defensive plays within a game to get his players in a position to succeed. As long as he can figure out a scheme, I think he will have success as DC.
Defense F+ ratings (source):
PSU 2013-2022 (Pry DC 2014-2021)- 2013: 32
- 2014: 11
- 2015: 21
- 2016: 27
- 2017: 9
- 2018: 17
- 2019: 6
- 2020: 36
- 2021: 6
- 2022: 5
- 2021: 57
- 2022: 55
- 2023: 53
- 2024: 25
- 2025: 104
VT 2021-2025 (Pry HC 2022-2025)
Is this official yet? Or did they leak it to get a feel for fan reaction for a few days.
We haven't gotten the "Welcome Home" graphic from the athletic department, but every single news outlet is reporting it.
Do we honestly think James Franklin is considering fan reaction when hiring a coach? If we were talking about Whit hiring a head coach then it would be a consideration because you have to sell the vision to get donations.
Maybe it's more about feathering out the announcement, to give fans a minute to get used to the idea.
No, Franklin isn't going to ask fans who to hire.
Or they are planning on announcing everyone at the same time, or over a few days, and haven't finalized the OC, assistants, etc. There was a lot of success with announcing recruits leading up to signing day and they may want to harness that same kind of excitement.
Also, they may be waiting for the playoff announcement and ND drama to die to try and get good VT news on the front page
Sure. All of these can be true.
But if they are, they've suddenly gone from a complete lack of leaks to situation where the information leaks out immediately for some reason.
Now I'm concerned
Started a separate thread for this
I would take every single one of those defenses.
2013: 32
2014: 11
2015: 21
2016: 27
2017: 9
2018: 17
2019: 6
2020: 36
2021: 6
2022: 5
So would all of you. Lets not kid ourselves. Our defense has been absolute ass. I don't care at all that Pry was our coach and got fired. If Bud had taken the job at NC and then flamed out, we would have welcomed him back in a heartbeat. The only person this will really be awkward for is Pry, maybe Franklin, and if they are good with it then fine by me.
Case closed as far as I'm concerned.
I spent some time thinking on this and I've come to the conclusion that: if you were to give me a resume for a DC with no name on it and he had those rankings as a DC for Vandy and Penn State. Add in ~4 years of HC experience for an ACC team. Also apparently the candidate really likes Blacksburg and the team here. I would have said "let's hire this man yesterday."
But the mystery candidate is our old HC that we just fired. So it's gonna be awkward AF and it doesn't feel like a great way to start off the new regime.
At the end of the day, the awkwardness will be heavier on us and far less for JMFF/Pry/Staff/Players.
I think that group of folks will get over it like.....they already have.
It's really as simple as that.
Roanoke Times says it's a done deal.