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I don't understand your point.
Absolutely. It's the extreme version of cross-training, or the reverse of a management training program. The value in both of those is understanding the needs of other "departments" so you can add greater value to the entire organization. Pry's storyline isn't finished, chapters are still being drafted. The guy clearly helped recruit Franklin to VT (even if it was only by not disparaging the program or administration). Some of the greatest steps forward come with a healthy dose of humility - learning where one is strongest and where they may need further development.
In the meantime, Hokies get to benefit from yet another unique storyline. Has this ever happened before? Coordinator becomes HC, fired and replaced with previous HC, then returns to coordinator position for old boss at new school? This is the kind of story for telenovelas - ESPN talking heads are going to eat this up next season. More eyes on VT = more $$$. Brilliant.
This is where the eye test comes into play in a significant way. Sayin and Howard benefitted from being on a death star roster against a relatively weak schedule. Look how Sayin looked against the first real test of their season on Saturday. I think Sayin has a bright future, but he has been throwing to two guys who are guaranteed to be several yards open downfield on almost any given play.
McCarthy and Nix are efficiency merchants, Maiava is a Lincoln Riley tax situation, etc.
However, my comment was not meant to mean that "nobody" has been good, Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart were good last season. Jayden Daniels the year before (who took a HUGE step forward in terms of doing real QB things as a passer), but that the overall level of QB play has dropped significantly as almost everyone uses these simplified systems that make life easier on the QB at the sacrifice of ability to do high level QB things like process multiple reads, anticipate throws into complex coverages in the intermediate middle of the field. So much of modern QB play is screens and passes downfield outside the numbers. Tons of guys only dare throw over the middle when they have someone visibly wide open or on an RPO, again, likely schemed open. It's lacking real ability to read coverages, process reads, and anticipate throws. The most impressive thing I've seen this season was Ty Simpson's midseason run where he was consistently throwing over the middle and making these real NFL, intermediate throws while processing at a high level, setting protections, etc. However, he has dropped off a lot in terms of his play/confidence, and the lack of running game has made life harder on him for sure. I think the way Ty looked midseason is in no small part to the time spent in the program, at one program, to really learn the offense and how to play QB.
Gotcha. It seemed like others were saying he was doing it because of that reason (he's "free" so they can use the money elsewhere).
I wholeheartedly agree - if he's a great candidate, do it for that reason, just a bonus of not having to pay him (at least initially).
Here's the thing though...
Alabama got boat raced by UGA. That game was less competitive throughout than the BIG12 Title game. Additionally, as Herbie said, Alabama has been leaking oil for 6 weeks now. They do have a couple of "big wins", but also they lost to FSU, then later in the season struggled to grind out wins against teams that aren't very good.
We are all nit-picking here because at the end of the day there are only about 3-4 teams that can win it all anyway. None of those teams are playing in the first round.
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.
And we were still significantly underfunded compared to other programs
Mostly agree. They aren't as critical individually, and you don't know they could be at the time. Until the end of the year, like last week or conference championships. (See the ACC) The only one that was this year, and again, not known at the time, was Miami-Notre Dame.
In my mind, it could have been as simple as Franklin and Pry wanting to work together, and Pry saying "man, I'm good in terms of money with the buyout I'm owed. Let's use the rest of the budget to get an incredible staff." I have no inside knowledge of their discussions, but given the mutual enthusiasm for making something work and how highly the two men speak of each other, I can see this being a "let's use the situation we have to make everything else better" kind of deal.
2021: CJ stroud QBR 91.6, Bryce Young 87.6 (#1 & 2 in ratings)
2022: Hendon Hooker 89.5, CJ Stroud 88.9 (Bryce Young 86.2)
2023: Jayden Daniels 95.6, Bo Nix 91.2, JJ McCarthy 88.2
2024: Will Howard 89.6, Cam Ward 88.7
2025: Jayden Maiava 91.2, Julian Sayin 89.6
I do think that - because of the playoff - no single game means as much as it used to, even though there are more games that matter. That is a function of the playoff.
I really think that if NIL/player compensation is unchanged, and the 12-team playoff is left as is, but conferences returned to their 2009/10 state, there's no mainstream complaints about 'the sport'.
To add, I wonder if his time as a head coach will even improve his capability as a DC. He now knows what it was like to plan an offense and special teams (even if they weren't good). Your aperture on your specialty usually widens whenever you're forced to view said specialty from another/opposing perspective.
Is it really a lack of quality QB play, or is it that the OL talent is more spread out so even a great team dipping into the 2nd string represents a lot more pressure than those QBs would have been subject to a few years ago?
Same for the WRs if one team would have had three guys who are all the number 1 guy at three different schools now.
Yup, looks like the only bowl eligible teams to back out are Notre Dame, Iowa State, and K-State. Everyone else who declined was 5-7 and being asked to fill those slots at the last minute after already starting the bowl-less offseason process.
I kind of get Iowa State, because PSU really messed up their schedule by taking their coach. But K-State? The coach is retiring...give him a going away party.
I made my bucket trip to watch the Hokies beat ND in front of Touchdown Jesus. We can end the association now. Good luck joining the b12 for all your Olympic sports.
I think something that has been lost in the last three years, in particular, is that the football has been of a lower quality. Some of that is due to the level of QB play, which has fallen off a cliff since Bryce Young and CJ Stroud got drafted. I'm interested to see if it's only a season, and trends back up, or if it's a permanent loss of quality at the top end.
Some of the other teams that backed out were 5-7, and were already advancing in their offseason plans as if they did not have another game, so it would have forced them to reorganize their schedules around suddenly getting an invite.
Notre Dame just straight took their ball and went home.
No... but his salary goes against money already paid/promised.
I have wondered this myself. I had this idea that, because there were SO many transfers on the team last year, and our team was so 'super buns' as my kids say, that there was no loyalty or buy in for VT at large and Brent Pry in general.
They did play harder after Pry was fired, and so I don't know how that jives, but honestly, if JMFF wants Pry as his DC, then I'm good with it. He did pretty well at Penn State, and our defense has been SO BAD. Heres hoping we get the ship righted quickly.
I do wonder how much his personal life factored into it. Coaches move a lot, but he's moved ~twice in 15 years? Does he want to get back to relocating his family every 1-3 years? And now his kids are middle school aged - a tough time to move a family. And he gets to work for his best friend again.
Definitely a hit to his pride (would be a hit to mine), but I can understand doing it as well.
I don't actually think he's doing this but if I just got fired and they paid me $49M to fire me then someone else immediately offered me a job with a similarly ridiculous contract. I'd be riding the 'for cause' border pretty tightly.
Notre Dame would never get the same kind of TV money as part of a conference than on their own, because NBC is massively overpaying for the ND content.
ND"s NBC deal gets them roughly $50 million a year. To be comparable, ESPN would need to pay $900 million per year to the ACC just for football games, and that's assuming each team gets an even share and there's no cut off the top for the conference.
The ACC generated under $500 million in revenue from TV alone in 2023-24 and that's including all sports.
Yes, that's exactly it. Franklin, coming in right off a firing, sat and thought to himself "that was fun. Getting fired was fun. I want to hire the worst people possible, so I can get fired again, and then potentially not be able to work in D1 again, at least for a number of years."
OR
He wants to do well and is hiring the guy he thinks will help him do it, kind of like when he had him on staff at Penn State.
Yep-other cast members include Ralph Macchio (Karate Kid) and Mark Hamill(Luke Skywalker)
College Football is wack....
but, Go Hokies