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Good on Duke for winning a ACC championship right before the league implodes because they won the championship
Saw some rumblings we wanted Kerhes but he took Cuse's offer
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.
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
The Bud analogy is a good one. This and typing out my post below is making me come around on the idea.
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...
A few things:
- Doesn't the head coach make the final decision on all his staff? If so, the defensive staff would be Franklin's decision, not Pry's.
- With that in mind, there is a far better qualified list of assistants that would follow an accomplished James Franklin to VT than did for Pry.
- I seem to remember Pry absolutely pining for time with the defense, especially early in his tenure. He is a defensive coordinator at heart, and was quite a good one at PSU. It remains to be seen whether he has lost a step coaching defense full-time, where he doesn't have to manage the clock, plan and manage the offense and special teams as well, etc.
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.
Gotcha. Just finished the uva duke game we recorded last night. Ha! Will get back to you soon.
Not really liking it but I am a huge fan of awkward moments and this will be a very awkward moment.
Conferences are temporary. Hating LOLUVA is forever.
LT Rob, was thinking about this yesterday as I was sipping on my morning coffee. You have been one of, or the most active member on this site for going one at least a year. I have given praise to Joe, French, Shelton, Brian, Chumps, Guitar, Alum (Have to mention him. The dude's got over 200K legs), Bar, and others, but I have failed to stop and give you a huge spoonful of paise and appreciation.
You are a consummate TKP Member. I think a little reflection post Thanksgiving popped this thought in my head.
Many thanks for all that you do.
Okay, I am glad UVa lost and all. But I really didn't need to see this right after breakfast.
Could we have our first ever Duke giftory?! Hahaha
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.
The ACC has a formerly-Twitter account?! Seems like an organization that is run the way the ACC is would be using MySpace.
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?
How drunk is everyone at the ACC office?
Another shining example of the All Clown Conference being its bumbling self....
They belong here. They belong in the CFP.🏆 @DukeFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/HCE4pvCDvg— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) December 7, 2025
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.
ive thought this for years. Way before the Playoffs. Why not play an equal number of games.
Edit: I thought this when games would be cheaper due to not having California teams as part of the geographically challeneged coast conference.
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?
Even more ironic is the fact that now JMU will likely get into the playoff over them. Sweet delicious tears of unfathomable sadness galore
A little late to the party but FAM!
I really like this but they wont do it, especially the SEC because it might cost them more of their Precious in terms of the CFP.
LETS GO
I kind of expect Duffy to let Fournier have a normal game....but limit the supporting cast. That was how they approached Florida so I think we will see more of that.
As for Duke shooting, they are sporadic inside. They have ranged from 32% against Baylor to as high as 62% against LSU. Three games in the 30-40% range (Baylor, South Carolina, UCLA). Three games in the 40-50% range (Holy Cross, WVU, South Florida). Three games in the 50+% range (Norfolk St, Liberty, LSU). Two of their three worst games are against top ranked defenses. Two of tgeir best games were against the least talented teams they faced so no surprise there. No idea on how they did so well against LSU inside. That outlier makes me wonder if they figured something out as that was their last game and it wasnt on a limited shot total (21/34).
Perimeter shooting is more stable with a couple up and a couple way down but 32%+/-7% seems normal.
Free throws may not be a factor as they dont get to the line at a significant pace outside of South Florida (29) and Norfolk St (31). Even with those two outliers, they are only averaging 17.8 attempts per game.
They are not a very good rebounding team. They have only had more than 35 in two games (Holy Cross and Norfolk St)
The one thing they do excel at is forcing turnovers. Opponents are turning the ball over 16 times a game and have only been less than 15 in three games. The Hokies need to limit transition baskets.