He's here 👊 pic.twitter.com/IMLKDdf1x2— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) December 1, 2021
Giving me the most interesting man vibes in this pic, deserves its own thread.
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rustic, mountain man...love the casual attire. jeans, loose fitting, non-dress shirt, and I mean business but Frank Beamer-ish jacket. I have a crush.
Were you one of those Cuomosexuals? 🤣
I'm excited about the hire but not gonna hornypost over it. Now if we sign some 5 stars...
Edit: The idea of sexualizing a public figure is not inherently political just because the person happens to be in politics. It's a phenomena applicable here
"I don't often become a head coach, but when I do it's to coach Virginia Tech!" - Brent Pry, probably.
"I don't often change jobs ..but when I do it's to come to Blacksburg and fill the trophy case!"
StartJumping!
EDIT-BEAT MY ORIGINAL POST BY 17 SECONDS -I'LL DRINK LOL
I like yours a little better, tbh.
That to me looks like a guy who can't wait to get to work
As an actual Captain, I love it when people say this...
Treat Williams vibes.
Good post, good avatar (tonight's game in Toronto notwithstanding).
Right on. Not enough western conference hockey fans on this site.
....let's get Kraken 🦑🦑
(Please feel free to throw all of the shade my way, I literally just started watching the NHL lol)
Welcome aboard. Nothing beats NHL playoffs.
The Hokies beating uva at Lane Stadium North EASILY beats any hockey game.
While I agree with you that I'd rather see VT beat UVA in just about any scenario, I'm referencing sport to sport. Football doesn't have more tension than playoff hockey.
Playoff Capitals game vs Pittsburgh was the best sporting environment pre game and during game I've ever witnessed.
Playoff hockey is something else.
Playoff hockey is truly special.
With that being said, I'm a Sabres fan..I don't get to experience it very often
That's tough. It's hard as a Caps fan to get our heart ripped out nearly every year but 2018 was awesome.
Having experienced both in person, agree to disagree
I'm not belittling anyone's choices of sports entertainment. You enjoy things more when you understand what is going on and / or have some experience being involved with the sport. I played a little bit of baseball (local American Legon), four years of track (where I was good but not exceptional - my best time in the mile was 4:58 / and 4:25 for 1500 meters), one year of cross country and one year of high school football (as a junior on the JV team, to give you an idea of how unskilled I was - plus being less than 130 pounds). My experiences gave me an appreciation for those sports.
Hockey, soccer, lacrosse, table tennis, swimming, gymnastics, etc. are all sports but don't move the needle for me. Viva la diference'!
Glad to be here! The win over Edmonton last night was awesome. I have definitely found another passion in sports
Looks like he's stepping off the Hokie plane in charlottesville about ready to give all of hooville the big finger
Oh man... Talk about Super Power Play Move:
Pry gets off the plane in Charlottesville donning VT gear, makes his way to Scott Stadium offices and UVA admin is perplexed.
Pry apologizes for the confusion as states he Google Mapped Lane Stadium and went to the wrong one. Turns around and throws up the bird on the way out.
If we had hired Spurrier, this absolutely would have happened.
Spurrier's troll game is 💯
He's here and he's handsome.
Gosh, he sure is better on the eyes than this guy:
hollow voids
Caption: So, you let the quarterback "make reads"?
Live look at Corn trying to breakdown film.
This is a super cool photo shared by WSLS. I'm a Rockbridge native and went to what is now RCHS, but along with Parry McCluer in Buena Vista which is still there, there used to be Lexington High, Natural Bridge High, and the old Rockbridge high in Fairfield. Coach Pry is #2 there in front for the old Lexington Scarlet Hurricane. Looks like a photo along with players from Parry McCluer High and Natural Bridge High under the Natural Bridge. Awesome!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsls.com/sports/2021/11/30/virginia-tec...
Does anyone know if #7 is Pug Merchant?
Talked with someone today about this pic who said that it was.
Man I spent the better part of one Friday night chasing that dude all around the cow pasture Lexington HS used to play on. I caught him once or twice but that guy had some wheels.
Lol, yep Brewbaker Field. It's still used a lot by the area rec league for youth sports. Consolidation here in the early 90s ended the great local rivalries here between the high schools. Rockbridge County high is now 3A and they still play Parry McCluer (1A) annually for nostalgia, but it's not the same as the rivalries between the old four 1A schools, even though PM has still every now and then been able to knock off Rockbridge. Lexington High is now Maury River Middle which I attended.
You can't convince that Pug Merchant isn't a anagram of his real name
What a cool name.
He is wearing a maroon shirt, so plus 1 (no VT logo that I can see). If he was wearing orange pants, he would have failed my initial eye test.
NOTE: They probably don't have much Chicago Maroon and Burnt Orange choices at PSU, so he gets a pass for today. s/
You'd think they'd have a party platter of VT swag on the plane for him to choose from?
He's got the whole fam in maroon!
Putting Mrs. Pry front and center...smart man.
Whit looks pretty damn happy.
Beautiful picture.
The older 2 kids were clearly not ready for the attention, or they need a restroom.
The Mrs doesn't have to stand behind Mrs. Franklin anymore, so she's beaming.
The little one just got serenaded by the Marching Virginians, she's ecstatic.
Assuming the older two kids are teenagers, the facial expressions check out 100%.
To coach's credit, they just got uprooted and yanked out of school, moved to VA with probably very little warning.
Oh, I'm not criticizing them, I'm just saying grumpy is the default setting for many teens. I appreciate the realness.
Pry said in one of the interviews that his oldest is a 19 year old sophomore at Penn State. Don't know that he will be moving. Also he definitely doesn't look 19. I thought my 20 year old VT son had a baby face but that guy looks 16.
edit: He looks a little happier in the VT swag so maybe he is rethinking his college decision.
They look nice all geared up.
That wallpaper choice made me shiver.
Guessing that is inside The Grove at VT?
I've always liked to think that somewhere in the Grove there is a hidden doorway that leads to a secret passage that leads to a hatch that opens up in the middle of the Grove in Oxford.
Nope, it leads to Narnia.
Eh, the job comes with a house and unlike the WH, you don't have a giant pool of money to do redecorating and remodeling. It is what it is.
This is going to sound incredibly cheesy but he honestly does have a beautiful family (not a statement I ever thought I would say).
I think having a well-rooted family man (like Fuente) is such an important element of the VT HC in particular.
If I was making my introduction as our Head Coach, I'd have fun with it, make a grand entrance, and try to intimidate our opponents at the same time.
I'd have VT recreate this scene as much as possible for the presser:
Look. I love the Hokies, but if I were named VT coach, my intro would probably be like Vader's introduction
You mean this introduction, right?? *ducks*
Yes
Yeah. In
Scott stadium.Lane NorthIs that Whit's wife beside him? I've never seen his wife.
I think that must be Sands wife in the back, this look like it is at Sands house (with the Grandma wallpaper)
Edit: and I think that is Pry's wife on the right.
We did good. Compare this to dumpy ass Brian Kelly getting off a plane in Baton Rouge.....and our new coach never killed a kid.
Someone on VT Scoop going by the username Ronald_McRawDog said:
And I've never laughed so hard in my life.
Message Board Geniuses found that one. Excellent stuff.
One of my favorite accounts on twitter.
Ronald_McRawDog
Username checks out
The fanbase seems downright PRYapistic with this hire.
He's a spitting young image of this guy indeed.
Seems super grateful to be in Blacksburg! I loved seeing him and James Mitchell shake hands and seeing him face timing in Lane. Also, loved him telling the Marching Virginians "we're going to do this thing now, it's going take you all too!" This is so refreshing to see!
Chills. So glad they got video of it all. If I had the physical stature to run through a wall, I'd run through a wall for that guy.
Showed this to my wife. "I already know more about him than Fuente"
Haha, same
I thought the same. He is very likeable and the school is doing a great job showing off our new toy and including the fans!
Love this video! It was so cool seeing him soaking it all in. He looks happy to be here. Damn I hope this is the guy to put it all together for us!
Pumped. Let's see where this thing goes. We Hokies trust, but we also Verify!
Gotta say I'm just a little disappointed he's not wearing a sweater this morning.
That is for the other Brent.
Literally every local beat writer has called Pry "the sweater hire"
Seems like low hanging fruit.
Also damned if that sweater isn't stylish
Pry is ALL IN! I think the fact that he spent some time as a GA and is familiar with a lot of our traditions (Enter Sandman will be new to him) is a big bonus. I also like the more open feel of the program in the last 24 hours, although I think this was the case with Fuente, too when he was hired.
Yeah I mean, new life new energy. Thats how it always is. I remember similar vibes with Fuente. Hope it goes better this time.
Eh, I feel like it probably will. Penn State has a ton of videos out there. My guess is that being out there in social media is a somewhat understood need in terms of reaching players nowadays. I don't think Fuente got that, but coming from PSU, I'd bet Pry knows/understands it (having a teen son may help too - whereas Fuentes kids are younger).
Yeah, it seems important to me as well. But its not a difficult concept, and I find it hard to believe the whole idea was lost on Fuente. I think he made a conscious choice to manage things a certain way and prioritize what he thought was most valuable. Whether the whole lack of social media was a true cause for the recruiting decline and eventual on field failures is tough to evaluate. I guess we'll get another data point over the next few years. I tend to think the facility and dorm upgrades were a bigger deal, which is something Fuente fought hard for and didn't actually get to reap the rewards of (though the last class was looking up). Pry is starting in better shape there.
They already have people on staff that should be taking care of that though. Whether it's having a guy in the lead position that's too old to understand the importance of social media, Fuente not wanting/liking to get in front of a video camera, or something else, I think Fuente really hurt himself and the program overall in that respect (you know, in addition to the on-field woes).
Well, he didnt make any extra friends by being media shy, thats for sure. But if it wasn't related to the on field issues, then even if he had been Mr Media, he still would have lost his job.
I still sorta see that whole thing as a lightning rod for fan anger, rather than a proximate cause of the decline.
I don't disagree - we could think a lot of things could be better, but if you're winning a lot of games, who cares? And I'm not saying a coach HAS to do anything specific, especially if their way works. But do think, in general, having a social media presence is important nowadays. You can kinda keep in touch with recruits even during dead periods (not directly, but if they follow your social media accounts, and you're putting out good content, that's better than them not hearing anything from/about your program for stretches of time).
Yeah good points. I guess when you have a big enough staff you can have people getting coffee and posting on social media for you.
Zoom call scheduled for Noon today with former players.
The first morning he wakes up in BBurg and is already embracing VT traditions and hanging out with the corps at PT. The man is off to a rock solid start in my eyes just by his communications with alumni and VT staples
Corps Commandant Facebook Post
Edit: u/Matthew beat me by posting a tweet but I'll leave this for the Commandant's quote
Gotta wonder if he actually woke up or just stayed up. Looks like he has the same clothes on lol
He is meeting with the team this morning, assuming 8am based on the pics on twitter.
It's pretty clear that Pry knows and cares about the traditions already.
Off to the right start with fans and alumni.
CBP about to go on a Seek and Destroy mission for every appearance of the word GRIT
and "Hard Smart Tough" I hope.
He understands!!
https://hokiesports.com/galleries/football/fb-coach-pry-facility-tour/co...
I want that tunnel to be either Hokie Stone, Dark Gray, or Black.....
Showerthought from this morning:
When coaches like Pry (or Brian Kelly, etc.) arrive at their new spot with just their family and some suitcases, how are living arrangements usually arranged? It's not like they've had time to scope out the local real estate market.
Donor's guest house? Spare house maintained by the university for situations like this? Nice hotel/Airbnb?
6th floor of Pritchard.
You would have to think VT owns a couple houses in the area.
I can't speak for universities, but when my company transplants people they (the company) usually pay for an extended stay place or rent a furnished apartment and then put them in touch with a real estate agent to start to look for a permanent place. People are free to use a different agent of course, but in a new area, its nice to not to have to try and find someone when you already have a million things you need to take care of.
For semi-local moves it isn't an issue, but for cross-country or international moves, finding someplace in advance is difficult even if it isn't short notice.
Well from the reports on the Lincoln Riley's deal with USCw the universities probably have some real estate. Isn't UCSw buying his 2 houses in Norman and buying him a home in LA.
VT probably just put them up at "The Inn & Skelton Conference Center"
This was disproven
Yep -- no freaking way USC can afford that, especially since the previous couch "only" made like 4.8 million and they paid like 10 million to buy him out.
Better hope he never ends up in Morgantown, he'll get burned
hopefully Whit connected Coach Pry with Principal Broker Jeremy Hart of Nest Realty NRV
Damn gobble gobble musta been a marketing major or something. Good look
When Fu came to Bburg he lived in a booster's house for awhile.
Got a voicemail from the new head coach this morning urging me to watch VT Football.
Identified Change in communication from the Head Coach.
Sounds to me like he is inviting us to come watch practice?
Coach hog!
More information on Pry's contract has come out.
Achievement bonuses:
Buyout Information:
Other Benefits:
$250k to win a natty. We should just double the dudes salary if that happens.
We may not be completely broke but we aren't Miami levels of money here yet.
I'm just sayin, with all the added advertising, merchandise, and fundraising boost that would come from a Natty, we could probably give him a $5m bonus for a CFP Championship and still come out ahead on the ledger.
My guess is if we win a Natty, the contract gets renegotiated.
The 'It's good to be the King' percs seems pretty standard executive compensation to me. I know 'Partners' in consulting firms (not CEOs) in NoVA that get a bunch of those same perks