Turns Out Coaching Matters

Okay fine I'll admit it: I thought the Virginia Tech football team would overachieve this year.

Exposing your private cold takes isn't usually the best way to start one of these things, but here we are. It wasn't just blind fandom either. My wishful thinking felt logically grounded around two clear problems:

In 2024 Tech lost a ton of close games because they either ran out of gas in the second half of games (see Vanderbilt, Miami, Syracuse) or came in absolutely ill-prepared on defense (Rutgers, Duke, Vanderbilt again). Brent Pry seemed to agree, firing former defensive coordinator Chris Marve and strength coach Dwight Galt IV.

And not only did Pry fire them, he replaced them with two "rebounding-with-the-opposite-of-my-ex" hires. After flirting with Jim Knowles long enough to miss out on a few other DCs, Pry landed on Sam Siefkes–an alleged scheme maven who came with enough NFL lineage to make the Hokies defense exotic again. And in replacing Galt, Pry tapped hard ass Jarrett Ferguson to get his team in fighting shape again.

In this simpleton's mind, the team's biggest issues were fixed in the offseason! They added depth on defense, returned a coveted quarterback and seemed ready to turn the page with a roster full of Pry recruits.

I shopped this take to a few close Tech buddies, even talking a few into consuming the hopeium with me. I even tried to spread the good word to the very founder and editor of this beloved website. The conversation went something like this:

ME: (see above)

JOE: But what happens when they get in close games? What happens if Pry actually has to manage a game?

ME: (doesn't answer because I'm famously awful at texting, just ask Joe)