The Ripple Effect: Brent Pry
Jaden Del Guercio is back, continuing a series of articles examining each of the 16 head coach firings, the fallout, the path forward, and the ripple effect on other coaching positions.
Jaden Del Guercio is a college sports enthusiast from Los Angeles, California. His passions are college football and hockey. He is another Oregon Ducks fan and is not afraid to let you know about it. He makes his writing debut for CFBDepth after helping behind the scenes with data collection and insights during the 2025 season.
Virginia Tech football’s identity was forged over 29 seasons by legendary head coach Frank Beamer, who transformed the program into a perennial contender with 238 wins and a 1999 National Championship appearance. However, following Beamer’s retirement in 2015, the Hokies struggled to maintain that elite status. After a mediocre six-year stretch under Justin Fuente, they turned to Brent Pry in 2022 to restore their “blue-collar” roots. While Pry initially showed promise, leading the team to its first bowl win since 2016 during a 7-6 campaign in 2023, a disappointing 6-7 finish in 2024—marked by a 0-5 record in one-score games—left the program at a critical crossroads.
Entering the 2025 season, expectations were high, but quickly gave way to a historic collapse that fundamentally reshaped the program. The Hokies opened with an 0-3 start, punctuated by a lopsided 45-26 home loss to Old Dominion, leading to Pry’s dismissal on September 14, 2025. In a major shift, Virginia Tech hired former Penn State coach James Franklin in November to lead the program into 2026 and beyond. Remarkably, Franklin rehired Pry as his defensive coordinator for the 2026 season, reuniting the long-time colleagues in a bid to finally return Blacksburg to the national prominence of the Beamer era.
How it went down
The hype surrounding the 2025 Virginia Tech season quickly evaporated as the Hokies stumbled to an abysmal 0–3 start, their worst opening since Frank Beamer’s first year in 1987. Following a 24–11 loss to South Carolina in Atlanta, the team returned home only to suffer a collapse against Vanderbilt. Despite leading 20–10 at halftime, the Hokies allowed 34 unanswered points in a 44–20 defeat, during which none of their five second-half drives even gained 20 yards.
The final blow came in Week 3 against Old Dominion. The Hokies were booed off the field at halftime while trailing 28–0, eventually falling 45–26 in what marked the program’s first-ever home loss to the Monarchs. Over a four-quarter stretch spanning the Vanderbilt and ODU games, Pry’s squad was outscored 62–0. Beyond the 16–24 overall record, the defining metric of Pry’s tenure was an extraordinary inability to win close games, finishing 1–12 in one-possession contests.
The university administration ultimately determined the on-field results were “not acceptable,” making Pry the first major coaching casualty of the season. Brent Pry was officially fired on September 14, 2025.
A quick plug for the “The Year That Was: 2025-26” magazine that we are actively working on. This is a data-driven, almanac-style publication to relive the year on and off the field. It’s a must-have for true college football fans. Release: Mid-April.
The Transition to James Franklin
Following the firing of Brent Pry, the Virginia Tech faithful demonstrated their loyalty to the program, with Lane Stadium sold out the very next week, displaying an electrifying atmosphere against FCS opponent Wofford. Interim Head Coach Philip Montgomery went 3-3 to conclude the season, but the real headline is the quick hiring of dismissed Penn State coach James Franklin. With the addition of Franklin, Blacksburg is full of excitement about the future, as they landed a well-respected, tenured coach who is capable of bringing the Hokies back to relevance. The decision to re-hire Pry as defensive coordinator was a wise one, as it helped retain a ton of talent in the portal and the recruiting cycle. Virginia Tech finished top 30 among most of the top recruiting sites for 2026, which is nearly the best they have recruited since Beamer’s tenure. Franklin’s arrival was noticeable immediately as they finished the cycle ranked 30th amongst FBS teams in CFBDepth’s transfer portal churn rate rankings. Although they went 3-9 in 2025, there is a buzz flowing throughout the program that they have not felt in a long time.
The Ripple Effect
Any major head coaching firing or dismissal is a trigger event that can lead to a wide-ranging ripple effect. Let’s take a look at how this firing and eventual new hire impacted other jobs around college football:
Brent Pry fired by Virginia Tech »»» Virginia Tech hires former Penn State head coach James Franklin »»» Penn State hires Matt Campbell away from Iowa State »»» Iowa State hires Jimmy Rogers away from Washington State »»» Washington State hires Missouri OC Kirby Moore »»» Missouri hires former Michigan OC Chip Lindsey.
The New Staff
Franklin has rapidly overhauled Virginia Tech’s coaching staff for the 2026 season by blending familiar faces from his Penn State tenure with key holdovers from the previous regime. His most high-profile and unusual move was the rehiring of Brent Pry as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Pry previously served as Franklin’s defensive coordinator at both Vanderbilt and Penn State. This “full circle” appointment allowed Franklin to leverage Pry’s deep knowledge of the current roster and his extensive history of leading top-25 defenses.
Franklin further fortified his staff by bringing several key assistants from Penn State to Blacksburg in early 2026, including offensive coordinator Ty Howle and quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien. To maintain program continuity and local recruiting ties, he retained established assistants such as offensive line coach Matt Moore and wide receivers coach Fontel Mines. This hybrid staff immediately impacted the program, spearheading a “recruiting masterclass” that flipped 11 former Penn State commits to Virginia Tech in the portal and propelled the Hokies’ 2026 recruiting class into the top 25 according to the recruiting services. Here is a look at the full coaching staff:
Will it Work?
One of the more fascinating aspects of this hire for Virginia Tech is the fact that Franklin’s situation is perfect for the trajectory of this program. He needed to step away from a pressure-filled program with exceptionally high expectations and find somewhere to implement a solid culture and will have a bit of a leash to get this job done. Virginia Tech is desperately searching for a path back to relevancy and this unexpected development might be the golden ticket back to the top. If Franklin were to go 8-4 with Penn State, he would receive immense scrutiny, that same eight wins with the Hokies is a success and step back in the right direction. That seems to be a fair expectation for the 2026 season in Blacksburg.