Report: Virginia Tech targeting former head coach Brent Pry as defensive coordinator

Key Highlights

• The added finances would put the Hokies among the top three schools in the ACC in terms of financial support. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementVirginia Tech’s fortunes changed in October when Penn State fired Franklin after a 3-3 start, only nine months after he had almost led the Nittany Lions to the national championship game.
• The Hokies immediately targeted Franklin and one month later, signed him as the program’s new head coach. Franklin went to work immediately, taking Virginia Tech’s 2026 recruiting class from the 120s into the top 25 — without a coaching staff in place. Pry and Franklin are close, dating back to Franklin’s time as a quarterback at East Stroudsburg in the 1990s.
• Pry’s father, Jim, was his offensive coordinator.
• Brent Pry’s first full-time coaching job was on that staff, serving as the outside linebackers/defensive backs coach.
• Pry and Franklin developed a close friendship, and when Franklin landed his first head coaching job with Vanderbilt, Pry was on his staff for all three seasons as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Pry followed Franklin to Penn State, serving as his defensive coordinator for the majority of his tenure there, before accepting the Virginia Tech head coaching position in late 2021.