The Brent Pry era at Virginia Tech came to an end Sunday, three games into his fourth season at the school. At 16-24, Pry's .400 winning percentage will go down as the worst among Virginia Tech's more than two dozen head coaches since Charles Coffey went 12-20-1 from 1971-73.
"We appreciate Coach Pry’s efforts and service since 2021," Virginia Tech president Tim Sands said. "Unfortunately, the results on the field were not acceptable and a change in leadership is necessary."
What was the high point? Dec. 27, 2023. The Hokies blew out Tulane in the Military Bowl to conclude a 7-6 season. After a 2-4 start, the Virginia Tech concluded the year with a 5-2 spurt, including a 55-17 win over Virginia in Charlottesville to close the regular season. For all the things Pry didn't do in Blacksburg, he never lost to Virginia -- exiting stage left with a perfect 2-0 record. (The 2022 game was canceled due to the tragic murders at Virginia.) Overall, Virginia Tech is 23-2 in the Commonwealth Cup since 1999, and Pry had a hand in keeping the Hokies' intra-commonwealth dominance going.
Unfortunately, Virginia Tech lost the 2024 opener to Vanderbilt, and his teams were playing from behind from that moment on. Va Tech went 1-7 in Pry's last eight games -- the one win coming over UVA.
What was the low point? Saturday. It was either when the Hokies were booed off the Lane Stadium field with a 28-0 halftime deficit to Old Dominion, or when Pry tried to sell progress following the 45-26 loss. “I see the strides we’ve made as a program," Pry said.
Where did Pry go wrong? Virginia Tech was never better than middling on offense under Pry's leadership. The Hokies were 119th, 60th, and 88th in yards per play in his three full seasons, peaking at 64th in passing efficiency and 56th in scoring. The high points all around came in the 2023 season, with the offense taking a step back during last year's 6-7 campaign.
In a recurring theme today, the offensive coordinator of those teams, Tyler Bowen, left this winter to become the offensive line coach at Ohio State. The 2025 offense under new coordinator-turned-interim head coach Philip Montgomery ranks in or near the 100s across the board, but that move was made with more than a 3-game runway in mind.
Where did Virginia Tech go wrong? The writing was on the wall when AD Whit Babcock made a pitch to the school's board that the football program needed more money -- a lot of it, and fast. To keep Florida State, Clemson and others in the league, the conference is disproportionately funding the programs that win games and get on TV (not necessarily always the same thing), and doing so by effectively withholding money from the schools that don't win or get on TV.
Virginia Tech's glory days came when Frank Beamer could do less with more. Those days are over.
That doesn't excuse a 28-0 halftime deficit to Old Dominion, but Pry was unlikely to ever seriously compete for ACC championships and beyond.
Where does Pry go from here? At 51, Pry was on the older end of first-time head coaches, and his three-plus seasons of experience make it unlikely he will move directly into another head coaching position. A defensive coordinator of nearly 20 seasons at Louisiana, Georgia Southern, Vanderbilt and Penn State before Virginia Tech, Pry is a respected and connected defensive mind and will have no trouble finding a role of his choosing when he's ready.
Where does Virginia Tech go from here? Someone, probably in your conference, is going to bring James Madison head coach Bob Chesney to the "big leagues" sooner than later. Why not you?