Before the 2025 season began, there was a big target on the back of Brent Pry as head football coach at Virginia Tech. Coming off an extremely disappointing 2024 season that saw the Hokies begin the season with a lot of hype, even pegged by multiple college football writers as a dark horse for the 12-team College Football Playoff, and finished 6-6.
The writing was on the wall from the opening game of the season when the Hokies went to Nashville and dropped an overtime decision to the Commodores. Despite a win over Virginia Thanksgiving Weekend to make Virginia Tech bowl-eligible, it was still a major letdown of a season.
Pry couldn't afford a hiccup to begin the season, and opening the season against South Carolina and Vanderbilt was not the best way to begin the season. The Hokies dropped both games, and after a disappointing loss in Week 3 at home to Old Dominion, the school decided to part ways with Pry.
Little did he, or anyone else know that he wouldn't be gone too long.
Brent Pry excited to be back at Virginia Tech after being fired last September
One month after Pry was fired, so was James Franklin at Penn State. As soon as that happened, Virginia Tech's search committee didn't waste time going after the best free agent coach available. After a month of rumors, Franklin was officially hired as the next coach in Blacksburg.
Two weeks into his tenure, he made some changes, flipped a dozen of his Penn State Class of 2026 commits to Virginia Tech before signing day. He also plucked some of his former coaches in State College to follow him to Virginia Tech. Oh, did we mention that he also brought Pry back?
Yes, that's right, Franklin hired Brent Pry as his defensive coordinator, the same position he held at Penn State under Franklin before accepting the Virginia Tech job. How weird was that? Brent Pry returning to the same school, having to walk through the same doors every day after being fired three months earlier? How is he feeling in mid-June after spring practices are in the book and all eyes are shifting toward next season?
"Honestly, day-to-day, I'm loving being back in that coordinator's chair, love the staff I'm working with, love the players I'm working with. I can't remember being this excited to take the practice field or to walk into meetings. So it's refreshing that way. I mean, I always loved being that guy. And so I feel fortunate to get to do it again,'' Pry said.
It takes a lot for someone to do what Pry is doing. Fired and then rehired in a different position at that same school three months later. It's not easy, but Pry and Franklin are handling it as if nothing happened. They thrived together at Penn State in the same roles that they now have at Virginia Tech. There is no reason to think that they can't again, and if they do, this awkward situation will be a thing of the past.
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