It has been almost three weeks since Virginia Tech fired football coach Brent Pry after a dismal 0-3 start to the 2025 season. It ended a three-plus-year tenure in Blacksburg, where he went eight games under .500.
Virginia Tech is beginning its search for its next head coach with former Hokies' standout and Super Bowl winner Bruce Arians helping in that search. Just what direction the committee will go remains a mystery. Do they go with an experienced head coach and target someone from a power program, or do they dip their toes into the Group of 5 schools to find their next schedule?
The common consensus among all Virginia Tech fans is that they need someone with head coaching experience, preferably from a power conference school. That is easier said than done, but one interesting candidate may have popped up.
Former LSU coach Ed Orgeron wants to get back into coaching
According to Jacques Doucte of WAFB-TV, former Ole Miss and LSU head coach Ed Orgeron is getting the itch back to return to coaching after being out of the game as a head coach since 2021.
"All depends what the best thing available is, but I'm ready to coach again,'' said Orgeron. "I left a little bit of meat on the bone. I'm ready to go.''
One thing is for sure: Orgeron will have some schools to choose from, including Virginia Tech. First and foremost, he is a winner after leading LSU to a National Championship against Clemson, but his tenure there ended a couple of years later after some declining results.
Virginia Tech must get this next hire right. Since Frank Beamer retired, Justin Fuente and Pry have not been the answer in Blacksburg. Hiring Orgeron would give the Hokies a coach who has won in the SEC, and the results would be turned around quickly. However, there is draw back to hiring him as the results might be good in the beginning, but as we saw at LSU, a sharp decline sooner rather than later could be on the horizon.
Virginia Tech needs someone with swag, and Orgeron would provide that with his personality, but the results need to be sustained, and that might not be the case with him, as we saw at LSU. Buyer beware.