When Virginia Tech Head Coach Brent Pry announced the dismissal of three members of his coaching staff last week, he acknowledged that their "on-field results have not met our standards." As a result, he made the difficult personal decision to let go of defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Chris Marve, offensive line coach Ron Crook, and strength and conditioning coach Dwight Galt IV.
A look into Tech's oft-maligned performance in one score games since Pry's arrival offer a real glimpse into why change was necessary and why the changes he made were the right ones.
The below chart shows the current Atlantic Coast Conference schools and their record in one-score games from 2022-2024, which covers Coach Pry's tenure. The ACC in total over the past three years is 132-126 in games decided by 8 points or less (51.1%). This makes sense when you consider the macro view that records in close games should revert to a mean of around .500. The Hokies' outlier performance is remarkable to put it mildly.
Team | W-L | Winning % |
|---|---|---|
Georgia Tech | 10-5 | 67% |
Syracuse | 10-5 | 67% |
NC State | 11-6 | 65% |
Boston College | 10-6 | 63% |
Clemson | 8-5 | 62% |
Florida State | 8-5 | 62% |
Duke | 11-8 | 58% |
North Carolina | 10-8 | 56% |
Pittsburgh | 7-6 | 54% |
SMU | 7-6 | 54% |
Louisville | 8-7 | 53% |
Miami | 7-8 | 47% |
Stanford | 6-8 | 43% |
UVa | 6-9 | 40% |
Wake Forest | 6-10 | 38% |
California | 6-12 | 33% |
Virginia Tech | 1-12 | 8% |
No one in the ACC is even remotely close to the Hokies' futility over the past three seasons. Eleven of the 17 schools are over .500. Five of Tech's losses in 2024 fit this description, and one can only dream of what a somewhat pedestrian 3-2 record would have meant for the program. Clearly, in-game decision-making needs to improve. But personnel changes were needed, too.
Offensive Line performance and recruiting both suffered on Ron Crook's watch, and the portal departures after the season didn't help matters. Tech has had very little continuity in its OL coaches in recent years, so Crook's replacement is an important one.
But the two other replacements are arguably more important. Pry mentioned conditioning at the beginning of the year and latter half of the year as notable reasons for a switch to the Strength & Conditioning spot. Anyone who sat in the heat of FirstBank Stadium in Nashville remembers seeing significant wilting, particularly on defense. Whether it's Jarrett Ferguson or someone external to the program, the new leader will need to uplift the athletes' resiliency and conditioning levels.
Lastly, Pry obviously thought very highly of Chris Marve, who still has a bright future ahead of him. But a Total Defense ranking of 45th when returning nearly the entirety of last season's 51st-ranked defense wasn't enough improvement. And the lack of in-game adjustments was troubling.
2024 Season | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4/OT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Points Allowed | 48 | 52 | 99 | 74 |
% of Total | 18% | 19% | 36% | 27% |
The Hokies' defense seemed to get outclassed coming out of halftime again and again. Their scoring differential was -35 in the third quarter, and +118 otherwise. The new coordinator has to be more adept at adjustments.
Tech fans will no doubt be interested in the changes that are made and hope that more 50/50 games go their way.