We are under three months away from the 2026 college football season beginning. There is a lot of excitement around Virginia Tech going into a new season after there was a lot of turnover with the Hokies program.
Last September, the school fired former head coach Brent Pry after a 0-3 start. There was a two-month search for the next head coach in Blacksburg, and the Virginia Tech search committee had the perfect candidate fall into their lap after James Franklin was fired at Penn State.
Going after Franklin and putting all their chips into the middle of the table was a no-brainer for Virginia Tech. They are starting to invest more into football and athletics, which was something they had to do to get a coach like Franklin to come to Blacksburg.
Franklin coming to Virginia Tech and the school committing more resources to the program is certainly not something that ACC schools and coaches were ready for. It should not take the former Vanderbilt and Penn State coach long to turn things around and wake up a sleeping giant in the Hokies. Andy Staples of On3 released ACC football coaches' rankings. Let's just say that this list will be discussed for a long, long time.
James Franklin ranked as No. 2 head coach in the ACC going into 2026 campaign
Let's just say that these rankings are, well, something else. Mario Cristobal at No. 1 is understandable. Franklin coming in at No. 2 is certainly a decision over Dabo Swinney of Clemson, who was No. 3. Bill Belichick at North Carolina was No. 16 and two slots behind Bill O'Brien of Boston College. Yikes.
NEW: ACC head football coach rankings📈
— On3 (@On3) June 17, 2026
(via @AndyStaples) https://t.co/IYHLaNBqGo pic.twitter.com/FXPwgjrZlM
As far as Franklin goes, despite the success he's had at his previous stops, his struggles in big games against good teams are something that he needs to change the narrative with. Now, he'll face some of those games in Blacksburg, but they're not going to be as many as there were in the Big Ten at Penn State and in the SEC at Vanderbilt. He'll get some tests this season at SMU and at Miami in November. He'll visit Swinney and Clemson in October.
This ranking was not Franklin's fault, and it is Staples' opinion. Many are going to disagree with it, but you can bet the Penn State trolls are triggered by this and will talk about it for a long time. If Franklin and the Hokies go to Clemson and beat Swinney and the Tigers, well, this ranking won't look as bad as it does now in some fans' eyes.
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