When Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry following a Week 3 loss at home to Old Dominion, it didn't come as a surprise. The Hokies fell to 0-3 and looked like a team that was checked out, even though the season was just three weeks old.
As soon as the move happened, Virginia Tech formed a search committee to find the next head coach, and this was a hire that they needed to nail. They needed to find the right guy to turn around a program that has been looking to get back to the Frank Beamer days. Little did they know that the next coach was about to fall into their lap.
Three weeks after Pry was fired, Penn State dismissed James Franklin after a third straight loss. Six weeks later, he was hired as the next head coach in Blacksburg.
CFB analyst tabs Virginia Tech coaching carousel winner
Josh Pate, on his Sunday night college football show, named some of the winners of what was a crazy coaching carousel that happened this past fall. He named Virginia Tech as a school that nailed the cycle with the hiring of Franklin.
"Pound for pound, Virginia Tech nailed this coaching cycle better than anyone did,'' said Pate. "Virginia Tech was sitting there, and they fired Brent Pry. They have a coaching opening, then, out of nowhere, Penn State fires easily a Top 15 head coach (James Franklin) easily. You are not a Top 20 caliber program right now. Virginia Tech hasn't been a Top 30 caliber program, and a Top 15 head coach just falls into your lap. By the way, the dude you just fired (Pry), he hires as his defensive coordinator.
"No catch, no strings attached, no scandals, no NCAA sanctions. They just got James Franklin, who had been in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff less than a calendar year before. Virginia Tech killed it. They crushed it.''
Pate is right, this is a coaching cycle that Virginia Tech could have failed with, but they nailed it by quickly acting on Franklin being fired. The timing was also perfect in terms of the athletic department pumping in money over time for the programs, which helped big time in landing Franklin. A year ago, he likely wouldn't have taken the job in Blacksburg. Timing is everything.