Again, who says you can't go home? As awkward as it might be sometimes, everyone can go home sometimes.
When Virginia Tech decided to fire former football coach Brent Pry, it really didn't come as a surprise. It began to look like the Hokies were beginning to turn a corner entering the 2024 season with huge expectations, only to once again finish 6-6 and needing to beat Virginia in the regular season final just to become bowl-eligible. Not what even many national college football writers had when the season kicked off in Nashville against Vanderbilt.
After beginning 2025 at 0-3 with a loss in Atlanta to South Carolina before a pair of blowout losses at home against Vanderbilt and Old Dominion, firing Pry had to be done. It was a move that was needed to save the program and find the right candidate for the next job.
Pry did the best he could; he just wasn't set up to win in Blacksburg in terms of resources, and he proved that he wasn't head-coaching material. A month after he was fired, Penn State fired James Franklin, who immediately became Virginia Tech's search committee's top candidate. Rightfully so.
In mid-November, after a month of rumors and speculation, Franklin was hired at Virginia Tech, replacing his former defensive coordinator. However, a couple of weeks after being hired, Franklin made a stunning move that no one saw coming. He hired Pry as his defensive coordinator. That's right, three months after being canned as head coach, Pry was swallowing his pride and returning to the same building where he was fired as Franklin's DC. Stunning.
At the time, it was seen as an unprecedented move. However, late on Wednesday night, Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that Lane Kiffin and LSU were pulling off another similar move.
LSU hiring Ed Orgeron as part of Lane Kiffin's staff
Late in the 2025 season, LSU parted ways with Brian Kelly, and when the dust settled in December, they hired Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. He has hit the ground running in Baton Rouge, and on Wednesday night, Thamel reported that he is bringing Orgeron back as a special assistant to recruiting and defense for the Tigers.
Like Franklin and Pry, Kiffin and Orgeron have a deep friendship that goes beyond the football field, and the hiring is not that far out of left field. The difference is that Orgeron brought a National Championship to LSU in 2019, and he was a beloved coach of the fanbase. Like Franklin at Virginia Tech, this is a low-risk, high-reward move in bringing back a fired coach. If this works out, both schools will look like geniuses, but if it doesn't, both Franklin and Kiffin will be highly scrutinized. Both head coaches could take it.
Look, some things feel really bizarre in moves some coaches make, and these would be right up there. However, if these moves turn out to be gold, then you will start to see more and more of this down the line. These are not the same moves, but similar ones that will open some eyes.
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