Another week down in the 2025 season, and just three regular-season weekends remain before conference championship games, and the field will be set for the 12-team College Football Playoff. It has been nearly two months since Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry after a Week 3 loss to Old Dominion at home. They are still looking for a head coach.
There has been a lot of smoke around James Franklin to Virginia Tech, but the rumors have slowed down. The Virginia Tech search committee is likely checking in on other potential candidates while they wait for Franklin to make his decision. That decision may wait a while as Florida State lost to Clemson, 24-10, on Saturday night to drop the Seminoles to 4-5, but it also moves Mike Norvell closer to being fired at the end of the season. That would be bad news for Virginia Tech in terms of Franklin.
With 11 weeks in the books and three games remaining for the Hokies, let's power rank the coaching candidates for Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech head coach candidate power rankings:
Huff continues to be a dark horse for the opening. His Golden Eagles picked up their seventh win of the season against two losses on Saturday with a 27-21 victory over Arkansas State. He isn't the top choice, but he would be an underrated hire by the committee.
Beamer drops a spot from last week as the Gamecocks continue to have a season spiral out of control, similar to what happened to Virginia Tech last season. At 3-6, the Gamecocks need a win at Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon to keep their bowl hopes alive. Beamer's future at South Carolina is still very much in doubt.
Mullen is someone who dropped a spot on this list at a spot like Beamer, but he remains an intriguing candidate. He has not really been mentioned as someone the search committee has targeted, but his success at UNLV this year and how quickly he rebuilt the roster on the fly should be something that draws power conference schools to him.
One non-power conference coach who continues to draw interest is Chesney. He has the Dukes in the mix for a CFP berth if things fall right the rest of the season, but what a hire he would be for Virginia Tech. He might not be the best candidate to turn things around immediately, but long-term, he would be a great hire.
Franklin remains the top candidate for the position, and by the sound of things, it's his job to turn down. Just how long the committee will wait before going in a different direction remains to be seen, but there is no doubt who is the top target.