The Virginia Tech football team returns from its first bye of the season on Friday night when it hosts California. Interim coach Philip Montgomery will be looking to win his third game since Brent Pry was fired last month.
Virginia Tech has a search committee in place to find the next head coach, but a slew of openings across college football leaves a lot of questions, mainly, where does the job stack up to other openings? Penn State and Florida are two jobs that vault ahead of Virginia Tech's, but do any others? Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports ranked the current openings, and she surprisingly had Virginia Tech high on her list.
NBC Sports ranks Virginia Tech opening third best current opening
We have not seen this many openings this early in the season. There are going to be more over the next month and at the end of the season, which could hamper Virginia Tech's search. Auerbach has the Hokies' opening just behind Penn State and Florida.
"It’s debatable whether this is a better job than literally any job in the SEC — see: Arkansas — but there are two reasons that put it over the top for me: 1) the school’s significant financial investment in the football program; and 2) the path to the College Football Playoff. Last month, the school’s board voted to add $229 million to the athletic department’s budget over the next four years. So, even in the current 12-team CFP era, there’s a very real opportunity for Virginia Tech to become a regular ACC contender again (which will put it in regular CFP contention). Clemson is not what it was during its dynastic years. Florida State face planted after an undefeated 2023 season. Miami is built to be a potential annual contender, but there’s a lot of open space alongside the ‘Canes right now. If the CFP expands to 16 or beyond with either additional at-large spots or more designated places for ACC teams, the Hokies would be even better positioned. Virginia Tech has a winnable conference with a new stream of money flowing toward the football program. This is as attractive as the job has been in recent years, and this next chapter will show us if the Hokies can actually be a player in the current landscape of college football,'' Auerbach wrote.
Auerbach makes a lot of valid points. Being in the ACC should play a big part in the pitch from the committee. There is slowly becoming a slow change of the guard in ACC this year. Just look at what Virginia is doing one year after finishing 5-7 in 2024, hitting the Transfer Portal hard, and now they are on a path toward being in Charlotte for the ACC Championship in December. There is still a long way for them to go, but who saw this coming from Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers?
Hiring the right coach at Virginia Tech could make an immediate difference, and with the right moves, the Hokies could be in the mix as early as next year with the portal and NIL. The issue is, how does the committee attract the right candidate? This is as big a hire as the school has had, and they need to get it right when all is said and done.