Going into the 2025 season, the seat was very hot for Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry, and that seat was officially fried after he was fired on Sunday, first reported by Pete Thamel of ESPN, by the school in a move that left the administration no choice after their latest flop. Chris Low of On3 reported that Pry was informed of the decision after it was reported by Thamel.
After keeping it close for three quarters with South Carolina in their season opener two weeks ago, the Hokies took a 10-point lead into halftime last week against Vanderbilt at home before imploding in the second half to the tune of being outscored 34-0 in a 44-20 loss.
Saturday night's home game against Old Dominion was supposed to be the game in which the Hokies were to get a feel-good win and take some of the pressure off their fourth-year head coach. Instead, Virginia Tech played the worst game of his era in Blacksburg and was embarrassed, 45-26, in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score indicates. Sunday, he is reportedly being dismissed.
Virginia Tech reportedly fires Brent Pry after four seasons
There was no coming back after the performance against Old Dominion for Pry. He was 16-24 after replacing Justin Fuente and by now you know about his one-score record as head coach. Ironically he bookends his career at Virginia Tech with losses to Old Dominion.
He is owed a $6 million buyout, and as it's been stated numerous times before, he is a great defensive coordinator, he's just not a head coach and certainly not one to lead the turnaround at Virginia Tech. He had a vision, but things snowballed last season when a 6-7 finish in a season that began with visions of the 12-team College Football Playoff ended with three coaches fired and a mass exodus out the door from players in the Transfer Portal.
The writing was on the wall for Pry since the end of last season, and now his tenure is over. The question is what happens now with the coaching search, which can't involve athletic director Whit Babcock, who has hired and fired both Fuente and Pry. Getting a third chance to hire the next coach is not something that can happen.