Going into the season, Brent Pry's seat was hot, and after the third game of the season and Virginia Tech's third straight loss, he was fired after four years in Blacksburg. You never want to see someone lose their job, but it needed to be done.
The school needed to move on for several reasons, and truth be told, it was a move that may have benefited the program's future in several ways. After losing 45-26 to Old Dominion at home on Saturday night, things were as bad as they had been in a while, but two-plus weeks later, the vibes are different.
September created massive changes at Virginia Tech
Three games, three losses in the first three weeks, and the Hokies' season was quickly coming undone. Fans were not happy, the players appeared to quit on Pry, and Lane Stadium was nearly empty at the end of losses against Vanderbilt and Old Dominion.
When Pry was fired on Sept. 14, Philip Montgomery was named interim coach for the rest of the season, and all he has done is lead the Hokies to wins over Wofford, which was expected, and an upset on the road at North Carolina State as a double-digit underdog. Nobody expected that.
Pry's firing is also creating changes and bringing Bruce Arians on board, assisting in the coaching search as an advisor. The school is adding nearly $50 million in funding to the athletic department, which should greatly benefit the football program and its next coach.
Even more important, Montgomery changed the vibe around the program in two games. Yes, some players have left in the Transfer Portal, but the players who are still there are buying in, and the results show it. Seven games remain, and whether or not the Hokies find four wins to make a bowl game, which seems like a long shot at best, the final seven games will be fun and a team competing hard. It will be a fun end to a season, regardless of how it plays out, than most fans thought it would be just midway through last month. Virginia Tech will be back sooner than a lot of people expect.