James Franklin targeting fired Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry for Hokies' defensive coordinator job

Virginia Tech coach James Franklin is targeting Brent Pry to be his defensive coordinator in what would be one of the most unusual coaching hires in college football history, sources told CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz and Richard Johnson. 

Pry was a long time Franklin assistant at Penn State and Vanderbilt before being hired at Virginia Tech as the head coach in 2022. However, Pry was fired after an 0-3 start to the 2025 season. There aren't many (if any) examples of a coach being fired one season and returning to the same school in a different capacity in the next, but with more than a decade of experience as a coordinator under Franklin, it makes this a particularly unique situation. 

Hiring Pry would likely garner a mixed reaction in Blacksburg from fans, but even though he's only been on the job for a few weeks, Franklin has already earned some benefit of the doubt with the Virginia Tech faithful. Despite not having a coaching staff hired around him, Franklin hit the ground running and turned Virginia Tech's recruiting class from being one of the worst in the ACC to the 22nd best in the country -- and a top-five class in the conference. 

Franklin's work flipping nearly every Penn State commit and bringing in other quality talent on signing day gave the Hokies their best recruiting class in more than a decade, and that has surely given fans reason to believe in his vision -- even if that means bringing back the coach they just fired. Pry's defenses at Penn State were one of the strengths of the team, and while he didn't have much success as a head coach, he is an excellent defensive coordinator. 

If he does return to VT as a coordinator, it should go better than his first stint in Blacksburg. Pry getting focus his full efforts and energy on the defensive side of the ball while Franklin runs the show has a strong track record of success.