Virginia Tech football coaching candidates 7 names that could replace Brent Pry – The Brent Pry era at Virginia Tech came to a stop on Sunday with the Hokies sacking their head coach during his fourth season. The firing of Pry occurred less than 24 hours after the Hokies endured one of their worst losses in recent years with a 45-26 home setback to Old Dominion.
In his stint in Blacksburg, Virginia, Pry guided the Hokies to a 16-24 overall record and a 10-13 record in ACC play. The Hokies are 0-3 on the season which includes a Week 1 loss to South Carolina and a Week 2 loss to Vanderbilt. As highlighted by USA TODAY Sports, Pry is owed just over $6.8 million from the Hokies for his buyout under his now outdated contract that had been supposed to continue through Dec. 1, 2027.
The Brent Pry era at Virginia Tech came to a stop on Sunday with the Hokies sacking their head coach during his fourth season. The firing of Pry occurred less than 24 hours after the Hokies endured one of their worst losses in recent years with a 45-26 home setback to Old Dominion. In his stint in Blacksburg, Virginia, Pry guided the Hokies to a 16-24 overall record and a 10-13 record in ACC play. The Hokies are 0-3 on the season which includes a Week 1 loss to South Carolina and a Week 2 loss to Vanderbilt.
As highlighted by USA TODAY Sports, Pry is owed just over $6.8 million from the Hokies for his buyout under his now outdated contract that had been supposed to continue through Dec. 1, 2027. Who might the Hokies look to next as they embark on their next rebuild in hopes of returning to the ACC championship game and playing for a position in the College Football Playoff? Here’s a look at some potential coaching options for Virginia Tech:
Virginia Tech football head coaching candidates Alex Golesh, South Florida
Golesh has swiftly established himself as one of the finest Group of Five coaches in college football at South Florida. In three season at South Florida, Golesh has been widely successful by turning around the Bulls program into one of the top Group of Five programs in country with back-to-back bowl appearances and a 16-13 overall record. At 2-1 on the season this year, the Bulls were rated in both the US LBM Coaches Poll last week and have a win versus Florida on their CV.
Named by ESPN as one of “30 coaches who will define the next decade of college football” in 2024, Golesh has expertise at the Power Four level, since he served as an an offensive coordinator at Tennessee from 2021-22 and was a recruiting coordinator at both Iowa State and Illinois. The main challenge for the Hokies with Golesh is the popularity that he is likely to enjoy in this coaching cycle.
Bob Chesney, James Madison
If recruiting someone of Golesh’s status will be a daunting assignment, Virginia Tech’s quest should start with a Group of Five coach who isn’t too far away in James Madison’s Bob Chesney. Chesney has experienced it all in his 16-year head coaching career, as he has held roles at the Bowl Subdivision, Championship Subdivision, NCAA Division II and Division III levels.
In his second season at James Madison, the Dukes expect to be a contender for the Sun Belt conference for the second straight season. James Madison went 9-4 under Chesney last season which featured a win against North Carolina and the program’s first bowl win. Chesney’s predecessor, of course, was now-Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who led the Hoosiers to a playoff spot in his first season.
Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State
Kotelnicki is one of the greatest offensive coordinators in the country, and has Penn State’s attack humming once again through the first three weeks of the season.
One of the greatest offensive minds in the country, Kotelnicki overhauled Penn State’s system last season with the likes of Drew Allar, Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, not to mention No. 14 overall choice Tyler Warren. Helping lead Penn State to its first College Football Playoff spot last year, the Nittany Lions Penn State topped the Big Ten in 15+ yard pass percentage plays (22.8; 5th nationally) and was second in big play % (16.5; 7th), as highlighted by his Penn State profile.
Unlike a contender like Chesney, Kotelnicki doesn’t have head coaching experience, which shouldn’t deter Virginia Tech from potentially looking at him. He was in the discussion for the open head coaching post last coaching carousel at West Virginia but opted to remove himself from consideration from that search and return to Happy Valley for another season.
Pete Golding, Mississippi
Golding is one of the greatest defensive coordinators in the country, and has transformed the Ole Miss defensive into one of college football’s top defenses in the last few seasons.
He just received a three-year contract extension this past summer from Ole Miss that boosted him up the ladder among the highest-paid assistants in the SEC with a salary of $2.55 million for this season. So would he want to make a move for a program that is beginning a rebuild after having a financial support like that? Virginia Tech football coaching candidates 7 names that could replace Brent Pry
Jeff Monken, Army
Monken has been a constant winner in his 12 seasons up at West Point. He’s gone 83-58 overall in his time at Army and has only had three losing seasons in that time span. He most recently Army through a successful transition to the now American Conference last season, which included winning the conference and being rated for much of the season.
Sure, Monken is up there in age and does not have much experience dealing with NIL and the transfer portal, but he is one of more experienced options out there, and that is something that Virginia Tech might gain on as it starts on a new era.
Michael Vick, Norfolk State
One of the program’s most well-known NFL alums, Vick is a long shot. The reason being the former Virginia Tech quarterback is just getting his college football coaching career began at Norfolk State, so it’d be quite a jump for him to move up to the ACC. Virginia Tech football coaching candidates 7 names that could replace Brent Pry
Despite that, a reunion between Virginia Tech and Vick would be an instant seat filler and add some vitality back to the supporters.
Shane Beamer, South Carolina
Similar to Vick, Beamer is a long shot prospect at Virginia Tech. Also like Vick, Beamer does have familiarity with the program — which can aid in a reconstruction that Virginia Tech is ready to embark on — since he played for the Hokies from 1996-1999 and served as an assistant in Blacksburg from 2011-2015 for his dad, renowned Hokies coach Frank Beamer.
There’s no harm in Virginia Tech placing a call to Beamer to get a fielder out there. But with Beamer having excellent thing going in the SEC at South Carolina, it will likely take Virginia Tech a lot to entice him to leave and return to his old mater though a path to coaching in the College Football Playoff will be easier to get in the ACC compared to the SEC. Virginia Tech football coaching candidates 7 names that could replace Brent Pry
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