After a blowout loss in Blacksburg to Old Dominion dropped the Virginia Tech Hokies to 0-3 for the season, the administration had no choice but to fire Brent Pry. Now, admittedly, that's a wild decision to make three weeks into the season and before we've even officially reached the midway point of September, but there was no one who could possibly argue with the decision.
Pry came to Virginia Tech as a coveted commodity to replace the struggling Justin Fuente, but failed to do so. He finished his time with just one winning season with the Hokies and a 16-24 record overall. And it was quite clear that things were even on a more dramatic decline than anyone could've foreseen. Here's a look at how the three seasons and change played out in Blacksburg under Pry:
- 2022 Season: 3-8 (1-6 in ACC)
- 2023 Season: 7-6 (5-3 in ACC)
- 2024 Season: 6-7 (4-4 in ACC)
- 2025 Season: 0-3 (Fired)
With the ability to recruit the Tidewater region, Virginia Tech should be an attractive job, even if they don't necessarily have the resources that the ACC's powers like Clemson, Miami and Florida State have at their disposal. There's no reason that this Hokies program should be getting usurped in the conference by the likes of Georgia Tech, Duke and many others.
Now that Pry is out, Phillip Montgomery, who was hired this offseason, will fill in as the interim. However, Virginia Tech now also needs to find its next head coach, one who can return the Hokies to some kind of relevance if not glory. And while some options are more realistic than others, these five candidates to replace Brent Pry would all make some semblance of sense.
5. Michael Vick (Norfolk State HC)
Frankly, Mike Vick just has to be mentioned in this conversation. The legendary Virginia Tech quarterback made the transition fully into coaching this year, taking over at Norfolk State. And while three games and a 1-2 record — albeit with one of the losses coming at Power Four Rutgers — isn't impressive, nor is it a big enough of a sample size to make any real kind of assessment about Vick, the Hokies are a program that's in dire need of a vibe shift.
Bringing back arguably the most beloved figure in the history of Virginia Tech football is certainly one way to shift the feeling around the program. While it would perhaps be more important than with any other candidate to be aggressive with coordinator hires to help supplement Vick's contributions, it would be a massive way to boost recruiting prowess in the Tidewater region, in addition to almost surely getting immediate buy-in from boosters and the fan base.
That all being said, Vick's overall lack of experience almost surely makes him unlikely to make the jump so quickly to the Power Four with a return to his alma mater. However, if it were to happen, there would actually be some merit to that decision from the Hokies administration.
4. Shane Beamer (South Carolina HC)
Speaking of changing the vibes, Virginia Tech has to make the call to Shane Beamer. The son of the Hokies legendary head coach Frank Beamer — who of course coached Vick during his time in Blacksburg — has firmly established himself as one of the better coaches in FBS over the past few years at South Carolina. And while he might not be having the start to the 2025 season with the Gamecocks that many hoped for, the coach's stock is still very much on the rise.
Beamer has jumpstarted the recruiting at South Carolina in recent years, in addition to showcasing his and his staff's ability to develop talent. In four seasons, he's led the Gamecocks to two Top 25 finishes in the final AP Top 25 poll of the season, and has only missed a bowl game once in his tenure. He's raised the floor dramatically, which is something Virginia Tech desperately needs right now, but also has increased the ceiling as well.
Now, is it likely that Beamer would leave an SEC job that he seems quite happy at for the Hokies? That's hard to say, but my lean would certainly be know. If you're Virginia Tech, though, the call to Beamer has to be the first one that the program makes. Make him say no first, then expand the coaching search.
3. Jamey Chadwell (Liberty HC)
While the Liberty Flames may not be as dangerous as they were when Jamey Chadwell first arrived in Lynchburg, VA, the former Coastal Carolina head coach should still be a quality head coaching candidate for the right type of job. And when it comes to Virginia Tech, that might be the exact right type of job for Chadwell, especially now that he's at least somewhat established a footprint in state over the past few years.
In the era of modern college football, the thing that has hurt someone like Pry the most is that the Hokies aren't frontrunning when it comes to talent acquisition. They don't have the NIL resources of other programs, even if it's a solid foundation, and their recruiting footprint outside of the state is going to be somewhat limited. That means that the Hokies have to even the playing field in any way they can, which is why Chadwell immediately becomes an ideal candidate to replace Pry.
Chadwell's unique offense is innately designed to close the talent gap. We saw it routinely with Coastal Carolina and even with Liberty at times as well. If you combine that with the resources that Virginia Tech does have, it could work wonders for elevating where the Hokies are, and potentially being able to do so quickly.
2. Will Stein (Oregon OC)
So much about coaching searches can often be centered on program ties and geography, which can subsequently eliminate some candidates from being option. But even though Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein is all the way across the country from Blacksburg, that shouldn't be an issue in this case. With ties to Louisville, Texas and now Oregon, he's the proverbial renaissance man of college football that should have looks from any job that he would want.
Much like with Chadwell, what you have to love about Stein is the scheme he would bring to the Hokies offense. Yes, Virginia Tech isn't going to have the same NIL spending power of Oregon ever, but that diminishes what Stein has done with the Ducks. Despite playing musical chairs at quarterback and at the skill positions, it's basically been a plug-and-play juggernaut offensively for that program with him manning the controls since 2023.
That type of offensive scheme should travel, especially with a Virginia Tech recruiting base that's not nothing and has consistently produced quality talent to FBS-level programs. Plus, with the NFL pedigree that Oregon has produced under Stein, that's another selling point that could set the Hokies up well moving forward under someone like Stein.
1. Buster Faulkner (Georgia Tech OC)
Again, leveling the playing field should be of the utmost importance for Virginia Tech in this coaching search, and Buster Faulkner has been one of the shining stars in recent years in that light. It wasn't all that long ago that Georgia Tech was a punching bag in the ACC. With Brent Key taking over and bringing over former Georgia QBs coach Buster Faulkner, though, the Yellow Jackets are now a viable contender in the conference.
Key's cultural change has been part of that, but the institution of Faulkner's offense shouldn't go unnoticed. He was already getting looks from a handful of Group of Five programs as a head coaching candidate last year, and early in the 2025 season, turning that down to return to Atlanta for another season seems like the right call as his stock continues to rise.
The biggest factor working against Virginia Tech with Faulkner might be the simple truth that he could get a bigger, better job if one were to open. Having said that, that shouldn't stop the Hokies from kicking the tires on him. He's the perfect man for the job with his intimate knowledge of closing a talent gap offensively, his ties to the East Coast, and what he's surely learned from culture building within the ACC.