Breaking Down Ricky Rahne as the Potential Next Virginia Tech Offensive Coordinator

Could Ricky Rahne reunite with James Franklin?

Sep 13, 2025; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Old Dominion Monarchs head coach Ricky Rahne before the game at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

With the arrival of James Franklin as the new head coach of Virginia Tech, speculation is ramping up on who will fill his offensive coordinator slot. Among the names that are circulating, Old Dominion's current head coach, Ricky Rahne, is an intriguing option, although he's stated publicly that he's not interested in leaving the Monarchs. Given his history with Franklin, he is worth a serious look.

Background/Resume:

Rahne's football journey began when he was a standout quarterback at Cornell, where he set school records in completions, passing yards, touchdown passes and total yards. He became a three-time team MVP and earned multiple All-Ivy Honors.

In 2004, he made his transition into coaching as an assistant defensive line coach at Holy Cross. He then briefly returned to his alma mater to be its running back coach for a year. After that, he spent four years at Kansas State in multiple roles, first as an offensive graduate assistant, then as running backs coach and finally as tight ends coach. This is where he started working with Franklin, who was the offensive coordinator from 2006-2007.

After being apart from Franklin for a couple of years, he rejoined him in 2011, joining Franklin's staff as its quarterback coach. Once Franklin left Vanderbilt for Penn State, Rahne followed him. He served as the quarterback coach at first, but was eventually promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018.

In 2020, Rahne left Penn State to become the head coach at Old Dominion. Since becoming the head coach, Old Dominion is 29-33 overall. The Monarchs are in their best season under Rahne, they are currently 9-3 and will face South Florida in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl.

Sep 13, 2025; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Brent Pry and Old Dominion Monarchs head coach Ricky Rahne talking before the game at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Pluses:

• Familiarity with Franklin – Rahne has spent 11 seasons working under Franklin. He knows the ins and outs of what Franklin expects out of its offense. That shared history means that the “adjustment period” that often comes with a new offensive coordinator will be reduced considerably.
• Proven offensive success – When Rahne was the offensive coordinator at Penn State from 2018-2019, the Nittany Lions’ offense was one of the best in the country. In 2018, Penn State averaged 33.8 points per game, and in 2019, it averaged 35.8 points a game, good for 15th in the country. Fast forward to this season, Old Dominion’s offense averages 32.7 points a game, and is 15th in the country in total offense, averaging 460.8 yards per game.
• Connection with Colton Joseph – Old Dominion’s current quarterback, Colton Joseph, has recently entered his name in the transfer portal. If Virginia Tech can land Rahne as its next offensive coordinator, there is a good chance Joseph would follow him to Blacksburg as well. He knows Rahne well and has played very well under him. This season, he has thrown for 2,624 yards and 21 touchdowns. But what makes him such a dangerous quarterback is his rushing ability. He ran for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns this season.

Minuses:

• Inconsistent recent history – Although Old Dominion is having a great season this year, the rest of his tenure there has not been very good. Before this year, he had not finished with a winning record, and his offenses were either average to very poor. For example, Old Dominion finished 116th of 131 FBS teams in points per game in 2021, scoring just 19.5 points a game.
• He could just stay at Old Dominion – Although he and Franklin have a strong bond, he has said recently that he loves coaching at Old Dominion. When asked about rumors of him and Franklin speaking about Rahne potentially joining his staff, he shot them down, stating they are untrue.

Old Dominion head coach Ricky Rahne on if he's spoken with new Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin about potentially joining his staff pic.twitter.com/0ztYR4ZWoj

— Kolby Crawford (@kolby_crawford) November 24, 2025

How realistic of a candidate is he?

At this moment, Rahne remains a plausible, but more likely than not, an unrealistic candidate to be Virginia Tech's next offensive coordinator. His connection with Franklin is hard to ignore, but he seems content with his current position at Old Dominion, so taking himself and his family to Blacksburg might not make sense for him right now.