Can Brent Pry be Virginia Tech's next Bud Foster?

Josh Poslusny writes a feature article on Brent Pry. Read more below.

Sep 6, 2025; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Brent Pry greets fans as he enters the stadium prior to the game at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

For decades at Virginia Tech, the defensive coordinator chair was not a stepping stone. It was a destination.

That reality was embodied most famously by Bud Foster, who turned down head-coaching opportunities and Power Five overtures to remain in Blacksburg, building an identity that became inseparable from the program itself. Today, as Brent Pry settles back into the defensive coordinator role under James Franklin, the comparison is no longer theoretical. Pry’s return signals something familiar at Virginia Tech: a coach choosing alignment, trust, and place over upward mobility.

Pry’s decision was not framed as a retreat. If anything, it was framed as clarity. After the turbulence of his dismissal and the uncertainty that followed, Pry described his return in terms of comfort and belonging. “It took not even a full day to be right back to the expectations,” Pry said. “A lot of comfort and a lot of familiar faces… people in the department on campus. So, it’s been good.”

That language echoes Foster’s long-held belief that Virginia Tech worked best when the defensive leader wasn’t looking over the horizon. Foster didn’t merely run a scheme; he curated continuity. Pry appears intent on doing the same.

The comparison becomes sharper when considering what Pry turned down. He acknowledged having “other opportunities to be a coordinator at other places,” but those options came with unknowns, unfamiliar leadership, different cultures and less control. “The knowingness, the comfort of working with James again after so many years was a real positive for me,” Pry said. “He knows me and I know him.”

That trust mirrors the Foster-Frank Beamer dynamic that sustained Tech’s defensive identity for decades. In both cases, the coordinator’s authority is strengthened, not diminished, by stability at the top.

There is also a deeply personal dimension that parallels Foster’s tenure. Pry spoke candidly about family, community, and rootedness, themes that Foster frequently emphasized during his own career.

“My family and I love this community. My kids love Blacksburg High. We love being here in Blacksburg and representing Tech,” Pry said. “There were too many positives.”

Foster often described Blacksburg as a place where football and life could coexist. Pry’s comments suggest he views the role similarly - not as a temporary stop, but as a long-term commitment aligned with personal priorities.

From a football standpoint, Pry is not returning to freeze time. Like Foster in the later years of his career, Pry is blending philosophical consistency with modern adaptation. “What I believe in philosophically and fundamentally will be there,” Pry said, while noting the defensive package will be “in the neighborhood of 75%” of past systems, with new concepts layered in from recent stops and staff additions.

That balance of foundational principles and selective evolution was a hallmark of Foster’s defenses. The structure stayed intact, even as personnel and trends changed.

Perhaps the clearest signal that Pry sees this as a destination role comes in how he describes daily life back inside the Merryman Center. Pry admitted that as head coach, he felt disconnected from the granular work that defined his coaching identity. Now, he’s fully immersed again.

“Diving into a playbook and these individual meetings about fundamentals and techniques… it was exciting,” Pry said. “Right now, I like it a ton more.”

That sentiment would sound familiar to Foster, who often spoke about the joy of teaching and direct player impact as reasons he never chased the next title.

None of this guarantees Pry will spend decades in the role the way Foster did. College football rarely allows for such permanence anymore. But the intent matters. Pry’s return was not driven by necessity alone - it was driven by alignment, belief and a desire to build something lasting.

In that sense, the comparison holds. Like Foster before him, Brent Pry isn’t merely calling a defense at Virginia Tech. He’s choosing to belong to it.