Comparing Virginia Tech Football's Vacant 2026 Head Coaching Slot to UCLA's

The Hokies and Bruins are both looking for new head whistles for the 2026 season and beyond.

Oct 4, 2025; Blacksburg, Va.; Virginia Tech running back Terion Stewart (8) runs the ball. | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech football's search for its head coach in 2026 rages on. However, it's not the only college seeking for a new long-term head whistle for next season. Several schools are also on the search for a new head coach. Here's the head coaches to be fired thus far this year.

• Arkansas: Sam Pittman
• Kent State: Kenni Burns (pre-season)
• Oklahoma State: Mike Gundy
• Stanford: Troy Taylor (pre-season)
• UCLA: DeShaun Foster
• Virginia Tech: Brent Pry

Several head coaches, like Penn State's James Franklin and Florida's Billy Napier, find themselves on the hot seat.

Today, we'll compare the attractiveness of Virginia Tech's vacant slot to UCLA's, for both possible coaches and recruits:

What's in Virginia Tech's favor?

Since 2012, UCLA has tallied seven winning seasons, with six being losing seasons. The Bruins have only been ranked to end the year three times since Jim Mora's hire in 2012. In comparison, Virginia Tech has notched eight winning seasons in the same timespan and only missed bowl game eligibility in one year, 2022. The Hokies also tallied an eight-year streak with 10 or more wins from 2004 to 2011, and with the new planned $229 million investment into the athletic department's budget, there's now added hope that Virginia Tech can contend for ACC championships once again.

Here's what The Athletic's Chris Vannini had to say on the Hokies, who he ranked No. 4 of all head coaching vacancies.

"Under Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech played for a national championship to cap the 1999 season and won at least 10 games 13 times from 1995 to 2011. But those days are long gone, and it’s not clear whether they can come back. Dominating recruiting in the Hampton Roads region and consistently finding diamonds in the rough, as Beamer did, is a lot harder in today’s game. The program has been underfunded and understaffed relative to the rest of the ACC for a long time. Athletic director Whit Babcock has proposed a sizable budget increase, though it’s not clear where all the money would come from. The location isn’t ideal for recruiting, either. The school needs a coach who can better develop talent, and the expectation should be to compete to reach the ACC Championship Game, which the Hokies haven’t played in since 2016."

What's in UCLA's favor?

Location, location and location. After all, UCLA's located in Southern California, right near Santa Monica Beach. And like the Hokies, UCLA is utilizing a committee to determine what steps to take to find its new head coach. The Bruins are using a six-person group. In regards to winning seasons, though the Hokies have had eight winning seasons since 2012, they've also only finished in the end-of-year top-25 on two occasions in that same time span: 2016 and 2017.

Here's what Vannini had to say on UCLA, which ranked No. 2 on his list of vacancies.

"The idea of UCLA has long seemed better than the reality of UCLA. The Bruins haven’t won a conference championship since 1998 and haven’t posted a 10-win season in more than a decade. Fan apathy is showing up in the attendance figures at the Rose Bowl, and the athletic department’s financial problems have been piling up — the Bruins have been operating at a cumulative deficit of over $200 million over the last five years. But it’s a Big Ten job in Southern California. That’s why it opens at the top of this list. The future is secure, and the recruiting upside is obvious, which is why UCLA is expected to draw the best pool of candidates among the early open jobs. That doesn’t mean all Big Ten jobs are better than all ACC or Big 12 jobs. But it means the Bruins’ ceiling and the floor should be higher, and the path to success is easy to envision. The school needs a coach capable of setting up a better recruiting operation in California and exciting the fans and donors to spend for success. The expectation should be annual bowl games with periodic 10-win seasons."

Which job do I think is better?

While both programs are navigating coaching uncertainty, I do think that Virginia Tech’s foundation appears more stable heading into 2026. The Hokies’ consistent bowl history and recent institutional investment suggest a commitment to returning to national relevance. UCLA, meanwhile, is mired in a 1-4 season, although These two teams create an interesting contrast: one is rooted in tradition and renewed resources, the other defined by conference realignment and the need to reestablish identity.