Former Virginia Tech DC Sam Siefkes Expected To Take Green Bay LBs Position

Siefkes served as the defensive coordinator for Virginia Tech for one season.

Arizona Cardinals linebackers coach Sam Siefkes talks to his players during training camp in Glendale, Arizona on July 25, 2024. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Several coaches from the 2025 Virginia Tech football squad that weren't retained by new head coach James Franklin are continuing to find new homes. The Hokies' running backs coach in 2025, Elijah Brooks, ventured to South Florida, outside linebackers coach Shawn Quinn became Liberty's newest defensive coordinator and tight ends coach Brent Davis took the same position for fellow ACC school Pitt.

Now, last year's defensive coordinator for Virginia Tech, Sam Siefkes, is expected to find a new home. CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz reported that the National Football League's Green Bay Packers are expected to hire Siefkes as a linebackers coach.

The #Packers are expected to hire Sam Siefkes as a linebackers coach, sources tell @CBSSports.

Was Virginia Tech’s defensive coordinator this season. Before that, was linebackers coach for the Cardinals under new Packers DC Jonathan Gannon. pic.twitter.com/t5bKK9LOvJ

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 29, 2026

As stated in Zenitz's tweet, Siefkes has experience under new Green Bay defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, having served under Gannon as the linebackers coach for the Arizona Cardinals.

Siefkes served as a student assistant first at Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2012, before becoming the defensive quality control coach at Florida Interional in 2014. The next year, he moved to Wisconsin to become the team's graduate assistant before landing his first defensive coordinator job — Wisconsin-Platteville.

Siefkes served as the defensive coordinator for the Pioneers for two years, doing so in 2016 and 2017. After that stop, Siefkes took the defensive coordinator position at Wofford, staying there until 2020.

Siefkes then made his first foray into the NFL, operating as the defensive quality control coach for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021, then the team's assistant linebackers coach the following year.

Siefkes then moved over to Arizona, being the team's linebackers coach for 2023 and 2024 before taking the defensive coordinator position with Virginia Tech in 2025. In Siefkes' lone season with the Hokies, they went 3-9.

For Virginia Tech, their new defensive coordinator in the building will be a familiar one: Brent Pry. The Altoona, Pennsylvania native served as the Hokies' head coach for three full seasons. In his time as Virginia Tech's head coach, Pry went 16-24 overall, with a 10-13 record in league play. The Hokies, with Pry as head coach and Siefkes as defensive coordinator, sputtered to an 0-3 start and were outscored 113-57 against South Carolina (24-11 loss), Vanderbilt (44-20 loss) and Old Dominion (45-26 loss). Pry was fired on Sept. 14; offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery took over as the interim head coach while retaining play-calling duties.

In the final nine games, Montgomery and Siefkes went 3-6; neither will be retained by the program for this year.

This past year, Green Bay went 9-7-1, finishing second in the NFC North ahead of the 9-8 Lions and Vikings. The Packers fought off a late five-game winning streak from Minnesota despite losing their final four games of the season and losing edge rusher Micah Parsons due to a torn ACL. The Packers were subsequently eliminated by the Chicago Bears, 31-27, in the NFC Wildcard Round Jan. 10.

Virginia Tech's season is now nearly seven months away; the Hokies kick off their 2026 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 5, against VMI. The meeting will be the two schools' first since 1984.