Hughes: Pry's Re-Hiring A Reasonable Proposition — But Not One Without Obvious Risks

Brent Pry, the former Virginia Tech head coach, was fired on Sept. 14. Just under three months later, he's set to return as defensive coordinator.

Sep 13, 2025; Blacksburg, Va.; Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry and Old Dominion head coach Ricky Rahne talk before the game. | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Do I think Brent Pry was the right head coach? No. A 16-24 record in three years and change at a place like Virginia Tech, a school that’s recently struggled to keep pace, simply doesn’t meet the standard. His .400 winning percentage is among the lowest of any coach in program history, trailing only a handful of names from decades ago. When you stack Pry’s tenure next to those stretches, it becomes clear that the results weren’t just below expectations; they were out of step with what the Hokies have traditionally demanded.

Brent Pry was not adequate as Virginia Tech football’s head coach. As a defensive coordinator, though? That’s a different conversation — one I’m open to seeing play out. It turns out that new Hokies head whistle James Franklin is, too. It was reported by CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz early this morning that Franklin is targeting Pry for his defensive coordinator role.

James Franklin is targeting Brent Pry for his defensive coordinator job at Virginia Tech, sources tell me and @RJ_cfb.

Pry was VT’s head coach the last four years. Now, potentially returning to Va Tech under Franklin, whom he previously worked under at Penn State and Vanderbilt. pic.twitter.com/zQ7nEPI86E

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 7, 2025

Pry has a proven track record on that side of the ball from his tenure at Penn State, and there’s a world where returning to his roots could bring out the best in him.

But that doesn’t mean I’m fully convinced. His tenure as head coach left a lingering sour taste that’s hard to ignore, and it still hangs over any discussion about his future role. The missteps, the stagnation, and the lack of clear identity during those three seasons don’t just disappear because the job title changes. Even if Pry might be better suited to coordinating, the memory of what didn’t work still can shape expectations.

So, while the possibility is intriguing and maybe even worth a shot, it’s not something I’m ready to endorse without hesitation. Pry as a defensive coordinator could work. It could also end up feeling like a continuation of the same issues that defined his head-coaching run. Right now, both outcomes feel equally plausible.

Part of the hesitation comes from how difficult it is to compartmentalize a coach’s tenure, especially one as visible and scrutinized as Pry’s. When someone spends three years as the face of a program, every decision — from scheme to personnel to game management — becomes part of how they’re remembered. Even if Pry was working with a roster that needed rebuilding, the lack of week-to-week consistency and the repeated lapses in preparation fall on his shoulders. Those aren’t small things you simply forget when you shift them back to an assistant role.

At the same time, you can’t ignore that some coaches are simply better suited to coordinating than leading. The skill sets aren’t identical. A coordinator can focus on the granular — teaching technique, designing schemes, maximizing individual units — without carrying the full weight of cultural direction and management. Pry excelled in those granular areas at Penn State and Vanderbilt. The question is whether that version of him still exists and whether returning to a narrower lane could let him rediscover that form.

So while bringing him back in a specialized defensive role might be a calculated gamble, it’s one that requires cautious optimism — emphasis on cautious.

In the meantime, Virginia Tech has yet to hire its next offensive coordinator, and that search remains very much in motion. The university also has not formally announced Pry’s return in any defensive capacity as of this writing, leaving both sides of the ball in an unusual holding pattern. Still, one thing is already clear: if Pry does come back in a reduced role, the Hokies at least gain a practical way to offset the cost of his buyout rather than allowing it to sit as dead money.

That doesn’t suddenly make the situation ideal, but it reframes it. Instead of paying a former head coach to sit to not coach, Tech could redirect that investment into a position where Pry has historically thrived. It’s not often you see a buyout evolve into a potential asset, but this is one of the rare scenarios where the possibility exists. The move wouldn’t erase the frustrations of the past three seasons, nor would it guarantee immediate improvement on the defensive side. What it would do, at minimum, is turn an inevitable expense into something with tangible on-field value, a small but meaningful win in a period of transition for the program.