New USA Today Ranking of The ACC's Head Coaches Has Brent Pry as One Of The Worst Coaches In The Conference

There is no doubt that the 2025 season is going to be a big one for Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry

Just a few months ago, before the 2024 season ever officially kicked off, Virginia Tech seemed like a program that was trending up under Pry. They finished the 2023 season strong and were returning a ton of starters from that team and seemingly had a favorable schedule in front of them. They were talked about as the dark horse to win the ACC and make the college football playoff, but it wasn't long before that was proven to be false.

The Hokies started the season with an upset loss to Vanderbilt, lost to Rutgers a few weeks later, and had the controversial loss to Miami to drop them to 2-3. After rallying to win three straight to get to 5-3 and still have a shot at the ACC Championship, the Hokies collapsed, losing four of their last five, including the bowl game to Minnesota last Friday. Not only was this season very disappointing, but the Hokies are losing most of their contributors from this team to the transfer portal or the draft. RB Bhayshul Tuten, OL Xavier Chaplin and Braelin Moore, and several members of the secondary. They have worked to fill those holes in the portal and quarterback Kyron Drones is coming back, but there is not as much optimism heading into the 2025 season compared to a year ago.

All of that has led to speculation about head coach Brent Pry being on the hot seat going into 2025. Pry has gone 3-8, 7-6, and 6-7 in his three seasons in Blacksburg and in a recent ranking of the ACC's head coaches. USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer ranked Pry 15th out of 17 coaches in the ACC:

15. Brent Pry (Virginia Tech)

"Oh, for the Frank Beamer days. Heck, the Justin Fuente days look OK compared to this. As the Hokies spin their tires with Pry, they must ask themselves what they think their program can be. Previous coaches showed it can be more than this – with this being a fight to finish above .500. Pry is 1-12 in one-possession games after three seasons. That suggests ineffective coaching."

Clemson's Dabo Swinney, Louisville's Jeff Brohm, SMU's Rhett Lashlee, Florida State's Mike Norvell, and Miami's Mario Cristobal were ranked as the top five coaches, while Virginia's Tony Elliott and Stanford interim head coach Frank Reich were the only two coaches ranked lower than Pry.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg listed Pry as a coach on the hot seat going into 2025 and listed him in the "Don't backslide" category alongside Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman, Florida's Billy Napier, and Cal's Justin Wilcox:

"The hot-seat talk bubbled up around Pry in November, and if the Commonwealth Cup had gone differently, Virginia Tech could have had a decision to make after a disappointing fall. Pry's second consecutive 6-6 regular season got him to a bowl game, but he will enter Year 4 with a new defensive coordinator and a staff that will include former longtime Hokies DC Bud Foster as an advisor/analyst.

Pry is halfway through his contract and Virginia Tech isn't in the best position to eat a seven-figure buyout. Virginia Tech should be more competitive in a very winnable ACC, especially with quarterback Kyron Drones back. The Hokies have eclipsed seven wins just once since 2017."

Will Pry need to improve upon his record in 2025 to be ensured of another season in Blacksburg? Virginia Tech opens the season against South Carolina in Atlanta and the Gamecocks are likely going to start the season with a lofty ranking. They also face Miami, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Louisville next season, but it is not a murderers row of a schedule. Needless to say, the Hokies need to see some progress next season.

Virginia Tech Softball: Last Regular Season Series on Deck against Top-10 Opponent

Virginia Tech Football: Hokies land transfer linebacker