Report: Pierson Prioleau Not Returning as Safeties Coach

The former Hokie player served as the team's safeties coach for seven years.

August, 14, 2009; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans safety Pierson Prioleau (31) tackles Cincinnati tight end Chase Coffman (80) during the preseason game at the Louisiana Superdome. | Matt Stamey-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech football has another coach that will not be retained. Pierson Prioleau announced earlier today that he would be moving on to another "chapter and opportunity", a result of new head coach James Franklin's hiring on Nov. 17 and his subsequent staff hirings. Prioleau is the second Hokie alumni to not be retained, alongside now-former linebackers coach Xavier Adibi. At the time of writing, an official safeties coach for Virginia Tech has not been announced.

"I'd like to thank all the players, coaches and Hokie Nation for the last seven years in Blacksburg," Prioleau said via X (formerly Twitter). "It's been an honor! This place will always be special to me. I'm excited about my next chapter and opportunity."

I'd like to thank all the players, coaches and Hokie Nation for the last seven years in Blacksburg. It's been an honor! This place will always be special to me. I'm excited about my next chapter and opportunity! pic.twitter.com/MVYZX9heU3

— Pierson Prioleau (@DBCoachPrioleau) December 22, 2025

Prioleau spent four seasons as Virginia Tech's safeties coach, but that wasn't his first experience with the university. Prioleau came to the Hokies program as a player in 1996. In his freshman year, he tallied 24 tackles before moving to the rover position as a sophomore.

That year, he tallied 71 tackles; the following year, Prioleau was named first-team All-Big East after logging 81 tackles. In his senior year, Prioleau finished with 61 tackles and two interceptions, going on to the 1999 NFL Draft.

Prioleau was then selected in the fourth round of the 1999 Draft, with the 110th pick, by the San Francisco 49ers. Prioleau played two seasons with San Francisco, notching 81 tackles and one interception, his lone pick at the NFL level.

Prioleau played in the NFL for 10 more years, starting in Buffalo from 2001 to 2004. In 2002, he tallied 86 tackles for the Bills. Prioleau moved to Washington in 2005; he stayed with the Redskins for three seasons before moving to Jacksonville (2008), then New Orleans (2009-2010). Prioleau officially retired from the NFL in 2011, per his HokieSports page.

After that, Prioleau moved into coaching, becoming the defensive coordinator at Radford High School in 2011. Prioleau held that position for eight years before moving up to the collegiate ranks, taking an off-the-field defense-based director of player development role under then-head coach Justin Fuente.

Once Fuente left the program, Brent Pry took over; Prioleau was one of the internal promotions. Pry promoted Prioleau to an on-field role, appointing him the team's new safeties coach and succeeding Justin Hamilton, ironically also a former Hokie.

Virginia Tech's 2026 campaign kicks off against in-state foe VMI on Sept. 5, 2026. Until then, a long stretch — 257 days, in fact — awaits the Hokies in an offseason centered around restruction and redirection.