Sources: Virginia Tech Hires Brent Pry As Defensive Coordinator

Virginia Tech brings back a familiar face as its defensive coordinator. Read more below.

Sep 6, 2025; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Brent Pry greets fans as he enters the stadium prior to the game at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Nearly three months after being fired, Brent Pry is back. According to sources, new head whistle James Franklin is hiring Pry as his next defensive coordinator.

BREAKING: James Franklin and Virginia Tech are hiring former HC Brent Pry as defensive coordinator, @PeteNakos reports🦃https://t.co/zX1oSoOZAy https://t.co/1b9cyi7c92 pic.twitter.com/xmedJa4BYq

— On3 (@On3sports) December 7, 2025

To dive into his resume as a defensive coordinator and football coach: Pry started his career as a student coach at Buffalo in the early 90's before he was a DB coach at East Stroudsburg, where he met Franklin. Then, he became a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech under legendary defensive coordinator Bud Foster.

His first defensive coordinator job was at Louisiana-Lafayette, where he spend five years. He also spent a year at Georgia Southern as the DB coach before he eventually met with Franklin for the first of now three times where Franklin was Pry's head coach. Pry spents eight years with Franklin as his defensive coordinator or co-defensive coordinator before he finally took the head coaching job at Virginia Tech, where he went 16-24 and was released of his duties in late September.

During his time as the DC at Louisiana-Lafayette, he helped the Ragin' Cajuns to their first conference championship in the Sunbelt in 2005. At Georgia Southern, Pry's defense finished ninth in total defense and 11th in scoring defense as Georgia Southern went on their way to a 10-5 record in the FCS.

It became increasingly difficult to find exact numbers and rankings for his time at Penn State and Vanderbilt, so I'm going to point out some stand-out seasons that his defenses had.

In 2021, Pry was a Broyles Award nominee - given to the top assistant coach in the nation. His defense gave up just 328.8 yards per game while ranking in the top 20 in passing defense. Penn State also ranked top 10 in scoring, TFL's and rush defense on that season. The team held opponents to 4.7 yards per play.

In 2019, Pry's defense finished eighth nationally in scoring defense and had the nation's fewest yards per carry allowed, giving up just 2.6. They finished fifth nationally in rushing defense and they led the nation in sacks that year, along with being fifth in yards per pass attempt.

Brent Pry's defenses finished in the top 10 scoring defenses at least three times during his years at Penn State. He knows how to call a defense, and he learned it from Virginia Tech's best, Bud Foster.

Pry runs a 4-2-STAR defense, just like he did during most of his time at Virginia Tech, something very similar to what Bud Foster ran during the latter half of his career at Virginia Tech, after the 4-4 defensive scheme aged out of football due to offensive spread becoming the norm.

Pry has proven to be a stellar defensive coordinator and a solid recruiter of this region of Virginia. He played a big role in Virginia Tech being able to hire James Franklin as well. While it is an interesting hire that some won't like, it's hard to argue with the numbers and what he did as a defensive coordinator throughout his career.