Report: Virginia Tech Plans to Fire Head Coach Brent Pry

In his fourth year, Pry is set to be fired following a 0-3 start to the 2025 campaign, per Pete Thamel.

Oct 5, 2024; Stanford, Calif.; Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry is interviewed after defeating Stanford. | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Today, news broke that Virginia Tech football plants to fire head coach Brent Pry, per Pete Thamel. Pry opened the 2025 campaign with an 0-3 record and in his 40 games as a head coach, he compiled a 16-24 record, tallying a 40% all-time winning percentage. After his Week 2 loss against Vanderbilt, Pry possessed 5-to-1 odds of being the first coach to be fired. It snowballed further with a 45-26 Week 3 loss to Old Dominion, where the Hokies trailed 38-0. According to Thamel, Pry is set to be owed more than $6 million in buyout money.

Sources: Virginia Tech plans to fire coach Brent Pry today. He’s gone 16-24 through four seasons and started this year 0-3. He’s set to be owed more than $6 million in buyout. pic.twitter.com/yh7ejE0n3C

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 14, 2025

When asked after the team's loss in Week 2 to Vanderbilt, Pry stated that he was not feeling any pressure over his job security.

"Yeah, I'm not. I tell the players to ignore the noise," Pry said. "I learned that a long time ago. This is not the first time that we've been in situations like this. So, the expectations here are to win. I get that. That's why I wanted to be here. I'm not happy with where we're at right now. Not from a win standpoint, but I like this team and we'll regroup and there's a lot of season left and I'm still excited about what we can do."

Pry came in as the Hokies' head coach in 2022, following the departure of Justin Fuente before the conclusion of the 2021 season. That year, he compiled a 3-8 record. In 2023, Virginia Tech notched a 7-6 record and a 41-20 victory in the Military Bowl against then-No. 23 Tulane.

There is currently no announcement as to who would assume Pry's position. The likely option is that defensive line coach J.C. Price would step in as the interim head coach to close out Virginia Tech's 2025 campaign. Price previously served as the team’s interim head coach in 2021 following Fuente’s departure, before returning to his role as defensive line coach for the 2022 season.

Whether Price would shed the interim tag for the 2026 season and becomes the full-on head coach or returns to his defensive line duties following the 2025 campaign is yet to be determined. Pry also has not announced any future plans as to what comes next beyond Blacksburg.

In what is looking increasingly likely to be a lost season for Tech, the hope is that a fresh start at head coach will jumpstart a push for the years to come. For the first time since 1987, the Hokies have begun their season at 0-3 and during a five-quarter stretch spanning the start of the third quarter against Vanderbilt to the end of the third quarter against Old Dominion, they were outscored 72-7. The Monarchs tallied over 500 yards of total offense and appeared completely in control, outclassing the Hokies in all facets of the game in an ignominious display for Virginia Tech football that saw fans vacating the stadium in droves before the game's conclusion.

In an ironic twist, Pry's first and last games — and losses — came at the hands of Old Dominion.

Virginia Tech football will continue its season with a billing against FCS Wofford on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. ET, with viewing available on ACC Network Extra.