Although James Franklin is staying put, it looks like Penn State may not be spared from this post-Thanksgiving college football coaching circus.
Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports tweeted Tuesday morning that Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Brent Pry has become the focal point of Virginia Tech’s coaching search and that while it isn’t a done deal, “the hire is expected to happen soon.”
Pry, 51, has been with Penn State since 2014 and with Franklin since 2011. He was the assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Vanderbilt under Franklin from 2011-13 and held the same role at Penn State in 2014 and ’15 before replacing Bob Shoop as defensive coordinator in 2016.
In Pry’s time as defensive coordinator, he’s helped the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten championship, wins in the Fiesta and Cotton Bowls and three 11-win seasons. Should he go to Virginia Tech, he’d be replacing Justin Fuente, who was fired earlier this month.
It would be Pry’s first head coaching job, and he’d be just the fourth full-time head coach at Tech since 1978. Pry is familiar with Blacksburg, having worked under Frank Beamer as a graduate assistant and defensive line coach from 1995-98.
Note: Pry was previously at Virginia Tech from 1995-98. It was previously reported that he was there from 1995-97.
