Virginia Tech is hiring former head coach Brent Pry to be the defensive coordinator under James Franklin, according to ESPN.
Pry will rejoin the team after being fired Sept. 14 following an 0-3 start that included losses to South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Old Dominion.
Before gaining the Hokies’ head coaching job, Pry served as the defensive coordinator at Penn State under Franklin. He also worked under Franklin at Vanderbilt from 2011 to 2013 as a co-defensive coordinator.
According to ESPN, Virginia Tech owed Pry about $6 million at the time of his dismissal, which is subject to being offset if he obtained another coaching job.
Together, Franklin and Pry produced top-10 scoring defenses in 2017, 2019 and 2021, and the Nittany Lions led the country in sacks in 2018.
Returning as an assistant coach for a school where one was fired as a head coach is highly unusual, but Franklin credited Pry with being instrumental in his decision to come to Blacksburg, and Franklin’s recent recruiting success has energized much of the Hokies’ fan base.