Big news from Virginia Tech Football: head coach Brent Pry is initiating a major shakeup with his coaching staff.
Meanwhile, up the road in Charlottesville, UVA Football head coach Tony Elliott is sticking with his guys, when, arguably, he’s the one who should be initiating a major shakeup.
Down at Tech, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Chris Marve, offensive line coach Ron Crook, and director of strength and conditioning Dwight Gwalt IV are on their way out of the building.
Marve and Gault came to Virginia Tech in 2022 with Pry as part of his initial staff.
Crook came on board in 2023, after Pry’s first O line coach, Joe Rudolph, left to take the O line job at Notre Dame.
The dismissals came ahead of Virginia Tech’s appearance in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Jan. 3, when the Hokies will face Minnesota in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.
Some preseason prognosticators had the Hokies making it to the ACC Championship Game, but they fell way short, finishing 4-4 in ACC play and 6-6 overall.
ICYMI
Overall, the 2024 defensive showing for Virginia Tech wasn’t that bad, not to the point of putting Marve’s job in obvious danger, anyway.
The Hokies ranked 44th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 22.8 points a game, and 58th in total defense (359.7 yards per game).
Overall, the Hokies defense ranked in the upper half of the ACC.
And yet, the defensive coordinator is gone.
Marve, who was recently named a “35 under 35” selection by the American Football Coaches Association, came to Tech with a solid resume.
He was hired after honing his skills in the SEC at Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. Before that, he spent two seasons at Florida State as run game coordinator and linebackers coach.
The O line group, under Crook, was similarly, not that bad.
The Tech run game averaged 4.9 yards per carry, ranking 38th nationally, this past season, though the line allowed 29 sacks, ranking 91st.
The changes feel like a bloodletting, as many Hokie fans were adamant that Pry make changes with his staff, while many wanted Pry gone outright.
Sound familiar?
Fan bases can be a bit edgy after a disappointing season, or seasons.
Pry’s three-year record at Tech is 16-20, including a 41-20 win over Tulane in the 2023 Military Bowl.
This season, the Hokies were 5-3 entering November before a three-game losing streak put them in danger of missing postseason play.
Enter Virginia to save the day.
Tech defeated the Cavaliers 37-17 in the regular-season finale to finish 6-6, earning them a bowl invite.
ICYMI
Speaking of Virginia, Elliott, who also just completed his third campaign, finished the season 5-7, losing six of his last seven games.
Elliott’s three-year mark at UVA is 11-23, the worst three-year start as a UVA Football coach in a half-century.
And, as of today, nothing has been said about Elliott making changes to shake up a coaching staff that obviously needs some shaking.
Statistically, the UVA offense, under the tutelage, such as it was, of offensive coordinator Des Kitchings, was downright abysmal this past season, despite UVA having some promising playmakers on that side of the ball.
Particularly glaring was the Cavalier’s red zone percentage, ranking among the worst in the nation.
UVA finished the 2024 season 106th nationally in scoring (22.7 points per game) and 94th in total offense (just a tick over 360 yards per game).
And just for clarity, 2024 wasn’t an aberration.
In 2023, the Cavaliers averaged 23.2 points per game (103rd nationally), and we won’t even discuss the 2022 offensive disaster when Elliott and Kitchings brilliantly (TIC) decided to scrap a very successful offensive scheme with Brennan Armstrong under center.
How did that work out?
It didn’t, and Armstrong finished his college career at NC State.
Yet somehow, Athletics Director Carla Williams, earlier this year, awarded Kitchings a contract extension through March 2026.
That extension flew well under the radar.
It was only through a Freedom of Information Act request by AFP editor Chris Graham, who else, we learned of that gift, err, extension.
ICYMI
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
And not just with the offensive coordinator. The struggles on the defensive side of the ball, under defensive coordinator John Rudzinski, have flown under the radar, because his first group, back in 2022, was in the Top 50 nationally in scoring defense and total defense, and ahead of the Virginia Tech D in both ranking subsets.
Since, his units have been, not good – 104th nationally in total defense (409.8 yards per game) and 119th in scoring (33.8 points per game) in 2023, and 103rd in total defense (408.3 yards per game) and 95th in scoring (28.8 points per game) in 2024.
To summarize, Virginia Tech Football is cutting bait on a defensive coordinator who had a decent 2024 season and, for good measure, showing the door to its O line coach and strength coach.
Give the Hokies credit for at least trying.
It is interesting to see how Pry is at least rearranging the deck chairs at Tech, while Elliott is assuming the role of the captain of the Titanic and is prepared to go down with the ship without any changes.
It appears that Elliott and his boss believe that if you keep telling yourself everything is great, eventually it will be.
Doesn’t work that way.
Video: Virginia Tech Football staff changes
Share
