Virginia Tech | Brent Pry fired: ‘Results on the field were not acceptable’

Virginia Tech fired head football coach Brent Pry, effective immediately, on Sunday, hours after the Hokies fell to 0-3 on the 2025 season with a lackluster 45-26 loss to ODU in Blacksburg.

“We appreciate Coach Pry’s efforts and service since 2021. Unfortunately, the results on the field were not acceptable, and a change in leadership is necessary,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said in a statement released on Sunday afternoon.

Offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery will serve as the interim coach, per a press release from Virginia Tech Athletics announcing the news.

Montgomery, who was 43-53 in eight seasons as the head coach at Tulsa, from 2015-2022, was hired by Pry for the OC job back in February.

The midseason firing is the second in five years at Tech; Justin Fuente was let go in 2021 with two games left in that season after that Hokie team started 5-5.

Sands said in the message announcing the firing of Pry, who was 16-24 in parts of four seasons at Virginia Tech, that Virginia Tech Board of Visitors members J. Pearson and Ryan McCarthy will work with university leadership and the athletics director, Whit Babcock, “to develop a financial, organizational and leadership plan that will rapidly position the Virginia Tech football program to be competitive with the best in the ACC. That plan will be presented to the Board of Visitors later this month,” Sands said.

Babcock, ostensibly, will lead the search for a new head football coach, who would be the third of his 12-year tenure as the AD at Tech.

Babcock famously forced out the legendary Frank Beamer in 2015, after Beamer’s last four teams compiled a cumulative 29-23 mark.

Babcock upstaged Beamer’s final regular-season press conference, following a 23-20 Tech win over rival UVA in Scott Stadium, to address rumors that he had already hired Fuente, whose first two teams would finish with 10-4 and 9-4 marks, before his tenure went south – Fuente’s last four teams had a cumulative 24-23 mark.

Pry, an Altoona, Pa., native, was another splash hire, who had served as a grad assistant under Beamer at Tech from 1995-1997.

He was hired away from Penn State, where he worked as the defensive coordinator under James Franklin, who took Pry with him to Happy Valley after they had worked together at Vanderbilt.

Pry never was able to get things going at Virginia Tech. His first team, in 2022, finished with a 3-8 mark, and though he was able to get his next two teams into bowl games, it was with 6-6 regular-season finishes.

The 2025 season started with a 24-11 loss to then-#13 South Carolina, which is coached by Shane Beamer, Frank Beamer’s son, and then, in Week 2, Tech blew a 20-10 halftime lead at home in a 44-20 loss to Vanderbilt.

The loss to ODU in Week 3 wasn’t as close as the final score would seem to indicate. ODU led 28-0 at halftime, and had a 45-13 lead late in the fourth quarter, before the Hokies added a couple of TDs in the final 4:20.

“On behalf of Amy and our entire family, I want to thank President Sands, Whit, and the Virginia Tech community for giving me the opportunity to lead this proud football program. Coaching at Virginia Tech has been an incredible honor and a chapter of our lives we will always cherish,” Pry said at the beginning of a lengthy message that Tech Athletics shared in the press release announcing his firing.

More from that statement:

“To the outstanding young men I have been privileged to coach, you have left a lasting mark on me and my family. Your hard work, resilience, and commitment to excellence — on the field, in the classroom, and as members of the community — have been inspiring every single day. To the dedicated assistant coaches and support staff, I am grateful beyond words. Your sacrifice, professionalism, and loyalty keep this program running and create the foundation for everything our players achieve. To our donors and the passionate Hokie faithful, your unwavering support to our entire football program, in every facet, has been vital. I encourage you to continue backing these players and this program; your energy and enthusiasm make Lane Stadium one of the best environments in college football.

“Finally, to Amy and the rest of our family — thank you for your constant love and strength. We have been in this together from the start, and we will take the next steps of our journey the same way. Blacksburg will always hold a special place in our hearts. We leave with wonderful memories and lifelong friendships, and we will forever be cheering for the Hokies.”

Good new for the Prys – they’re not going to be struggling to make ends meet with the paterfamilias now out of work, of course.

Pry’s total compensation, according to the copy of the contract that I got back from a FOIA request earlier this year, was set at $4.75 million for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and was to increase to $5 million for the final year of his current six-year deal, in 2027.

Per the details of his contract, if Pry were to be fired “without cause” prior to the contract’s “natural expiration,” he would be due 70 percent of the value of his total compensation for the remainder of 2025 and 2026, so, $2.49 million for the remaining time in 2024, $3.325 million for 2026, and 50 percent of the total compensation for 2027, so, $2.5 million.

The total that I get there: $8.3 million.