The Virginia Tech football coaching search is already underway, and the names attached are quite interesting.
Following the firing of Brent Pry, the Hokies have an early start on finding their head football coach for the 2026 season and beyond. So far, the search has focused on those who have head coaching experience and successful experiences at that.
Possibly because Pry, who went 16-24 in Blacksburg, had never been a head coach before — he had been a defensive coordinator for nearly 20 years, most notably at Penn State from 2014 to 2021 — Virginia Tech wants someone who has proven they can lead a program to wins.
“It’s great having the flashy coordinator. It’s like having the top chef in a restaurant. But you know who runs the restaurant? The general manager. That’s what a program like this needs,” a source said, according to On3's Pete Nakos.
That is why, Nakos says, many of the names floating around right now are current head coaches, including USF's Alex Golesh, South Carolina's Shane Beamer, Memphis's Ryan Silverfield, Army's Jeff Monken, and Vanderbilt's Clark Lea.
Potential candidates currently not coaching are former longtime Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was fired in 2023 amid allegations of hazing and racism in the program, as well as recently retired Dave Clawson, who led Wake Forest to a 67-69 record and seven bowl games as the Demon Deacons' head coach from 2014 to 2024.
How many of these coaches would truly be available or interested in Virginia Tech remains a mystery. Even Beamer, who graduated from Tech, was a Hokies assistant, and whose father, Frank Beamer, was the head coach of Virginia Tech from 1987 to 2015, would have a hard decision in leaving South Carolina, an SEC program, for Virginia Tech.
There is also the ‘wild card,' who is currently coaching in the state of Virginia: Michael Vick.
Vick, one of the greatest players in Virginia Tech history, is a native of Newport News and, since December, the head coach at Norfolk State.
While Vick would certainly bring excitement with him, Nakos indicated that he is not a serious contender for the job, considering his lack of experience. However, Nakos said that “some VT boosters pushed Vick to get coaching experience,” which could help him in the next Virginia Tech coaching search.
Hokies offensive coordinator and former Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery was named the interim coach after Pry's dismissal. Virginia Tech (0-3) hosts FCS Wofford this Saturday.
