The 2025 Virginia Tech football season crashed and burned, and they are ready to get ready for 2026. They fired head coach Brent Pry after a poor start, and nothing improved. However, the result was the Hokies landing one of the best coaching hires of the offseason, James Franklin. He is the exact type of hire they needed and should instantly boost the football program.
The contract details for James Franklin at Virginia Tech were not immediately released when he signed, but On3's college football insider and reporter Pete Nakos was able to get his hands on the details. The contract is for five years, worth $41.75 million. However, the biggest key to the contract that will get Virginia Tech fans the most excited is the $15.5 million for his assistant staff pool, which is massive.
Pete Nakos also reported that the Hokies have “committed to funding its roster at a high level” into “push(ing) Virginia Tech to the top of the ACC in funding.”
Franklin and Penn State had a $48.6 million buyout, but both sides negotiated the buyout down to $9 million. The negotiation was huge, considering that at the time it was the second-highest buyout in college football history.
It is also worth noting that Franklin was introduced this past week in Blacksburg, and the press conference was a big event. Franklin talked about why he chose the Hokies, got emotional when discussing Brent Pry, and said he spoke with legendary Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer to ask for his blessing for the job.
“As everyone knows, coach Beamer is the man, and he built this place,” Franklin said. “I have asked for the blessings of two people. Soaya Ala, my father-in-law. I called him and asked for his blessing to marry his daughter, Fumi. Then the night before signing a contract, I called coach Beamer and asked for his blessing to take over his program.”
This opportunity seemed to energize Franklin, especially after Beamer gave him his blessing.
“I was a little concerned because I called him three times and he didn’t answer the phone,” Franklin explained. “So I called his wife and she said, ‘I’m sorry, coach, we didn’t have your number.’ But I was able to get coach Beamer’s blessing, and that matters a ton to me, especially from someone who values the history, the traditions, the legends. And obviously nobody’s more important at Virginia Tech football than Frank Beamer and his family.”
James Franklin has a chance to completely change Virginia Tech and bring them to the heights of Frank Beamer, and it would be interesting to see who he fills his staff with now that he has that giant assistant pool.
