The Hokies reveal a search committee, which includes Bruce Arians and Bud Foster.
The Virginia Tech Hokies are searching for their third head coach since the legendary Frank Beamer retired after the 2015 season. Justin Fuente was fired in his sixth season as head coach, while his replacement, Brent Pry, was fired three games into his fourth season.
Simply put, Virginia Tech must get the next hire right. The good news is that the school’s Board of Visitors approved a new athletic department budget of over $229 million across the next four years. That will put the Hokies at the top of the ACC, alongside Clemson and Florida State.
“Virginia Tech is at a historic juncture in the history of Hokie Athletics,” said Virginia Tech President Tim Sands. “The tumblers at the institution, conference and national levels are all aligned. Today’s action unlocks the door to future success.”
Now, about that coaching search.
On Friday, we learned the Hokies had employed an 8-person search committee to identify their next head coach. Here’s that search committee:
- Bruce Arians
- Bud Foster
- Eddie Royal
- Bridget Ryan Berman
- Lynne Doughtie
- Brad Hobbs
- Ryan McCarthy
- J Pearson
Obviously, you know the first three. Arians has been front and center, letting everyone know he’s involved in this search. Foster is one of the greatest defensive coordinators in college football history. He remains close to the program, while Royal, a former Virginia Tech star, like Arians, now works in the media.
The other five members are successful in the business world with ties to Virginia Tech, either as an alum or as a member of the Board of Visitors.
But we learned something new on Friday. The Hokies will hire a head coach before a football general manager. We thought it would be the other way around. What does that mean? We aren’t sure, but apparently, the Hokies want a coach in place as they narrow the field to prospective GM candidates. They may also want a coach/GM combo with a previous working relationship.
Something else we learned is that the current athletic director, Whit Babcock, will have a significant influence.
Virginia Tech fans weren’t happy. Relax. We aren’t sure how much influence Babcock will actually have. John Rocovich is clearly leading this search.
Even though the Hokies fired Pry early, don’t expect any news soon. Most of Tech’s top targets are likely coaching at other schools now. Meanwhile, interim coach Philip Montgomery looks to improve to 3-0 on Saturday with a home game against Wake Forest.
Category: General Sports
