Now, Let’s Gauge the Fallout

James Franklin didn’t stay unemployed long enough to finish his buyout math. One month after Penn State handed him a pink slip and a heavily discounted golden parachute, he’s now the freshly anointed CEO of Virginia Tech’s semi-pro football operation in Blacksburg.

And in a twist fit for a soap opera, he’s taking over the job vacated by his longtime lieutenant Brent Pry, who was fired in September after an 0–3 start and a 16–24 run that made Hokie fans nostalgic for the halcyon days of losing 24–20.

So what happens now? Three storylines matter:

1. The Franklin–Pry relationship and whether Pry could really crawl back in as DC at the same place that just canned him.
2. Which assistants Franklin might poach from Penn State, potentially before this season staggers to the finish.
3. How aggressively he’ll work the recruiting board, especially kids he once sold on Happy Valley who might now be convinced that Blacksburg is just Happy Valley with turkey legs and Enter Sandman.

Let’s dive in.

Franklin and Pry: From Wingman to “Thanks for the House, I’ll Take It From Here”

Brent Pry isn’t some random retread; he’s basically Franklin’s defensive shadow. They worked together for more than a decade at Vanderbilt and then Penn State, where Pry rose from co-DC/LBs to full defensive coordinator and helped build the defenses that kept Franklin’s “complementary football” sermons from turning into full-scale riots in Beaver Stadium.

When Pry finally got the Virginia Tech head job in 2021, it was widely read as Franklin placing his guy in a historically defense-first program that needed a cultural reboot. He talked Beamer-era lunch-pail nonsense, tried to rebuild the 757 and DMV pipelines, and leaned into the “Hokie DNA” stuff hard. Results? Mixed on recruiting, ugly on the field. Two bowl trips, one Military Bowl win, but no real momentum — and this year’s 0–3 faceplant, capped by Old Dominion hanging 45 on the Hokies in Lane Stadium, sealed his fate.

Franklin, to his credit, was publicly supportive when Pry got canned, calling him a friend first and a colleague second. That’s genuine; these guys have logged a lot of hours together.

But friendship and staff chemistry are one thing. Bringing Pry back as defensive coordinator at the school that just paid him millions to stop running their football program is something else entirely.

Could Franklin really bring Pry back as DC at Virginia Tech?

Short answer: in Year One? Almost certainly not.

Sports Illustrated’s Hokies site went right at the message-board fantasy: Pry as DC under Franklin. Their conclusion: hilarious idea, terrible timing. It’s a “fresh wound” for both the fanbase and the locker room. Many of the same players who looked like they’d mentally checked out at the end of Pry’s tenure are still there; asking them to now call him “Coach” again, even with a different title, is begging for drama.

On top of that:

• Optics for the AD/boosters: They just sold “we had to fire Pry to change the trajectory of the program.” Turning around and rehiring him as DC — while cutting an eight-figure check for his buyout — looks like they fired him for the crime of being mis-titled.
• Pry’s own ego: It’s one thing to go back to being a coordinator somewhere else. It’s another to go back as DC at the same school that just told you you weren’t good enough. That usually requires either a multi-year cooling-off period or a serious lack of better options.
• Franklin’s leverage: Franklin didn’t jump back into the game to be sentimental. VT just committed hundreds of millions to athletics and football infrastructure precisely so he could go get top-shelf coordinators without having to recycle scarred local inventory.

Could Pry end up as DC somewhere under Franklin down the road — maybe after a year in TV, an analyst role in the NFL, or a defensive consultant sabbatical? Absolutely. Franklin trusts him, Pry knows the system, and as a DC he’s still highly respected.

But Pry to DC at Virginia Tech immediately is more fan-fiction than realistic hire. Even the VT-friendly SI piece essentially laughs it off as a “low likelihood” move right now.

Building the Hokie Staff: Who Does Franklin Steal From Penn State?

This is where it gets fun — unless you’re Terry Smith trying to hold together what’s left of Penn State’s program with duct tape and a whistle.

The core Franklin entourage

Franklin travels with a politburo more than a staff, and some of those people might as well have “permanent carry-on” stamped on their foreheads.

Sports Illustrated laid out the short list of non-on-field staff who are almost certainly gone from Penn State and headed for Blacksburg:

• Chuck Losey – Strength & Conditioning czar: The de facto second head coach in any modern program. He followed Franklin from Vanderbilt to Penn State and has already said, in so many words, that where James goes, Chuck goes.
• Kenny Sanders – Director of Player Personnel: Glue guy for recruiting logistics and relationships. If Franklin wants to rebuild VT’s DMV/Tidewater pipeline in a hurry, Sanders is the kind of behind-the-scenes operator who makes that happen.
• Andy Frank (GM of Personnel & Recruitment) and Kevin Threlkel (Chief of Staff): Longtime lieutenants who’ve been with Franklin since Vanderbilt. SI rightly notes that if Franklin has “buried bodies” in this sport, those two know where the shovels are. They’re almost certainly punching their ticket to Blacksburg.

None of those guys require Penn State’s permission the way an on-field assistant might mid-season, and they’re exactly the people Franklin will want in place as VT barrels toward the portal window and the December signing period.

On-field assistants: who’s poachable?

On the coaching side, Franklin has a few obvious targets, but also some constraints:

1. Coordinator roles at VT will be big carrots.
   Virginia Tech media have already speculated that Franklin could go after Jim Knowles, currently Penn State’s defensive coordinator (and formerly Ohio State’s DC for their 2024 national title). Knowles’ reputation as an elite play-caller makes him an easy name to circle.
   • The catch: Penn State, even post-Franklin, probably has a bigger assistant salary pool than Virginia Tech. If PSU’s next head coach wants Knowles, VT may have to overpay relative to its own history.
2. Position coaches with deep Franklin ties are vulnerable.
   A StateCollege.com breakdown and other reporting have flagged several on-field names as both loyal to Franklin and plausible flight risks:
   • Phil Trautwein (OL) – critical for the trenches, and VT has badly needed better line play.
   • Stan Drayton (RBs) – recruiting chops and player-development record.
   • Justin Lustig (STC) – special teams plus recruiting.
   • Danny O’Brien / Trace McSorley (QBs assistants) – younger staffers with close personal ties to Franklin and PSU’s recent quarterbacks room.
3. Terry Smith and Anthony Poindexter are wildcards.
   SI’s Penn State piece suggests that Terry Smith (now interim HC, long-time CBs coach) and Anthony Poindexter (safeties) are the two most consistently reliable assistants on that staff. Smith, being a PSU alum and now interim head coach, may hang around for continuity under the next guy… if he’s offered that chance. Poindexter has been hovering on the edge of head-coach candidacy for years.
   • Would Franklin try to pry Poindexter loose with a DC title at VT if Knowles stays put? That’s the kind of move that would simultaneously boost VT and gut PSU’s defensive brain trust.

Realistically, Franklin doesn’t need (or want) to hollow out Penn State completely — but you can bet at least a couple of position coaches and a big chunk of the off-field infrastructure will be wearing maroon before spring ball.

The Recruiting Fallout: Commits, Decommits, and Hokie Flips

Now to the meat: players.

When Penn State fired Franklin in October, the recruiting fallout started immediately. A four-star tackle from Harrisburg, Kevin Brown, already bailed on PSU’s 2026 class and committed to West Virginia, explicitly citing the coaching change.

StateCollege.com notes a few key realities:

• Penn State’s 2026 class has already lost more than half its commitments, with more teetering on the brink.
• The 2027 class, once ranked No. 1 nationally, now has zero members.
• There’s a list of underclassmen on the current roster — guys like Ethan Grunkemeyer, Daryus Dixson, Luke Reynolds, Koby Howard, Tyseer Denmark, and others — who are now priorities for both schools: PSU trying to keep them, Franklin trying to lure them to VT or at least keep them out of the portal until he can make his pitch.

What can Franklin realistically do from Blacksburg?

Mechanically:

• Current PSU players can enter the transfer portal once the FBS window opens after the season. They can do so sooner if PSU has already played its last game and a 30-day post-firing window applies. Franklin can’t legally tamper while they’re still on another roster, but let’s not pretend back-channel communication doesn’t exist.
• Commits who haven’t signed can decommit with a Notes app screenshot and go wherever they like. Franklin has long-standing relationships with many of these families. Shifting the sales pitch from “whiteout at Beaver Stadium” to “Enter Sandman at Lane Stadium” is just a matter of swapping the photos in the PowerPoint.
• Kids who already signed NLIs (early period) are trickier. They’d need to request releases or use the one-time transfer rule after enrolling. The timing of Franklin’s hire, just before the December window, gives him maximum leverage to get in front of both unsigned commits and portal-curious underclassmen.

Expect Franklin’s first VT class to be a Frankenstein mix of:

• Handful of flipped PSU commits, especially from Virginia, Maryland, and the broader DMV where Franklin historically recruited well and Pry couldn’t quite close.
• Portal vets with PSU ties, i.e., guys buried on the depth chart who trust Franklin enough to give him one more shot in a league with a softer path to the playoff.
• Local VT targets who suddenly find Blacksburg more appealing with a nationally known recruiter taking over and an “invest to win” war chest behind him.

For Penn State, it’s triage time: yet-to-be-named new head coach, decimated future classes, and your ex now running the only other program selling “come play big-time ball in a cow pasture” to the same mid-Atlantic kids.

So What Does It All Add Up To?

From 10,000 feet:

• For Virginia Tech: This is the biggest hire they’ve made since Frank Beamer’s heyday, and they know it. They just went all-in with real money, real facilities promises, and real NIL backing to hand the keys to a guy who, flaws and all, consistently built 10-win teams in a much tougher neighborhood.
• For Franklin: It’s a soft-landing rehab gig with upside. The ACC is a hell of a lot more forgiving than a Big Ten that now includes Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA. Go 10–2 at Tech and you’re a conquering hero instead of a message-board chew toy.
• For Pry: He’s probably not riding back into Lane Stadium as DC this winter. But the very fact that people are talking about that possibility tells you his reputation as a defensive mind is intact. He’ll resurface somewhere; it just won’t be back in Blacksburg under the same roof that fired him two months ago.
• For Penn State: You don’t just lose a head coach; you lose the ecosystem — strength staff, personnel brain trust, and, if you’re unlucky, a few of your best assistants and a chunk of your recruiting board to the same guy in a different colored hoodie. That new hire better be ready to work the portal and the high schools like a madman.

Da Bottom Line

Bottom line: Franklin to Virginia Tech isn’t just a coaching carousel blurb. It’s a tectonic shift that links three programs (PSU, VT, and whoever hires Pry next), two regions (PA and the mid-Atlantic), and about 50 teenage wide receivers posting cryptic eyeball emojis on Instagram.

Meanwhile, in State College, they’re about to find out the hard way whether firing the guy who kept going 10–2 was actually “unfair as hell,” as Nick Saban politely put it — or the necessary first step into whatever this new, even dumber era of college football is going to be.