James Franklin reveals how he will assemble Virginia Tech coaching staff

New Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin revealed how he would assemble his new staff with the Hokies, but didn’t dive into specifics. It’s likely to be a combination of bringing in new guys, as well as some Virginia Tech holdovers, should they make sense.

Franklin said everything’s on the table and he wants to use his vast knowledge and experience to make it the best staff going into 2026. He echoed those sentiments about the current crop of players, which he called “his players.”

“As for coaches, I’m going to bring the best fit for Virginia Tech, we’re going to have an opportunity to attract some of the best coaches in the country,” Franklin said Wednesday. “That will be in terms of spending time with the current staff and seeing who makes sense to keep on with us, because those people have obviously poured their hearts and soul into this program, also bringing some coaches from other places as well. But that’s going to be a very important piece of this process as well.”

Franklin has a track record of success, even if he couldn’t get over the hump at Penn State. But there’s no question he’s going to dig in his heels in Blacksburg and give it the ole college try, or at least better than that of course!

“I think a lot of times the current team is worried about the new coach coming in and wanting his own players,” Franklin said. “The day I signed the contract to be the head coach at Virginia Tech, they’re all my players. That is the current team, and that is the players that we’re going to bring in for competition. And the reality is people worry about, ‘Well, is he going to have favorites?’ Yes, I am going to have favorites. My favorites are high production and low maintenance players, coaches and staff.”

Franklin replaces Brent Pry, who, ironically, worked under Franklin with the Nittany Lions from 2016-21 as the defensive coordinator. Pry was 16-24 as Virginia Tech’s head coach, but was fired after an 0-3 start this season.

Franklin left State College with a 104-45 record since 2014 when he took the job. He is 128-60 overall as a head coach, which includes his three-year stint at Vanderbilt (24-15).