Philip Montgomery addresses if any players have decided to opt out after Brent Pry firing

Virginia Tech announced on Sept. 14 that it would be parting ways with head coach Brent Pry following a disappointing 45-26 loss to Old Dominion. The Hokies opened the season 0-3 and fell to 16-24 under Pry with the loss. Shortly after Pry’s firing was announced, offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery was announced as the interim coach.

Montgomery was brought on this offseason as the Hokies’ new offensive coordinator. He has been coaching since 1994, when he began as a special assistant at Tarleton State. He worked his way up to becoming the head coach at Tulsa in 2015, a role he held for eight seasons before he was fired.

The Eastland, Tex., native led the Golden Hurricane to a 43-53 (28-24) record with wins in the 2016 Miami Beach Bowl and the 2021 Miami Beach Bowl. He made his return to head coaching with Virginia Tech for the remainder of the 2025 season and led it to a 38-6 win over Wofford in his debut last Saturday.

Montgomery addresses if any Virginia Tech players had opted out

During a media opportunity on Wednesday, Montgomery shared whether or not any Hokie players had opted out following Pry’s removal. Montgomery did his best to directly answer the question.

“It’s an ever-changing, flowing situation right now,” Montgomery said. “I think we’re in a good spot. I think our team is pretty bought in to where we’re at, so we’ll continue to have conversations when they come up. But we’re trying to educate and do the right things and every decision we make is about the team and the team moving forward.”

“I’m not gonna put any pressure on any of our student athletes. My encouraging and our coaching staff… we want every one of the guys out there on the field with us. So we’re trying to hold our team tight and continue to grow as a football team and as a unit.”

Since Pry was fired, two Virginia Tech players have entered the Transfer Portal. Junior defensive back Dante Lovett Jr. entered the portal on Sept. 16, and senior wide receiver Tucker Holloway entered the portal more than a week later on Sept. 25. Lovett Jr. recorded six tackles in two games, while Holloway hauled in five catches for 82 yards this season.

The Hokies will now owe their former head coach $6 million. Virginia Tech will pay Pry in equal quarterly installments over the remainder of his contract, which expires Dec. 31, 2027.  He will receive $750,000 per quarter until the end of 2027, when his six-year agreement expires. Pry was making $4.75 million this season.

A national coaching search has been launched at Virginia Tech. But it is now up to Montgomery to lead the program to a respectable finish over the final nine games of the season.