Super Bowl champion head coach and former Virginia Tech quarterback Bruce Arians is expected to consult the committee that will be appointed to hire Virginia Tech's next head football coach as first reported On3's Pete Nakos and confirmed by Arians on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday.
Sources have told @On3sports that the Super Bowl champion head coach and former Virginia Tech QB Bruce Arians is expected to consult and lend his expertise to the Hokies' hiring committee.
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) September 22, 2025
Intel: https://t.co/qXEtIAxZSu pic.twitter.com/CIjCcmOczY
In his appearance with McAfee, Arians confirmed that Virginia Tech will be hiring a general manager to run football first before hiring a head coach. This was hinted at in athletic director Whit Babcock's remarks last week.
The move shouldn't be a surprise given that Arians has deep Virginia Tech roots. He played quarterback from 1971-1974. Following that, he started his long coaching career in Blacksburg, taking on the role of Running Backs coach from 1975-1977.
Following his departure from Blacksburg, he spent four seasons between Mississippi State and Alabama as the running backs coach. He then became the head coach at Temple, where he went 27-39 in six seasons. His best was a 6-5 season in 1984.
In 1989, he got his first taste of NFL experience, taking on the role of running backs coach once again, this time for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Following that, he spent about 15 years bouncing around position coaching and offensive coordinator jobs. He won two Super Bowl's with the Steelers in 2006 and 2008.
He then took an offensive coordinator job in Indianapolis, where he had to take over as the interim head coach just five games into the season due to Chuck Pagano's cancer diagnosis. He finished the season with a 9-3 record as the interim head coach and was the Coach of the Year.
That performance in Indianapolis was enough to land him his first head coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals. In five seasons in Arizona, Arians led the Cardinals to two playoff appearances and a 49-30-1 record. The furthest he got in Arizona was the NFC Championship game. He left Arizona as the winningest coach in franchise history.
He then took a one year hiatus from coaching before signing a four-year contract with Tampa Bay. He coached three seasons there before ultimately retiring as a head coach.
In those three seasons, Arians spent two working with Tom Brady on their way to Arians' first Super Bowl as a head coach. He led the Bucs to a 13-4 record the following year, but was bounced by the Rams in the divisional game. He is the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl.
Arians finished his NFL head coaching career with an 86-51-1 record and a Super Bowl. He also won two Coach of the Year Awards and three Greasy Neale Awards.
Since retiring, he has spent three years as the Buccaneers Senior Football Consultant, where he has taken on a more advisory position within the organization. Arians has described his new role as a "What do you think?" position, indicating that he provides input and guidance on various aspects of the team's operations.
Arians is not expected to be a candidate for the head coaching vacancy.
