After a 2024 that didn't live up to expectations in some ways for Virginia Tech Athletics, especially on the gridiron, 2025 has arrived with a much different set of storylines to open the year with. There's a ton of storylines from warming seats for two of the biggest figures in VT Athletics to a potential retirement watch for another prominent coach and a whole lot more.
So with that in mind, let's dive into part one of my top storylines for Virginia Tech Athletics in 2025 as we focus on storylines that will heavily play out during the first few months of this year.
Who Will Be VT's Next Defensive Coordinator?
With Brent Pry's seat warming (we'll get to that in part 2), the Hokies' head football coach made a couple big changes to his staff, letting go of his defensive coordinator, OL coach, and strength & condition coach. While he already has a new OL coach in place in Matt Moore, VT still hasn't hired a new defensive coordinator (along with a new S&C coach).
Given the stakes for Pry entering 2025, this hire will certainly dominate the headlines for however long the position remains open whether that's for a few more days or a few more weeks.
Let me dive into what I know, which isn't a whole lot to be honest.
First, the defense is not going to undergo some sort of schematic overhaul with the new defensive coordinator. Could there be some minor tweaks to fit what the DC wants to do? Sure, but don't expect many changes schematically at all which makes sense because Tech's defense issue were not of a schematic variety.
Second, Pry has plenty of money available to him from what I've heard from a source.
Can Whit Babcock Survive Football Mediocrity and MBB Struggles?
Whit Babcock's seat is warm with there being plenty of donor and fan frustration. With Brent Pry potentially in danger of losing his job after next season if the Hokies disappoint on the gridiron again, that raises the question as to whether Babcock may be on an even shorter leash that sees his demise before the 2025 football season even starts.
It's rare, if not borderline impossible for a Power 4 athletic director to get a third shot at hiring a football coach at a school if his first two fail. And if you want to run a proper search and give your next AD a good situation, you want to make that move months before you're potentially making that coaching move if you're a competent operation which I do believe VT is (or at least hope they are).
Now whether that's fair or not for Babcock given how much else is involved in the job is a question for a different day, but that is the reality and donors are quite frustrated with what they saw on the field this past season.
