Virginia Tech Reportedly Hiring Sam Siefkes as Defensive Coordinator

According to multiple reports, Virginia Tech is reportedly set to hire Arizona Cardinals LBs coach Sam Siefkes as their next defensive coordinator. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report the move.

Siefkes has spent the past four seasons in the NFL including 2021-22 as a defensive assistant for the Minnesota Vikings and 2023-24 as the Cardinals LBs coach.

Prior to that, Siefkes was the defensive coordinator at Wofford from 2018-20, though he left the Terriers before their delayed 2020 season took place in the spring of 2021. He was also the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin-Plattville during the 2016 and 2017 seasons after spending a season as a defensive grad assistant at Wisconsin in 2015. He started his coaching career as a student assistant at Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2012 and 2013, and as a quality control coach at FIU in 2014.

Siefkes does not have any defensive coordinator experience above the FCS ranks. However Brent Pry did previously say at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl Media Day that while he is looking for a DC with previous DC experience, that experience didn’t have to be at the Power 4 level.

“I really want some experience calling (the defense). I just know how valuable that is, somebody that’s done it. And to be honest with me being a guy that’s come up through the ranks, you’d love it to be at the Power 4 level but it doesn’t have to be. You’ve just had to have been through the ups and downs, the learning curve that takes place, managing a defensive room of coaches, a defensive unit meeting, 50 players. And being able to have a game plan that makes sense, being able to make adjustments, being able to build a championship-caliber group. Somebody that’s very confident in what they want to do and how they want it to look,” Pry said.

We will have more as this story develops.

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