Virginia Tech remains without a defensive coordinator and while many names have been rumored, there’s very little clarity on who is actually involved.
So with that in mind, here’s a look at the coaches who will not be the Hokies’ next defensive coordinator.
Bud Foster
It’s been known for a couple weeks that Bud Foster will not be the defensive coordinator but will be around the program more in an advisory role as Brent Pry shared while Virginia Tech was in Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
“He’s not going to be the defensive coordinator. We’ve put that rest. He’s going to be involved in an advisory role (going forward). In some way, shape, or form; Bud’s going to be part of our defense. We haven’t decided anything officially, but he’s been great in the bowl prep. I’ve bounced things off of him. Coach Quinn has spent a lot of time with Bud. He’s been at every practice, he’s at every staff meeting, so we’re gonna have some type of plan for him moving forward, x number of days per week, what it looks like, what can he do, where can he help us the most,” Pry said.
While this has been true for a while, this is just a reminder of that.
J.C. Price and Derek Jones
If Virginia Tech is going to make an internal promotion, it will be Shawn Quinn as his bump to interim defensive coordinator showed.
J.C. Price and Derek Jones also both haven’t been defensive coordinators previously in their career, with Brent Pry making it clear that having DC experience is pretty close to a must have if it isn’t a requirement. That would limit internal promotions options to Quinn and Xavier Adibi, who was a defensive coordinator at the DII ranks before joining the Hokies’ staff.
Here’s what Pry said when asked about if his next DC needed to have DC experience.
“I don’t know if there is a must-have. 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.
So DC experience may not be a must-have, but it basically seems like it reading between the lines.
