After a disappointing 6-6 season that fell well short of expectations, Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry is making staff changes.
The Hokies fired defensive coordinator Chris Marve, offensive line coach Ron Crook and strength coach Dwight Galt IV on Thursday, news delivered in an evening release.
It's the biggest shakeup yet for Pry, whose team fell short of expectations in 2024 when they were deemed ACC contenders in the preseason.
"I appreciate the work Coach Marve, Coach Crook and Coach Galt have put into Virginia Tech football," Pry said in the release. "They are great men who, alongside their families, have poured into our university and our student-athletes. However, our on-field results have not met our standards. As head coach, it is my responsibility to make the necessary changes to restore this program to its rightful place among college football’s best and deliver the success Hokie Nation deserves."
Marve was hand-picked by Pry to run his defense three years ago, hired from Florida State at age 32 despite having never been a coordinator before. The two had a history going back to Vanderbilt, where Pry coached Marve as a senior in 2011.
Pry planned to bring him along as a play-caller, taking those duties himself in 2022 before passing the baton to Marve in the season finale against Liberty, when Tech snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 23-22 win against the Flames thanks to a solid defensive effort.
Marve took over full duties from there, showing marked improvement in the second half of 2023. Despite an explosive-run problem, especially early in the season, Tech finished with the 20th-ranked defense nationally, allowing 316.8 yards per game. It was the Hokies’ highest finish since having the 13th-ranked group under Bud Foster in 2017.
This year, despite returning nine starters on defense and plugging holes with key transfers, the group took a step back, finishing 58th nationally at 359.7 ypg. Tech allowed 12 pass plays of 40-plus yards and watched second-half leads disappear against Vanderbilt, Miami and Syracuse, with the latter two coming back from 10- and 21-point deficits after halftime.
Pry hasn’t been able to figure out the right fit for his offensive line coach, with his next hire being the third O-line coach he’ll have heading into his fourth season. Crook spent two years in Blacksburg, a spring of 2023 addition after Pry’s first big-ticket hire, Joe Rudolph, left after one year with the Hokies for the same job at Notre Dame.
Though Tech’s running game thrived when Bhayshul Tuten and Kyron Drones got going, the offensive line had hit-or-miss results, never earning impressive grades by Pro Football Focus. Despite the Hokies racking up 4.86 yards per carry in 2024, ranking 38th nationally, it was a slight step back from 2023. The team also ranked 91st in sacks allowed (29).
More damning might be the room’s roster situation. In Crook’s two years, neither transfer addition on the line (Clayton Frady in 2023, Montavious Cunningham in 2024) made much of an impact. Meanwhile, Transfer portal entries from star left tackle Xavier Chaplin and center Braelin Moore, combined with graduations from right guard Kaden Moore and right tackle Parker Clements, means the Hokies will have to replace four of their five starters up front.
Galt came to Virginia Tech from Old Dominion as part of Pry's initial staff. He'd spent three years with the Monarchs after seven years before that as an assistant strength coach at Penn State, where he worked with Pry.
Marve signed an extension last winter through March of 2027 that paid him $875,000 annually. Crook and Galt were signed through March of 2026, with Crook making $490,000 and Galt $325,000. Those salaries are paid out through the length of the term, though they'd be offset if any of the three got new coaching jobs.
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