When Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry dismissed three assistant coaches last month, the search for their replacements began. Two weeks ago, Pry hired Matt Moore, the offensive line coach at West Virginia, to replace the recently fired Ron Crook. Currently, he has yet to replace the vacancy left by Chris Marve’s firing.
It has been a month since Pry announced the staff changes, and he has yet to fill the available position of defensive coordinator. Shawn Quinn handled such responsibilities in the Hokies’ 24-10 Duke Mayo Bowl loss to Minnesota ten days prior, with former great DC Bud Foster mentoring. On Monday, Pry’s search for his next defensive coordinator may meet a snag.
Leave it to Dabo Swinney to make life difficult for Pry. ESPN’s Pete Thamel claimed that Clemson will hire Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen to lead Swinney’s defense next season after the Nittany Lions were eliminated in the College Football Playoff semifinals by Notre Dame last Thursday night.
Why is this crucial to Virginia Tech? Anthony Poindexter, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, was considered a substitute for Marve in Blacksburg, but with Allen departing for Clemson, which is expected in the next few days, Poindexter will most likely remain at Penn State to take up Allen’s responsibilities.
Poindexter being on Pry’s radar makes a lot of sense because he worked with him under James Franklin when Pry was the Nittany Lions’ coach before arriving to Virginia Tech. It also seems sense that Pry would be interested in Poindexter while Penn State was still competing in the CFP. If Poindexter is the next guy under Franklin to call his defensive plays, Virginia Tech will be hard pressed to outbid Penn State for him.
This move may lead dominoes to fall in other locations, including Blacksburg.
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