Virginia Tech is building a new office for James Franklin, which makes things rather awkward for Brent Pry. The former college football coach in Blacksburg must now visit his successor’s brand-new workspace on a daily basis.
All of this before his replacement has even coached his first game with the program.
I know that there is not any bad blood between them, as these two are good friends with a well-documented history of success in college football. That does not make it any less awkward.
James Franklin is getting a new office at Virginia Tech.
Only time will tell whether this hire actually pays off, but the Hokies seemingly hit a home run during the offseason. A program that has won nine or more games only two times since 2011 hired a head coach who 11 games or more in six of the last 10 years.
James Franklin is considered one of the best coaches in the sport. His only knock is that he can’t win the big games. That was a problem at Penn State, which expects to compete for a national championship ever season, and led to his ouster. It is not quite as big of an issue at a school like Virginia Tech.
Sure, the Hokies would love to one day return to its glory days. They were one of the most dominant programs in the Big East and ACC under Frank Beamer. Franklin is supposed to get them back. The school and its fanbase expect to make the College Football Playoff sooner than later.
However, this is a team that won only three games twice in the last four years and has missed out on a bowl game in three of the last five. Baby steps.
One of those baby steps is a renovation to the head coach’s office. Franklin has been on campus for less than six months and his office is already getting a facelift. It will cost a total of $192,000. I would imagine that price tag does not include the little things like pillows, desks, etc. so lets go ahead and round up to $200,000.
I could not find an exact picture of the current head coach’s office (pre-renovation) but I did notice that Franklin takes a lot of photos in front of a backdrop that looks a lot like a doctor’s waiting room.
The chairs and the minifridge do not make for a great photo. The carpet looks like my elementary school.
Here is another angle of what I think is Franklin’s current office. I cannot say for certain but it is the same kind of carpet.
Assuming these photos were captured in Franklin’s office, it is about to look very different. $192,000 different.
Poor Brent Pry…
Don’t get me wrong. I understand the business side of college football. I know that Brent Pry was more than happy to accept the defensive coordinator position at Virginia Tech alongside James Franklin even though he was fired by Virginia Tech. They are good friends. There is no bad blood between him and the university. He got paid a lot of money while he was the head coach.
It still has to be awkward. At least a little bit.
Pry did not have a lot of financial support as the head football coach of the Hokies. It has been less than six months and his replacement, who also happens to be his good friend, is getting a renovated office at the low cost of ~$192,000 without coaching a single game. Now he has to report to and/or walk by said office multiple times each day. It’s an uncomfortable situation whether they want to admit it or not.
I don’t know whether the Franklin hire is going to work out but Virginia Tech is clearly willing to give him whatever he wants
The six-figure office renovation is the first step toward a national title. Right?