Two College Football Teams Have Fired Their Head Coaches After Week 3
To quote the legendary Yogi Berra, things got late early for a pair of major conference football coaches this season.
Two power conference head coaches were fired on Sunday after both started 0-3 this season. Virginia Tech's Brent Pry was let go one day after the Hokies lost 45-26 at home to Old Dominion, a game they trailed 28-0 at halftime.
Moments later, news broke that UCLA had hired DeShaun Foster. A star running back for the Bruins from 1998-2001, Foster was an assistant coach at his alma mater from 2013-15 and 2017-23 before taking over for Chip Kelly before the 2024 season.
UCLA was also embarrassed at home in Week 3, losing 35-10 to New Mexico on Friday night.
Pry couldn't bring VT back to glory
Pry arrived in Blacksburg in 2022 following a successful run as Penn State's defensive coordinator. After going 3-8 in his first season, Pry went 7-6 with a win in the Military Bowl in year two, which along with improved recruiting brough optimism for the future.
However, things declined in 2024, with the Hokies going 6-7, and crash landed to start this season. After losing 24-11 to then-No. 13 South Carolina in the season opener, Virginia Tech lost 44-20 to Vanderbilt and 45-26 to Old Dominion at home, sealing Pry's fate.
"Clearly, it starts with me," Pry said after Saturday's loss. "Coaches, players, everybody is accountable here. We've got to get back to the basics and find a way to be closer to the team we can be."
The team will get that chance without him. Offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery is the interim replacement.
Foster failed to deliver results
Foster seemed a curious choice to take over as head coach, as he'd never even served as a coordinator before. His first season leading the Bruins started abysmally, with five straight losses following an opening win over Hawaii.
Foster led UCLA to four wins in its final six games in 2024, signaling that perhaps he was capable of more. Unfortunately, this season was a disaster from the start.
DeShaun Foster had to go, but UCLA's problems are much deeper than the HC, with no easy solution.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 14, 2025
-- $200M athletics deficit over the last 6 years.
-- No NIL pot of gold
-- Complete fan apathy
-- Big Ten competitors way more invested in football.
Good luck to the next HC.
UCLA was blown out by Utah 43-10 in Week 1, lost 30-23 at UNLV in Week 2 and then was routed at home by New Mexico this weekend.
All of that added up to the administration pulling the plug and resetting.