New Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin continues to assemble his first coaching staff in Blacksburg. On Sunday, the following name was revealed: Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported that the Hokies are targeting Texas A&M defensive line coach Sean Spencer for the same position in Blacksburg.
Spencer is considered one of the best coaches in college football and is also an elite recruiter. Spencer played collegiately at Clarion in the 1980s. Known as “Coach Chaos”, Spencer began his coaching career in 1995. Here are some of his stops over the years:
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Wesleyan (1995): wide receivers coach and tight ends coach
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Shippensburg (1996-97): running backs coach
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Trinity (1998-99): running backs coach
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Trinity (2000): Defensive line coach
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UMass (2001-03: defensive line coach
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Holy Cross (2004): Defensive line coach
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Villanova (2005): linebackers coach
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Holy Cross (2006): Defensive line coach
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UMass (2007-08): Defensive line coach
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Bowling Green (2009-10): Defensive line coach
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Vanderbilt (2011-13): defensive line coach
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Penn State (2014-17): defensive line coach
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Penn State (2018-19): associate head coach and defensive line coach
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New York Giants (2020-21): defensive line coach
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Florida (2022-23): Co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach
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Texas A&M (2024-25): defensive line coach
As you can see, Spencer has traveled a lot. You can also see the overlap with Franklin and Brent Pry. He worked at Vanderbilt and Penn State from 2011-2019 with Pry and Franklin. Both coaches are close to Spencer, with Andy Bitter finding this gem of a photo of Pry and Spencer.
Spencer had turned several players into future NFL draft picks. He also recruited some of the best, working with Pry to recruit Micah Parsons while they were at Penn State. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg says that The Hokies should hire Spencerand with the Aggies already lining up his replacement, this one appears to be close to being finished.
This is a significant hire for Franklin, made possible by Virginia Tech’s budget increase. VT’s staff is impressive and we have yet to officially hear the names of the cornerbacks and safeties coaches.
