Analyzing James Franklin's Offensive Staff at Virginia Tech

To no one's surprise, James Franklin's first offensive staff at Virginia Tech is rich with Penn Staters and guys with whom Franklin has a long history.

Let's take a look at the offensive staff as a whole and why Franklin chose each coach to join him in Blacksburg.

Offensive Coordinator: Ty Howle

Once I learned that Virginia Tech had armed James Franklin with a large war chest, I dreamed of an experienced and talented play caller defecting from a solid program to join Franklin's staff. Alas, that's not happening.

What is happening is Franklin is taking a chance on one of his best offensive assistants from his time at Penn State.

Ty Howle joined the Nittany Lions coaching staff as an offensive analyst in 2020 before leading the tight end room in 2021. Just two years later, Howle was rewarded with the co-offensive coordinator tag, a tool Franklin has used to retain up-and-coming assistants on both sides of the ball.

Howle earned the added role in State College — three of his tight ends have been drafted to the NFL, including 2025 first-round pick Tyler Warren. Penn State's offense has heavily featured tight ends for a while now, and Howle's players have been ready for that responsibility.

The only real issue with this hire is that Franklin is leaning on a first-time play caller, a problem that plagued his predecessor's early tenure. Howle may very well be an excellent offensive coordinator, but what kind of learning curve will Howle face in his first stint as the true offensive coordinator?

Fortunately, Howle is viewed as an excellent recruiter in the DMV area, and the North Carolina native could help the Hokies move south into the Tar Heel State and extract some talent.

Quarterbacks Coach: Danny O'Brien

Despite his inexperience, Howle brings a ton of upside to the offensive coordinator role. When it comes to Howle's quarterbacks coach — I have some doubts.

Danny O'Brien is a young assistant who not only has ties to Penn State, but ties to James Franklin specifically. Franklin coached O'Brien at Maryland from 2009-10 as the Terrapins' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

After a few years in the Canadian Football League (CFL), O'Brien moved into coaching in 2020 for the CFL's BC Lions. He jumped to Penn State just one year later, serving two years as an offensive analyst before becoming a graduate assistant. O'Brien was named Penn State's quarterbacks coach in 2024.

O'Brien was handed Drew Allar, a former five-star quarterback coming off a breakout season. Unfortunately, Allar's junior season was a mixed bag. Allar increased his passer rating and yards per attempt, completed more of his passes, and was more productive as a runner. He also quadrupled the number of interceptions he threw, and Allar's national semifinal performance against Notre Dame helped sink Penn State's championship aspirations.

This past year was a wash — Allar played at a similar level before suffering a season-ending ankle injury against Northwestern.

O'Brien simply hasn't been coaching quarterbacks for very long, making it hard to gauge the hire. Franklin clearly trusts him, though one must wonder if this hire was made on O'Brien's merits or Franklin's loyalty to his own.

Running Backs Coach:

Wide Receivers Coach:

Offensive Line Coach: