Virginia Tech hires new special teams coordinator

New Virginia Tech head football coach James Franklin is one step closer to finalizing his coaching staff. On Monday night, Evan Watkins of 247Sports revealed the Hokies were hiring Doug Shearer as the new special teams coordinator.

Shearer comes to Blacksburg from the University of Connecticut, where he served as special teams coordinator for the past four seasons under Jim Mora. He also coached Sam linebackers.

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Before his time at UConn, Shearer was special teams coordinator at Miami (Ohio) for three seasons. Shearer began his coaching career at North Carolina State in 2014 as a special teams quality control assistant, a role in which he held for five seasons before landing his first solo role at Miami.

Shearer is a 2013 graduate of UConn. During his coaching career, Shearer has coached several all-conference specialists. UConn has had some of the best special teams units in the country recently, featuring kicker Chris Freeman and punter Connor Stutz, two of the best in the country at their respective positions.

Shearer is a young coach with a solid reputation and no apparent ties to Franklin. Shearer will inherit one of college football’s top kickers in 2026, John Love.