After Athletic Director Tom Kleinlein announced today that Jeff Monken had accepted the head coaching position at Army, the job search for a new head football coach has begun.

“I will work hard in the coming days to find the best fit for Georgia Southern University, and I am confident we will find a coach who will lead our program with class, integrity, sportsmanship and a commitment to our student-athletes,” Kleinlein said at today’s press conference.

While he did not mention if he has contacted anyone yet to fill the vacancy, one name stands out among potential candidates, Brent Pry.

Pry is Vanderbilt University’s Assistant Head Coach and served as GSU’s defensive coordinator during the 2010 season in which the Eagles reached the FCS semifinals. His defensive unit that year was ranked ninth nationally and was 11th in scoring defense.

The highlight of his tenure in Statesboro was an overtime victory over Appalachian State University. His defense held the No. 1 ranked Mountaineers to 14 points. App State averaged 39 points per game up until that point.

Kleinlein said that he wants someone at the helm who values GSU’s traditions like the option offense and the yellow school buses.

Pry is a coach who not only would understand and value those traditions, but would bring FBS experience to the Eagles. This type of hire would fall in line with what GSU has done in the past.

Monken was an assistant under FBS school Georgia Institute of Technology when GSU hired him away from the Yellow Jackets. He served under Paul Johnson who coached the Eagles from 1997-2001.

Pry graduated from the University of Buffalo in 1993 and has coached at the University of Memphis and Western Carolina University.