After call from Georgia, Foster gets new deal at Virginia Tech

Bud Foster won’t become Georgia’s new defensive coordinator, but the Bulldogs’ overtures to bring him to Athens will pay off for the highly respected coach.

Hours after acknowledging  contact from UGA about its  job, Foster late Monday agreed to new financial terms to remain at Virginia Tech.

“I’ve been approached for jobs -– the strongest one was Georgia -– and [Virginia] Tech came through with a package that’s going to keep me here,” Foster said Monday night in Blacksburg, Va., according to the Daily Press of Newport News, Va. “I’m pleased with that.

“On the table right now, there’s a nice situation for me to want to continue here and stay here.”

Virginia Tech said terms of the new deal, which had been in the works since the weekend, will not be released until it is finalized. But the key element is an annuity that will pay Foster a  lump sum if he remains at the school another five years.

Foster, 50, is in his 23rd year at Virginia Tech, his 15th as defensive coordinator. He is making $402,000 this year.

Georgia coach Mark Richt is seeking a replacement for Willie Martinez, the defensive coordinator who was fired along with two other UGA defensive coaches on Dec. 2.

Earlier Monday, Foster confirmed through a spokesman that he had been approached by Georgia at some point since Martinez was fired.

“He said he has been contacted,” Virginia Tech associate athletics director Dave Smith said by e-mail in mid-afternoon, “but that’s it.”

Asked at the time if “that’s it” meant talks with Georgia hadn’t progressed beyond initial stages,  Smith replied: “That would be my take, but the only other thing [Foster] said was there really isn’t anything else to say.”

A few hours later, he said he’s staying at Virginia Tech.

Although Richt has made no public comments about Georgia’s search, candidates widely rumored to be on his radar include Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, Kansas State defensive coordinator Vic Koenning and Buffalo Bills defensive-line coach Bob Sanders, among others. Smart, a former Georgia player, has said he is “not looking to go anywhere.”