Now that we've given it a few days for the dust to settle, its time to look around and see what everyone else is saying about the new hire. You have to take what's being said with a grain of salt, mind you, because its in the Fourth Estate's best interest to be nice to the new guy so he'll talk to them (Al Groh certainly didn't). So the new head coach could be you or me, and they'd find something nice to say (OK, maybe not me).
- Hootie reflects on London's whirlwind ride. There are few other excellent tidbits in this piece: London ignored his agent's advice to see what else was out there before committing to Virginia, London's salary quintupled with the move from Richmond, and Virginia's need to hire (and more importantly pay) good assistants. The DP also noted London's intent to switch from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense. Good news for Steve Greer, but Cam Johnson's going to have to figure out his role, as he's more suited to a 3-4 scheme.
- Doug Doughty notes that Virginia didn't have a Plan B. Quoting Associate AD Jon Oliver, UVA was prepared to wait as long as Richmond's playoff run took to talk to London. Doughty also notes that the London hire earned the approval of high school coaches and diversity groups.
- Jeff White noted how many members of the UVA family came into town for London's introductory press conference as a good sign.
- The Good Ol Blog tries to disavow Virginia fans of the notion that London is an Al Groh disciple. The Good Ol's new blogger doesn't really back up his premise, but I do agree with him.
- London getting some TV time on Washington Post Live. It is funny that London won't mention Virginia Tech by name. They're like Lord Voldemort.
- The next order of business? Filling out London's staff. David Teel notes that London secured a 29% raise in assistant pay to bring it up from last in the ACC. About time.
- Jeff White notes that three of London's UR assistants are likely to join him in C'ville. Doug Doughty notes that if Jeff is running those names, you can bet its pretty close to a done deal. We agree.
- Within the same piece, Doughty kicks around a few other names to fill out the staff. Jim Reid, the former VMI Coach and current LB Coach for the Miami Dolphins, as DC. Bill Musgrave, who's coaching QBs in Atlanta, for OC. Interesting thought, but as Doug acknowledges, Musgrave would likely have to take a paycut from his NLF gig, and then move from coaching Matt Ryan to Marc Verica and Riko Smalls. In other words, don't hold your breath. Doug also notes the UVA assistants under Groh that did recruit well (they existed?) that London should consider retaining. He also theorizes that former Notre Dame DC Corwin Brown, WVU RB Chris Beatty and former QB Shawn Moore might also be considered for the staff, but that none is a slam dunk to come.
- A number of pieces out there on London's real job No. 1 - recruiting. Hootie here, the WP on the all-important 7-5-7, and the Daily Press, which covers sports for the 7-5-7 area, here. Scouts Inc. certainly like the hire for recruiting purposes. Still, as the WP's Zach Berman notes within this chat, London's effect on recruiting won't be immediate with most of the state's top talent already committed for next season. (On a sidenote, lots of angst within this chat about London's pricetag. Apparently Zach's readers would have preferred UVa to go lowball in its coaching search).
- Coincidentally, London landed his first recruiting commit on Sunday. It didn't hurt that Miami-area QB Michael Strauss was visiting on the weekend of the big hire, or that he now plays for former UVA LB Ernie Sims. Still, good timing kid.
- Top OL Morgan Moses, who just a week ago appeared to lobby for London in a meeting with AD Craig Littlepage, is now exploring his options. Huh? Within the same piece, though, Berman notes that FUMA Head coach John Shuman is happy (which is important moving forward), and fellow OL prospect (albeit less regarded) Cody Wallace remains committed to the Hoos.
- Finally, Jeff White takes a peak at the football schedule in upcoming seasons. Next season's out of conference slate features E. Michigan, Richmond, and VMI at home, some team from Southern California on the road. A home and home with Penn State starts in 2012, and one with UCLA in 2014.
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It certainly sounded on Saturday as if Mike London had coached his last game at his alma mater. First, there was a blog report that Richmond had been removed from UVA's 2010 schedule. Then, there was London's post-game comments after his Spider's last-second loss to Appalachian State, almost speaking in the past tense when talking about his team. By Sunday morning, it was released that Virginia had sought permission to speak to London, and by last night, a press conference had been scheduled to announce London as the University's next head football coach.
Is it the right hire? Only time will tell, but it certainly fits the criteria we talked about earlier in the week. London is know by reputation as a solid recruiter, particularly in the state. That makes sense in light of the fact that he was raised in the talent-rich Hampton Roads area, and has been coaching in the state for 17 of the last 21 years. As we noted in our review of London's resume, if anyone can break Frank Beamer's death-grip on in-state talent, its the Hampton native London.
That failure to maintain in-state recruiting, more than any other reason, explains why Al Groh was fired last Sunday. The program had at least held its own during Groh's early years, and success followed. If Virignia was looking to a return to the successes of earlier this decade, London (or perhaps Temple Head Coach Al Golden) made a heck of a lot of sense. Those teams were never great, but with the talent brought in principally by those two men, Virginia was relevant, going to four straight bowl games from 2002-05. As his assistants left, the recruiting fell off, leading to losing seasons in three of the last four campaigns.
Can London coach? Former UVa players sure seem to think so. First Nate Collins sung his praises, and then over the weekend Chris Long gave London his endorsement. And while its fair to say that London did not build the program at Richmond, he certainly got them over the hump, taking a team that had bowed out in the FCS Semifinals the year before to a National Championship in 2008, his first year as coach. And as a former Cav assistant, and a former assistant at W&M and BC as well, London should be prepared to deal with the academic restrictions that exist at a place like Virginia.
Is it a foolproof hire? No. A cynic would point out that he won at Richmond with someone else's players. All 22 Spider starers this season were upperclassmen, and thus brought to Richmond by London's predecessor. We don't know yet how London's classes, who would have started to make their mark next season, would have fared.
A cynic might also suggest that while UVA's defenses were solid under London in 2006 and '07, it did so while London was the DC under Al Groh, who made his name as a defensive coach. Its kind of like being the OC of the New Orleans Saints. Its nice and all (and may have gotten Doug Marrone the job at Syracuse), but everyone knows Sean Payton calls the shots down there. It could easily be argued that London's only been truly calling the defensive shots for two seasons, a little thin for a major conference head coach.
But this is where the speed of the hire allays some of those concerns (at least mine). We'll never truly know whether it was London or Golden (choice 1A in my book) who was more or less responsible for the stellar recruiting classes from earlier this decade. Nor can we fairly credit either man with being a better coach - London got Richmond over the hump, but Golden has done nothing short of work miracles at Temple. But its fair to assume (even if we don't always trust their evaluations) that the Athletic Department does know the difference between these two men. And while there were rumors surrounding London from the day Groh was fired, there was never a report anywhere that Virginia sought permission to speak with Golden. Perhaps that's because Golden wouldn't have come, but I have a hard time believing he would not have at least listened. The fact that Virginia flirted with no one else tells me they knew who they wanted all along, and that can only be interpreted as a good sign.
More than anything, the hire makes sense because more than any of the other candidates, this was a destination job for London. A bit early in his career maybe - none of the other major programs were looking at him - but some of the more seasoned candidates that were, like Tommy Tuberville or Skip Holtz, may always have seen the grass as greener on the other side. Same to a certain extent with Golden, who may have been tempted by the Penn State job when Paterno finally rides off into the sunset. Its hard to see London coaching anywhere else. Its his dream job. We can only hope that it turns out to be Virginia's dream hire.
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This week we will be running a series on potential coaching candidates to replace Al Groh, who was fired on Sunday. First up, Richmond Head Coach and former Virginia Defensive Coordinator Mike London.
Many people's presumptive frontrunner, such as here for example, the 39-year old London is in his second year as the head coach of his alma mater, the I-AA University of Richmond Spiders, for which he left the Hoos' DC post at the end of the 2007 season. The Hampton native is an almost unbelievable feel-good story, a one-time Richmond cop that exited the beat after a near death experience and has worked his way all the way up the coaching ladder.
In his first season at Richmond, London led the Spiders to their first-ever Division I-AA Chamionship. To be clear, London wasn't exactly inheiriting a rebuilding job - the Spiders had won the CAA and reached the I-AA semifinals in 2007 - but London has to get credit for getting Richmond over the top in 2008. He has continued that excellence in 2009, with another title contender that stood at 11-1, shared the CAA title for a second consecutive year, and was ranked No. 4 in the nation headed into the I-AA playoffs. Richmond's only loss this season came when its place-kicker missed an extra point after what should have been a game-tying TD in a one-point loss at Villanova.
As Richmond Head coach, London is 1-1 against 1-A schools. The Spiders played Virginia close in 2008, trailing only 3-0 headed into the 4th quarter before the Hoos pulled away in a 16-0 win. This season, the Spiders upset Duke, 24-16, in Durham. It looked like a good win at the time (I-AA wins over 1-A schools always are); it looks like a great win now that Duke proved not to be its usual doormat self.
At Virginia, London was Defensive Coordinator for two years following Al Golden's departure to Temple. In 2006, Virginia was fourth in the ACC in total defense, pitched a pair of shutouts, and propped up an otherwise shaky offense (dead last in the ACC in total offense) under true freshman QB Jameel Sewell. The Hoos went from good to great in 2007. Led by All-American Chris Long, the Hoos were third in the ACC in scoring defense, and won nine games even though the offense was only marginally better than it was in 2006.
Prior to that, London took an ill-fated one-year foray into the NFL, where he was D-line coach for the 2-14 Houston Texans. When Dom Capers was fired after the season, London came back to UVA, where he had been Groh's D-line coach from 2001-04. He was also recruiting coordinator from 2002-04. Notably, Virginia's recruiting classes started to fall off after London left that job in 2004 (although to be fair, it could have easily been the departutes of Al Golden and Danny Rocco - more on them later this week - that led to the recent recruiting dropoff).
London acknowledges he's not a scheme guy. His offenses at Richmond are simple; his defenses solid. So you wouldn't be getting the next young innovator. London is very much old school. But his players love him. London wears his emotions on his sleeve, and his players seem to respond to it. (more after the break).
Pros: As a Hampton native, former recruiting coordinator, and a coach within the state of Virginia for 17 of the last 21 years, if anyone can break Frank Beamer's death grip on in-state recruiting, London would seem to be the guy. On top of a rock solid coaching resume, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, London is a winning commodity. The Hoos enjoyed their best season of the Groh era with London as DC, and he's built a I-AA powerhouse at Richmond. Its just a matter of time before London gets a shot at the D-I level. No reason it can't be rebuilding the program at Virginia.
Cons: Despite a winning resume, London has only been a head coach for two seasons, and its been at the I-AA level. And while he's been successful at Richmond, he's doing it with players that he didn't recruit (all 22 of his starers are upperclassmen brought to Richmond by his predecessor). So some AD would have to take a bit of a leap of faith to entrust London with his first 1-A job. And while he's well-known in Virginia circles, he's not a splashy name outside the state. You just don't know whether a hire like London would remedy the troubling trend of dwindling attendance at Scott Stadium (at least not at first).
Why He'd Come: London coached at UVA for six seasons, and has other ties to the University - his brother Paul played DB for Coach Welsh and his daughter Kristen played hoops under Debbie Ryan. When he left the Hoos in 2007, London was quoted as saying he didn't want to leave, but had to answer the call of his alma mater. He might be happy to come back, certainly at a higher salary than they can afford to pay him at U of R.
Why He Wouldn't Come: He might already be at his dream job, coaching his alma mater. And even if he has designs on returning to 1-A football, it might be a bit early. As noted above, London's recruiting classes at Richmond have yet to establish themselves. He may want to see things through a little further at his alma mater. London also spent his entire UVA tenure under Groh, so he may feel some sense of loyalty to his former boss.
Evaluation: It would take a bit of a leap of faith, but he's the front-runner in my book. The main reason Virginia has fallen behind Tech is in-state recruiting. While that trend isn't likely to completely reverse until Frank Beamer retires, London has the best chance of rebuilding a healthy recruiting base in the state, which has shown it has enough talent to sustain a national program as it has at Tech.
Beyond that, London can plainly coach. He may not be an innovator, but he's proven at his last two stops that he can get the most out of his talent. London got Richmond over the hump in just one season and, as Virginia fans fondly recall, got the most out of a Virginia defense that had little right leading the program to nine wins in 2007. Yes, London would be a leap of faith, but he's probably the football version of Dave Odom, who everyone saw as an eventual D-I coach but Virginia passed over because he wasn't viewed as quite ready. When Odom left to rebuild the hoops program at Wake, the Virginia administration looked short-sighted. Its a mistake the University would rather not make again, this time with what many view as one of the best young, up-and-coming coaches in the country, and a home-grown one at that.
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For the eternal optimists among us, Saturday was yet another opportunity for an Al Groh-coached team to rebound from a jarring early season loss. TCU was having none of it. Some thoughts:
- QB Jameel Sewell will undoubtedly incur the wrath of most Virginia fans for the loss, but especially those who went to the game saw an O-line that didn't block (8 sacks) and receivers that got ZERO separation (2 catches for 9 yards before a pair of purely cosmetic TD catches late in the game against the Frogs' second-string D). For those of you pining for Verica, he wouldn't have done much better against the rush Jerry Hughes & Co. were bringing. At least Sewell could run for his life (21 carries for 35 net yards rushing).
- From Last Week's Head-Scratcher Dept.: One week after going with 3 QBs, and worse yet admitting that he planned to do so, Groh stuck with 1 signal-caller this week. If it was such a good idea last week, why do a 180 the following week? [Answer: it was a bad idea last week.]
- From This Week's Head Scratcher Dept.: For those who noticed that the Hoos were letting the play clock run all the way down before snapping the ball, it was by design, said Groh, to keep down TCU's usual advantage in time of possession. Coach, you win the time of possession battle by successfully running the ball and converting third downs, and stopping your opponent from doing the same, not by manufacturing that advantage. Its not like the Hoos were playing the 2007 Patriots, and thus trying to keep them off the field. I apologize to those who overheard me screaming at the radio during that answer in the post-game presser.
- The result of the HC's gimmick to try to win the time of possession battle? TCU 34:49, Virginia 25:11. Better luck next time, Coach. Maybe the Hoos can ensure no worse than a tie in the turnover battle next week by taking a knee on every offensive play.
- The defense was helped out early by a shaky opening game start by TCU QB Andy Dalton. But when the Frogs committed to just running the ball late in the first half, they moved it at will and took a 14-0 lead into the locker room. Not a good sign with run at will teams like Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech still on the schedule.
- Dalton was much sharper to open the second half. Ras-I Dowling has the burn marks to prove it.
- Mike London Watch: I can't help those who may be pining for the football program's version of Tubby Smith, but a pretty good coach is just down I-64 at the University of Richmond and did a pretty good job when he was here as the DC in C'ville. A week after slaying their own ACC opponent (a 24-16 win at Duke), last year's FCS champions and this year's No. 1 FCS-ranked team won at Delaware in dramatic fashion.
- Finally, at some point, they may have to fire Groh for the sake of the kids busting their butt to win games. It was hard to watch the majority of Virginia fans booing as the Cavaliers ran into the tunnel after a difficult first half. I know
most of them at least they were booing the coach, not the team, but tell that to a bunch of 18-22 year olds. Cavalier fans are also talking with their wallet. Saturday's official attendance of 48,366 was the lowest total since the latest renovation to Scott Stadium in 2000.
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