ITS LONDON!

As first reported by WP, Roanoke Times, and RTD.  Press conference at 1 pm Monday to make it official. Continue reading this post...

Coaching Rumors: The Rumor Mill

This week we've been reviewing potential coaching candidates to replace Al Groh, who was fired on Sunday. Today we take a break from that process to see what names were kicked around the rumor mill this week. 

Coaching searches always engender rumors, quick blubs from a variety of places, somtimes citing unnamed sources, often based on nothing more than pure speculation.  When Virginia was searching for a replacement for Dave Leitao, the media cited a whole host of names, including Tubby Smith, Anthony Grant, and Jeff Capel.  Nobody mentioned Tony Bennett.
 
So take this for what its worth:

• Last week, Hootie was ready to name Boise State's Chris Petersen as the next head coach.  Jeff White, citing Jon Oliver, was amused by the story.  A local Idaho paper didn't buy it either.  But Hootie didn't back down.  Must be overcompensating for his Tubby Smith fixation during the last coaching search.
• ESPN was pushing a group of former Cav assistants: Temple's Al Golden, Richmond's Mike London, and Liberty's Danny Rocco.  SI also liked Golden and London, and also threw in a pair of coaches from the West: Petersen and Air Force Head Coach Troy Calhoun.   
• On Monday, the Washington Post proclaimed London as the front-runner.  I put a little more stock in this story since I know what it takes for the Post to run something like this.  Having said that, Larry, they've never exactly been plugged into the 'ville.
• Also on Monday, the Virginia Pilot plugged Al Golden while trying to temper expectations.
• On Tuesday, Doug Doughty threw Wake's Jim Grobe into the mix, along with Mike London.  Doug's always been good at throwing in names from the way-back machine.
• On Wednesday, the Daily Press noted Derek Dooley's comment that there isn't "much of a market out there for a three-win coach."  He's probably right.
• Also on Wednesday, a Charleston, SC paper connected the dots between UVA and Skip Holtz.  But later that day, Holtz was quick to quell that speculation.  On Thursday, Doug Doughty tracked down Terry Holland (ECU's AD), who said that he was not aware of any interest in Holtz from UVA. But Holland didn't say anything about interest from Notre Dame, who reportedly contacted ECU to talk to Holtz about their job opening.  Not really a fight UVA can win. 
• Also word on Wednesday that prize OL recruit Morgan Moses met with Craig Littlepage about his commitment in light of the coaching search.  His Fork Union Coach suggested that his commitment is secure "if Mike London is in the loop."  He mentions a few other names that Moses would be comfortable with.  Think the AD was listening?
• By Thursday, Hootie had backed away from his Peterson story.  He suggests he was the victim of misinformation (No, Jerry, that was your readers).  He also shoots down Jim Grobe as a possibility.  On top of the usual suspects, he does introduce a new name into the search -- Miami OC Mark Whipple.  But like too many of Hootie's stories lately, it isn't based on any solid information, so I don't know how much stock you put in his ruminations at this point.

That's all for the week.  While the initial vibe was towards an out-of-the-box candidate (based on little more than the out-of-left-field hire of Tony Bennett last time around), the longer this goes on, the more likely the more logical candidates - Mike London and Al Golden - seem to emerge from the wash.  I personally don't know who was more or less responsible for the recruiting success in Groh's early years (whether it was London, Golden, or even Rocco), but I hope Craig Littlepage does.

Hope you've enjoyed the more in-depth look at the candidates we've been running this week.  We'll continue those posts next week.  Continue reading this post...

Coaching Rumors: The Al Golden File

This week we will be running a series on potential coaching candidates to replace Al Groh, who was fired on Sunday. Next up, Temple Head Coach Al Golden.

If, as red4z noted, Mike London is the presumptive front runner, Al Golden has to be a close second. Golden took over as Temple's head football coach in December of 2005, and at only 40 years old, he ranks as the nations' sixth-youngest head coach. Despite his youth, the New Jersey native has deep ties to Virginia football that include two separate stops in C'ville. Golden first came to UVa as part of George Welsh's staff where he served as a graduate assistant from 1994 - 1996. During his first stay in the Hook, Golden worked with both the linebackers and special teams and helped guide Cavalier greats and NFL first-round draft picks James Farrior and Jamie Sharper. After stints at Boston College and his alma mater Penn State, Al Groh brought Golden back to UVa in 2001 as the defensive coordinator on his original staff. At that time, Golden was the youngest defensive coordinator in the country (notice a theme).

As Virginia's defensive coordinator, UVa's defense improved tremendously. In his first season, Virginia ranked 108th in total defense and 74th in scoring defense. At the conclusion of his penultimate season in 2004, the Hoos were 18th in total defense and 17th in scoring defense. On top of serving as the defensive coordinator, Golden also worked with the linebackers from 2001 - 2004, and most Cavalier fans are very familiar with many of his pupils including standouts Angelo Crowell, Ahmad Brooks, and Kai Parham.

In the winter of 05' Golden left to take over what was at the time arguably one of the worst football programs in Division 1-A (now FBS). A job very few coaches found attractive, many Cavalier fans (myself included) thought the move to Temple was career suicide. Between 1991 and when he took the job in 2005, the Owls had failed to win more than four games in a given season. Yet, while Temple appeared to be the poster child for college football's hopeless programs, Golden refused to dwell on the negatives and took on the challenge of trying to revive a program that almost relegated itself to 1-AA (now FCS). After going 1-11 in his first season, the Owls won 4 games in 07' and 5 games in 08'. Currently, Temple is 9-3 (the most wins since 1979) and the Owls are likely headed to a bowl game for the first time in 30 seasons. Most agree Golden's work at Temple represents one of the best program turnarounds in recent history.

Pros: Golden can clearly coach, and he has demonstrated he can take an ailing program and build it back up. While Virginia's situation isn't quite the disaster he faced at Temple, the Hoos have indeed fallen on hard times and would benefit from someone such as Golden who is experienced in completely overhauling a program. The former Penn State linebacker has proven he can recruit, and that includes right here in the Commonwealth. As UVa's defensive coordinator, Golden was responsible for helping land Ahmad Brooks, who was the USA Today National Defensive Player of the Year and the highest rated recruit ever to wear the orange and blue. In fact, Brooks was only the first of two Virginia High School Player of the Year recruits he helped land - Olu Hall also held that honor when he committed in 2004. His efforts have not dropped off at Temple where his first recruiting class (2006) was rated tops in the MAC by Collegefootballnews.com, and both his 2007 and 2008 classes were ranked first in the league by Scouts.com. If you've seen Temple this year, you know his stud freshman running back Bernard Pierce could play anywhere.  

Cons: While Temple's turnaround is nothing short of remarkable, some might argue the program really had nowhere to go but up, particularly since it moved over to the MAC. The Owls have consistently improved under Golden, but he could be this year's version of Turner Gill.  After leading a similar turnaround in Buffalo, Gill was the hot name in both 2007 (Nebraska opening) and 2008 (Auburn and Syracuse). However, this year, the Bulls dropped to 5-7 and finished 8th in the MAC. Golden likely needs one more year to prove he is not a flash-in-the-pan and can both build and sustain a winning program.

Why he would come: Timing is everything. Just as any school that brings him after one winning season might be taking a chance, Golden himself could be risking it by not getting out while the gettin' is good. Now might be the time to make the jump since a losing season next year could mean several more years at Temple (Gill's name rarely comes up now after the Bulls slipped a little this season). Beyond that, Golden is extremely familiar with the Virginia program and has demonstrated recruiting success in the state.

Why he would not come: Golden does not appear to be prepared to simply jump at the first opportunity that comes his way. In 2007 Golden interviewed for the UCLA job but removed his name from consideration. If Golden feels like he has a good chance to log one or two more winning seasons at Temple, he might decide to hold out for an even more attractive coaching spot (say perhaps his alma mater Penn State when Paterno finally rides off into the sunset). Following in his former boss Groh's footsteps might also prove less than ideal.

Evaluation: For those who like Mike London, it appears Golden possess many of the same credentials. In fact, one knock on London is that he has yet to establish his own program and win with his own players. Inheriting good players and getting them over the hump is one thing. Taking over a helpless program, somehow convincing kids to come to Temple, and then posting the first winning season in decades is truly another thing. Golden coached and recruited well while serving as UVa's defensive coordinator and could help re-establish some in-state recruiting success. Like Virginia's basketball coach Tony Bennett - a young coach and former NBA player - Golden's youth and playing experience would likely resonate with recruits and players alike. It appears he is definitely one of the top choices and for good reason. The guy holds a masters in sports psychology from UVa and has put it to good use while completely transforming the mindset at Temple. Golden appears to have a knack for making the best of a bad situation, which is exactly what Virginia needs.
Continue reading this post...

Coaching Rumors: The Tommy Tuberville File

This week we will be running a series on potential coaching candidates to replace Al Groh, who was fired on Sunday. Next up, former Auburn Head Coach Tommy Tuberville.

Thomas Hawley Tuberville is probably the biggest coaching name sitting on the sidelines this season.  He stepped down from his post at Auburn after a surprising 5-7 season in 2008, feeling as if he didn't have the full support of the Auburn community.  Tuberville is currently working as an ESPN analyst, but has made clear he would like to return to the sidelines as a head coach in 2010.

Its hard not to be impressed with Tuberville's resume.  The former Auburn Head Coach was 85-40 in ten seasons there.  His best season came in 2004, one year removed from the first rumblings about his job security, when the Tigers went 13-0 and finished second in the polls.  Tuberville won national coach of the year honors with a team that featured Jason Campbell, Ronnie Brown, and Cadillac Williams in the backfield, and a stalwart defense.  Prior to his tenure at Auburn, Tuberville was in the process of rebuilding things at Ole Miss from 1995-98, the first two years of which the Rebels were on probation, when Auburn came calling with a better gig.  He was 25-20 at Ole Miss. 

Under Tuberville, Auburn won at least seven games in all but two seasons (his first when he went 5-6 and his last when he went 5-7).  In between, Tuberville's teams were usually very good and occasionally great: the Tigers finished first in the SEC West four times, finished above .500 in the rough-and-tumble SEC in eight straight seasons, and beat arch-rival Alabama six times.  

Like London, Tuberville is not an innovator, just a good football coach.  He first made his name as defensive coordinator on a Texas A&M team that went 10-0-1 in 1994.  His 2004 team ran the west coast offense, but was largely based on dominating opponents with a Brown-Williams one-two punch.  Ironically, part of his demise in 2008 was an experiment with the spread offense (sound familiar?) that blew up in his face.  It also didn't help that Nick Saban moved in next door, and Alabama's 36-0 rout of Auburn in last year's Iron Bowl pushed Tuberville to step down or face a possible firing.

Pros: Its hard to imagine Virignia will find a coach with a better resume than Tuberville, who has a career record of 110-60, all while coaching in what is considered the best conference in college football.  He was in the process of rebuilding a mess at Ole Miss (14-9 in his final two seasons), and returned Auburn to prominence in just over a year.  When Tuberville arrived, the Tigers were coming off a 3-8 season in 1998; Auburn was 9-4 and SEC West Champions by 2000.  Tuberville would bring instant credibility to a program that has had losing seasons in three of the last four campaigns.  There would be instant expectations that Virignia would be relevant again by 2011. 

Cons: Tuberville is a deep south guy.  He was born in Arkansas, coached as an assistant at Miami and Texas A&M, and was the head man at Ole Miss and Auburn.  So while he's a well-known commodity down there, its unclear how he'd be in recruiting (something he was never given much credit for anyway) from UVA's traditional base -- the northeast and in the state of Virginia.  There was also widespread discontent with Tuberville at Auburn for a reason.  Other than 2004, his teams frequently did not live up to expectations. Perhaps expectations were unrealistic, but they were nonetheless not always met.  That was brought into stark contrast when Nick Saban steamrolled Auburn in year two of his rebuilding job across the state. 

Why He'd Come: If he did rebuild Virginia, a program that has not won ten games in over a decade, he'd be deified, and thus vindicated as to how he was treated at Auburn.  He'd also find life easier in the ACC than he would trying to compete with the likes of Urban Meyer and Nick Saban in the SEC. 

Why He Wouldn't Come: Don't kid yourself.  Other programs will come calling -- better programs.  If a bigger job came open in the SEC or Big 12, or perhaps even a place like Louisville (who also fired their head coach this weekend), he'd have to be at the top of any AD's list to fill those jobs.  He also might be wary of academic restrictions that might be placed upon him at the University, something that would be foreign to him as a former SEC coach.  He'll also demand big money (he made $2.8 million in 2008) that Virignia might not be willing to pony up, especially given Groh's hefty buyout. 

Evaluation: Tuberville would be quite a get.  But like the other Tubby Virginia flirted with, you have to ask yourself (and set aside your own orange and blue bias) why he'd come here.  He'll almost certainly have options where football is treated more seriously.  Sure, he'll consider a program like UVA, but it will not be his first choice.

Moreover, you have to ask yourself how his gentlemanly southern drawl is going to play in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Hampton Roads, where Virginia has to recruit to be successful.  At the end of the day, my guess is that Virginia will filrt with Tuberville, but they'll both decide they're better off going in a different direction.       Continue reading this post...

Coaching Rumors: The Mike London File

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. Continue reading this post...

Coaching Rumors: The Ideal Candidate

Later this week, we will be running a series on the potential coaching candidates to replace Al Groh, who was fired on Sunday.  I thought about doing an Al Groh post-mortem, but quite frankly, with the writing on the wall since September, I think that's been done.  We'd rather look ahead, to what Craig Littlepage (and Jon Oliver, who clearly had a big say in the hiring of Tony Bennett) should be looking for.

1. He'd Better Recruit: As Coach Groh preached as he came in the door, and all too frequently fell back on as his team struggled this year, you don't win without players.  The lack of players, more than anything else, led to Groh's downfall.  It was galling to watch, in succession, a program like William & Mary appear to be on par physically with their in-state big brother, and then watch as non-major conference schools like TCU and S. Miss ran up and down the field on the Hoos.  Alas, that was only a precursor to getting steamrolled by Georgia and Virginia Tech, and being circled by Clemson and Miami.

Groh was unquestionably a good coach (his game management skills notwithstanding).  But after a few successful classes to start his tenure, Groh has allowed UVA to fall behind its ACC brethren in the annual recruiting wars, which is almost always more important to winning on Saturdays than Xs and Os.  If Groh's successor isn't any better at recruiting than Groh was (especially after his principal recruiting assistants left), he could be the second coming of Bill Walsh and its not going to matter much.  (Advantage: Florida Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong, Temple Head coach Al Golden).

2. He'd Better Be Able to Do It In-State: The state of Virginia is not Florida or Texas, but its a state upon whose talent you can build a national program.  Just ask Frank Beamer.  And only Frank Beamer.  For the last two decades, and in particular the last few seasons, Beamer's Hokies have absolutely dominated in-state recruiting.  Its a wonder when any of the state's top recruits pick the Cavs anymore.

So yeah, its great that UVA has made inroads into places like Pennsylvania and New Jersey for elite talent, but Groh's successor is going to have to do better in talent-rich Hampton Roads, and is going to need to compete for the best from SW Virginia and Northern Virginia.  It won't be easy to wrestle control of the state away from Beamer, but we'll take something closer to competing, as opposed to the bloodbath that in-state recruiting has been recently.  There's enough talent in-state to go around.  (Advantage: Richmond Head Coach Mike London, Virginia Tech Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster).    

3. He Needs to Be Prepared to Deal With Academic Restrictions At Virginia: As the University made clear with the hiring of Tony Bennett, who was recently quoted as saying Virginia should aspire to be Stanford-East, UVa is not going to lower their academic standards to compete for recruits (although it wouldn't kill them to make a few more exceptions). Virginia has nicked more than a few of Groh's recruits, most prominently the lost class of 2006, when 8 of Cavs' 24 recruits didn't qualify academically.  The Hoos also lose players after they walk through the doors of the University.  Most recently, starting QB Jameel Sewell and starting CB Chris Cook were declared academically ineligible for the 2008 season.  And DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald finished his college career playing for Kansas State, not Virignia, in part because of academic issues.       

We can debate whether the football and basketball program should be held to the same academic standards as the rest of the University (although if you think more than 5% of either program would have been admitted without their athletic credentials, you're fooling yourself).  But its largely been made clear that those academic standards aren't going anywhere.  (Advantage: Harvard Head Coach Tim Murphy).   

4. He Needs to Be the Face of the Program: Besides not winning enough games, Groh's biggest failure was in not endearing himself in any way to the University community.  Whether it was his gruff demeanor, or his aloofness in dealing with issues such as ties v. t-shirts (I happen to agree with him, but he could have handled it better), Groh was always more concerned with Xs and Os than leading the program.  So when the records started going south, it was hard to find too many people willing to defend Groh.

Virginia served notice with Bennett's hiring that it was looking for someone to be the face of the program.  Expect them to pick someone that the University community will be able to embrace, something was wasn't often true with Groh.  (Advantage: Boise State Head Coach Chris Peterson).   

We'll be tackling some of the individual names starting tomorrow, but since the hiring of Tony Bennett came out of left field, its just as likely this one will too.  We're not sure the ideal candidate - i.e. the one that checks all these boxes - is out there, but you can be sure the AD's office will be taking these requirements into consideration when they pick their man. Continue reading this post...

NEXT!

You won't have to see this anymore.  AP Story here.  UVA statement here.   

The next Virginia Coach?

We'll have more on each of these and other candidates as the week (and the search) progresses. 

Continue reading this post...

Countdown to November 30

As ACC COY noted earlier this season, 2009 has been a long and inevitable march towards Al Groh's firing.  This is as much AD Craig Littlepage's fault as it is Groh's.  But with the end of the football season mercilessly close, you should know that the death blow will likely come quickly, and soon. 

As ACC Sports Journal notes, November 30 is the annual date to exercise the rollover clause in Coach Groh's contract.  If the University isn't going to pick that up - and there's no one out there that thinks it will be picked up - conventional wisdom says that there's no reason to let an alum and, whatever you think of his coaching ability, a good man twist in the wind.  Jerry Radcliffe had a interesting piece about what went wrong for Al Groh.  Don't know that I agree with all of what Jerry writes, but he raises some interesting issues that any coaching candidate will have to consider.

Everyone's already starting with candidate lists - here and here for example.  Its a bit early for that, but with November 30 just ten days away, not that early.  Better than talking about the Clemson game, though, and Virginia's likely foray into the land of 3-8, something even the most pessimistic among us did not think possible when the season began. Continue reading this post...