Why: I love Mike London. He did good things with the UVA defensive line before he left for the NFL, and he did even better things as UVA's defensive coordinator before he left to coach his alma mater. But what he accomplished in one season as the Spiders' head man dwarfs all of his other career accomplishments. Richmond stormed through the FCS playoffs, won the national championship, and cemented its place among that division's elite teams. London's teams play with overt, demonstrated passion (something sorely lacking at UVA), and he clearly knows how to put together a staff, create a system, and build a team. London has numerous recruiting ties to the area (including the talent-rich 757), and he knows the "game" at UVA after having coached here for several years in several different capacities. His "rah-rah" personality on the sidelines and in interviews would be a breath of fresh air for the stagnated and sour Virginia program.
Why Not: Mike London has a lot of ties to Al Groh. If we fire Groh, I think we might want to make more of a departure from the Groh regime than hiring London would represent.
Troy Calhoun, Head Coach, Air Force
Why: He's a fiery young(ish) coach with ties to Fisher DeBerry's unconventional option passing offense, which I think would play very well in the ACC and especially at UVA. Actually, Calhoun runs a weird combination of the DeBerry option coupled with some Jim Grobe misdirection plays and some no huddle shotgun downfield passing. It would be great to have such a specific offensive system in place, so UVA could recruit to fill the specific roles in the offense instead of constantly retooling the offense to fit the personnel. (I look at what Georgia Tech is doing under Paul Johnson right now, and I am very jealous.) Anyway, Calhoun has ACC experience after serving as the offensive coordinator at Wake Forest and Virginia has had success in the past with plucking coaches from the service academies. As a head coach, Calhoun is winning at a .739 clip. That's roughly 8-9 wins every year. I'm not sure if that would translate directly from the Mountain West to the ACC, but Calhoun's Air Force teams have been able to hang with Utah, BYU, and TCU, any of which would be good teams in the ACC. I think this guy is a solid, no-nonsense coach who comes equipped with a cohesive plan for success. When Al Groh's demise was being reported after the Duke debacle last year, it was Calhoun's name that surfaced as one of the most likely coaching targets.
Why Not: Calhoun has only been a head coach for two years, and it remains to be seen if he has a big enough personality to become a dynamic face for Virginia Football. Can he sell the program? Can he energize the fans? Also, just like with Tony Bennett, there has to be some concern about Calhoun's ability to recruit the East Coast, and also to recruit the level of talent we'd need to compete with the Florida States and Clemsons of the world.
Derek Dooley, Head Coach and Athletic Director, Louisiana Tech
Why: He played at Virginia and his dad is a legendary coach... so he must love UVA and have natural coaching talent in his blood, right? He was the recruiting coordinator for Nick Saban at LSU, and played a pivotal role in stockpiling the talent that won national championships at that school. In two seasons, he's transformed Louisiana Tech from a doormat into a contender in the WAC. He's young, personable, and is a fantastic recruiter. Actually, Terry Bradshaw (a Louisiana Tech alum) said it best: "What we have in Derek Dooley is a man who has a vision for this football program and this university; he wants to make it something special. He has a plan. It is an energetic, aggressive plan, and I could not be more proud to have him as our AD and head football coach." I have no doubt that Dooley could stir the pot here at Virginia and get this program back on the right track in terms of energy and excitement. Mining his dad's contacts, Dooley also would have no problem assembling a world-class coaching staff. For me, Derek Dooley would literally be a dream come true as our next head football coach. And hell, fire Littlepage and make him AD, too. I wouldn't complain.
Why Not: Just like with Troy Calhoun, two seasons is not a very large sample size on which to judge his coaching ability. Unlike Calhoun, Dooley doesn't come equipped with a solid, rigid, well-defined offensive or defensive system. I'm not necessarily sure that's such a bad thing, but I do know that I'm tired of watching the Virginia offense flounder around without an over-arching system to govern what happens on the field.
So while you're keeping your eyes glued to Virginia Football this Fall, and watching intently as the ACC race unfolds, allow yourself a chance to catch Richmond, Air Force, and Louisiana Tech in action. You might just be scouting out our next head coach. Because really, aren't we all hoping for the best but expecting the worst with Al Groh this season?
Kendall - this is awesome, thanks. Totally agreed that we're hoping for the best, but we all know what's coming this year (a Groh departure). One thing I wanted your opinion on...a lot of talking heads say it doesn't necessarily matter who the coach is because UVA is too hard a school to recruit into (given Littlepage and our academic requirements for "student" athletes). What do you think?
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I would love to see Mike London back here - and I think that would make your "friend" from the Richmond game last year happy as well!
It's true, our academic requirements place us on an uneven playing field. But by no means do I think it's a damning thing for our football program. Both that and the Littlepage factor are cop-outs that the Groh apologists use to defend the coach. Minor nuissances that can fairly easily be navigated around.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the bottom line is wins and losses. We have top-25 type of money in the program, we have top-25 football facilities, we have a top-3 school on a top-1 campus in a top-5 town. Get it done or hire someone who can. That's my take, and until ticket prices go down from $35, $40, $45 to the $17-per-game level, then it will continue to be my take.
Will we ever be USC or LSU or Florida? No. Of course not. But I don't think it's unreasonable to expect *gasp* Virginia Tech-type success here. if they can sell that hellhole in Blacksburg to recruits, we should be able to sell Charlottesville and the University. Just my $0.02