If I Were In Charge...

I don't exactly know who has their hand on the rudder of the UVA football program right now. Casteen is on his way out, Littlepage has made it abundantly clear that he has no appetite for the comings and goings of big time college football, the Board of Visitors is deafeningly silent, and the BTDs ("big time donors") are surely huddled together in secret enclaves, gathering money and making plans. But who is out there taking the point? Who is putting together the plan of action to save Virginia Football; to rescue it from the abyss that has become the Al Groh regime?

Lord knows I'm not in charge of much of anything. I have to embark upon a hardcore grassroots political campaign just to decide what to eat for dinner. But If I WERE in charge of the current Virginia Football Predicament, this is what I'd do...

Step #1 -- Announce very publicly that Al Groh is retiring/stepping down at the end of the year. This 2009 season is his last at the helm of the Virginia Football program. This accomplishes three things: 1) The fans can back off the venomous "Groh Must Go" campaign and just focus on supporting the team as best they can, 2) the new coach search committee can assemble and operate without the need for extreme secrecy, and 3) it gives Groh a chance to rally his team around the Alamo for one last heroic stand. Who knows? Maybe the team can pull it together enough to send its coach out with some amount of pride and dignity left intact.

Step #2 -- Submit a public apology for the Scott Stadium reseating plan. It was a terrible idea, poorly timed, and ill conceived. I think a lot of wayward fans would be able to begin their reconciliation after receiving a simple apology. "Hey, we really screwed up on that one. We'll try to do better in the future."

Step #3 -- Find a new head coach. One with the following qualities as baseline MUSTS:

• The charisma to establish and sell a new brand for Virginia Football.
• A background on the offensive side of the football.
• College-based coaching experience of some sort.
• Proven skill as a talent evaluator and recruiter.
• The ability to emotionally motivate his players.

We basically need a person who can single-handedly pump instant life into a completely stagnated program. It's a tall order, but I think all Xs and Os can take a back seat to the task of rebuilding Virginia Football as an exciting entity.

I think the new coach has to be an offensive guy. We need to get to the point where we're scoring a lot and playing in shootouts. It's the easiest way to make bad football still be fun for the fans. Once we get the program on the right track again, the athletes (and thus, the defense) will come together.

I don't know. I've just been completely shell-shocked and depressed after the first two games of this season. It baffles me how far we've fallen down the list of relevant football programs. We have to find out way back, and we have to start that climb NOW.