Fire London Bandwagon?

Got a gchat from a good friend of mine today...

so are you officially back to being all in on the fire mike london bandwagon? or do you just have one leg in ready to get back on?

My answer is this:  I never really left the Fire London Bandwagon (caps, cause proper noun).  The 2013 loss to Ball State convinced me that we had to make a change; that we'd never really be worth a damn until there was a change.  2-10 hammered it home.  Virginia Football isn't good, but we should NEVER go 2-10.  Ever.

However...

Beating Louisville, beating Pitt, starting 4-2 this season... had me walking down the aisle where the kool-aid is located (credit to my friend Joe for this analogy).  But I hadn't bought the kool-aid, not completely (despite writing THIS during one day of perfect optimistic clarity), and I certainly hadn't begun drinking the kool-aid.

In general, I'm a positive-minded, optimistic person when it comes to sports.  Hell, I'm still a huge Cincinnati Bengals fan, having survived the '90s as a fan of that sad sack team.  As a sports fan, I work to keep expectations in line with reality, but I also allow that hope balloon to float into the sky.  In my old age, I've gotten better at telling the difference between money walking and bullshit talking.  And I just think, ultimately, that Mike London is bullshit talking, not money walking.  A good coach would have weaponized the 4-2 start and the bye week, gone down to Durham, and fucking vaporized that modestly-talented Blue Devils team.

Anyway, to be fair to the school I love and the process and whatnot, I'm willing to keep the jury at recess and take a "wait and see" approach down the stretch.  4-3 today.  Gotta find two more wins to get to 6-6 and a bowl game.  Gotta find another two wins after that for me to feel like I've been wrong for the last 13 months, and that Mike London might actually be the man for this job.

I'm not holding my breath.

Look, I know it's not easy to win at UVA.  I know it takes time to build a winner at a school like this.  I know there are hurdles - high hurdles - that need to be jumped.

I'll give you a list of just-built power programs we could emulate, even WITH whatever restrictions Virginia Football has placed on her:

Baylor

UCLA

Arizona

TCU

Ole Miss

Mississippi State

Oklahoma State

Stanford

Suddenly, college football is parity-driven and completely wide open. Yet here we are, scratching like hens for a lowly sixth win.

It's Tuesday morning, and here's a quick list of teams with a better record than UVA that Hoofans should look at and say, "holy crap, what we're getting is just not good enough."

Air Force... 5-2

Arizona... 5-1

Colorado State... 6-1

ECU... 5-1

*Kentucky... 5-2

Marshall... 7-0

*Maryland... 5-2

Minnesota... 6-1

Mississippi State... 6-0

MTSU... 5-3

Ole Miss... 7-0

*Rutgers... 5-2

Temple... 4-2

UCF... 4-2

Utah... 5-1

*particularly painful

We see improvement on the field, sure. But "improvement on the field" is relative, and it's specifically relative to a gawd-awful, never-should-have-happened 2-10 season.

I'm tired of Virginia Football being stuck in this Sarlacc Pit. There are coaches out there in the world who can win at UVA, and win quickly with the talent we have on hand.

Time to think big. And Mike London, good dude that he is, is decidedly small-time.




Did I answer the question, anonymous gchat friend?

Let me try again.  I'm officially back to being all-in on the fire London bandwagon, but I reserve the right to change my mind.  

He has five more games this season (maybe more) to potentially earn the 2015 season at the helm, and earn another season's chance to save / solidify his job and cool down his hotseat.  6-6 and a crappy bowl game doesn't move the needle for me personally, but I'm willing to give the dude another season beyond this one to see if the 6-6 season was a stepping stone or a ceiling.

Gotta beat UNC this weekend.  A loss in that game, and even a mediocre 6-6 season becomes a longshot.