After 33 years as a football coach in high schools and colleges and assisting others in the NFL, securing the job of head coach for a professional football team would seem to be any coach's dream. Add in an opportunity to direct the high-profile New York Jets, a team from your hometown, and the job appears to be the chance of a lifetime.
But that was not the case for Al Groh, who left the Jets in 2000 after one year to coach at his alma mater, the University of Virginia, where he has been head coach for the past three seasons.
Groh has compiled a 21-17 record at Virginia, including two Continental Tire Bowl victories and was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2002 after his team finished tied for second in the ACC with a 6-2 mark. In just his fourth year at the helm, Groh has formed one of, if not the most talented Virginia squad across the board and is set to lead his team into a new age of ACC football. But just how did this man come to be where he is today?
The End of an Era
Dec. 11, 2000: A day all Cavalier football fans remember vividly -- George Welsh retires as head football coach at the University of Virginia. This five-time ACC Coach of the Year recipient was U. Va. football. He took over a struggling program in 1982 that had never been to a bowl game and led them to 12 bowl appearances, their first ACC championship a No. 1 national ranking in 1991 and left as the winningest coach in ACC history.
The task to find a successor to this legend fell to then-Virginia Athletic Director Terry Holland.
"We didn't have time to think too much, other than how are we going to replace him?" Holland said. "And can you replace somebody like Coach Welsh with somebody who can take his foundation and move it to the next level?"
In December 2000, Groh was the head coach of the New York Jets and was on the verge of taking his team to the playoffs. The Jets were 9-4 with three games to go and needed only one more win to make the postseason. But they lost their final three contests, including a disheartening defeat on Dec. 24 at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens in the season finale. The Jets completely dominated the game statistically (542 yards to the Ravens' 142), yet were beset by six turnovers and fell 34-20.
With the Jets missing the playoffs, Holland and his colleagues received the chance they were waiting for -- an opportunity to talk with Groh about the open position at Virginia. Holland had attempted to make contact with Groh earlier after Welsh retired, but Groh made it clear that he couldn't have any conversations about the job while he was coaching the Jets.
With the Jets' season complete, Holland got on the phone with then-Jets Director of Football Operations and former coach Bill Parcells, who knew how Groh felt about the University of Virginia, but also had to protect the Jets' interests. He decided to give Holland 24 hours to speak with Groh. Holland, President John T. Casteen III and then-Assistant Athletic Director Craig Littlepage flew up to New York to meet Groh at the airport by his house on Long Island.
"Our concern was can you go back from the pros to appreciate all that goes into college football, the academics as well as how important recruiting is," Holland said. "Coach Groh made it pretty clear that he had stayed very close to college football. He was an excellent recruiter and cared very much about it on a personal basis and [he] would not expect his assistants to do the recruiting. We got a real good break because the next day it snowed and [Groh] couldn't get into the office."
That gave Holland the time to hammer out a contract with Groh's agent. But more importantly, Groh spent the day shoveling snow in his driveway and talking with his wife, Anne. Rather than going to work and keeping his mind on his job with the Jets, each time Groh came in the house Anne would tell him how much she wanted to go to Charlottesville.
"I honestly believe knowing Al, and knowing coaches like I do
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