PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- In many ways, it seems only natural that Mike Groh has become Virginia's offensive coordinator. As the starting quarterback for George Welsh during the 1994 and 1995 seasons, Mike Groh compiled an 18-7 record and led the Cavaliers to bowl victories in consecutive years for the first time in school history. Most significantly in the eyes of many Virginia fans, he was under center during the Cavaliers monumental 33-28 upset victory over then-No. 2 and previously unbeaten Florida State Nov. 2, 1995.
For the past five years, Mike Groh has paid his dues on Virginia's coaching staff, first as the wide receivers coach and then as the quarterbacks coach. He also was the recruiting coordinator last season.
Mike Groh, however, is not your usual up-and-coming assistant coach. His father just happens to be Al Groh, who is now entering his sixth year as Virginia's head coach.
When Ron Prince, who served as Virginia's offensive coordinator from 2003 through last season, was hired by Kansas State to replace the retiring Bill Snyder as the Wildcats head coach, Al Groh had a tough decision to make. After many hours of deliberations and consultations, however, Groh made the choice to name his son as the new offensive coordinator.
Al Groh is confident that he made the right decision.
"We all know that if Michael wasn't the coordinator, the first time something went wrong offensively, everybody would say that he should have been," Al Groh said. "That's coming from 62,000 people who didn't put 100 hours into deciding what we should do. Whether you're the quarterback coach, the offensive line coach, the head coach or the special teams coach, when you get into this business you know that it's basically a business of being second-guessed. And if you listen to that, you are listening to the wrong people."
Such a situation is not unprecedented. At Florida State, head coach Bobby Bowden's son Jeff has been the offensive coordinator of the Seminoles for the past five years. Florida State's drop in offensive production over the past few years, however, has created some awkward moments for the Bowdens. Jeff has become a lightning rod for criticism from both the media and the public and Bobby has had to stand by and watch.
"I can't defend [our offense] because of my son," Bobby Bowden said. "I could defend it if it weren't for him but everyone will say 'Oh, you're just taking up for your boy.'"
At least one Florida State player feels that Jeff Bowden is held to a higher standard because of who his father is.
"It's obviously tough for him because he's not judged the same way everyone else is," senior running back Lorenzo Booker said.
After Prince left for Kansas State last December, it was up to Mike Groh and assistant offensive head coach John Garrett to devise an offensive game plan for the Music City Bowl. After Virginia pulled off a 34-31 win over Minnesota, both Mike Groh and Garrett received much credit for a game plan that featured a high level of ingenuity that was lacking during several of Virginia's regular season games.
One of Mike Groh's main tasks this year will be to oversee the transition of senior quarterback Christian Olsen from a backup to a starter. Olsen is extremely comfortable with Groh because of Groh's past experience as a quarterback.
"It's great because Coach Mike was a quarterback and he understands what it's like to be out there on the field during a game," Olsen said. "He's a lot more like a mentor than he is a coach. He understands the game of football because he's been around it his whole life."
One change that Olsen has noticed between Groh and Prince has been Groh's introduction of a simplified passing game.
"I think [Mike Groh] absorbed everything from Coach Prince and in his own way has simplified it to make it easier for guys to come in and play earlier," Olsen said.
Olsen also commented on the professional relationship between Mike and Al.
"If they didn't have the same last name, you wouldn't necessarily know that they were related," Olsen said. "When we talk to Coach Mike we never say 'your dad this, your dad that'. When I first got here, I made that mistake a few times."
Mike Groh's elevation to the role of offensive coordinator was part of a larger off-season reformation of Virginia's coaching staff. Mike London, the new defensive coordinator, is back in Charlottesville after a year as the defensive line coach for the Houston Texans. Other fresh faces include Steve Bernstein (assistant head coach/defensive backs coach), Bob Diaco (special teams coach/linebackers coach) and Dave Borbely (running game coordinator/offensive line coach).
"To this point, it has been a pretty seamless transition," Al Groh said. "The overall culture of how we do business is the same."
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