With Thanksgiving having come and gone, I’m sure everyone reflected deeply on what they are thankful for. I’m a pretty happy person these days, but what I’m certainly not thankful for is the pain and suffering caused by Virginia’s recent inability to win on the football field and basketball court. All the good feelings from Thanksgiving Break wore off with each Virginia loss these past few days. I’ve never written that Virginia should fire a coach before, and I’m not going to start now, but I feel the need to say that football coach Al Groh as well as men’s hoops coach Dave Leitao should both be feeling a ton of pressure and worrying about their job security right now.
Athletic Director Craig Littlepage decided not to give Groh a contract extension this weekend after the loss to Virginia Tech closed the book on the Cavaliers’ 5-7 season. This decision was a no-brainer; in fact, I don’t even know how this was an option. Nobody should be able to get a contract extension after having a losing record. The 2008 season was grossly disappointing, marked by players’ off-field transgressions as well as a four-game losing streak to end the year after Virginia somehow got a chance to win the ACC Coastal Division. I was blind enough to believe that could happen after the Cavaliers won four games in a row to get up to 5-3, which made the way this season ended all the more painful.
Last year, Groh was ACC Coach of the Year because Virginia was 9-4, including five wins by 2 points or fewer. I’m not sure Virginia’s performance should have earned him that award because winning five games in heart-attack fashion doesn’t exactly say “great coaching” to me. After last year, however, Groh’s contract was extended through 2011 in a move that at the time I believed was premature. Virginia’s poor 2008 season just confirmed what I had already thought.
And, Virginia was 5-7 in 2006, meaning that Groh has a combined record of 19-18 in the last three seasons with only one bowl appearance, in which the Cavaliers lost last year. The bottom line for judging a coach comes from wins and losses, and a record of one game above .500 in a three-year span that included two losing seasons is cause for concern. All in all, Groh has been given a lot of slack, but it’s time for something to change. Maybe Virginia should look for a new offensive coordinator if it’s not ready to get rid of its head coach — but perhaps Virginia should even start seriously considering that option, too.
As far as basketball goes, I’m nowhere near qualified to be a coach, but I have some issues with Leitao’s tactics and coaching style. Virginia beat Radford by only 2 points Nov. 21. I sat in the fifth row behind the Virginia bench and saw Leitao’s actions the entire game. He emptied the entire bench in the first half, apparently attempting to send a message to his starters, who were not playing to his expectations. Frankly, I don’t think there’s any reason for Virginia’s best players to be pulled in favor of the guys at the end of the bench early in the first half, especially when the team is losing.
I remember the good old days, when Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds would win games for Virginia, and Leitao would defend his players by yelling at refs and stomping around. Now he doesn’t have the luxury of letting Singletary run the team on the court. But rather than helping to coach the players on the court, he turns his back to the action and yells at helpless players on the bench when someone on the court makes a bad play. I don’t understand the logic.
I also don’t understand how Virginia can lose to Liberty at home. This is an embarrassment. I don’t have enough energy to vent about this in The Cavalier Daily because I’ve already done so in person to anyone who would listen. The Cavaliers are in for a long season, and judging by the way they’ve been playing, they will lose a lot of games. The roster is mostly comprised of players Leitao recruited, and while individually talented, they lack the team chemistry needed to win games. I think Leitao needs to up his game and maybe change his style if he wants to motivate the Cavaliers to win. Otherwise, his job should also be in jeopardy.
I won’t say “Groh Must Go” or “Leitao Can’t Stay” just yet, but both coaches have done enough to warrant talking about why they should be on the hot seat. I’ll be that guy because I want Virginia’s football and basketball teams to succeed, regardless of whom the coach might be. I may be the only one who feels this way, but somehow I don’t think that’s true.
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