Saturday afternoon, the Virginia football team lost its sixth straight game to rival Virginia Tech, capping a disappointing 3-9 season. Less than 24 hours after the conclusion of that game, the University dismissed head coach Al Groh, effective immediately.
Groh's tenure was not without success, but ultimately, the athletic department made the appropriate decision. The state of the program is arguably at its lowest point in nearly 30 years - the last time a Virginia football team suffered nine losses was in 1982, George Welsh's first season as coach. Virginia has fielded losing teams three of the past four seasons and has not enjoyed a bowl victory since 2005. Perhaps worst of all, Groh managed to beat Tech only once in his nine seasons at the helm.
Athletic Director Craig Littlepage is right to take Virginia football in a new direction. Nevertheless, the University should not be deluded into thinking that a new coach will cure all the program's ills.\nIn choosing Groh's successor, it is important to select someone who is especially familiar with college football. Though Groh had some collegiate coaching experience, he was an NFL-style coach at heart. His player management and game strategy reflected that fact. Coaching 18- to 22-year-olds, many of whom are living on their own for the first time, is much different than managing professional athletes. Off-the-field issues have unfortunately become routine for many college programs, but the Virginia football team's woes seemed to spiral out of control. In 2007, several players were lost for the season because of either academic or legal issues. Before the 2006 season, academic ineligibility prevented one-third of the incoming recruitment class from enrolling at the University.
Administrators must understand, however, that a coaching change alone does not guarantee improvement in the program. For all his faults, Groh was not an incompetent leader. Prior to taking the job in Charlottesville, he had been on the sidelines for two Super Bowls as an NFL assistant. Perhaps this year aside, he has brought in some top-notch recruits as well. Virginia has sent a number of players to the NFL during Groh's nine-year tenure, with multiple players selected in the top 10 of the NFL Draft. By all accounts, the coach seemed to have the support and admiration of this year's team right up to the end. Those facts naturally lead one to question why the Cavaliers have consistently underperformed in recent years, but it does demonstrate that at least some of the building blocks were in place for a successful program.
Many fans had problems with Groh that ran deeper than football performance. More than a few observers thought him to be unpolished and inarticulate, making him a poor representative of the University. A large contingent of students and alumni despised his campaign for a "Sea of Orange" at Scott Stadium, seeing it as an assault on one of the institution's long-standing traditions. Not helping public relations was that Groh generally avoided speaking engagements and outside contact with the University community, preferring to dedicate his full energy toward matters internal to the football program.
Littlepage and his staff cannot ignore these sentiments when hiring a new coach; the University needs an individual who can reconcile both the traditionalist and the more progressive fans to create a winning football culture. That being said, both administrators and the University community must recognize that they, too, have a role to play in cultivating the kind of atmosphere that will encourage long-term football success. Preserving tradition and having a fervent, dedicated fan base need not be mutually exclusive objectives. In fact, it is a combination that has proven successful at many colleges across the South, including Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn and Georgia.
The University must weigh these intangibles when selecting a new coach. Experience with the college game and a winning track record are important, but so is picking someone with the right outlook to engage fans and attract recruits. A house divided cannot stand, and a fan base that is fragmented or apathetic will not engender positive results on the gridiron.
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