Story by Chris Graham
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Mike London is back for a third stint on the sidelines at Scott Stadium, this time as the man in charge of righting the course of the wayward University of Virginia football ship.
“I will make winning a priority, but also by doing it the right way, and also by making sure that it’s OK to embrace the academic qualifications and expectations here at the University,” said London, who was formally introduced as the head football coach at UVa. at a press conference Monday afternoon.
The five-year deal will pay London $1.7 million annually. London’s predecessor, Al Groh, was making in the area of $2.15 million a year.
UVa. bought out the final two years of Groh’s contract for $4.33 million after firing him last month.
Groh’s team posted a cumulative 59-53 record in his nine years at UVa. His final two teams posted a combined 8-16 record, including a 3-9 record in 2009.
Officially it was a quick romance between the University and London, whose University of Richmond team was active in the I-AA playoffs until a heartbreaking 35-31 playoff loss to Appalachian State Saturday night that wasn’t decided until an App State touchdown with 10 seconds left.
Unofficially, reports in September that had the UVa. athletics department already engaged in an active, if quiet, search for a possible replacement for the embattled Groh also had the school in informal contact with London’s representatives about his possible interest in the job at that time.
London’s ties to the Groh regime could make for some uncomfortable questions about the hire. Before his successful 24-5 run in two seasons at UR that included the 2008 I-AA national championship, London was a member of the Groh staff two different times, from 2001-2005 and then again in 2006-2007. London served as recruiting coordinator under Groh from 2002-2004, landing back-to-back-to-back top-20 recruiting classes that later failed to pan out in terms of results on the football field as the UVa. program posted losing seasons in three of Groh’s final four years as head coach.
But by all appearances London was the only candidate seriously considered by athletics director Craig Littlepage, who requested permission to speak with London about the UVa. coaching vacancy on Sunday and sealed the deal with the coach before the day was done.
“In my view, it was critical that we bring in a leader, an educator and a coach,” Littlepage said. Also important, according to Littlepage, is that London knows and understands the academic and athletic environment at the University of Virginia, “and embraces it,” the AD said, and as well is cognizant of the need to rebuild relationships with high schools in Virginia apparently strained under the Groh regime.
London addressed that topic in his first Q-and-A with reporters as the head coach at UVa.
“I am a product of, and I’ll use it as the kids say, the 7-5-7,” said London, a native of the football talent-rich Hampton Roads area, which is located in the 7-5-7 area code. “I’ll make sure that we reconnect with high-school coaches here in the state of Virginia. This is a great place. My coaching stints have allowed me to recruit every area of this state. I know we’ve got to do a better job of recruiting the in-state players, but we’ll do that.
“I want the high-school coaches to know that if Virginia hasn’t been there, we’ll be there, and if you have a player that you want to recommend to us, then we’ll evaluate, and we’ll listen,” said London, whose reachouts to high-school coaches at Richmond were as lauded for their inclusiveness and openness as Groh’s were pilloried for being too top-down and even preachy.
Job one is focusing on recruits in the class of 2010. The Rivals.com and Scout.com recruiting services both have Virginia ranked dead last in the ACC with its 2010 recruiting class, with the silver lining, if there can be a silver lining to that news, being that the program has only received 10 or 11 commitments, meaning there is room for improvement as London hits the recruiting trail this week.
London laid out the basics of his philosophy as he begins to move forward with his redevelopment of the UVa. football program.
“It all goes back to making sure that you recruit the type of player that you need to recruit, that you provide a staff that can develop those players, both athletically and then personally, and then provide a model for them in terms of the expected types of behavior, your schemes and systems that you’re going to employ, and then be consistent with your message. If you do that, then I believe that you can move a team forward,” London said.
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