Posts tagged Al Groh
Al Groh to Georgia Tech?
Jan 9th
It appears that Georgia Tech has fired their defensive coordinator. One of the candidates to replace him: Al Groh.
I don’t like the sound of that one bit. For all his faults, Groh is a talented defensive coordinator, and he’d give us headaches were he to go to another ACC school. Particularly Georgia Tech, where they already feature an innovative offense.
No, I don’t like this idea at all.
Al Groh’s statement
Nov 29th
Al Groh released a statement this evening, in the wake of his dismissal as UVa’s head football coach. It’s below the fold, if you’re interested:
Al Groh removed as head coach
Nov 29th
After all the speculation and discussion, it’s over:
Craig Littlepage, University of Virginia director of athletics, today announced that Al Groh would not be retained as head football coach, effective immediately. Littlepage met with Groh, who just concluded his ninth season, earlier today to inform the coach of his decision.
“There is not a coach in the college game who has worked harder than Al Groh in trying to build a football program. Football is his life and he dedicated himself to the University and to our football team,” Littlepage said. “We are grateful for his service and for his commitment to his players and his coaching staff.”
Groh, a UVa alumnus, was named Virginia’s head coach on Dec. 30, 2000. His nine Virginia teams compiled an overall record of 59-53 and participated in five bowl games, winning three of them. Groh was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2007, and the American Football Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year in 2004. The Cavaliers have had losing records three of the last four seasons and were 3-9 in 2009.
A national search for a new head coach will begin immediately. An assistant coaching staff will be assembled by the new head coach and it will be the choice of the new coach to determine if any current staff members are retained. Littlepage did not specify a time frame for concluding the search, taking into account the fact that many of the possible candidates will be involved in postseason play. Littlepage said that he would make no further comments until the search has been concluded.
“Our goals for the UVa football program will remain the same. We will pursue winning and excellence in all facets of the University experience for our student-athletes, both on the field and in the classroom. There are a number of excellent coaches whose backgrounds and styles align with our goals and values,” Littlepage said. “When you combine our aspirations with the institutional commitment to athletic facilities and resources, I believe that the job of head football coach at UVa will be attractive to some outstanding candidates.”
Groh has two years remaining on his contract. He and the University have come to a financial agreement, which is the responsibility of the athletics department, that will pay him approximately $4.33 million. The department does not receive any state funding.
So long, Coach Groh. Thank you for your dedication and hard work. I know you wanted UVa to be successful at football even more than we fans did.
Now let all the speculation, drama, gossip, and rumor-fueled discussion about the next coach begin….
Ready for more turkey?
Nov 27th
I hope you all got lotsa turkey on Thanksgiving…but I hope you’ve saved room for more!
Go Hoos! It’s been a miserable year, but it can be somewhat redeemed by a victory against Virginia Tech today. We all know that it’s Al Groh’s final game as Cavalier head coach. Perhaps the team will come out fired up to send Groh away on a winning note against their biggest rivals.
I believe….
The most frustrating aspect of the Al Groh era
Nov 23rd
But there is another measurement that, if not impressive to the general fan, resonates with those in a Virginia uniform. Sixty-five Cavaliers have gone onto the NFL after playing for Groh, including 22 selected in the NFL draft during the past five seasons. Groh produces NFL talent at a rate uncanny for a coach who has not had a 10-win season, much less a coach who might be unemployed in two weeks.
While watching this week’s Steelers game, they cut in to show a highlight of Jason Snelling scoring a touchdown for the Atlanta Falcons (he had two on the day). Then they came back to the game, and Heath Miller caught a pass for a long gain.
My Hokie friends are constantly asking how Virginia can be so terrible at football when they have players drafted — and drafted highly — into the NFL every single year. There can really only be one answer to that question, unfortunately.
There is, and has been, talent in the program. It’s gotta be the coaching (or lack thereof).
On Saturday’s Games
Nov 22nd
The differences between the football and basketball program were stark yesterday. The football team lost yet again, this time to Clemson. They did, however, give us all something to cheer about…briefly:
For one half of Virginia’s contest against Clemson, the Cavalier offense did everything that Al Groh is not necessarily known for: trick plays, unconventional formations, and overall outside-the-box thinking. Jameel Sewell, Mikell Simpson, and Vic Hall all took snaps under center. A very un-Groh-like, nothing-to-lose risk gave Virginia an improbable touchdown going into halftime and the team ranked 106th nationally in scoring offense and 118th in total offense had 21 points and 233 total yards.
Unfortunately, the defense stunk all day long. Then, after a few very interesting possessions where Virginia went away from the absurdly pathetic playcalling that has marked Al Groh’s tenure, the offense went back to the same old nonsense in the second half. As a result, it was three plays and out on almost every possession, it seemed, and Virginia meekly succumbed to their 8th loss of the season.
The basketball team, on the other hand, gave us a lot to be optimistic about yesterday in a 76-55 win over Oral Roberts. Mike Scott and Mustapha Farrakhan had good games, and Assane Sene played fairly effectively in his first game since returning from suspension.
The defense has been getting better every single game, which is refreshing (after some very poor defensive teams we’ve been forced to endure over the last decade). It’s going to take even more time for Coach Bennett to install his offense, but the Hoos are improving every game on that end of the floor as well.
Wins over Rider and Oral Roberts are not ordinarily reasons for enthusiasm. Most good programs take these wins for granted. We can’t think like that yet. How the Hoos are winning these games can’t be taken for granted, given the state of the program.
I don’t know where the program will end up, but there’s no question that Bennett has started in the right direction.
I can’t explain it
Nov 21st
Every time I see Al Groh on the sidelines (in crystal-clear HD today, for the first time this season), I feel sorry for the guy. Yeah, he ran this ship aground, but his time is almost up, and I just feel sorry for him.
Would love to see the Hoos finish out Groh’s tenure with a couple of big victories.
Let’s talk hoops
Nov 9th
In the interest of trying to forget about football entirely, let’s talk hoops for a minute. I have a big stack of Virginia basketball links that I’ve been meaning to post (and I want to stay positive, so no discussion of the Assane Sene suspension), but I went out of town this weekend and am just now getting around to it.
Before the link roundup, however, a note about my expectations for the 2009-2010 men’s basketball squad. The Good Ol Blog is running a poll, asking for predictions on the number of ACC wins Tony Bennett’s squad will reach this year. I voted for 7, which seems to be a popular selection.
Seven wins would be a great result in Coach Bennett’s first season. The team is predicted to finish next to last, which I think is absurdly pessimistic. We don’t have top-four talent on this roster, but there’s enough there for Bennett to fashion a competitive squad. I think the Hoos are going to finish in the bottom half of the conference, but they will have at least one big ACC upset, and they will be blown out of very few games.
More than that, I think they will be fun to watch (something we can’t say about the football team, unfortunately). They are going to scrap and claw and fight to the end of every game. It’s their coach’s disposition (ask his Washington State players), and I really believe his players are going to buy into it.
I’m very high on Tony Bennett, if you haven’t noticed. (Take that with a grain of salt, however; I was high on Pete Gillen and Al Groh, too).
Anyway, on to the links:
–The poll above was prompted by Dear Old UVa’s interview with John Gasaway, of the ever-popular Basketball Prospectus (here is part one of the interview, and here is part two). Gasaway predicts that Virginia will go 8-8 in the ACC. That, my friends, would be a spectacular success, as far as I’m concerned.
–The Daily Press had a couple of outstanding articles on Coach Bennett this weekend, and they are both worth a read. This one focuses on the fact that rebuilding is in Coach’s blood, and this one is a collection of items about Bennett that didn’t make it into the main story. There is a ton of great stuff in there for UVa hoops junkies. Like me.
–Looking back at one of our favorite Hoos ever, JR Reynolds (some great video at that link). Although it’s looking increasingly unlikely, I’m still hopeful that JR will get a shot at the NBA sometime.
–Shifting over to women’s basketball for a moment, Monica Wright’s name is on the finalists list for the Senior CLASS award. That won’t be the last time we hear “Monica Wright” and “award” in the same sentence.
–Finally, it’s behind the subscription wall, but The Sabre has this interview with Jeff Jones, the key to UVa’s season, in my opinion.
This simply isn’t fun anymore
Nov 9th
Over at The Sabre, Kris Wright has hit the nail on the head:
What do you say when there’s nothing left to say?
Unimaginative and inept offense. Check. Average at best defense that can’t stop the run, misses tackles, and looks worse as it gets worn down. You’ve heard that one. Inconsistent, can’t block, teetering on the brink of disaster special teams. Covered.
Al Groh, Beta Bridge, last straws, and all that? No need to belabor that point. It’s all over but the announcement….
I just want to watch Virginia football the next three weeks and have fun.
Indeed.
There is much, much more over there, so I encourage you to read the entire thing (It’s a Sabre Edge feature, but if you aren’t an Edge subscriber…well, why aren’t you? It’s worth every penny.)
Kris is right. UVa football used to be fun. The thrill is gone now.
On Al Groh
Nov 7th
As we prepare for what is likely to be a massacre in south Florida today, Jerry Ratcliffe has a piece in the Daily Progress about Coach Groh that is worth a read. One paragraph in particular sums up my thinking about the end of the Groh era:
If Groh is released by Craig Littlepage and John Casteen later this month, then let the man leave with his dignity. He’s one of yours, you know. He wore the orange and blue, left the NFL to come back and attempted to carry on George Welsh’s success. He even sent a son here to play and help beat Florida State.
I’ll be honest: I want Al Groh removed as head coach of the Virginia football program immediately. That said, however, I’m not comfortable with hammering the guy.
Al Groh is a Hoo. He has worked very hard to make UVa a football power. No, he was not successful and he’s going to be removed as coach because of his failures. He has been prickly at times, and said some things that he shouldn’t have. At the end of the day, he has earned his pink slip.
But the guy is a fellow alum, and he cares every bit as much as I do about the University. That should count for something, shouldn’t it?
