UVA Takes the Easy Way Out

This afternoon at 1pm UVA introduced Mike London as their new head football coach.

And it was a cop out move.

(Disclaimer: The only reason I am saying anything about this hire because it is hyper-local. I can't turn on my radio or TV to any local station without hearing about it.)

On the surface it looks like UVA made the right decision. London is a UVA alum. He was a defensive coordinator on former head coach Al Groh's staff. He has had much success in his only head coaching position, leading Richmond to an FCS national title in his first year there, at a school that, like UVA, has high academic standards.

The hire makes almost perfect sense. UVA was watching one of their own succeed at a school just 65 miles down I-64. Of course they would want to give him a shot.

But those are exactly the reasons that make this an easy, and lazy, choice. UVA needed to make a splash. It seemed like they knew that too. Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said last week that the school was going to do a nationwide search for Al Groh's replacement. I thought they were going to look for a guy who has had some college success, on the FBS level. I thought maybe they would try to get a guy with some NFL ties, like Groh, to help funnel UVA players to the NFL. I guess he meant nationwide, as long as he could make the round trip on less than one tank of gas.

More than anything, I thought they were going to take their time and find a guy who could put butts in the seats again. Mike London fits every part of the profile UVA needed. He won as a head coach. He won at school with high academic standards. He is a defensive coach. He is local and knows central and eastern Virginia, so he should be able to recruit well. But his name doesn't pop. UVA needed everything Mike London is as coach, but they needed a name who brings excitement to the fan base even more. UVA has been losing the fans for two years now. Their attendance has steadily declined during that time. The most important task for the new coach is to re-energize the fan base and fill Scott Stadium again.

I thought going with London was a cost saving measure. A nationwide search would have been expensive and probably would have yielded an expensive coach. Then I found out they are going to pay London $1.7 million a year. For that money they could have gotten a proven coach. Here's a list of some of the coaches in the NCAA who make less than $1.7M a year...Jim Leavitt at South Florida...Chip Kelly at Oregon...Chris Petersen at Boise State...Dave Wannstedt at Pitt...Joe Paterno(!) at Penn State...Nuff said.

Here's the thing, the UVA head coaching job should be an attractive position. The school obviously has money that they are willing to spend. They have great facilities. When properly motivated they have a rabid fan base. Charlottesville is a great town in which to live and work. (I believe my authority on that last sentence is not debatable.) Plus, C'Ville is kind of isolated. You have to want to get here to get here. If you win at UVA you can be a rock star in this town. It's one of those big fish in a small pond deals. (Well, medium-sized pond. You would still have to compete with John Grisham, Howie Long, and that guy named Dave.) The school should be able to attract a big-name coach.

Here's another thing. London is not as proven a coach as it might seem. Yes, he won a national title at Richmond, but it was in his first year when he had 16 returning starters. That was basically Dave Clawson's team. This year they lost in the playoffs to perennial FCS power Appalachian State. He has not yet shown that he can have sustained success. To be fair, he hasn't had the chance, but that still means he is unproven.

We also don't know what he'll be as a recruiter. It seems he has all of the tools to succeed in recruiting in Virginia, but, he is going to have to compete with Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Maryland, and West Virginia on a regular basis for great local talent. Plus, Penn State, Pittsburgh, and Tennessee have been known to venture into the Old Dominion to fill their squads.

To me though, there is one huge reason why London was hired, and hired so quickly. The school is also searching for a new president, so they needed to get the football coach position filled fast. This hire makes sense, but it was the easy route to take.