The elephant in the room
Associated Press
Virginia coach Al Groh faces Virginia Tech for the ninth time in his UVa career on Saturday at Scott Stadium. The Cavaliers are 1-7 against the Hokies under Groh.
Al Groh had to know it was coming.
It was a question that embattled coaches throughout the country have faced annually.
Yet, the Cavaliers’ nine-year coach ran from the topic of his job security with the season’s final game on the horizon Saturday with Virginia Tech.
“It’s really not about me,” Groh said. “It’s about the team and it’s about the players. You know, that’s all I’m really thinking about, so I don’t really have any thoughts on it.”
It will be about Groh, however, Saturday evening after the Cavaliers (3-8, 2-5 ACC) host the Hokies (8-3, 5-2) at Scott Stadium.
That is when athletic director Craig Littlepage will determine if an additional year will be added to Groh’s contract, which extends through the 2012 season. It almost certainly will not be added, as was the case last year after a 5-7 campaign.
It is widely expected that Littlepage’s season-end review of the program, one that he claimed would determine Groh’s fate, will lead to walking papers and a hefty buyout for Groh, regardless of the outcome of the in-state showdown.
For now, Virginia’s players remain committed to their coach. But they know, of course, that their opinion matters very little in the end.
“We as players choose not to get involved in that,” UVa outside linebacker Aaron Clark said. “Coach is a grown man. He is very smart. He is schooled in this world of football and jobs and coaching and everything, so whatever may happen, he’ll be successful in whatever he does.
“He’s a great guy and all we can do is play our hearts out for him. That’s what we try to do every week, so we’ll try to do that again Saturday.”
A loss would drop Groh’s record to 36-36 in league games in his UVa tenure. His overall record at Virginia is currently 59-52. He is 1-7 against Virginia Tech.
A passing grade
It was not a number that Jameel Sewell placed a great importance in surpassing.
Yet lost in the shuffle in a 13-point loss at Clemson, Virginia’s starting quarterback climbed the program’s passing charts.
Sewell, heading into his final game Saturday, now stands third all-time in passing yardage with 5,246 yards, having surpassed Scott Gardner and Aaron Brooks with a 160-yard passing performance against the Tigers.
“It only matters if we win or lose,” Sewell said after the Cavaliers dropped to 3-8. “I’m sure that will be nice to look back on down the road, but I am only focused about what helps this team most.”
Groh was also in the dark on Sewell’s latest accomplishment, a feat he was informed of on Monday during his final pre-game press conference of the season.
“Well, it says how important his production has been to our team over the years that he’s been our quarterback,” the coach said.
Sewell’s yardage total came in odd fashion — he was suspended from school during the 2008 season, losing a year of eligibility in the process. With another full season, he would have had the potential to leave school in better standing in passing yardage than the category’s leader, current Houston Texans starter Matt Schaub (7,502 yards).
“I hadn’t thought about it before, but yeah, clearly, those not only would have been yards that would have went on Jameel’s records,” Groh said, “but those would have been yards that would have moved the ball up and down the field for our team.”
Sewell also stands fourth in program history in total offense and would pass Gardner with 272 yards on Saturday.
Extra points
Virginia Tech is a 14-point favorite for Saturday’s game. … Virginia right tackle Will Barker will make his 49th career start against the Hokies, which ties the Pennsylvania native for second-most starts in program history with Clint Sintim, D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Will Brice. … The Cavaliers have lost the time of possession battle in the each of their past five games. … Vic Hall has recorded a touchdown in four different ways in his career — by returning an interception, catching a pass, throwing a pass and on the ground. He would have a score via punt return, but penalties called back would-be touchdowns at Middle Tennessee State in 2007 and earlier this season against Boston College.
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Reader Reactions
The administration (Board of Visitors) at UVa doesn’t care about football. I would even go as far as to say that they want to lose in football, because they think that winning in football make the school look like it’s “lesser” academically and doesn’t have that Ivy League-type image they want.
As long as they have this attitude, it doesn’t matter who the athletic director and football coaching staff are. Only a Hall of Fame coach (George Welsh) can even make UVa competitive in football! And even then, that’s all UVa can be, at best, is competitive! It would take an entirely new Board Of Visitors for UVa to contend for national championships in football….. And would it be right to replace them for football?! Maybe, maybe not!
Earlysville-
I think you and I are on the same page. I use the term “Grandpa” because it describes Groh perfectly: old, crotchety, grumpy, and closed-minded. Just like my grandpa was… As for Groh donating his severance to the University, I don’t think there’s a chance in Hades of that happening. As the songs goes, “go on, take the money and run (Al)“! And I agree, he has done absolutely nothing and should have been let go a long time ago…
dnice wrote :“ Nothing against the coaches that may replace him, but none of those coaches have better game plans then coach groh.“
Creating game plans isn’t the issue. Recruiting is. Groh has consistently not recruited well - yeah, he gets linebackers and tight ends, but name the last decent quarterback, running back, or wide receiver he’s signed.
*crickets*
As for Littlepage, why all the hating? All he’s done is build what was the #8 D1 athletics program in the country last year!!! Yes, the basketball team has been down, but let’s remember that Casteen hired Leitao, not Littlepage. Let’s also remember that Terry Holland hired Groh, not Littlepage.
There are those who say he should have fired Groh two years ago. However, he’s got to manage the entire athletic department - and part of that job description if you want to be successful is to NOT send the message to your coaches that you have a quick trigger finger. If they think they are on thin ice because of a bad year, they’re going to bail at the first opportunity. But they know that won’t happen, which is why we still have Brian O’Conner, among others. So just because you only follow football, take a minute to consider the bigger picture.
Losing Littlepage would be a disaster for the University of Virginia.
Hey Ghost of RR-
You toss around the disparaging comment “Grandpa” in reference to Coach Groh. I have two words “Joe Paterno”.
Do you think Al will donate his severance to the University since he talks of his love of UVA as an Alumni? Paterno gave something like 10 million to Penn State. Simply put Groh has not done anything and should have been let go before now. I am amazed his contract runs through 2012 and Paterno’s is year to year. Go figure.
this is tech’s super bowl, always has been…like big al says, lay the 14
The teams performance, which has been far below poor, isn’t the only reason the fan base has turned its back on good ol UVA football. It wasn’t long ago that the administration very proudly turned its back on the fans by selling long held season tickets to the highest biddder. Now, you want to cry about not having fan support? UVA will never be in the running for an ACC Championship and certainly not anything on the national scene until they get that kind of team the same way they have chosen to partially fill their stadiium: By buying it.
Another angle to think about: Casteen and Groh are already on the way out, and Littlepage may not be far behind. Remember that the NCAA is looking for a replacement for Myles Brand, who died in September. So, with a little luck we have the real possibility for a trifecta of change at the top, and (hopefully) a major attitude shift within the Administration & Athletics Dept. Just food for thought…
Craig Littlepage and the rest of the administration don’t take football seriously enough to give the fans the kind of program they want. I believe the kind of football program these other posts want requires less strict academic requirements for the players. Dnice is right, we don’t help the recruiting story when we as fans don’t show up for games.
Dnice: Grandpa Groh was brought here with the understanding that he was the one to take us to the next level, i.e. conference championships and national title contenders. He has had nine years to do so, and has failed miserably. If anything, he has taken the program in the opposite direction. To blame that decline on assistant coach defections and player academic/discipline issues is simply naive and ignorant. At some point the man at the top has to be held accountable, and that time is NOW. And Pete Carroll/USC as an analogy for Groh/UVA? Please. Grandpa Groh isn’t worthy enough to shine Pete Carroll’s shoes…
I understand what you guys are saying, but sometimes things happen that are out of the coaches control and these things can set the program back. There have been so many issues that coach Groh has had to deal with from academic suspensions to guys being kicked out of school (peter lalich, J’coutney williams), to losing assistant coaches. These issues cannot be ignored. If you choose to ignore these issues, whose to say that the next coach will not run into the same problems. Thats why we must examine everything about the program. The best example of what I’m talking about is USC. Everyone would say that Pete Carol is a great coach but his team is now losing to stanford 55-21. Why is this. Could it be that he continues to lose assistant coaches. Sometimes, it dosen’t matter how great a coach may be, problems sometimes will arrive that hurt the program. That doesn’t mean that the coach is a bad one.
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