Groh gets confidence vote from Littlepage

About a month ago, just after Tommy Bowden was fired at midseason by Clemson, a Las Vegas betting firm sent out a release to media pointing out that it had established odds that Al Groh would be the next major-college coach on the chopping block.

Anyone who took that bet may be headed for a loss.

Virginia director of athletics Craig Littlepage has given Groh more than a vote of confidence. And, yeah, we know the old adage that a vote of confidence is usually the kiss of death.

Perhaps it will be. Perhaps those who rule the university on a higher plane will have a change of heart at season’s end. But for now, Littlepage said that Groh is UVa’s man.

Endorsement from above

“Al Groh will be our head coach in 2009,” Littlepage said in an e-mail to this columnist. “Coach Groh and his staff have done a good job bringing the team around over the past six weeks.

“Clearly, the team has responded; they’ve practiced hard and executed well and we’ve seen results,” Littlepage continued. “Al Groh is our head coach and from what I can see in terms of the development of our players and the team, their enthusiasm for their coach, and the commitments to the recruiting class, it should be clear that he has our support.”

True, Virginia’s football team did respond to a 1-3 start when the program experienced an unanticipated change of starting quarterbacks. The Cavaliers then ripped off four straight wins, all of them upsets, including two nationally-ranked victims (North Carolina and Georgia Tech).

The team has practiced hard and executed well during the four-game stretch, although that execution has dropped off in the last two games, losses to Miami and Wake Forest.

Not done yet

When appearing on Jay James’ Best Seat in the House the same week that Bowden was fired, I was asked by a listener, point blank, my gut feelings on whether Groh would be back or not.

I said that I felt Groh would be back because this particular team wasn’t finished at the time, that it had too much talent and too much fortitude to just roll over. Having said that, rumors continued to fly that there had been discussions of a buyout and that Virginia would seek to hire current Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, who used to be Jim Grobe’s offensive coordinator at Wake Forest and Ohio.

However, they key element here is that Groh never lost his team. In fact, he did anything but lose them. Coaches and ex-coaches from across the college football landscape from Lou Holtz to Terry Donahue to Bob Davie, pointed out what a good job Groh had done in turning Virginia’s program around.

Groh kept this team together, which is much harder than it appears from the outside, and at least has a chance to appear in a bowl game, something that seemed unthinkable about six weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Groh’s coaching staff has put together a solid recruiting effort. They have made headway in the Hampton Roads area, previously controlled by Virginia Tech.

The incoming recruiting class appears to be one of Groh’s best in his time here, plus it could have a couple of bonuses in Jameel Sewell and Chris Cook if all things go as planned.

Both sat out this year on academic suspension, and both have the potential to make the program better. Sewell is an experienced quarterback with two years of starts under his belt, while Cook was considered one of UVa’s best defensive backs and could possibly move to safety.

Certainly, sports is a peculiar business and things can change in a New York minute, but if it’s up to Littlepage, then Groh will be back for a ninth year, tying him for the second-longest tenure (with Frank Murray) in UVa history.

Wonder how that affects Vegas’ odds?