Groh: Virginia most memorable coaching experience

Al Groh has been around the game of football nearly his entire life.

During the peaks and valleys of his 40-plus years in the sport, Groh has pretty much seen it all, done it all, from high school to college to the NFL.

His speed dial is filled with some of the top coaches in the country, from college guys like Nick Saban and Mack Brown, to pro coaching legends Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. While some critics may have tired of his name-dropping, those are his friends, the guys he hangs with.

Considering that Groh has coached in two Super Bowls, coached some Hall of Fame players, worked alongside Hall of Fame coaches, it was somewhat surprising that after being fired by his alma mater on Sunday, Groh said his most memorable coaching experience was being the head coach at the University of Virginia.

For nine years, he toiled to make UVa a winner in one of the most competitive sports in the land. Through 2005, it appeared he had the Cavaliers’ program on the rise, having gone to four consecutive bowl games.

Dedicated to the goal

The success only made Groh more determined to win. No one ever dedicated more hours to his goal. The man’s ability to put in seemingly endless hours should be legend.

All that work couldn’t keep Virginia near the top of the ACC. We’ve covered some of the reasons why in recent columns, but the rise of Virginia Tech certainly took its toll on the Cavaliers’ program and its shortcomings when it came to competing for the state’s top talent.

Regardless, it all came to an end early Sunday afternoon in the McCue Center, where UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage fired Groh after nine years on the job.

Reached later in the evening, Groh was cleaning out his office in the same building. He was in better spirits than this columnist expected, toiling away for the last time in his home away from home.

I couldn’t help but think about last July, when I dropped by the football office to pass something along to Groh from a fellow alum. Groh was supposed to be on vacation.

Instead, he was at his desk, studying tape of Texas Christian University, trying to find an edge that might help his team.

“This is a really good football team,” Groh said of TCU. “It’s going to be tough to beat them ... it’s going to be tough for anybody in the country to beat them.”

Groh’s words were prophetic. The man knew the challenge ahead, but went after it like one would expect.

Sunday evening, he was cleaning out his library of game plans from many of his stops along the way. Boxing up the memorabilia, the photos, the gifts from UVa fans. A big reader, Groh had an impressive collection of books covering a myriad of life philosophies.

The only discord detected in his mood concerned UVa’s decision to release news of his firing before he had the opportunity to meet with his assistant coaches, a move considered bush league in most corners of the sports world.

In a statement released by Groh earlier in the day, one

particular paragraph was most

interesting.

“My coaching philosophy and method of building teams has trust and teamwork as bedrocks,” Groh said. “We were poised to solidify our position as a top team. Instead, as that trust and collaboration deteriorated, I could see this day coming.

“We arrived with a set of principles that we have tried to remain faithful to and we leave with those principles intact.”

While certainly Groh made some mistakes along the way, and had difficulty keeping a coaching staff together, there’s a strong hint that he didn’t get the support he expected to get the job done here.

Perhaps candidates interested in succeeding Groh need to ask more questions than perhaps he did when lured to UVa by John Casteen on a snowy day back in 2001.

“I am privileged to have represented this fine University — a school from which my two sons and I have earned degrees. I hope I have represented it well,” Groh said in the statement.

By the way, just to clear things up, it wasn’t Groh’s idea to fire his son, Mike, as the team’s offensive coordinator last year. Perhaps Al Groh should have seen the writing on the wall at that point, that the end was near.

Still, he labored on, trying to right the Good Ship Wahoo. Instead, all he did was bail water.

“I feel very fortunate. I am an ordinary guy who has been lucky to have been around some extraordinary players and coaches who put me in a position to enjoy many fulfilling games and seasons — and that’s the truth. I gave everything I had to the position and to each game.”

Apparently, UVa didn’t feel the same way. After firing Groh, the rest of his staff was also fired, with the exception of Anthony Poindexter and Bob Price, a holdover from the George Welsh era. All the rest were given 48 hours to pack and get out.

Still, Groh considers himself a Wahoo.

“To all the members of the Virginia football family, I love you, and God bless you,” the coach ended his farewell statement.