UVA turns to London for turnaround

When Al Groh's Virginia team lost to William & Mary to open the 2009 season, it was reasonably clear Groh's days in Charlottesville were numbered.

The program had slipped significantly from the George Welsh years, and a 3-9 finish secured Groh's firing.

The Cavaliers' solution: turn to a Virginia boy.

Mike London played at Richmond, and coached as an assistant at Richmond, William & Mary and UVA before leading the Spiders to a 24-5 record over two seasons and the school's first national championship in any sport his first year there.

He grew up in the commonwealth, has extensive ties there and knows the culture well. He was an outside hire, but he's far from an outsider to the Cavaliers.

"It's very rare that you get to spend a lot of time in your coaching career in the same state as your extended family lives," said London, who has spent 21 of his 26 years in football as a player/coach in Virginia, including two stints as an assistant with the Cavs. "I went to junior high school here and high school here. People know you; people know your family. You want to make not only the university proud but your area where you come from proud. It is a lot of attachment to being a Virginia guy."

The warm feelings are surrounding the program that just hired only its third different coach in the past 28 years, shedding the occasionally prickly Groh for a passionate homegrown product with a reputation for being a players' coach.

But he's also one of Groh's coaches, having spent several years coaching under Georgia Tech's new defensive coordinator, whose reputation as a stellar defensive mind has never been questioned during the downward spiral at Virginia.

For London, replacing one of his mentors has been a bit awkward, especially given the somewhat messy departure that left Groh with a $4.3 million buyout.

"That was one of the toughest things, having to go through that and the reality of the profession and the business is what it is," London said. "I have mixed feelings because I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, but I had the opportunity to go back where I spent six years. It's tough because I learned a lot from him. I haven't talked to him yet. He probably understands that this profession is sometimes forgiving and sometimes not."

And few things facilitate forgiveness among fans better than winning ball games.

That's going to be a tall order for London, whose team was picked last in the ACC's Coastal Division by the media last month. He'll have 12 starters returning to a team that has to adjust to new styles on both offense (Pro Style from a spread) and defense (4-3 from Groh's 3-4).