Passion. Integrity. Humility. Respect. For decades, college football players, coaches and media have used these and other buzzwords to describe the ideal college athlete. When taken seriously, these members of the sports lexicon lay at the foundation of what collegiate competition is supposedly all about. Tragically, college football programs that honor these virtues have become an increasingly rare breed in recent years. Not so very long ago — before O.J. was accused, Canseco juiced, or Tiger cheated — college athletes played the game with hearts largely untainted by the greed, egotism and immorality that have corrupted contemporary sports. The crucial difference is coaching. Today, college coaches increasingly fail to embody personally and instill professionally the values of teamwork, character and academic achievement that are integral to a coach’s job of molding boys into men, on and off the football field.
Coach Mike London enters a program hungry for wins after the mediocrity of Al Groh’s final seasons, and he is a perfect fit because he coaches for something beyond the wins and losses. As Cavalier Daily columnist Andrew Seidman noted, “London is a passionate man, a man of high character, a guy who gets it.” In speaking about his message, expectations and the culture he hopes to create at Virginia, London revealed a vision markedly similar to that of the oldest, winningest and arguably the most venerated coach in college football history — Penn State’s Joe Paterno. Sure, it’s easy to look at the massive contrast in credentials between London and Paterno, a Hall-of-Famer with more years coaching at PSU (60) than London has been alive (49). But after comparing Seidman’s interview with London to a recent Sporting News conversation with Joe Pa, I believe that London’s same focus on life beyond the gridiron — the core of Paterno’s legacy — will bring the results every Virginia football fan wants to see.
It all starts with London’s recruiting philosophy. When asked about national signing day, Paterno dismissed the rankings and hype: “The whole business of recruiting has been so overblown by the media and so-called pundits who evaluate guys one way or another.” He spoke about the need to instead look “at the kids not only as athletes but as people who belong in a program such as ours. People say to me, ‘Boy, you’ve got a good recruiting class.’ I say, ‘How do you know? I haven’t seen one of them get punched in the nose yet.’” Likewise, London described his ideal player as “focused, committed, a guy who loves, loves the game and has a lot of energy and passion … You can win a lot of games with that.” Like Paterno, London goes beyond a shallow, purely athletic connection with his recruits, and this will undoubtedly yield players with the passion to compete hard and the character to be taught right.
With a half-dozen Penn State alums in my family, comparing the academic reputations of PSU and U.Va. may prove hazardous to my health. Suffice to say that both institutions pride themselves on the academic rigor demanded of their student-athletes. When asked about his message to new recruits, Paterno stressed, “It’s a great opportunity for a kid. Get a good education, understand what football can do for them, a sense of loyalty, commitment, how as a group you can get good things done. But, most of all, they better go to class … Where the football becomes more important than the whole educational experience, they’re picking the wrong spot. And I tell them that.” London similarly demands academic achievement from his players. Success is “not just on-the-field things,” London said. “Off-the-field things can take priority, which will lead to on-the-field success. Building young men of character: go to class, show class, and treat people with dignity and respect. I think the first part of this is to set those expectations back in motion again that you’re here to get an education. [If] you can take care of foundational things, I think what you’ll see on the field will speak for itself.”
With a 394-129-3 career record and two national championships, Paterno doesn’t have to be a role model — his lifelong success would be more than enough for any collegiate player. But he mentors his players anyway, and this is what distinguishes a great coach. When asked what many coaches fail to understand, Paterno replied, “We’ve got to be careful that we don’t lose sight of the fact that we’re supposed to be educators. We’ve lost what should be our mission, [to] take a bunch of young kids and make sure football is a meaningful experience for them that helps them 10, 15, 20 years from now.” London echoed the same sentiments about a coach’s responsibilities to the players. “In this profession,” London urged, “being a football coach [is being] more than that — a role model, a mentor, and having an awesome obligation to basically raise other people’s sons … You look a parent in the eye and say, ‘I’m gonna take care of your son,’ and mean it. In the end, the greatest accomplishment will be the development of that player and that person. And then, have fun and win games along the way.”
In today’s win-at-all-costs world of sports, college athletes who look up to their coaches as father figures are rarely guided in the right direction. Last season alone, then-Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly ditched his team before its BCS bowl game for a more prestigious and profitable coaching gig at Notre Dame, and Florida State vacated 12 football wins because of numerous players’ involvement in an academic fraud scandal. Today, it’s easy to lose hope and concede that the foundational principles of student-athleticism have been fundamentally, even irreversibly, compromised. One ol’ ball coach, however, gives you a reason not to. With his nasally Brooklyn accent, khaki pant legs rolled up high, and six decades of experience in coaching football the right way, Joe Paterno is nothing short of a living legend. With Mike London calling the shots, Virginia football is primed for a return to prominence, and — more importantly — is ready to show the country that the Joe Pa way of coaching will never become extinct.
Great article, Matt.
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Ditto. Great job contrasting Paterno with Brian Kelly.
But I digress.. I think you’re getting way too optimistic about one of Al Groh’s long time insiders. A lot of his experience came under Groh. I hope you’re right, but they still have the huge impediment to recruiting that is the students in ties and pearls who arrive late and leave early – spending most of their time taking pictures of each other in expensive designer clothes they never earned.
Why on earth would a high school kid decide to come here rather than VT after seeing that?
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Good article, do you have any relation to George Welsh by chance? Welsh’s mentor was JoPa I’m pretty sure…
Sean, look at every school in the SEC and how their fans dress. ties and pearls everywhere. The fact you go on a rival’s school website to trash their traditions boggles me. You guys have dominated the decade and yet there is still a certain chip on y’alls shoulder. I am always puzzled as to what you Tech fans are compensating for…but I think I have an idea, at least for the guys.
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Sean, I haven’t seen any football players in pearls.
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SEC fans will arrive about 5 hours before game time and tailgate. They never miss a play, win or lose. Seriously, get as pissed as you want. What high school kid would come to UVA for a game and see an nearly empty student section hill in the 3rd. quarter with kids just taking pictures of each other drunk instead of watching the game and think to themselves – “oh man, I want to get in on this football atmosphere!”
Totally valid point, whether it coaxes any jealousy/masculinity issues or not.
I mentioned Tech only as a local rival for recruiting.
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Sean
Maybe you hadn’t noticed, but when our team was decent the hill was not empty in the 3rd quarter. When you are losing 30-7 and have 89 total yards of offense, do you expect people to stay til the end?
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“huge impediment to recruiting that is the students in ties and pearls who arrive late and leave early, spending most of their time taking pictures of each other in expensive designer clothes they never earned.”
So the kids at SEC schools have all “earned” the clothes they wear? They don’t take pictures of each other at football games? Who the hell wears desiner clothes to football games? Quite frankly, what the hell are you talking about.
Your hatred of UVa just seeps out of you. Do you really think UVa is all rich, preppy kids? It’s largest subgroup is of middle class kids from Nova, just like your beloved Tech.
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Sean, was your experience at UVa really that terrible that you literally have to hate on every aspect of the university? Stop being a dbag and move on in life.
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Nice article. Hopefully, our fanbase will have a little bit of patience. The VA football brand has changed obviously for the worse over the last decade. I think London’s hiring signaled a reversal from a very, very low point. However, it will take time to win back a lot of fans and recruits.
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Good column, although I’m a bit reserved on your Kelly example. Although I personally believe Kelly was wrong in deserting his team, the Sugar Bowl is quintessentially a pointless game. Recruiting for Cincinnati wouldn’t have a discernible difference if Kelly had stayed for that one game.
Kelly had to leave for Notre Dame, and Cincinnati got the money needed to build their program into a consistent Big East power.
I agree with the main premise of your column, but we also do have to acknowledge that the college football (and basketball) dynamic has changed from an amateur environment to a quasi-professional environment. With this phenomenon, we take it or leave it.
JoePa is unique in that he build his “history” in a different time period. Nonetheless, while kids will go to Penn State because they respect Coach JoePa, they concurrently go to Penn State because the Nittany Lions have the big stage and a positive identity/reputation that attract the best recruits– the character quality for the most part is becoming more secondary in decision-making for these top prospects.
It’ll be harder for London to build this type of credibility, but I remain optimistic that he can do it. It just might not be through the character factor.
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My my.. What a bunch of whiners.. You can shoot the messenger of you like, and make up all sorts conspiracy theories about me or whatever else you wanna do. My point here regarding THIS topic is that the pathetic student fan base, as well as their dress and behavior, is an impediment to recruiting. Do any of you really, actually, think I’m wrong about this? Or are you just pissed off that it’s true? Is your point REALLY that HS kids come here and love an empty hill with drunk kids in ties and pearls ignoring the game and leaving early? Really?
Johnny, the answer to the question is yes. The performance and interest of the players and the fans is a two way street. They can either build each other up, or tear each other down. That is why every sport has such a different ratio (higher) of home wins than road wins. As it stands, playing at home is barely an advantage at all for UVA football.
Strangely, UVA student hoops fans are great. They don’t dress like idiots, arrive late, and leave early. They’re loud and proud and I’m glad they are there at the games with me. This year’s mid season implosion was NOT caused by the student fan base and enthusiasm at the JPJ. But at the football games, it’s somehow so totally different.
Al Groh deserved to get fired, but his reign was not without its moments. I dunno about you, David, but I had a great time running on the field when we beat Florida State, and did again when we beat a highly ranked UNC in OT to burst their bubble. And Al Groh’s idea of a sea of orange was a great one. It just fell on deaf ears. Some gobbledegook about some tradition or something. Well, UVA has plenty of bad traditions along with some good ones. The ties and pearls have got to go, and students should support their team from start to finish. It will make a difference on the field, like it would anywhere else.
Vasquez, I’ll respond to your whining as best I can. In answer to your questions:
Yes.
I don’t.
No.
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