Transitions are hard. Every coaching transition has its struggles, and every transition comes with an adjustment period, some longer than others. Just ask the 1997 Orlando Magic, the post-Paterno Nittany Lions, or, now, our very own Virginia football head coach Bronco Mendenhall.
As the highly anticipated Mendenhall era began on Saturday with the team’s season opener versus Richmond, a crushing loss shocked the Cavaliers. Mendenhall’s distraught demeanor during his post-game press conference gave reporters a glimpse of the dismay that seemed to hallmark this weekend’s unexpected loss.
The Spiders’ impressive offense immediately took control of the game. With Richmond dominating the first half, Virginia’s revamped program was tested and, unfortunately, ultimately failed. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that this Mendenhall-molded Cavalier team seemed to find their rhythm, but it was too little too late.
Until Saturday, Virginia had counted on the Spiders as a consistent win; beating the Spiders in every meeting since 1946. Richmond was coming off of a strong season, yes, but Cavalier fans had already placed so much faith in Mendenhall that they seemed to ignore the potential for a loss until they were staring directly at it.
While Mendenhall brings plenty of promising potential, many onlookers failed to account for the time and effort it takes to rebuild a ravaged program. This weekend’s loss was a glaring reminder that change is not immediate — it is a slow process.
What Virginia saw this weekend was the beginnings of a top-down program revamp. This is no flaw of Mendenhall’s; it was purely a product of the program. Mendenhall has his own team at the top: his staff, coaches, rituals and philosophies. But below his command remain the faces of the Mike London era: the team.
For the Mendenhall era to really begin, the program needs to be entirely rebuilt under his guidance. And to really rebuild a program means to rebuild it from the bottom up. Until that can happen, Mendenhall will need to focus on extracting the talent from within the team he’s been handed.
“I learned a lot today,” Mendenhall said in his post-game press conference. “I’ll continue learning as I help this team hopefully reach its potential and help this program become a consistent winner.”
What Mendenhall can do this year is just that: help this team reach its particular potential. This is not to discredit the team London left behind, but simply to point out the Mendenhall era cannot and will not truly begin until Mendenhall himself has rebuilt the entire program. Right now, the Mendenhall era will begin changing the program by trying to reshape an inherited team.
“My job is to give them things they can do, will do, and find players on our team that have the best chance to do it,” Mendenhall said. “I don't think we did any of those things today, and that's on the head coach."
Reshaping this team is a learning game, for both the coaches and the players. While expectations of Mendenhall and expectations held by Mendenhall might’ve been a little lofty for this teams’ first game, it wasn’t all negative.
Placing ECU-transfer junior Kurt Benkert at the helm of Virginia’s offense, for starters, was a step in the right direction. Last year’s starting quarterback, Matt Johns, averaged just more than 1.6 touchdown passes per game, and, despite the disheartening result of Saturday’s game, Benkert completed three solid touchdown passes to give Cavalier fans a sliver of hope to hold onto as the season progresses. The execution did not entirely live up to expectations, but these improvements are what will begin to define the Mendenhall era.
That is why transition years are hard. Until a full bottom-up transition is able to come to fruition, when Mendenhall brings in his recruits and builds his own team, all we will see is a top-down rebuild. Top-down rebuilds are inevitable in coaching transitions, but they must be taken as a grain of salt. They do not reflect the full extent of what Mendenhall will, or will not, be able to do for Virginia, but reflect what Mendenhall is able to do for the last of London’s Virginia.
When Mendenhall is able to coach a handpicked team is when the Mendenhall era truly begins, and the Virginia football program will head in a clear direction. So, be patient my fellow football fanatics, change will come in due time.
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