Last year, I had a conversation with two freshman football players that represents what Al Groh is all about. It was move-in day, and I was introducing myself to all of my residents, which included these two particular new members of the Cavaliers. At some point, I said that I thought the team could realistically have a record of 9-2 heading into a bowl game. Even that was being optimistic; 8-3 was probably a better prediction. I thought I was paying them a compliment.
The look on their faces was unforgettable. Both were plainly offended at the thought.
With 100 percent confidence and without hesitation they replied, "No way. 11-0."
The point of the story isn't that I was right and they were wrong, because sadly enough I also was being too optimistic. The point of the story is that, like any great coach, Groh has complete control over his team. Beyond controlling their off-the-field/on the Corner behavior, beyond demanding strong academic performance and beyond game preparedness, Groh has his team totally tuned in to his message. It's the athletic equivalent of a brainwashing, and it's one of many reasons why he is a very good coach and the architect of an increasingly rabid fan base.
Last week, Coach Groh signed a well-deserved contract extension that according to reports will pay him roughly 1.7 million dollars a year over the next five years. (This means Coach Groh's new deal is still four years shorter then the extension given to Pete Gillen, so at the very least it appears that the era of undeserved and seemingly lifetime appointments are over.)
But at the same time, the extension raises an obvious question. Where is Virginia football going?
Al Groh rolled into Charlottesville and turned the town upside-down. In his tenure and with the "help" of Pete Gillen, he has made Virginia a football school. He has built a program that attracts top recruits in one of, if not the toughest, conferences in the country. Most importantly, he has won more football games than he has lost, especially in the ACC. Most impressively, in a short amount of time, Groh created a tremendous amount of momentum and excitement, at a pace that seems unlikely though not impossible to continue.
Being up-and-coming can only last so long, until the label grows old and fans and media begin the search for a new one. In a way, Groh has spoiled Virginia fans by getting so much better so quickly. His enthusiasm was infectious. When he arrived, everyone seemed to think Virginia would be on its way to very serious contention for a National Championship in the near future. That near future is rapidly approaching.
That's why this season is so important for Groh. Come kickoff Sept. 3, the team that takes the field will have been recruited entirely by him. The burden to finally beat Florida State or Miami is growing larger. To make matters worse, his roster lost multiple pieces of the puzzle not to graduation or injury, but to the NFL Draft. A record seven Cavaliers were taken in last April's draft, something Virginia must get used to if it truly is to be a great program. An above-average season and trip to a mediocre bowl would, in the eyes of many, be a disappointment.
"Taking the next step" in sports is always exponentially more difficult than the last one you took. It's the Fibonacci sequence of sports. To be above-average again this year would hardly be a deathblow to the growth of Virginia football, but it would undoubtedly raise rumblings among fans as to whether Virginia ever really can be what Groh convinced his players and fans life would eventually be like under his regime.
If you talk to anyone around the football program, not just my two residents, they'll agree that Coach Groh is the type of leader all of us would be lucky to be led by: someone who sets very high standards and demands excellence. There is no one who wants Virginia to be a national football powerhouse more than he does, and no better man for the job. As the steps and stakes grow larger (no pun intended), let's hope Groh and the Cavaliers continue Virginia's upward mobility into the echelon of college football's elite.
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