After firing former Virginia football coach Al Groh, Athletic Director Craig Littlepage held a meeting with the players to discuss the future of the program. He scanned the room, welcoming input from the athletes regarding the qualities they would like to see in their next coach.
"And as the comments were being made by the players," Littlepage said, "they started to go through this list - it was almost like we were checking off the person seated to my right."\nDec. 7, Littlepage named his right-hand man: Mike London.
The former Richmond defensive back spent the past two seasons as the head coach at his alma mater, where he compiled a 24-5 record, including a Football Championship Division National Championship in 2008. London was then named FCS National Coach of the Year and the Black Coaches Association Male Coach of the Year, and now becomes only the fourth current black head coach in the BCS. He will earn $1.7 million annually as part of a five-year deal.
Littlepage outlined five criteria he considered while conducting the search process for selecting a new head coach. First, he wanted a man who could "unify and rally the various stakeholders including current and former players, alums, faculty, donors, fans, friends of the University."
London certainly seems to fit that mold. He recently added former Virginia quarterback Shawn Moore to his staff. Moore, who led the program to its first national No. 1 ranking during the 1990-91 season, was outspoken in his support for London to replace Groh, and his endorsement speaks volumes about London's potential to unify the Virginia football family - particularly Moore's former teammates.
"I can't tell you the number of calls Mike London has received, and myself - the number of calls I've received from guys from that era that want to be involved," Moore said in a recent teleconference. "It's been mind-boggling - names from the past, and they all want to be involved - that just goes to show you the excitement they have, in terms of what they want to give back to the program."
Moreover, as Littlepage indicated during the aforementioned meeting, many current players advocated for a coach like London. Sophomore wide receiver Jared Green, in particular, told of his desire for a more "personable coach." Green may have had London in mind, as the coach said he prides himself on being a "big relationship guy."
Additionally, Littlepage sought a coach who was familiar with the University community and would be able to effectively recruit the rich talent from both within the state of Virginia and nationally. Of all the prospective candidates, London probably had the closest ties to the University. He joined Groh's staff in 2001 as the defensive line coach and served as the recruiting coordinator in 2002. After a brief stint with the NFL's Houston Texans in 2005, London returned to Virginia as Groh's defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in 2006, when the Cavaliers ranked fourth in total defense in the ACC. As recently as 2008, London's Spiders faced Virginia in a tight contest that was a one-possession game until the fourth quarter, with the Cavaliers finally winning 16-0.
Though London's experience with the University is clear, his ability to recruit remains to be seen. That is not to say he does not have a plan, however.
"I think that we have to recapture the state of Virginia, make ourselves accessible to the coaches of Virginia, the high school coaches, particularly," London said. "And the biggest thing is I go back to what I said before about being able to have relationships, because people again don't care about how much you know until they know about how much you care. So if you're in those schools, if you're in those communities and people see that you have an interest, then they'll come. They'll come because what they'll see is the real person."
London's affable personality may tap into Littlepage's fourth criterion: "A coach that has the character - whose demonstrated respect for education and whose athletic and life experiences will serve as a model and inspire those under his direction."
Mike London's life experiences include a brush with death. After graduating from Richmond in 1983, London received a degree in law enforcement from the Richmond Police Academy to work as a detective in the street crimes unit until July 1989. A cocked gun pointed at his forehead that would not fire got him into coaching. But his years as an officer taught him an invaluable lesson - one that may translate to success on the football field.
"What I learned is the fact - this is kind of strange - but being a police officer and I talked about the relationship part, is you can diffuse so many situations by communicating with people," London said.
London's ability to communicate with his players and his willingness to leave his office door open may help solve some of the problems that began to tear at the heart of the program during Groh's final years as head coach. London said the three main principles of the program will help develop communication within the team and build relationships that are the foundation of success on the field.
"Go to class," London said. "Because I think when a young man does that and takes an interest in his own opportunity to become an educated man, that it becomes in his best interests that when he gains and earns a degree from this great university, that it will stand out and amongst some of the best in this country. Show class. Show class in everything you do. Show class and humility in victory. And show class in adversity and defeat. And last is to treat people with dignity and respect. That's what you're supposed to do."
These are the rules London hopes will cultivate a culture of winning at Virginia - the final criterion Littlepage identified as a prerequisite for the head coaching position.
"We need a coach that has shown that he can win," he said.
And though London's record at Richmond and national championship speak for themselves, he won all of his games with the players he inherited from his predecessor, Dave Clawson. Littlepage dismissed the idea that London's experience as an FCS coach may be cause for concern.
"The question of whether there was any hesitation, no," Littlepage said. "There are ample examples of coaches that have made the move from assistant coach to head coach from offensive or defensive coordinator to head coach."
Though Littlepage did not say how quickly he expects London to turn around a program that has suffered losing seasons in three of the past four years, he did provide some insight about the expectations for the new head coach and the Virginia football team.
"The idea is that they're coming to the University of Virginia to earn a degree, get an education and to win championships," Littlepage said. "We haven't shied away from those being our stated goals and Coach London comes to the University of Virginia with those expectations. They've been stated verbally. They'll be written. They'll be on the wall. They'll be on his desk. Wherever you want to look, I think there will be evidence of what the goals and expectations are"
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