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.
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