GT Fires DC Dave Wommack, Targets Al Groh

Dave Wommack has been fired as Georgia Tech’s defensive coordinator. Georgia Tech announced on Friday that Wommack will not return for the 2010 season. Coach Paul Johnson says he and Wommack “both agreed” a change was needed after Georgia Tech finished the season ranked 54th in the nation in total defense and 56th in scoring defense. Wommack was asked if he wanted to stay on the coaching staff in a different position, but he declined, a source told ESPN The Magazine’s Bruce Feldman. “Dave is a good man and a good football coach,” Johnson said. “But after speaking to him earlier this week, we both agreed that it was time for a change at that position.” According to the source, Johnson would like to run a 3-4 defense and is interested in hiring former Virginia head coach Al Groh. – ESPN.com

Virginia to Hire Mike London

Virginia will name Mike London as its next football coach, ACCSports.com has learned. An announcement is expected at a Monday press conference. London, 49, has spent the past two seasons as the head coach at Richmond. He compiled a 24-5 record there and led the Spiders the 2008 FCS national title. London has numerous ties to UVa, having previously coached in Charlottesville a total of six years during two stints (2001-2004 and 2006-07). Just as important as London’s ties to Charlottesville are his recruiting connections within the state. He is a graduate of Hampson’s Bethel High, in the talent-rich Tidewater region and went on to play defensive back at Richmond. London served as the Cavaliers’ recruiting coordinator during his first coaching stint at UVa. – ACC Sports

Virginia fires all but two of Al Groh’s assistants

Before Virginia coach Al Groh was allowed to meet with his assistant coaches on Sunday, the school announced that the coach was fired. He was not alone. Virginia also fired offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon, special teams coordinator Ron Prince, offensive line coach Dave Borbely, running backs coach Wayne Lineburg, wide receivers coach Latrell Scott, linebackers coach Bob Trott and defensive line coach Chad Wilt. All were told that they had 48 hours to remove their belongings from the McCue Center, sources confirmed. It left secondary coach Anthony Poindexter, a six-year coach at UVa, and recruiting coordinator Bob Price as the only coaches under contract. – News Advance

BREAKING NEWS: Virginia Fires Al Groh

Craig Littlepage, University of Virginia director of athletics, today announced that Al Groh would not be retained as head football coach, effective immediately. Littlepage met with Groh, who just concluded his ninth season, earlier today to inform the coach of his decision. “There is not a coach in the college game who has worked harder than Al Groh in trying to build a football program. Football is his life and he dedicated himself to the University and to our football team,” Littlepage said. “We are grateful for his service and for his commitment to his players and his coaching staff.” Groh, a UVa alumnus, was named Virginia¹s head coach on Dec. 30, 2000. His nine Virginia teams compiled an overall record of 59-53 and participated in five bowl games, winning three of them. Groh was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2007, and the American Football Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year in 2004. The Cavaliers have had losing records three of the last four seasons and were 3-9 in 2009. A national search for a new head coach will begin immediately. An assistant coaching staff will be assembled by the new head coach and it will be the choice of the new coach to determine if any current staff members are retained. – Daily Press

Al Groh Era Likely Over at Virginia

Virginia coach Al Groh probably coached his last game with the Cavs on Saturday. And after his weekly trip to the woodshed, he recited the poem “The Guy in the Glass” for the media. He then, according to the Daily Press, offered these words of his own: “When I visited the guy in the glass, I saw that he’s a guy of commitment, of integrity, of dependability and accountability. He’s loyal. His spirit is indomitable. And he is caring and loving. I’m sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend.” Groh then left the news conference. – Sporting News

Al Groh not talking about possible exit at Virginia

Virginia coach Al Groh finds the end of the football season to almost always be something of a downer. Suddenly, the coach who works into the wee hours has no next game to prepare for, no reason to spend hours analyzing film and scheming. The Cavaliers’ season finale against No. 14 Virginia Tech maybe doubly tough for the 65-year-old Groh; it will likely be the last at his alma mater after nine up-and-down seasons. Athletic director Craig Littlepage has said that Groh’s situation will be evaluated at season’s end, allowing the administration to consider his whole body of work. He also said it’s important to the school that fans support the program, and attendance is down significantly. Groh, however, isn’t interested in discussing his job status just yet. – SI.com

Replacing Al Groh at Virginia would be expensive

When it comes time to decide on the future of nine-year football coach Al Groh, a lot of issues will be considered, but money is not likely to be one of them. It would cost Virginia more than $4 million to pay Groh for the two years that remain on the contract, but it might be costlier to keep him. Annual giving is down this year, nearly $3 million under goal, season-ticket sales dropped by more than 4,000 and attendance is off by more than 7,500 a game. U.Va. athletic director Craig Littlepage thinks the attendance numbers are key. “It’s an indicator as to how the fan base is responding to the product,” he said. “Attendance is a byproduct of how the program is perceived. When you’re looking at ticket sales and your ability to raise money, etcetera, these are challenging circumstances.” Groh’s contract specifies that Virginia has until Nov. 30 each year to decide whether to exercise a rollover clause. Littlepage did not activate the rollover following a 5-7 season in 2008, leaving Groh with three seasons to go. Given that he did not get an extra year in 2008, it’s hard to see him getting an extra year with the Cavaliers currently standing 3-7. Littlepage has gone this long without addressing the Groh situation, so what’s another 12 days? But, Littlepage is no stranger to the process, having terminated four-year men’s basketball coach Dave Leitao in March. Leitao received a $2.1 million settlement only about four years after his predecessor, Pete Gillen, received a $2 million buyout. – Roanoke Times

With Al Groh Likely Out, Who’s Next At Virgnia?

The mounting losses certainly have made life easier for athletic director Craig Littlepage and his associates, who are likely to show ninth-year coach Al Groh the door by Nov. 30 at the latest. That’s the annual deadline for Littlepage to exercise the rollover clause in Groh’s contract. The contract wasn’t rolled over following a 5-7 season in 2008, leaving Groh with three years remaining, and it certainly won’t be rolled over this year. Even if Littlepage didn’t exactly fire him, Groh probably would resign because of the instability caused by a two-year pact. Given a drop in donations, season-ticket sales and attendance, Virginia might not have kept Groh at 6-6 or even 7-5… To nobody’s surprise, Richmond coach Mike London has emerged as the frontrunner. London, whose two stints as a Virginia assistant included two seasons as the defensive coordinator, led the Spiders to the 2008 Division I-AA national championship in his first season as a head coach and had them 9-1 this year heading into their regular-season finale with William & Mary… The funny thing about Virginia’s top prospects is that many of them have ties to Groh. Al Golden, whose Temple team won eight straight games to reach 8-2 in mid-November, was Groh’s first defensive coordinator at Virginia. (Temple had been one of the worst programs in America for decades.) Danny Rocco, who has built Liberty into a perennial Big South contender, was Groh’s associate head coach. Some fans want no connection with Groh and talk about the need to “hit a home run” by hiring a big name such as former Ole Miss and Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville. There were many of the same sentiments voiced during the basketball search, but there since has been widespread approval of the hiring of Tony Bennett. If there was a Bennett-type candidate on the horizon, it might have been Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley, a former UVa wide receiver and the son of long-time Georgia coach Vince Dooley. But Louisiana Tech has struggled this year, with a 3-7 record through 10 games. Another alumnus, Jim Grobe, is 4-7 at Wake Forest. – ACC Sports Journal

If Al Groh Goes, Who Will Replace Him?

Can Virginia please put Al Groh out of his misery? I mean, the guy always looked miserable, but at least he used to win a few games to keep Cavaliers fans happy. Saturday, Virginia put up a fight for a half before rolling over and dying in a 52-17 loss at Miami. That makes Virginia 3-6, and the Hoos don’t look capable of winning any of their three remaining games. Groh is the type of guy who, during bowl practice, will walk past Virginia beat writers and then conduct a teleconference from his hotel. He’s also the type of guy who coaches in one of the most talent-rich states in the country and still manages to put together a team that loses to William and Mary. If Groh gets canned, there are a few coaches out there who could do well in Charlottesville. Al Golden has Temple bowl eligible. David Cutcliffe is working miracles at Duke. Turner Gill isn’t duplicating the success of last year, but he coaches at Buffalo, for goodness sakes. Meanwhile, at Richmond, Mike London has the Spiders (8-0) looking like the favorite for the FCS national title. Any of these guys would be an upgrade. – Sports Illustrated

Virginia AD doesn’t endorse Al Groh

Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage says a decision on Al Groh’s future as the school’s football coach will come at the end of the season. Littlepage says in an e-mail to The Associated Press that Groh will be evaluated on his “full body of work” and that the school’s goal is to have fan support at games. That criteria suggests that Groh’s ninth season at his alma mater could be his last. Virginia is in the midst of another losing season with dwindling fan support. The Cavaliers are 3-5 heading into Saturday’s game at Miami. Virginia is averaging 46,605 fans for its five home games, down more than 7,000 over what last year’s 5-7 team drew. – ESPN

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