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Virginia prepares for Miami Date published: 11/3/2009
BY TAFT COGHILL JR. CHARLOTTESVILLE-- Whenever Virginia football coach Al Groh is confronted with a crisis, he thinks back to a sign in his office. It was given to him by mentor Bill Parcells, whom he worked under for three different teams in the NFL.The sign reads: "Just coach the team." It's a reminder to Groh to ignore outside distractions, and it's come in handy a lot in his sometimes rocky nine-year tenure at Virginia. This week, it's particularly motivational. That's because the Cavaliers have lost nine of their past 12 games dating back to last season and many supporters think it's time for Groh to be fired. Groh said the criticism hasn't fazed him because he coaches based on the gift from Parcells. "I don't think that I'm a very hard book to read because I don't really try to do things with any pretensions," Groh said. "And I got this sign on my desk that says, 'Just coach the team.' That's what I like to do. That's my responsibility and I try to coach the team the best way I can every day." HURRICANE WARNING The Cavaliers (3-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) return to action with a trip to No. 16 Miami (6-2, 3-2) on Saturday at noon. The last time Virginia visited the Hurricanes, they closed out the Orange Bowl with a 48-0 win. Groh said the 2007 victory was "a special night" because of the way his team handled the "dog and pony show." It was the last game in a historic stadium and the Hurricanes brought in many of their all-time great players for an emotional ceremony. "All the big guns were being brought in to make this quite a celebration," Groh said. "And that particular team really took that challenge and played about as well as we've ever played against a really quality opponent." IDENTITY CRISIS Virginia is coming off consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and Duke. The Yellow Jackets are known for their triple-option offense. Duke is a pass-heavy team that lives and dies with senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis. That begs the question: "What's Virginia's identity?" Groh doesn't know. He admits an identity would be "beneficial" but said he can't force one on the team.
Date published: 11/3/2009
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