CHARLOTTESVILLE
--From a corner of an otherwise quiet Scott Stadium late yesterday afternoon came the mocking chant:"Keep Al Groh!"
Unless you've spent the past two years in a cave, you can probably guess that that request didn't come from fans
They, like Groh, probably won't get another chance. Yesterday's 42-13 second-half runaway by the Hokies didn't exactly seal Groh's fate; he's been a dead man walking for months now. But it served as a sour punctuation to a dreadful 3-9 season that's Virginia's worst since George Welsh's first season, 1982.
"For a while, it looked like we could give [the Cavalier seniors] a positive send-off that they could be gratified by," Groh said, speaking of a 14-13 halftime deficit. "But we couldn't finish it off."
Yesterday's game served as a de facto eulogy for a program that began with such promise in 2001, when Groh was hired to continue Welsh's rebuilding process. The Cavaliers enjoyed modest early success (as they did in yesterday's game), only to fall apart later, mostly because of insufficient talent.
Afterward, as usual, Groh was a bit more eloquent than his detractors. Asked about his future, he unfolded a sheet of paper and read from Dale Wimbrow's 1934 poem "The Guy
For it isn't your father,
Who judgement
The feller whose
Is the guy staring back
Defiant to the end, Groh--who often quotes his mentor, Bill Parcells--sounded very much like a man who recognized a fait accompli but wouldn't acknowledge it.
"When I visited the guy
Virginia fans recently have been using other adjectives to describe Groh, many of which can't be repeated here. Few of them question his defensive coaching acumen or his service to his alma mater. And they do admire the loyalty he has always inspired in his players.
"I felt like coach Groh is probably one of the best college coaches in the country," senior defensive lineman Nate Collins said. "He gets players ready for the NFL."
But, as Parcells used to famously say, you are what your record says you are. And in the past four seasons, Groh is a 22--26 football coach. That's not what the Cavaliers had in mind when they agreed to pay him $2 million a year.
He's also been really good at recruiting offensive linemen and front-seven defensive players. But his track record in securing offensive skill players and defensive backs has been embarrassing. One of the few allegedly good cornerbacks he has recruited, Ras-I Dowling, was torched deep repeatedly yesterday by Danny Coale, Tech's possession receiver.
Groh's "organization," as he calls it, also have been shockingly short on team speed and depth. He has been consistently outrecruited by the Hokies for in-state talent and alienated enough state high school coaches to seal his fate.
It won't become official until he meets with athletic director Craig Littlepage this week, but no one expects him back.
Collins certainly didn't.
"I'm sad to see him go out like this," he said. "We seniors wanted to do everything we can to win this one for him. I hope for the best for coach Groh. He's been like a father figure to everyone here."
While the Cavaliers start searching for his successor--be it Mike London,
He'll also have the warm words of his players--and, not surprisingly, from himself.
"I'm sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend," he said, rising and leaving the room. And with that, an uncomfortable era came to an odd end.
Steve DeShazo: 540/374-5443
Email: sdeshazo@freelancestar.com