After a 2008 season that gave new meaning to the word “uneven,” not to mention “maddening,” UVA football Head Coach Al Groh is adding some new blood to his staff.
A University press release the day before Christmas Eve officially announced that Gregg Brandon has replaced Groh’s son Mike as offensive coordinator, and that Latrell Scott will be the new wide receivers coach. The clear implication is that the team had a difficult time
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What did Santa give the Cavalier football team for Christmas? Gregg Brandon, pictured, and Latrell Scott. |
competing at the highest level in the ACC when their offense sputtered as many times as it shone, choking at home against Miami, for instance, on the heels of pulling out a shocker at Georgia Tech.
Brandon is the former head coach of Bowling Green, a job he graduated to after coordinating a Falcons offense that averaged 500 yards and 40 points a game. While he had mixed success as a head coach, a poor offense was never the problem. On the wings of his signature spread offense, the Falcons averaged over 400 yards of offense per game four out of his six seasons at the helm.
Scott has strong Virginia ties. He was a wide receivers coach at Virginia Military Institute, and then the University of Richmond, before doing the same job for The University of Tennessee during the 2008 season.
If the message board of the UVA sports fan website, The Sabre, is any indication, reaction is clearly positive. One message gave a shout out to UVA Athletic Director Craig Littlepage for “showing signs” that he’s adaptable (no doubt referring to the tough decision to oust one Groh while sticking with his father), and another treated the new hires as great gifts: “Merry Christmas Hoos!!! Welcome Coach Scott and Brandon!”
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