Courtesy of the University of Virginia

"This summer, I went to watch the Indianapolis Colts for a couple of days and [observed] Clyde Christensen up there. That was really, really beneficial." - Wayne Lineburg, on preparing for spring practice at UVa.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- There is no truth to the notion that Wayne Lineburg would have walked from Richmond to Charlottesville for a football coaching position at his alma mater.

"A slow jog," is the way that Lineburg's older brother, Robert, described it.

Wayne Lineburg, previously the offensive coordinator at Division I-AA Richmond, seemed like an obvious target when John Garrett resigned as Virginia receivers coach Feb. 14. However, it was 23 days before Lineburg was hired on the eve of spring practice.

There are four Lineburg sons, all of whom played for their father, Norman, who won more than 300 games before his retirement last November as Radford High School coach. The UVa job opening became their obsession until Wayne finally got the job.

Robert Lineburg said another brother, Mark, probably called him 10 times one day.

"He absolutely wore me out, asking if I had heard from Wayne," he said. "I finally said. 'Mark, coach [Al] Groh hasn't called to tell him no, so he is still in the mix. There were some tense moments but we were thrilled to say the least."

If he could have done so without violating his search, Groh might have eased their concerns.

"From the time we got to Virginia, Wayne would stop by," Groh said, "or one of the coaches would say, 'Wayne Lineburg called up and asked if he could watch tape next Wednesday.' Wayne's been around quite a bit. It's not the same as being on the staff, but he knew our coaches. He had a good familiarity with our system."

As a UVa student from 1991-95, Lineburg was a reserve quarterback on teams for which current offensive coordinator Mike Groh was the starter.

"It was as close as you could come to a seamless fit," Al Groh said. "As the offensive coordinator at Richmond, Wayne was in charge of all the positions. While he might not have conducted the drills for the receivers, he was on top of what they were doing. Since Michael had coached the receivers himself in this system, he was able to provide some direction."

Lineburg, 33, actually had worked with the receivers once previously, when he returned to Virginia in 1998 as a graduate assistant under coach George Welsh. Nevertheless, he put himself through a crash course before the start of spring practice.

"This summer, I went to watch the Indianapolis Colts for a couple of days and [observed receivers coach] Clyde Christensen up there," said Lineburg, who had two stints at William and Mary before coaching at Richmond for the past three seasons. "That was really, really beneficial."

Although he was happy with his position at Richmond, Lineburg called Mike Groh when Garrett left to take a job with the Dallas Cowboys, where brother Jason Garrett is the offensive coordinator.

"Mike told me that he would let me know what was going on," Lineburg said. "Mike had indicated that I might have a pretty good shot, but there was a time when I thought it might not work out. I didn't want to get my hopes up. I had a good job where I was."

Lineburg doesn't come from a UVa family. One of his brothers, Paul, went to Virginia Tech as an undergraduate and is working on a doctorate degree there. Mark has a PhD from Tech. Robert has a master's from Tech and worked on the Hokies' basketball staff for one year.

Norman Lineburg has a Master of Education degree from UVa, though both of his brothers and three nieces went to Tech.

"We never got into taking sides," Robert Lineburg said. "We knew more about Tech by virtue of proximity. The fact is, we were more into being a [Radford] Bobcat and that probably diminished our interest in a Tech-UVa rivalry."

Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer once coached under Norman Lineburg, and Tech receivers coach Kevin Sherman is a former Radford player. On the other hand, one of Norman Lineburg's dearest friends is former UVa team physician Frank McCue.

None of the Lineburg sons was a candidate to succeed their father at RHS. Mark, once the head coach at Brookville, is now the Radford principal.

"I didn't think the timing was right," Wayne Lineburg said of the Radford job. "I'd have no problem coaching in high school. I would never rule it out, but I'd like to see how far I can get at the college level."

The timing of Lineburg's jump to UVa couldn't have been more fortuitous for the family, given Norman's retirement. The boys laugh at mention of their father as "the old Shepherd College wideout" -- particularly since wideout is a relatively modern term -- but he can still teach them a thing or two.

"For most of my latter years, I worked with quarterbacks and wide receivers," Norman Lineburg said. "I've always loved the passing game and the route-running, and I'll be watching that very closely. Wayne better get it done and I'd tell Kevin Sherman the same thing: 'Don't let me down here, now.' "

Norman and his wife Joann are headed to Wyoming for the Cavaliers' opener, but otherwise, they can't complain about the travel.

"I've never left Interstate 64," said Wayne Lineburg, who was accompanied in his latest move by his wife of 14 months, Tracey. "In this business, that's unheard of."