Associated Press

New University of Virginia head football coach Mike London (left) speaks during a news conference with athletic director Craig Littlepage.

Associated Press

New Virginia football coach Mike London (left) and athletic director Craig Littlepage spoke before a standing-room only crowd.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- For as much attention as Virginia's search for a football coach required last week, athletic director Craig Littlepage could have taken vacation.

As it was, Littlepage traveled to Tampa, Fla., for Saturday's ACC championship game and returned Sunday to wrap up negotiations with new coach Mike London.

"There wasn't a Plan B," Littlepage said Monday on the occasion of London's appointment.

UVa's athletic brass knew when nine-year coach Al Groh was dismissed Nov. 29 that he would be succeeded by his one-time defensive coordinator, London.

The only mystery was when that would occur. For the past two seasons, London has served as the head coach at Richmond, which won the Division I-AA national championship in 2008 and met Appalachian State on Saturday night in this year's quarterfinals.

"We were prepared to wait for as long as it took," executive associate athletic director Jon Oliver said.

The Spiders' season could have lasted until Dec. 19, but an Appalachian State touchdown with 10 seconds remaining lifted the Mountaineers to a 35-31 victory at Richmond's City Stadium.

By the next morning, Virginia had requested permission to speak with London, a 49-year Hampton native who had a 24-5 record in two seasons as the Spiders' head coach.

"It's no secret that we went into the season knowing that a change was possible," Oliver said, "so, that was a process that started early on. We had our list [with candidates] ranked 1-2-3-4-5.

"It was clear very early that this guy would be the perfect fit, and it became crystal clear when we met last week with the players. The response we were getting from calls and e-mails suggested the same thing."

There was no contact with other potential candidates following Groh's dismissal and nobody but London received an offer, Oliver said.

London agreed to a five-year contract that will pay him $1.7 million per year.

London's salary does not approach the nearly $2.2 million that Groh was receiving by the end of his tenure but matches the five-year, $1.7-million contract signed last spring by UVa's new men's basketball coach, Tony Bennett.

Like London, Bennett was the only men's basketball target who received an offer, and that two-week search was also relatively short.

In contrast, the selection of Groh following the 2000 season came 19 days after George Welsh's retirement.

Littlepage said in his introduction Monday that he was looking for a coach who "would unify and rally the various stakeholders, including current and former players, alums, faculty, donors, fans [and] friends of the university."

Season-ticket sales and donations dropped dramatically this season, when the Cavaliers went 3-9 and suffered their third losing season in the last four years.

Virginia lost to Virginia Tech for the eighth time in the past nine seasons and an inability to compete with the Hokies for top in-state talent was seen as a major factor in Groh's demise.

London played at Richmond and has recruited the state as an assistant at William and Mary, Boston College, Virginia and Richmond.

"He's been in my school probably 1,000 times," said Hampton High School coach Mike Smith, executive director of the Virginia High School Coaches' Association. "I think they made an excellent choice."

William Fleming High coach Rob Senseney said he had no problems with the Groh staff but hailed the London hiring as "a no-brainer."

London was a member of Groh's original UVa staff, serving as defensive-line coach and recruiting coordinator from 2001-04, at which point he became a position coach for the NFL's Houston Texans. He returned to UVa as defensive coordinator from 2006-07.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Groh," London said. "He allowed me to grow within this system, this university. But, I'm my own man. I'm my own person."

London said he will allow his coaches to speak to the media, a break from the "one-voice" policy that Groh instituted. Another Groh signature was the 3-4 defense, but London said he will play a 4-3.

Former UVa All-American Anthony Poindexter, who coached the secondary under Groh, will have a spot on the new staff. Other than that, London did not give out any names but indicated that he would bring several assistants from Richmond.

Monday's news conference was attended by a host of former UVa players, including 87-year-old Lynchburger Bill Dudley, a member of the college and NFL halls of fame who has been dubbed "the greatest living Wahoo."

London's wife, Regina, sat in the front row with four of their seven children. An older daughter, Kristen, played for the UVa women's basketball team and a younger brother, Paul, was a starting cornerback on the 1995 UVa team that handed Florida State its first defeat in ACC play.

"The last couple days have been ... a whirlwind," said London, who said it was hard to ignore the rumors that had linked him with the UVa job since the start of the season. "I'm human, [but] I wanted to make sure that the players got the message about all that matters is what happens with the Richmond family."

The introduction of London came before a standing-room-only crowd in the same John Paul Jones Arena meeting area where Bennett had been introduced barely eight months earlier. Virginia doesn't change football coaches very often, witness the 19- and nine-year tenures of Welsh and Groh.

Said Littlepage: "We don't plan on being back here anytime soon."