Thursday, February 15, 2007
Loss of Garrett raises old questions
Who called plays in 2005 Music City Bowl?
Doug Doughty
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The last thing I heard before leaving the office Wednesday afternoon was that assistant football coach John Garrett had just notified Virginia officials of an offer he had received from the Dallas Cowboys.
Inasmuch as a Cowboys website reported at 6:45 p.m. that Garrett had been hired, I’m guessing that the call back to UVa was merely a courtesy.
Clearly, Virginia had almost no chance of keeping Garrett, who will have the opportunity to work with his younger brother, Jason, named Cowboys’ offensive coordinator even before Wade Phillips was named head coach.
What I wonder is, would Garrett have left Virginia if he had been the Cavaliers’ offensive coordinator and not just the receivers coach?
Actually, Garrett was given the title of assistant head coach for offense last March, but that was just one of a mind-numbing myriad of titles distributed by head coach Al Groh on the same day that he elevated his son, Mike, to head coach.
Before Mike Groh was promoted, I believe I wrote that an older Garrett was a better choice for the position, particularly because of the perception of nepotism that would be created by Groh appointing his son.
Various sources are saying that there was friction between Mike Groh and Garrett, although neither of the principals has told me that. I’d still like to know who it was that called plays at the 2005 Music City Bowl, when Mike Groh and Garrett were both position coaches after the departure of previous offensive coordinator Ron Prince for Kansas State.
I’d go so far as to say Virginia’s playcalling in a 34-31 victory over Minnesota was “inspired.” I would not use the same word to describe the playcalling during the 2006 season, although the Cavaliers had the benefit of a multi-dimensional fifth-year senior in 2005 quarterback Marques Hagans.
Garrett came from an NFL background, so it’s not surprising to see him return to the NFL, although it might have been harder to leave behind a Division I-A coordinator’s job. Garrett will coach the tight ends at Dallas, where former Tennessee and Green Bay assistant Ray Sherman will be in charge of the wideouts.
Garrett won’t necessarily be a huge loss for the Cavaliers, although he has a reputation as an outstanding teacher. He seemingly has become more involved in recruiting with the passing of each of his three seasons, and recruits frequently have mentioned his name in website interviews.
At Dallas, the Garretts won’t be the only family connection on the Cowboys’ staff. Wesley Phillips, son of the new head coach, will be an offensive assistant after coaching the quarterbacks at Baylor.
You could say nepotism is the way of the world in college and pro football, but there are still some places where it is frowned upon. When Marty Schottenheimer was fired this week by the San Diego Chargers, one of the reasons given was his plan to replace ex-coordinator Phillips with Kurt Schottenheimer, his brother.
One of the more intriguing posts I saw Thursday on the sabre.com suggested that Virginia bring in a Walt Harris type to coordinate the offense, but I can’t see Al Groh returning his son to his former position of receivers coach, nor do I believe that Mike Groh should be judged solely on the basis of one season.
Another post dealt with the turnover in Groh’s staff and I know that Roanoke talk-show host Greg Roberts will want to dwell on UVa’s loss of a fifth assistant in a 15-month span.
Some would say that Al Groh can’t keep assistants, as if he had some character flaw, but it’s not as if these coaches are going back to high school. Of the last five coaches to leave, two took Division I-A head jobs, Danny Rocco took a I-AA head job and two became position coaches in the NFL.
What’s more, one of those NFL assistants, Mike London, subsequently has returned to UVa as defensive coordinator.
You could say that Virginia should have won more games with all that coaching firepower. For all the debate about his son’s promotion, you could also say that Al Groh has had a good eye for coaching talent.
He’s got another hire coming up. People will be watching.
