Richmond football coach Mike London has become a hot commodity of late, drawing interest from Western Kentucky, Akron and Memphis regarding head coaching vacancies. Now, according to an Associated Press report, Virginia also is courting the services of the 49-year-old London, whose Spiders were eliminated from the FCS playoffs Saturday by Appalachian State.
The Cavaliers presumably are interested in interviewing London, who was a recruiting coordinator, defensive line coach and defensive coordinator during two stints in Charlottesville from 2001-’04 and 2006-’07. His current contract at Richmond runs through the 2014 season.
But before everyone in Hoo-ville starts drooling over London as the perfect candidate — his familiarity with the school and strong recruiting ties to Hampton Roads are very attractive qualities — it’s worth mentioning that Virginia also would be taking a risk with an unproven coach.
Yes, London is 24-5 at Richmond. Yes, he won a national title in 2008. And yes, there is the aforementioned recruiting in Southeast Virginia, an area where the Cavaliers annually are drummed by Virginia Tech.
But London also has been a head coach for only two seasons. He inherited a Richmond team that was a national semifinalist in 2007 and had all the pieces in place for a title run. His first full recruiting class just finished its redshirt year, giving little indication of London’s ability to build a program. And make no mistake about it, Virginia wants, and needs, an architect.
London is a fine coach who soon will find himself patrolling the sidelines for an FBS school. But it shouldn’t be at Virginia. Not yet, anyway.
