Virginia coach Tony Elliott gives instructions at a practice. ~ Photo by Kris Wright/TheSabre.com

Through the first two seasons of the Tony Elliott era, the Virginia football team posted 6 wins and 16 losses. With that sort of record, criticism is inevitable and one of the main lines levied has been a simple phrase. Learning on the job.

Elliott came to UVA for his first head coaching role after spending most of his career at Clemson, first as a position coach and later as an offensive coordinator. Des Kitchings came back to college football from the NFL to be the Cavaliers’ offensive coordinator, a position that he held as a co-coordinator at NC State but this marked his first time serving as a solo play caller. Keith Gaither joined the staff and is the special teams coordinator, a new job in his coaching path.

Critical Hoo fans point to that ‘learning on the job’ aspect as too difficult at a place like Virginia where challenges with historical success, recruiting, and more can make it even harder to push the program into consistent winning waters. However one views that angle, there is a key part there that matters to where UVA ultimately sits right now.

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