Al Groh
Al Groh went 85–93 as a head coach, 1981–2009, at Wake Forest and Virginia. Share
- Record
- 85–93 career
- Seasons
- 15
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 2002 9–5, No. 22
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Wake Forest | 4–7 | 6th | |||
| 1982 | Wake Forest | 3–8 | 7th | |||
| 1983 | Wake Forest | 4–7 | 8th | |||
| 1984 | Wake Forest | 6–5 | 6th | |||
| 1985 | Wake Forest | 4–7 | 8th | |||
| 1986 | Wake Forest | 5–6 | 8th | |||
| 1987–00: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2001 | Virginia | 5–7 | 8th | |||
| 2002 | Virginia | 9–5 | 2nd | Continental Tire Bowl W | 22 | |
| 2003 | Virginia | 8–5 | 5th | Continental Tire Bowl W | ||
| 2004 | Virginia | 8–4 | 4th | MPC Computers Bowl L | 23 | |
| 2005 | Virginia | 7–5 | 5th (Coastal) | Music City Bowl W | ||
| 2006 | Virginia | 5–7 | 3rd (Coastal) | |||
| 2007 | Virginia | 9–4 | 2nd (Coastal) | Gator Bowl L | ||
| 2008 | Virginia | 5–7 | 5th (Coastal) | |||
| 2009 | Virginia | 3–9 | 6th (Coastal) | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Elton BrownConsensus All‑American, 2004
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 39 | 11–28 | 28% |
| Against top-10 teams | 12 | 1–11 | 8% |
| Against rivals | 61 | 25–36 | 41% |
| Conference games | 112 | 44–68 | 39% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 5 | 3–2 | 60% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 67 | 36–31 | 54% |
| At home | 90 | 53–37 | 59% |
| On the road | 81 | 29–52 | 36% |
| At neutral sites | 7 | 3–4 | 43% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 80 | 53–27 | 66% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 98 | 32–66 | 33% |
His own 178 games on file, 1981–2009, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Friedgen 2001–2009 | 5–4 | Maryland | 9 | |
| Frank Beamer 2001–2009 | 1–8 | Virginia Tech | 9 | |
| John Bunting 2001–2006 | 4–2 | North Carolina | 6 | |
| Chan Gailey 2002–2007 | 4–2 | Georgia Tech | 6 | |
| Dick Crum 1981–1986 | 1–5 | North Carolina | 6 | |
| Bobby Bowden 2001–2006 | 1–5 | Florida State | 6 | |
| Danny Ford 1981–1986 | 0–6 | Clemson | 6 | |
| Jim Grobe 2001–2008 | 3–2 | Wake Forest | 5 | |
| Bill Curry 1982–1986 | 1–4 | Georgia Tech | 5 | |
| Bobby Ross 1982–1986 | 1–4 | Maryland | 5 |
Al Groh’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Dukeseries | 15 | 9–6 |
| North Carolinaseries | 15 | 8–7 |
| Marylandseries | 15 | 6–9 |
| Georgia Techseries | 14 | 7–7 |
| Virginia Techseries | 13 | 3–10 |
| Clemsonseries | 12 | 3–9 |
| NC Stateseries | 11 | 3–8 |
| App Stateseries | 6 | 5–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Albemarle HS high school | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1968–69 | Army | Freshman defensive coordinator | |
| 1970 | Virginia | Freshman coach | |
| 1971–72 | Virginia | Defensive line coach | |
| 1973–77 | North Carolina | Linebackers coach | |
| 1978–79 | Air Force | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1980 | Texas Tech | Linebackers coach | |
| 1981–86 | Wake Forest | Head coach | |
| 1987 | Atlanta Falcons NFL | Tight ends and special teams coach | |
| 1988 | South Carolina | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1989–90 | New York Giants NFL | Linebackers coach | |
| 1991 | New York Giants NFL | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1992 | Cleveland Browns NFL | Linebackers coach | |
| 1993–96 | New England Patriots NFL | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| 1997–99 | New York Jets NFL | Linebackers coach | |
| 2000 | New York Jets NFL | Head coach | |
| 2001–09 | Virginia | Head coach | |
| 2010–12 | Georgia Tech | Defensive coordinator |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Thomas CahillArmy
- George BlackburnVirginia
- Don LawrenceVirginia
- Bill DooleyNorth Carolina
- Bill ParcellsAir Force, New York Giants, New England Patriots, New York Jets
- Ken HatfieldAir Force
- Rex DockeryTexas Tech
- Marion CampbellAtlanta Falcons
- Joe MorrisonSouth Carolina
- Bill BelichickCleveland Browns
- Paul JohnsonGeorgia Tech
Assistants who became head coaches
- Ed ZaunbrecherUL Monroe
- Bob PruettMarshall
- Jim HofherBuffalo, Cornell
- Gary DarnellFlorida, Western Michigan, Texas A&M, Tennessee Tech
- Gunter BrewerNortheast Mississippi
- Bob SuttonArmy
- Dan HenningBoston College, Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers
- Al GoldenTemple, Miami
- Mike LondonVirginia, Richmond, Howard, William & Mary
- Ron PrinceKansas State, Howard
- John GarrettLafayette
- Bob DiacoUConn
- and 2 more
Worked under (11)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Cahill | Army | 1968–69 | Freshman defensive coordinator | |
| George Blackburn | Virginia | 1970 | Freshman coach | |
| Don Lawrence | Virginia | 1971–72 | Defensive line coach | |
| Bill Dooley | North Carolina | 1973–77 | Linebackers coach | |
| Bill Parcells | Air Force | 1978 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Ken Hatfield | Air Force | 1979 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Rex Dockery | Texas Tech | 1980 | Linebackers coach | |
| Marion Campbell | Atlanta Falcons NFL | 1987 | Tight ends and special teams coach | |
| Joe Morrison | South Carolina | 1988 | Offensive coordinator | |
| Bill Parcells | New York Giants NFL | 1989–90 | Linebackers coach | |
| Bill Belichick | Cleveland Browns NFL | 1992 | Linebackers coach | |
| Bill Parcells | New England Patriots NFL | 1993–96 | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Bill Parcells | New York Jets NFL | 1997–99 | Linebackers coach | |
| Paul Johnson | Georgia Tech | 2010–12 | Defensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (14)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Zaunbrecher | Wake Forest, 1981–83: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | UL Monroe | |
| Bob Pruett | Wake Forest, 1983–84: defensive backs coach; 1985–86: defensive coordinator; Virginia, 2008: defensive coordinator | Marshall | |
| Jim Hofher | Wake Forest, 1983–86: running backs coach | Buffalo, Cornell | |
| Gary Darnell | Wake Forest, 1986: assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | Florida, Western Michigan, Texas A&M, Tennessee Tech | |
| Gunter Brewer | Wake Forest, 1986: strength and conditioning coach | Northeast Mississippi | |
| Bob Sutton | New York Jets, 2000: linebackers coach | Army | |
| Dan Henning | New York Jets, 2000: offensive coordinator | Boston College, Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers | |
| Al Golden | Virginia, 2001–05: defensive coordinator | Temple, Miami | |
| Mike London | Virginia, 2001: defensive line coach; 2002–04: defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator; 2006–07: defensive coordinator and defensive line coach | Virginia, Richmond, Howard, William & Mary | |
| Ron Prince | Virginia, 2001–02: offensive line coach; 2003–05: offensive coordinator; 2009: special teams coach | Kansas State, Howard | |
| John Garrett | Virginia, 2004–06: wide receivers coach; 2007: assistant head coach and wide receivers coach | Lafayette | |
| Bob Diaco | Virginia, 2006–08: linebackers and special teams coach | UConn | |
| Vincent Brown | Virginia, 2007: graduate assistant | North Carolina A&T | |
| Gregg Brandon | Virginia, 2009: offensive coordinator | Bowling Green, Colorado School of Mines |
Other assistants under him (8)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Groh | New York Jets, 2000: assistant coach; Virginia, 2001–02: wide receivers coach; 2003: quarterbacks and wide receivers coach; 2004–05: quarterbacks coach; 2006–08: offensive coordinator | |
| Bill Musgrave | Virginia, 2001–02: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and tight ends coach | |
| Corwin Brown | Virginia, 2001–03: special teams coach (2001–2003) | |
| Anthony Poindexter | Virginia, 2003–09 | |
| Chad Wilt | Virginia, 2004–05: graduate assistant; 2009: defensive line coach and special teams coordinator | |
| Mark D’Onofrio | Virginia, 2004: special teams and tight ends coach; 2005: special teams and inside linebackers coach | |
| Wayne Lineburg | Virginia, 2007–08: wide receivers coach; 2009: running backs coach | |
| Bob Trott | Virginia, 2009: linebackers coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Virginia | head coachbonuses up to $940,000 | $2,072,339 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2008 | Virginia | head coach | $1,875,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2007 | Virginia | head coachbonuses up to $940,000 | $1,874,250 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2006 | Virginia | head coachbonuses up to $940,000 | $1,785,000 USA Today via Leeds |
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Groh’s teams went for it on 13% of fourth downs and on 25% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 49% of plays and took 24.7 seconds a play, 2004–2009.
| Season | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 12 g | 10 of 81 12% | 19% | 35% | 23.7 | +0.08 | |
| 2005 11 g | 11 of 83 13% | 29% | 49% | 25.4 | 0.00 | |
| 2006 10 g | 7 of 88 8% | 12% | 51% | 27.2 | −0.20 | |
| 2007 13 g | 13 of 111 12% | 30% | 50% | 23.9 | −0.08 | |
| 2008 11 g | 19 of 88 22% | 36% | 58% | 25.1 | −0.17 | |
| 2009 12 g | 14 of 109 13% | 22% | 51% | 23.2 | −0.26 | |
| All 69 g | 74 of 560 13% | 25% | 49% | 24.7 | −0.10 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.