Virginia introduced new football coach Tony Elliott on Monday. I don’t wish to comment on the coaching search itself. I think that stuff has been discussed to death on the message boards and social media. I did want to give my thoughts on and impressions of Elliott, though.
In Elliott, the former Clemson offensive coordinator, I see some of Bronco Mendenhall and Tony Bennett — from a culture, character, and academics standpoint. Elliott seems to be “about the right stuff,” as Bennett might say. Elliott said, “My goal is to contribute to changing the narrative in college football and demonstrate that you can win at the highest level, and you can do so while achieving excellence in education, leadership and service.” It’s easy to see the parallel with Mendenhall when he always said he wanted an “and” program: good football, good students, and good people.
My hope is that the current players, future recruits, and fans of the UVa football program are getting someone that can build off the success Mendenhall did achieve while shoring up some of the weaknesses in the program as Elliott injects his experiences, perspectives, and some fresh blood.
Tony Elliott and UVa athletics director Carla Williams at Elliott's introductory news conference Monday in Charlottesville. The 42-year-old will be a first-time head coach when he takes the field with the Wahoos next fall. (Associated Press)
Mendenhall pulled Virginia off the ACC mat. There’s no doubt about it. The program went from one bowl game in six years under Mike London – a time when just getting to 6-6 was a dream and something to really “achieve” – to regular bowling and a Coastal Division title. “Just” bowling is now disappointing, as evidenced by some of the fan unrest this year, and that is thanks to the progress Mendenhall made. He ended up being a victim of his own success in some ways.
For whatever reasons, take your pick, the program has stagnated to being a .500-type outfit the past couple of seasons. But Mendenhall gives Elliott a much better base to build from than Mendenhall had when London exited. Look at something as simple as this – the way the current players reacted to Elliott when he first talked to them. Elliott said it was a positive meeting, they were engaged, and he gave them a challenge and a charge before turning them back over to Mendenhall. Contrast that with what Mendenhall said about his first meeting with the players in December 2015. He said some of them couldn’t even look him in the eyes because they were so beaten down. That tells you the culture and foundation is at a much better point right now, and the players are more confident in who they are and what the program is all about.
And that program — stuck in about the middle of the ACC — might be more familiar to Elliott than you think. Elliott made some interesting points when he was asked about similarities between Clemson and Virginia. Of course, the immediate impression is this: How can we reasonably compare the Tigers to the Cavaliers? The ‘Hoos consider nine wins a major accomplishment. Meanwhile, Clemson has two recent national titles and just went 9-3 in what is now considered a down year for it. But as Elliott reminded everyone, Clemson was not a juggernaut when he became an assistant under Dabo Swinney in 2011.
The Tigers went 6-7 in 2010 – Swinney’s second full season — and hadn’t won 10 games in 20 years. But in 2011, Clemson began a streak of winning at least 10 games per year that is ongoing, one that will continue if it can knock off Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 29. Plus, around the time Elliott played for Clemson from 1999-2003 as a walk-on wideout, the ‘Hoos and Tigers were on pretty equal footing. Virginia defeated Clemson in 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2004. So at first blush, you may think Elliott only knows football royalty and doesn’t know much about building a program. While he may not know much about building a program from scratch like Mendenhall had to do, I think he does know a lot about taking a program to the next level. Now, are we expecting Virginia to become Clemson? No. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take steps in that direction and strive to become the premier program in the Coastal Division.
Elliott introduced Virginia’s players to his foundational values this week, which spell out “HEART.” Humility, Effort, Accountability, Respect, Toughness. The similarities with Bennett’s pillars (passion, unity, thankfulness, servanthood, and humility) stand out. Elliott has a clear vision. Accountability is a big one right now for football fans, who felt like no one took the blame for the terrible play call at the end of the Virginia Tech loss and the lack of major improvement on defense.
Elliott said we are going to celebrate successes but not forget our core values and keep a “windshield mentality” moving forward. That reminds me of Mendenhall when he would celebrate the milestones of the program but continue to look forward to the next accomplishment.
Though Elliott seems to be like Mendenhall in certain ways, he is also different in other respects. He is originally from the West (California) like Mendenhall, but he has been on the East Coast and specifically in the Southeast since the early 2000s when he played at Clemson. All of his other coaching jobs were in South Carolina — South Carolina State, Furman, and then he worked his way back to his alma mater in 2011, first as a running backs coach before becoming co-offensive coordinator in 2015. He took the reins of the offense fully in 2020. So Elliott knows about coaching in the ACC, and he knows about playing in the ACC. Does he have experience recruiting Virginia? No, but at least he is more familiar with the landscape of the conference than Mendenhall and his staff were. That should give him a head start.
Elliott, 42, is also 13 years younger than Mendenhall. He is a young, up-and-coming, hungry coach. Obviously, Mendenhall was burnt out, and it seems as though Elliott is anything but. Mendenhall was an honest, straightforward, good guy, but he was quirky. Elliott seems more like a regular guy, and he will be able to relate to players and recruits more easily. Elliott has an amazing underdog story that was fueled by tragedy. I think that will serve him well at UVa, which is very much an underdog program. Especially if he can have moderate success on the field in 2022, I think Elliott can bring in a higher-ranked recruiting class than Mendenhall would’ve, but some of that will also depend on how he fills out his staff.
Also, I used to think I wouldn’t want a coach who may think of UVa as a steppingstone program. I have changed my perspective on that. If Elliott does a good job in Charlottesville, a more prestigious football program could come calling. If that sort of opportunity does come Elliott’s way, it would mean he’s done well with the ‘Hoos, so I’d take that sort of attention in a heartbeat. And while the ceiling is higher in basketball than in football, Bennett has shown that UVa can be a place that a coach will want to stick around, even if he is great and has other schools interested in him.
We also shouldn’t discount how attractive a program UVa is to some coaches who want specific things. Elliott turned down the Tennessee job last season but is coming to Charlottesville now. It is clear his values align with what Virginia wants in a coach. Swinney said he wouldn’t bless every offer that came Elliott’s way, but he said UVa was a perfect fit for him.
Bennett and UVa have, of course, seemed like a perfect fit as well. And if you think about it, Elliott and Bennett arrived with a similarity in their career arcs. In his first two seasons as the head coach at Washington State, Bennett went 26-8 and 26-9, respectively, reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament in year 1 and the Sweet 16 in year 2. In year 3, the Cougars dipped to 17-16, perhaps taking a little shine off his resume.
Elliott was perhaps even more of a hot commodity a couple of seasons ago. He won the 2017 Frank Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach. In 2018-19, he guided Clemson to consecutive seasons of scoring 650 points, the first modern program to do so. But this year, the Tigers’ offense ranked as one of the worst in the ACC, so some seemed to question Elliott’s credentials when his name came up in the coaching search. It is worth noting that Clemson has scored at least 30 points in five straight games after struggling in the first part of the year. The Tigers turned to running the ball a bit more instead of forcing the issue with QB D.J. Uiagalelei. That has got to be music to the ears of Virginia fans. While we love Brennan Armstrong and what he did this year and could do next season if he returns, the running backs have been amazingly underutilized during the tenure of Mendenhall and offensive coordinator Robert Anae. Here’s more music: Travis Etienne. The record-breaking tailback had an outstanding career at Clemson under Elliott. If I am in the UVa running back room, I am very excited.
Elliott also reminded me of Bennett when he said he is expecting mountaintop moments and valley moments as he builds his program and that he will be thankful for both because they each help you grow. Bennett has said of recruiting that he wants players he can lose with first because that is “truth serum” and what builds character.
Plenty of decisions still need to be made as Elliott fully settles into his role after the bowl game, but the early returns have seemed to be positive among those associated with the program. Some of the players in the transfer portal will leave, but Virginia will bring in some transfers, too, as they find out what Elliott and UVa will look like going forward. Elliott has foundational ideas that seem to follow the blueprints of Mendenhall and Bennett. That is a good thing. And I think there is reason to believe Elliott will be able to recruit and connect with players on a different level than Mendenhall did, and hopefully that will bear fruit.
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