Former Falcon flies in to UVa

By Jay Jenkins

Published: December 19, 2008

Needing to make a splash, Virginia coach Al Groh essentially delivered a cannonball from the high dive.
On Thursday, former Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon accepted Groh’s offer to become the Cavaliers’ offensive coordinator, placing three coaches on staff with head coaching experience.
Highly regarded as an offensive guru, and one that was employed as an assistant by other notable coaches such as Gary Barnett, Urban Meyer and Mike Price, Brandon compiled a 44-30 record, the best overall record over the past six seasons for any coach in the Mid-American Conference.
Brandon, a 52-year-old born on Leap Day, led the Falcons to three bowls as the program’s head coach and became the fifth coach in Division I-A history to win at least 11 games in his first season as a head coach.
During Brandon’s eight years at Bowling Green, the first two of which were as the offensive coordinator for Meyer, now Florida’s head coach, the Falcons typically ranked among the top programs in the country in numerous offensive categories.
After the Falcons finished third nationally in scoring offense in 2002, they ranked third in total offense in 2003 and second the following season as quarterback Omar Jacobs drew widespread attention.
Virginia, coming off its second 5-7 season in three campaigns, has not been as fortunate on offense in recent years. The Cavaliers failed to crack the Top 100 in total offense the past three seasons under former offensive coordinator Mike Groh, who stepped down on Dec. 8.
The announcement, while not yet confirmed by Virginia officials, should be good news for Virginia’s wide receivers and returning quarterback Jameel Sewell.
After studying offenses at Northwestern, Purdue and Louisville upon his hiring as an offensive coordinator, Bowling Green employed a one-back, shotgun-heavy, no-huddle strategy that utilized the skills of numerous mobile quarterbacks under Brandon.
The multi-year deal given to Brandon still leaves Virginia with two vacancies on its staff. One of those positions could be filled with former Tennessee and Richmond wide receivers coach Latrell Scott, who is expected to interview with Al Groh in the coming days.