Mike London Mike London ( born October 9 , 1960 ) is the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers football program of the University of Virginia . A native of the Hampton Roads area of Virginia , London played college and pro football as a defensive back for the Richmond Spiders and Dallas Cowboys . He was a police officer and detective in Richmond , Virginia with the city ' s street crimes unit before pursuing a coaching career . He has served in various coaching roles with Richmond , William & Mary , Boston College , and Virginia , as well as the Houston Texans . His most notable roles have come as defensive coordinator and now head coach at the University of Virginia , and previously as head coach at the University of Richmond , where his team won the NCAA Division I Football Championship in 2008 . Coaching career . Position coach . First hired as a linebacker coach at the University of Richmond , Mike London later coached the defensive line at the College of William & Mary , Boston College , the Houston Texans of the National Football League , and the University of Virginia , twice . London worked closely with St . Louis Rams defensive end Chris Long while he played for the Virginia Cavaliers . In an interview with " The Washington Post , " Long would later say of London , " when you get a coach who matches your intensity and emotion , you can just look at that person and know that at some level that coach is going to be with you through the thick and the thin . " Defensive coordinator . In 2006 , London was named by Virginia coach Al Groh as the team ' s new defensive coordinator to replace Al Golden . Virginia ' s defense under London was much more aggressive than it was under Golden . Allowing just 289 . 5 yards per game , the Virginia defense under London gave up fewer yards than any Virginia defense had in the past 27 years . London developed first year defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald , who by the end of the season had more tackles than any freshman in the country . The next year his defense was perhaps even better . A highlight of this season was when Virginia was scheduled to play the Miami Hurricanes in the last game ever in the legendary Miami Orange Bowl . The Virginia defense , under the supervision of London , dominated the ' canes and Virginia won , 48 – 0 . It was Miami ' s worst loss at the Orange Bowl in their 70 years of playing there . The Cavaliers finished the season ranked 6th in the nation in sacks with 40 , and allowed the 19th - fewest rushing yards ( 106 . 7 yds / game ) and the 16th - fewest points against ( 19 . 7 / game ) on the way to a 9 - win season and a narrow loss to Texas Tech and Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Crabtree in the Gator Bowl . At the end of the season , lineman Chris Long won the Ted Hendricks Award and was drafted second overall in the 2008 NFL Draft . Head coach . Richmond Spiders . On January 19 , 2008 , Mike London was named the head coach of the Richmond Spiders . Previous coach Dave Clawson had left to become the offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee . Sixteen starters returned from a team that Clawson had taken to the semifinals of the FCS Football Championship playoffs . Soon after opening the season with a loss to Football Bowl Subdivision team Virginia 16 – 0 , the team suffered heartbreaking losses to the James Madison Dukes and Villanova Wildcats by a touchdown or less . After the JMU loss , London ' s team stood at 4 – 3 . The 2008 Spiders would not lose another game . They rattled off nine straight victories including last - minute heroics against the William & Mary Tribe and Northern Iowa Panthers , a 33 – 13 dismantling of the heavily favored Appalachian State Mountaineers in Kidd Brewer Stadium , and culminating with a 24 – 7 blowout victory against the Montana Grizzlies in the NCAA Championship Game . In his first season , the University of Richmond had earned its first National Championship in any sport . On September 5 , 2009 , Richmond upset the Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference , 24 – 16 , on their home turf in Wallace Wade Stadium . After beginning the 2009 campaign 8 – 0 and riding a streak of 17 straight wins , the Richmond Spiders became only the third FCS team ever to receive a vote in the AP Poll ( after Northern Iowa in 2007 , and Appalachian State later in the same season ) . Ray Ratto of the " San Francisco Chronicle " gave the Spiders their AP Top 25 vote for the week of November 2 . The Spiders won the CAA regular season , but lost in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament to Appalachian State . Just two days later , Mike London was announced as head football coach at the University of Virginia on December 7 , 2009 . Virginia Cavaliers . Following the termination of Al Groh , London was hired to coach the Virginia Cavaliers and initially awarded a five - year contract paying $ 1 . 7 million per year . He is the second African - American head football coach in the ACC , behind Wake Forest ' s Jim Caldwell . He is also the second African - American head coach of a major sport at Virginia ; the first was former men ' s basketball coach Dave Leitao . In London ' s first season with Virginia , his Cavaliers went 4 – 8 , with two wins coming against I - FCS opponents . The best win of the season was over then - # 22 Miami . Following the season , London enjoyed a strong recruiting class , pulling in what is widely regarded as Virginia ' s best ( and largest ) recruiting class since Groh ' s first full season in 2002 . Having finished with a 4 – 8 overall record and having managed just one win in the ACC the previous season , London orchestrated a turnaround in 2011 , taking the team to an 8 – 4 regular season record and a 5 – 3 mark in the conference . Signature wins in the 2011 campaign included upsets over previously undefeated and 12th - ranked Georgia Tech , at Miami , and at 23rd - ranked Florida State , at a venue ( Doak Campbell Stadium ) where UVA had never won . The final regular season game of the year pitted the 24th - ranked Cavaliers against the # 5 Virginia Tech Hokies in a battle for not only the Commonwealth Cup , but also for the Coastal Division crown and a chance to play in the ACC championship . UVa lost the game 38 – 0 , suffering its first home shutout since 1984 . Following the regular season , London was named ACC Coach of the Year , receiving 31 votes , ahead of Virginia Tech ' s Frank Beamer , who received 12 votes , and Clemson ' s Dabo Swinney , who received two votes . Personal . His son , Brandon London , is a wide receiver for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League . His younger brother Paul London played defensive back for Virginia under George Welsh in the early 1990s . His daughter , Kristen London , was a women ' s basketball player for Debbie Ryan , also at Virginia . He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity .