Al Groh Al Groh ( born July 13 , 1944 ) is the defensive coordinator of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team . He is also a former head coach of the University of Virginia football team , a former head coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team and the former head coach of the New York Jets of the NFL . He is a two - time Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year , winning the award in 2002 and 2007 . Groh has over 38 years of professional and collegiate coaching experience ; this history includes 13 seasons in the NFL , a Super Bowl title with the New York Giants , and over a decade of working under coach Bill Parcells . Personal life . Born in New York City , Groh is a native of Manhasset , New York , on the North Shore of Long Island . He is a 1962 graduate of Chaminade High School , where he played on Chaminade ' s undefeated , untied 1961 football team under Coach Joe Thomas . He is also a 1967 graduate of the University of Virginia ’ s McIntire School of Commerce . He returned to his alma mater in 2001 as the head coach of the Cavaliers football team . His son Mike Groh was a high school football star at Randolph High School in Randolph , New Jersey who kicked the game winning field goal in " The Star - Ledger " ' s " Greatest High School Football Game Ever Played " in 1990 . Mike was formerly his father ' s offensive coordinator , quarterback coach , and recruiting coordinator for the Cavaliers . Playing history . Groh played for the University of Virginia football team from 1963 – 65 , lettering at defensive end in 1965 . A two - sport athlete , Groh also lettered on defense for the Cavalier lacrosse team . Coaching career . College . Throughout his career , Groh has been a friend and protégé of Bill Parcells , working with him for over 13 years in both collegiate and professional positions . Groh was an assistant under Parcells in two Super Bowls , including a 1990 Super Bowl XXV victory with the New York Giants and a 1996 loss in Super Bowl XXXI with the New England Patriots . Groh began his college coaching career in 1968 as the defensive coach of the plebe squad at Army , working with Parcells for his first time . Groh returned to Virginia in 1970 as head coach of the freshmen team and later defensive line coach . From 1973 through 1977 , he was an assistant at North Carolina , followed by a year ( 1978 ) as Parcells ’ defensive coordinator at Air Force and a year at Texas Tech in 1980 . Groh received his first head football coach experience with Wake Forest from 1981 through 1986 where his record was 26 – 40 . NFL . In 1987 , Groh made his NFL debut as the special teams and tight ends coach of the Atlanta Falcons . After a brief return to the college ranks in 1988 as the offensive coordinator for South Carolina , Groh joined the New York Giants coaching staff . He served as the Giants ’ linebackers coach from 1989 to 1990 and as defensive coordinator in 1991 . Groh ’ s expertise in linebacker s led to Bill Belichick hiring him as an assistant with the Cleveland Browns in 1992 . Groh then reunited with Parcells in New England from 1993 to 1996 as the defensive coordinator , following him to the New York Jets as the linebacker coach from 1997 through 1999 . Groh served as Head Coach of the New York Jets for the 2000 season , resigning after one year to pursue the job at his alma mater , University of Virginia . Virginia Cavaliers . Groh was named the head coach of the Cavaliers on December 30 , 2000 , succeeding George Welsh , who retired as the winningest coach in school and Atlantic Coast Conference history . At Virginia , Groh has become known for his implementing a 3 - 4 defense , rare for the college game , and for maintaining his NFL mentality . After a 5 – 7 record in 2001 , Groh led Virginia to four consecutive winning seasons and three bowl victories before another 5 – 7 campaign in 2006 . He was named the ACC Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2007 . 2001 . Groh ’ s first year as Virginia ’ s head coach contained struggles both on and off the field . The 2001 Cavalier team posted a 5 – 7 record , and Groh , a native of New York City and Long Island , was involved in controversy surrounding comments regarding the September 11 , 2001 attacks in his hometown . In response to a reporter ' s question about whether he and his team should be afraid to fly their charter plane to Clemson soon thereafter , Groh stated " I ' m not saying this to make light of it by any means , but I ' m not planning on having Arabs in the traveling party , so therefore I think probably that the threat of our being hijacked is pretty remote . " Both Groh and the President of the University , John T . Casteen III , apologized and recognized the inappropriateness of the remarks . Subsequent to the 2001 season , Groh was selected as the defensive head coach of the Gray team in the 64th Annual Blue - Gray Football Classic ; Al Golden joined Groh on the Gray team ' s coaching staff . 2002 . During Groh ’ s second year as head coach , Virginia amassed a 9 – 5 record with a schedule ranked the 11th toughest in the nation by Jeff Sagarin of " USA Today " , and Groh was voted the ACC Coach of the Year . A loss at Penn State has since been vacated due to the Jerry Sandusky coverup , and the Cavaliers ' record for 2002 now stands at 9 - 4 . 2006 . The 2006 Cavaliers were a young team with several new assistant coaches . The team experienced some growing pains , and a few games into the season , freshman Jameel Sewell earned the starting quarterback position , leading Virginia to a 5 – 7 season record . No Cavalier player made first team All - ACC team for the first time in 20 years . While Groh acknowledged that the year would be a rebuilding experience and a slow start upset some fans , Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage stated that , " Al will be our head coach " through at least the 2007 season . Littlepage , however , later refused to exercise an option to extend Groh ' s contract by one year stating that Virginia ' s expectations were higher than 5 – 7 . Unlike past seasons , Groh only played one true freshman in 2006 , which preserved the redshirt of true freshman . 2007 . In the 2007 preseason , Groh was listed among the five worst coaches in college football by " Sports Illustrated " columnist Stewart Mandel . However , after Groh ' s 2007 Cavaliers lost their first game at Wyoming , they won their next seven games and started 4 – 0 in the ACC . After Virginia won their ninth game of 2007 , Stewart Mandel stated " there ' s no question he ' s gotten every ounce out of that team , " and revisited his preseason column by stating " I ended up going with Groh , and obviously he ' s the one who ' s most proven it wrong . " The team finished the regular season 9 – 3 overall and 6 – 2 in the ACC , leading to the Cavaliers ' fifth bowl game in the past six seasons . Subsequent to the regular season , Groh was voted the 2007 ACC Coach of the Year by the ACC Media Association . 2008 . After leading his team to a 1 – 3 start , including a 31 – 3 loss to a Duke team who had not won an ACC game in its previous 25 attempts , Groh was once again faced with widespread pleas from fans and the media to resign . However , Virginia quickly turned the season around , reeling off 4 straight wins with the emergence of Marc Verica and the efforts of Cedric Peerman . It wasn ' t until November 1 , that Miami coming into Charlottesville during homecoming that Virginia lost in overtime ending Virginia ' s winning streak and knocking them out of the top spot in the ACC Coastal Division . They subsequently lost to Wake Forest , Clemson and Virginia Tech . This marks the fifth straight loss to the Hokies . They last beat Virginia Tech in 2003 , their only win against the team under Groh . Virginia ' s final for 2008 is 5 – 7 and 3 – 5 in the ACC . 2009 . Groh and his Virginia team opened the 2009 season with a shocking home loss to William & Mary of the FCS ( formerly I - AA ) . Groh ' s decision to field three quarterbacks in a spread offense for the game led to a record - tying seven turnovers for the Cavaliers . The loss was the first by Virginia to a I - AA team since 1986 , which also came at the hands of William & Mary . The embarrassment of the loss coupled with fears of another losing season once again rekindled calls for Groh ' s ouster as Virginia head coach from many fans and analysts . Following the William & Mary loss , the Cavaliers fell to TCU in Charlottesville and then Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg , MS . Following a bye week , Groh ' s Virginia team rebounded and reeled off three straight wins , including two road ACC wins ( North Carolina and Maryland ) and a blow - out over the Big Ten ' s Indiana . However , after the three straight wins , Virginia reeled off 6 straight losses to close the season . Following a loss to Virginia Tech in the last game of the season , the University of Virginia fired Al Groh . Legacy . While Groh was at Virginia , 13 Cavaliers were selected in the NFL Draft , while 19 others signed pro contracts as free agents . During his first five years , Groh maintained a strategy of hiring young , ambitious assistants , and he hoped to build a network of protégés through the football ranks . His assistants have gone on to become head coaches at other Division I - A programs : ( Ron Prince at Kansas State , Al Golden at University of Miami , Mike London in the Division I - AA University of Richmond and Danny Rocco , who left Groh ' s staff after the 2005 season to become head coach at I - AA Liberty University . After the 2009 season Mike London replaced Groh as UVA ' s head football coach ) . A number of assistants have also gone into the ranks of assistants in the NFL ( Bill Musgrave , previously with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington Redskins , now at the Atlanta Falcons , and Mike London at the Houston Texans before returning to Groh ' s staff and then taking the Richmond job ) . Under Groh , Virginia had a 3 – 2 record in bowl games , with the two losses coming to Fresno State in the 2004 MPC Computers Bowl and Texas Tech in the 2008 Gator Bowl . The Cavaliers defeated West Virginia in the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl and Pittsburgh in the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl and Minnesota in the 2005 Music City Bowl . Georgia Tech . On January 15 , 2010 , it was announced that Al Groh would be taking the position of defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech for the 2010 season .