Latest Topics

[Noah]

Al Groh talks about son's move to Bears




Al Groh valued his experiences at both the college and professional level during a lengthy coaching career and he wasn’t about to discourage his son from taking a similar path.
Mike Groh, a former Virginia quarterback and assistant coach, is headed to the Chicago Bears after working at Alabama while it was winning national championships in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
Groh coached the Crimson Tide wide receivers and served as recruiting coordinator for the past two seasons. He recently was named national recruiter of the year by the 247Sports service.
The younger Groh, 41, was doing a clinic in Atlanta when he was contacted by new Browns coach Marc Trestman.
“Mike was intrigued,” said Al Groh, a former Virginia head coach who is in the process of relocating to Charlottesville from Atlanta, where he was the Georgia Tech defensive coordinator, “but he was also very conflicted.
“It doesn’t get any better than the University of Alabama -- not just the winning but the way the whole program is run, as far as the philosophy and the culture of the program.”
A key aspect of the decision was the opportunity for personal development under Trestman and new coordinator Aaron Kromer, previously with the New Orleans Saints.
“Clearly, Alabama is a program where you learn a lot, too,” Al Groh said. “One of the elements of Mike’s thinking was, it’s [Chicago] one of the iconic franchises in the league.
“They had a real good defense last year and they’ve got a quarterback [Jay Cutler] and some firepower. Clearly. if that had translated into wins, they wouldn’t be in the circumstance they’re in.”
In his career, Groh was an assistant at North Carolina before serving as Wake Forest head coach from 1981-86. He then spent 15 seasons in the National Football League, mostly as an assistant before coaching the New York Jets in 2000.
“Just because he’s [Mike] in the NFL doesn’t mean he won’t coach in college again,” said Groh, the UVa coach from 2001-2009. “Nick Saban did just that. I learned a lot of things in the NFL that I never would have known otherwise.”

hamptonroads.com/2013/03/al-groh-talks-about-sons-move-bears