London named head coach at University of Virginia

University of Richmond football coach Mike London accepted the head coaching job at the University of Virginia today, ending his two-year run with the Spiders.

Virginia held a press conference at 1 p.m. this afternoon to announce its new hire. London agreed to a contract that will pay him $1.7 million a year for five years.

"Words cannot express my gratitude and heartfelt emotions for this opportunity," London said. "To be the head football coach at as prestigious of an institution as the University of Virginia is a dream come true."

London held a team meeting with his Richmond players on Sunday and informed them he had been offered the position at Virginia. London did not tell his team whether he would accept the offer, but multiple team members said they thought he would take it.

"We all kinda figured it was gonna happen," sophomore wide receiver Donte Boston said. "We knew in the back of our minds that there was a good chance he was going to be gone. We were just wondering who our next coach is going to be.

"It's kind of a sad move because he was a good coach," Boston said. "He's very well-liked. He was so loose and he wasn't uptight. You could talk to him about just about anything and he loved to laugh. ... If he didn't say something funny you could tell he was mad."

London said the decision was not as easy as some may have thought.

"It wasn't automatic," London said , "I knew that once the offer was made, and then just the familiarity of the place. I wasn't in to being the head coach at Richmond to be the head coach at x,y and z. ... I could have been perfectly happy staying the head coach at my alma mater, but this is a good fit."

During his two seasons as the head coach of the Spiders, London led the team to a record of 24-5 and captured a National Championship in 2008 and a share of the Colonial Athletic Association title this season. The team's season ended after a 35-31 loss to Appalachian State University on Saturday at UR Stadium.

London has previously served as the defensive coordinator at Virginia, the position he left to become the head coach at Richmond. He has also coached at Boston College and the College of William & Mary and in the NFL with the Houston Texans. He played college football for Richmond during the 1980-83 seasons.

Other sources have reported that London had also received interest from three other FBS schools: the University of Memphis, Akron University and Western Kentucky University. He received a contract extension from Richmond through the 2014 season following last season, but the financial terms of the contract were not made public.

Richmond's search for a new head coach will begin immediately, according to the athletic department, but a phone call placed to athletic director Jim Miller was not immediately returned.

For many members of the Richmond team, a coaching change is nothing new, as former head coach Dave Clawson left the Spiders for a job at the University of Tennessee after the 2007 season. He has since become the head coach at Bowling Green State University.

Boston said the team held a players-only meeting today to discuss London's departure and the possibilities of a new coach.

"We want a guy who's like Coach London," Boston said. "I've had three different position coaches since I've been here. It sucks, but it's something you've got to get used to because it's a business."

Regardless of the new coach, Boston said the players felt that they could succeed next season.

"We all know that no matter who we get, we all control our own destiny no matter who the coach is," he said.

Contact staff writer Reilly Moore at reilly.moore@richmond.edu