U.Va.'s Groh poetic after what was likely his last stanza

CHARLOTTESVILLE

Al Groh went out with a defeat, but not a loss of words, many that rhymed.

The elephant in the room in his post game conference was Groh's anticipated dismissal as Virginia football coach. When asked about it, he unfolded a piece of paper and began to read:

 When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,

And the world makes you King for a day,

Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that guy has to say.

 So began Groh's bizarre recitation of a poem written in 1934 titled "The Guy in the Glass."

With his wife, Anne, his daughter and two grandchildren in the back of the room, Groh went on reading, getting to the heart of the piece in the second stanza.

 The feller whose verdict counts most in your life,

Is the guy staring back from the glass.

 The surreal pity party continued as reporters in the room made a note to Google the poem once they got back to their laptops.

In finishing up, Groh added his own flourishes.

"When I visited the guy in the glass," he said, "I saw that he's a guy of commitment, of integrity, of dependability and accountability. He's loyal. His spirit is indomitable and he's caring and loving. I'm sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend."

With a terse, "Appreciate it," he was up and gone.

Players who filtered in a few minutes later reported Groh read the poem in the locker room following U.Va.'s 42-13 loss to Virginia Tech.

"Pretty raw," senior linebacker Aaron Clark said.

But just moments before Groh had insisted that the week leading up to the game wasn't particularly gut-wrenching.

"It's a big rivalry, and there are a lot of emotions that come with that," he said. "Outside of that, it wasn't any different for me."

Then he whipped out the poem, and commenced with his maudlin adieu.

It was a bizarre valediction for a sometimes peculiar coach whose nine-year career at U.Va. once seemed full of promise. But with a second-consecutive losing season - the Cavaliers dropped their last six to finish 3-9 - the handwriting was on the wall.

It's just that nobody expected it to include rhyming couplets.

Before he turned the press conference into poetry corner, Groh noted, "Well, we made a pretty good go of it for a little while."

They did, trailing by only one at the half before the game turned ugly for the Cavaliers. U.Va.'s Chris Cook had just intercepted a Tyrod Taylor pass in the end zone, but the Cavs immediately turned the ball back over to Tech when Jameel Sewell's pitch was bobbled by tailback Mikell Simpson.

Hokies safety Kam Chancellor returned the loose ball to the 10. Two plays later, Tech was in the end zone and the rout was on.

"That one score," Groh said, "seemed to pull all the dominoes out of the pile."

Against a deeper, more-talented opponent, Virginia's margin of error was razor thin. It always looked like U.Va. was holding on, and that it was only a matter of time before Tech made a backbreaking play on offense or defense, the kind of play the Cavaliers haven't been able to make this season.

Virginia's new coach will have his work cut out for him. But he'll be able to honestly tell recruits that just about every position on the team is wide open. The Cavs are badly in need of an infusion of talent.

Groh, meanwhile, will be well compensated for his angst - U.Va. is prepared to pay him $4 million for the remaining two years of his contract.

With his golden parachute, Groh will have plenty of time to catch up on his poetry reading.

Bob Molinaro, (757) 446-2373, bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com