CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Virginia’s roster has been turned over in a major way, with 46 newcomers arriving from high school and the NCAA transfer portal this year. But Tony Elliott keeps coming back to the same point: the real backbone of the program has been the staff.
That consistency has been one of the defining features of Elliott’s tenure since he came to Charlottesville from Clemson before the 2022 season. Both coordinators, Des Kitchings on offense and John Rudzinski on defense, have been with him from the beginning. Adam Mims also stayed in place and climbed from senior offensive analyst to wide receivers coach.
Six other assistants have now entered their third seasons on Grounds: Chris Slade with the defensive ends, Keith Gaither with running backs and special teams, Kevin Downing with defensive tackles, Mike Adams with linebackers, Curome Cox with defensive backs and Taylor Lamb with quarterbacks.
The lone major departure came when former offensive line coach Terry Heffernan left for Stanford, a move Elliott allowed because of Heffernan’s West Coast ties. Even then, Elliott said the program was able to absorb it because the rest of the structure stayed intact.
At Wednesday’s ACC Kickoff preseason media day, Elliott pointed to McKale Boley as the kind of player who benefits from that kind of stability. Boley is one of five senior or graduate students expected to start on Virginia’s offensive line this fall.
"The guy comes back because of the continuity of the staff," Elliott said. "His position coach left, and he easily could have ben a high-value, high dollar commodity on the market."
Boley chose to return instead of entering the portal, sticking with a team that won a school-record 11 games last season. Elliott said that kind of decision matters beyond one player.
"Without that continuity, you may have to bring in a whole new piece, which might upset the apple cart," Elliott said. "Now you have the five linemen we're talking about, they're gone because you don't have the continuity."
Elliott, who spent 11 seasons as an assistant at Clemson before taking over at Virginia, described program-building as a house project with four stages: laying the foundation, construction, showcase and championship. In his view, keeping the staff together means the foundation is already in place. Without that, he said, "you don't have time to build a house."
His first three seasons in Charlottesville brought 23 losses in 34 games, along with the devastating shooting deaths of Lavell Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D'Sean Perry. Coaches with that kind of record often do not get a fourth year, but Elliott earned credit for how he guided the team through that period and kept it together.
That made last season’s ACC regular-season title feel especially meaningful, and it has created real optimism around what comes next.
Elliott also knows that assistants from successful programs get attention from other schools, just as he once did. He said he has no problem with his staff benefiting from success, as long as they land in the right places.
"The reason we were able to persevere through the tragedy and the tough times after that was the continuity of staff," he said. "Everybody stayed, for the most part, and locked arms, and we were able to lay the foundation despite the adversity,
"So it's only fitting that when we have success, we can stay together and enjoy it."
In Other News...
Virginia's Opener Took An Unexpected Turn Fans Will Feel Both Ways
Virginias season opener against N.C. State has taken a very different path than the one first imagined, with the game now set to land in Charlottesville instead of Brazil. The move gives the Cavaliers a familiar setting at Scott Stadium on Aug. 29, and it keeps the matchup intact after the ACC and both coaching staffs confirmed the change.
For Virginia, there is a clear upside in getting the opener at home, even if it comes with a twinge of what might have been. The league also held onto the games original ESPN window in Week Zero, so the spotlight stays put even as the destination changes, leaving the Cavaliers with a more conventional start to a season that briefly promised something far less ordinary. [Read more 🡒]