Tony Elliott must make waves at the University of Virginia, in order to see another year in Charlottesville.
Tony Elliott Needs to See Dramatic Improvement at UVA
Entering his fourth year as Virginia’s head football coach, Tony Elliott must find a way to reach a bowl game. Additionally, the Cavaliers must find a way to break out of the ACC doldrums. Basically, the middle of the conference pack. Meaning, the team isn’t consistently awful or good. In fact, the program just floats along, veering between mediocrity and poor.
Either way, Coach Elliott understands that regardless of if anyone considers the UVA job a tough one, the team needs to win. The Wahoos started off strong, posting four wins in their first five game. Then the bottom fell out, losing six of their final seven contests. Under no metric does three losing seasons to start a tenure grant a reprieve after the fourth year. Bleacher Report labeled Elliott as one of the coaches on the hot seat, remarking.
“However, the competition level rose quickly from there. Those two victories to reach bowl eligibility looked like they’d be challenging to attain at that moment, and that’s exactly how it played out. Virginia beat Pitt but otherwise dropped five of its last six games by 17-plus points, including a 20-point setback to rival Virginia Tech in the finale.”
“Losing is not the issue; being non-competitive is the problem. The program has since landed quarterback Chandler Morris—most recently of North Texas and previously TCU—to oversee the offense in a critical year for Elliott, his fourth at UVA.”
In the offseason, the University of Virginia received a nine-digit donation to usher the entire athletic program into the modern NIL world over the next decade. In other words, Elliott will benefit from a rather large operating budget to bring talent to UVA. So far, the coaching staff has used the money wisely, procuring 19 transfers to help a team that couldn’t stay with opponents down the stretch.
This year could look different if you look at the transfer list. Granted, most people will occupy themselves with only three-star restaurants that populate the list. At the same time, the depth and talent infusion cannot go understated. For example, former UNLV edge defender Fisher Camac found his way east and hopes to give the Cavs a spark. Defensive ends coach Chris Slade spoke to The Charlottesville Daily Progress regarding Camac, stating:
“He has extremely long levers with extension,” Slade said. “He’s not as powerful as you want him to be, but he does have two years left, so that’s good, and we can continue to keep developing him. But he brings a lot of length to that edge position. And when you have length and size, you can get away with not being as strong because you can do a good job of keeping offensive linemen off your extremities.”
Now, one player, even a talented one like Camac, will not change Elliott’s fortunes alone. However, if you consider how feeble the 2024 pass rush looked, any improvement will be considered an upgrade. Last season, UVA ranked 108th overall in sacks with just 19. Camac will need his teammates to pitch in as well.
Similarly, Elliott’s job hangs in the balance with the investment the donor made in the athletic program. By nature, donors, formerly boosters, never showed a scintilla of patience when it came to coaches. While endowed with a great deal of money, the results still matter. A mandate arrived with the mandate.
KEEP READING: Virginia 2025 Football Schedule
Any previous pressure that Elliott felt will now triple under the intense heat of competition. In all honesty, the ACC stays stacked, and other teams can roll out a strong football budget as well. In order to keep his job, Tony Elliott needs to make a bowl game, finish with a winning record, and pull off an upset victory during the regular season.
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