3 rising stars on Virginia football's coaching staff entering the 2026 season

One of Tony Elliott's most overlooked successes since taking over at Virginia in December of 2021 is his construction of the current coaching staff. The development and resurgence of UVA football over the past couple of seasons has been made possible by the team's leadership under Elliott.

Though every assistant has played a major part in this team's success, three individuals in particular have stood out as rising stars both for the Cavaliers and in the CFB coaching world.

QB Coach Taylor Lamb

Coach Lamb came to UVA in 2022 after spending time at South Carolina during the 2018/2019 season and then as the QB Coach and eventual Offensive Coordinator at Gardner-Webb for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

He's been an integral part of the Cavaliers' offensive staff and has been a huge reason why Virginia's quarterback play has steadily improved over the past three seasons. Lamb helped develop Anthony Colandrea throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons and helped Chandler Morris adapt quickly in 2025.

Lamb has already been floated around in different coaching circles as a name to watch going forward, and Virginia could have a hard time retaining him if he gets offered an FBS OC job soon.

WR Coach Adam Mims

Like Lamb, Mims has done a top-notch job with UVA's wide receivers since being brought in as a senior offensive analyst in 2022. It only took him one year on the job before he was promoted to the full-time wide receivers coach in 2023.

His biggest success stories for the Cavaliers so far have been Malik Washington and Malachi Fields, though Fields unfortunately transferred to Notre Dame for his senior season in 2025. One of Mims' best attributes is development, and that's a key trait that every coaching staff in America looks for in their assistant coaches.

Mims replaced Marques Hagans when he was hired away by Penn State in 2023, and Tony Elliott is going to have to fight to keep Mims on the staff if he continues to be as successful as he's been over the past three seasons in Charlottesville.

Defensive Passing Game Coordinator/DB Coach Curome Cox

Coach Cox has known Virginia DC John Rudzinski for a while now, coaching with him at Air Force before the pair came to UVA in 2022. Cox stepped in and immediately improved the play of the secondary, helping the Cavaliers' defensive unit finish the season ranked 3rd in the ACC in overall passing defense and 5th in passing efficiency.

He helped develop homegrown safety Jonas Sanker into one of the top defensive backs in program history, and Cox played a huge role in the emergence of both Ethan Minter and Corey Costner last season.

Cox undoubtedly has the potential to take over at defensive coordinator for an FBS/FCS program, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him take over the role at UVA if Coach Rud leaves in a couple of years. His name could definitely be floated around for other programs in the near future as well.

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