Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons
Reports: Atlanta Falcons RB Coach Desmond Kitchings Targeted for Virginia OC Job
When the Fenway Bowl was canceled on Sunday, there were a number of significant ripple effects for the Virginia football program. Several Cavaliers who had entered the transfer portal after the resignation of Bronco Mendenhall had stated that they were waiting until after the bowl game to make a decision on their futures with the UVA football program. Similarly, new Virginia head coach Tony Elliott indicated that major decisions regarding the makeup of his Cavalier coaching staff would be made after the bowl game.
With the bowl game no longer taking place, that informal deadline has disappeared. We have already seen multiple Cavaliers in the transfer portal commit to other programs like Bobby Haskins (USC), Noah Taylor (UNC), Joe Bissinger (SMU), and Olusegun Oluwatimi (Michigan).
Meanwhile, Tony Elliott announced some official hirings on his coaching staff, beginning with the hiring of Clemson’s Adam Smotherman as Virginia’s new strength and conditioning coach. Additionally, wide receivers coach Marques Hagans, defensive line coach Clint Sintim, and offensive line coach Garett Tujague have been retained from Bronco Mendenhall’s 2021 UVA football coaching staff and will remain at UVA serving under Tony Elliott moving forward.
That still leaves several important coaching positions that need to be filled, in particular the jobs of offensive and defensive coordinator.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported on Monday that Atlanta Falcons running backs coach Desmond Kitchings has been targeted to fill the position of offensive coordinator on Elliott’s staff at Virginia.
Kitchings is in his first season as the running backs coach in Atlanta, but he spent eight years as NC State’s running backs coach and one season as South Carolina’s running backs coach in 2020.
Rittenberg also indicated that it was unlikely a deal would be finalized until after the conclusion of the NFL regular season on January 9th. While it is most important that Elliott hire the right guy for the job of offensive coordinator, it is far from ideal to wait another week and a half until the end of the NFL regular season to fill such a crucial position on the coaching staff, especially as nearly a dozen of UVA’s football players are still deliberating on their futures with the program.
We will continue to provide updates on Elliott’s decisions regarding his Virginia football coaching staff as they are made available.
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