Tony Elliott Grateful for Victory in Head Coaching Debut

The Cavaliers kicked off the Tony Elliott era of UVA football with a win

Author:
Matt Newton
Updated:
Sep 5, 2022 1:23 PM EDT
Original:
Sep 5, 2022

In this story:

Virginia head coach Tony Elliott celebrates with his team after their victory over Richmond. — The Tony Elliott era of Virginia football began with a win and a lot of smiles on Saturday.
Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

Virginia's 34-17 victory over Richmond on Saturday was hardly the show of dominance the Cavaliers were looking for to kickoff the Tony Elliott era of UVA football. But that did not stop Elliott from fully appreciating the value of achieving a win in his head coaching debut.

Elliott said as much in his opening statement in his first postgame press conference as a head coach:

“First thing I just want to say is: I’ve got to thank Carla Williams and President Ryan for giving me this opportunity to be standing before you today. Having won my first game as a college head coach, I want to thank the players, all of the staff, every person that touches this program, for their belief in me and the hard work that they put in to have these guys ready to play today. I want to thank the student section - I really challenged them - I thank them for showing up. I'm gonna get after the rest of the folks. There were a lot of seats in the upper deck that weren't that weren't full, but hopefully they got a glimpse of where we're taking this program and what we can be. But very, very appreciative and grateful for the opportunity to be the head coach at the University of Virginia and I just want to thank all those who believe in me and gave me an opportunity to be here today."

Elliott's predecessor, Bronco Mendenhall, had to experience the challenge of trying to recover momentum after starting his tenure leading the Cavaliers with an embarrassing loss to Richmond back in 2016. Mendenhall endured a trying first season in Charlottesville, going 2-10, but he managed to turn the ship around and had UVA bowl-eligible in each of the next five seasons before turning the program over to Tony Elliott in a much better state than when he inherited it.

Sure, there were several errors and mistakes in the game to clean up as the Hoos turn their attention to a trip to Illinois next week, but it's a blessing that Elliott and his team are able to make those adjustments coming off of a win rather than a disastrous loss. Not every football program was lucky enough to pick up a win in their first game with a new head coach this weekend (See: Oregon, Notre Dame, LSU, Virginia Tech, and others).

The Cavaliers are back to work on Monday trying to get better and prepare for a tough road game at Illinois on Saturday, but being able to win against Richmond allowed the team and the program to properly celebrate, at least for a moment, the beginning of a new era of Virginia football.

After the game, Nick Jackson and the UVA players made sure to give the game ball to Tony Elliott in recognition of him getting the first win of his head coaching career.

"I think that in this profession, you can be fast and take the wrong job. But I believe I was patient and the Lord opened up the right door and I'm in the right place," Elliott said after the game. "The confirmation I needed was to see the joy in the locker room of those guys experiencing victory and just pure joy, emotion and appreciation for all the hard work that they put in."

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