CHARLOTTESVILLE -- University of Virginia football coach Al Groh today confirmed the news that broke last night: Mike Groh, Steve Bernstein and Levern Belin are no longer on his staff.
Mike Groh, the elder of Al Groh's two sons, was the Cavaliers' offensive coordinator in 2006, '07 and '08, and his offenses annually ranked among the nation's worst. Bernstein coached the Virginia secondary; Belin, the defensive line.
Also, Al Groh said, Bob Pruett will become assistant head coach for defense, Bob Diaco will replace Pruett as defensive coordinator, and Anthony Poindexter will become secondary coach.
Diaco had been U.Va.'s special teams coordinator and linebackers coach, and Poindexter, a former All-America safety for U.Va., had coached the team's running backs.
"Since the end of the season, I have done the annual review of every aspect of our program in order to make our plans to move forward to the next season," Groh said in a statement. "Part of that moving forward will involve changes in our systems and staff.
"The change in systems will be made to utilize the player talent available to us from our current roster and incoming players, and the changes in the staff will be made to accommodate those schemes."
Al Groh said Mike Groh, Bernstein and Belin "have served Virginia football with commitment, integrity and loyalty, and I appreciate them and their efforts. There are no scapegoats here; the head coach is responsible for the team."
U.Va. closed its season Nov. 29 with a 17-14 to Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers finished 5-7 for the second time in three years.
-- Jeff White
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