Interview with Craig Littlepage on Mike London and the Future of Virginia Football

It's no secret that Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage is in full support of Head Coach Mike London, who currently struggles in leading a UVA football team that's 2-9 and winless in the ACC. Daily Press reporter David Teel recently had the opportunity to sit down with Littlepage to address the numerous concerns surrounding the current state of Virginia Football.

Bonus: Teel posted an edited transcript of the hour-long interview on his blog, Teel Time.

The gems in this interview are endless -- this is an absolute must-read.

When Teel asked Littlepage about whether Jon Oliver micromanaged the football program, something Matt Trogdon here at Streaking The Lawn laid out in detail, Littlepage's answer was neither reassuring nor, to be honest, informative:

People don’t understand the job that Jon does first of all, and the confidence that I have in him, based on what he has done here, based on his experience at Washington State as well. And here’s an example. Somebody was upset that Jon is on the sideline. You look at lacrosse, (senior women’s administrator) Jane Miller is on the sideline. You look at soccer, (associate AD) Valerie Richardson or Jane Miller, depending on if it’s men’s or women’s soccer, is on the sideline. That’s a micro look at the fans. They’re just trying to find something. I don’t respond to that other than to say Jon is doing his job, he’s doing it very well, and his job is to support our coaches and support our program and to be proactive in terms of a lot of the things will be doing in looking at the global situation around the country.

The things we’ve done in terms of facilities. Jon has been involved. We would not have the kind of facilities that we have right now whether it’s the indoor (practice complex for football), or Davenport Field, or the track, the work that was done on the John Paul Jones Arena, without Jon.

The interview also goes into whether last year's coaching changes were mandated, Littlepage's thoughts on fan attendance, the cost of buyouts, whether Oliver is the heir apparent, and London's attitude behind closed doors.

Littlepage also discusses scheduling, saying "You can't always thread the needle accurately unless you say we're going to schedule four wins without regard to how our fans feel," which is actually exactly how I feel.

It's a must-read. Check it out now.

Littlepage says that "[w]e're trying to fix football, that's it." What are your thoughts?