Virginia football names Shawn Griswold new Director of Football Development and Performance

Virginia Cavaliers football head coach Bronco Mendenhall has named Shawn Griswold the next Director of Football Development and Performance, replacing outgoing coach Frank Wintrich. Wintrich is joining Chip Kelly’s staff with the UCLA Bruins.

Griswold comes to Charlottesville after six years in Tempe with the Arizona State Sun Devils. He had followed Todd Graham to ASU from Pittsburgh and from Tulsa; the two had worked together since 2008. While at Arizona State, Griswold would have worked with new UVA quarterback Bryce Perkins.

From the University’s release announcing Griswold’s hiring:

“Shawn will be an exceptional addition to our staff at Virginia,” Mendenhall said. “He has nearly two decades of experience helping to prepare student-athletes to be their best and to assist them in mastering their sport. That practical knowledge will be a tremendous asset for our players to maximize their abilities. His role is invaluable when you consider the amount of time he will spend with the team. His ability to build relationships with players and understand how to motivate, drive and teach them is impressive.”

Time and again, Mendenhall has stressed the importance of relationships in new coaching hires. That has played out again in Griswold’s hiring. Griswold was a tight end for Utah State from 1992 to 1995. One of his teammates on the 1995 Aggies squad was a wide receiver named Ricky Brumfield—the Cavaliers’ new special teams coordinator.