REPORT: Former Virginia head coach Mike London taking over at William and Mary

According to several outlets—including The Athletic and ESPN—William & Mary is hiring Mike London to be their next head football coach. London, who went 27-46 over his six seasons at the helm in Charlottesville, will replace the recently retired Jimmye Laycock who coached the Tribe from 1980-2018.

Virginia football hosts William & Mary on September 7, 2019 as the Tribe travel to Charlottesville. This is the first time that a former head coach has returned to Virginia as a head coach of an opponent, although Al Groh returned as Georgia Tech’s defensive coordinator and former coordinator Al Golden returned as Miami’s head coach.

While head coach at UVA, London made just one bowl game: the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in 2011. He went 0-6 in rivalry games against Virginia Tech, but had enormous success against Miami (4-2 in his six seasons). Despite his difficulties on the field—which were exacerbated by challenging scheduling that featured opponents like USC, UCLA, and Oregon—London was regarded as an outstanding recruiter as he brought players like Quin Blanding and Andrew Brown to Charlottesville.

After parting ways with Virginia in 2015 following his fourth straight losing season in Charlottesville (and fifth out of six total seasons), London went to the University of Maryland as the assistant head coach and defensive line coach. His stint there was brief, leaving after just one season to take the head coach gig at Howard University. In two seasons with the Bison, London has amassed an 11-10 record.

Before coming to Virginia, London coached two seasons at the University of Richmond, leading the Spiders to an FCS title in 2009.