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Nothing seems to go right for Virginia football's special teams.
In 2012 the unit was one of the nation's worst, ranking 123rd out of 124 teams in average kickoff return yards allowed (including yielding 2 TDs), and making weekly errors that cost the team games. After the season, Coach London relieved Anthony Poindexter of his duties and hired Jeff Banks from UTEP. But just 9 days into his tenure, Coach Banks has resigned, and UVA's coaching search is back underway.
Banks will accept a position as special teams coordinator and associate head coach at Texas A&M under head coach Kevin Sumlin, with whom he has past ties. At UVA, Banks was to earn $200,000 per year leading running backs and special teams. Contract details at Texas A&M haven't been announced, but a salary increase is likely the major factor at play.
"This was a very difficult decision for my family and me to make because we instantly fell in love with Charlottesville and the people here," Banks, who was already in the process of moving from Texas, said. "I'm very fortunate to have been presented with both of these opportunities in such a short period of time. Ultimately, the opportunity to coach in the SEC with a friend was too hard to pass up."
Wahoo fans will likely be irked at Banks's decision to jump ship after committing to the team, and perhaps rightfully so. After all, he was an accomplished coordinator at UTEP, coaching a unit that ranked atop Conference USA annually, and had the potential to correct a troubled area for Virginia. A handful of days (and more than a few fiery quotes) later, he has bolted for greener pastures. While his situation obviously didn't unfold well for either party, Coach Banks will probably not mind enduring the wrath of a few die-hards on Twitter, and take the higher title in a stronger conference for more money without looking back.
Tight end Jake McGee, for one, was sad to see Jeff Banks go:
we had a good run!!! @uvajeffbanks go hoos!
— Jake McGee (@JakeOvaTheWorld) January 10, 2013