For Cavaliers' Father-Son Duo, Coaching Is Strictly Business

"From Day One, I've tried to approach this as, he's the boss," said Mike Groh, above. " . . . He's not my dad. He's the head coach." (By Andrew Shurtleff -- Daily Progress Via Associated Press)

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- It still happens every so often in the coaching corridor at the Virginia football complex. An assistant coach will relay a message from Coach Al Groh to offensive coordinator Mike Groh, and he'll make an easy mistake, a slip of the tongue that will not be tolerated.

"Hey, your Dad said . . . ." Mike lets him go no further. In the offseason, at a Thanksgiving table, at family functions, Al Groh is Mike Groh's father. Here and now, he is not.

"No," Mike will say. "It's Coach Groh. He's my boss, too."

That trick, treading the fine line between family and work, will be tested this season more than it has in the previous five years at Virginia. When Ron Prince left the school to become the head coach at Kansas State after last season, Al Groh promoted Mike Groh to be his offensive coordinator.

Mike Groh, 34, will be calling the plays when Virginia opens at Pittsburgh on Saturday night, in the most visible coaching position he has held since becoming a coach in 2000 under his father, when he was head coach of the New York Jets.

Having a son as offensive coordinator invites criticism when points don't pile up. Jeff Bowden has drawn the ire of Florida State fans under his father Bobby Bowden, as has Jay Paterno working under Joe Paterno at Penn State.

"That definitely adds fuel to the fire," said Tommy Bowden, head coach at Clemson and another of Bobby Bowden's sons. "Nepotism, all that stuff."

Al Groh knew the possible consequences when he hired his son, but he said they weren't important to him. He felt Mike Groh, who has served as receivers and quarterbacks coach in his time at Virginia, was the best person to lead the offense, and he didn't care what their relationship was outside of football.

"Yeah, it was something to consider, but it was too far outside the lines," Al Groh said. "We had to just consider: Look, what's the best way for the team to be coached right now at this particular point?"

It helps, at least inside the team, that Al and Mike Groh cease being father and son once work starts. In meetings, on the practice field and during games, there's no special treatment.

"They do a great job of handling that, where it's not, 'I'm working for my dad,' or, 'This is my son,' " receivers coach John Garrett said. "One is Coach Groh, and the other is Coach Groh. He demands that, and wants it to be very businesslike. He wants it to be where everyone is treated the same. They do a real good job of that."

"From Day One, I've tried to approach this as, he's the boss," Mike Groh said. "That's exactly what he is. He's not my dad. He's the head coach. And I'm just like everybody else in that hallway. It's equal opportunity ass-chewing. Trust me, I get mine chewed just as much as anybody else."