Update: The official release was added below
The University of Alabama is expected to announce the hiring of current Louisville assistant coach Mike Groh this week, filling the vacated position coaching receivers.

Groh previously worked for Saban at Alabama for the 2009 season as a graduate assistant before serving one season as quarterbacks coach at Louisville. He followed new Cardinals head coach (and former Florida defensive coordinator) Charlie Strong to Louisville.

Mike’s father, Al Groh, coached alongside Nick Saban with the Cleveland Browns. Mike Groh gets the job over a number of other coaches who had been in the mix, including Sylvester Croom, former Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster and former Clemson offensive coordinator Bill Napier.

Here is the official release from the University of Alabama:

ALABAMA FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES THE HIRING OF MIKE GROH
Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced Monday the hiring of Mike Groh, who will serve as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator with the Crimson Tide. Groh, a former quarterback at the University of Virginia, joins Alabama’s coaching staff after serving as the quarterbacks coach at Louisville last season. Groh spent eight years at Virginia (2001-08) and spent three of those seasons coaching the wide receivers.

“We are excited to have Mike join our staff,” said head coach Nick Saban. “He did an outstanding job here a year ago and when he left, he was one that I hoped we could bring back to Alabama at some point. He knows the game and what we want to do in terms of philosophy and terminology from an offensive standpoint. He relates well to the players and is also a very good recruiter. We are pleased to have Mike and Elena back with our football program at the University of Alabama.”

Groh spent the 2009 season at Alabama as an offensive graduate assistant as the Crimson Tide recorded a 14-0 record en route to the National Championship. Last year as the quarterbacks coach at Louisville, Groh was instrumental in the development of seniors Adam Froman and Justin Burke. Due to injuries, both players shared the starting role and showed great improvement from the previous season. After throwing just nine touchdown passes in 2009, the quarterbacks combined to throw 22 in 2010 with just eight interceptions.

“Having been at The University of Alabama for the 2009 National Championship season, I have a great appreciation for the Alabama football tradition and the first-class manner in which Coach Saban runs his program,” said Groh. “The opportunity join Coach Saban’s staff at Alabama is special and I’m excited to be back. I had a terrific experience last season coaching for Charlie Strong at Louisville and learned a great deal from him. Under his direction, I’m confident they will compete for many Big East Championships in the years to come.”

Before his stints at Alabama and Louisville, Groh spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at Virginia including the final three years as the offensive coordinator for the Cavaliers. Considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in Virginia history, Groh was hired on the Virginia staff in 2001 as the wide receivers coach before he took on the task of coaching the Cavalier quarterbacks in 2003 along with the receivers. He added the title of recruiting coordinator in 2005.

In his first year working with the quarterbacks at Virginia, Groh coached Matt Schaub, who set a school record with a 69.7 percent completion percentage, throwing for 2,952 yards and 18 TDs. Schaub is currently the starter for the Houston Texans and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2009 after leading the league in passing yards. Marques Hagans transitioned from wide receiver to quarterback for the 2004 and 2005 seasons and which culminated with a 358-yard passing performance in the 2005 Music City Bowl to earn game MVP honors. Hagans finished his career with 4,877 passing yards, the fifth-highest total by a Cavalier.

As the wide receivers coach in 2001 and 2002 seasons, Groh helped Billy McMullen become one of the top receivers in the nation. As a senior in 2002, McMullen became the second all-time leading receiver in ACC history with 210 career receptions. Groh also recruited tailback Wali Lundy, who became the all-time touchdown leader in ACC history.

Groh spent the 2000 season as an offensive assistant/quality control coach for the New York Jets.

As the starting quarterback at Virginia in 1994-95, Groh became the only quarterback in school history to lead the Cavaliers to nine wins and a bowl victory in consecutive seasons. Groh led the ACC and ranked 13th in the nation in passing in 1994 as the Cavaliers finished 9-3 and defeated TCU 20-10 in the Independence Bowl as he earned MVP honors in that game.

As a tri-captain in 1995, he helped lead Virginia to a 9-4 record, including a 34-27 victory over Georgia in the Peach Bowl, and a share of the ACC championship. He earned second-team All-ACC honors in 1995 and received Virginia’s Joe Palumbo Award for self-sacrifice.

He played his final season at Virginia as a graduate student after receiving his undergraduate degree in rhetoric and communication studies from Virginia in 1995. He attended the Baltimore Ravens’ training camp as a free agent in 1996 and later played in the World League for the Rhein Fire in 1997.

Groh is married to the former Elena Montero.

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16 thoughts on “Mike Groh expected to join Tide staff”

  1. Excellent choice. Having served with Nick during the NC season, Nick knows exactly what he’s getting and obviously he likes it. RTR!

  2. I agree that it is best to bring in People that understand the expectations.
    I am hearing today that Old Piss and AUBURN are at the top of the list for Over signing.
    1 and 2. Bama ? In the Middle.
    Hey Scarbo. Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good lying ass “Story” about Saban.

  3. Right on Pluto!! No wonder Saban hates the media. I would hate them SOB’s too. They all still bring up the Miami story. But if they think that Saban cares what they say about him; they better think again.

  4. I can confirm that over the last 5 years, Mississippi(147), Barntard U.(145) and Arkansas(144) have all signed more players than Bama.Bama(139), S. Car.(138) and Miss. St.(136) have signed near equal to Bama.KY(131) and LSU(128) average 2 less per year than Bama.Scardbutthole looks more and more like a chronic loser everyday, as does anyone who wastes their time reading him.

  5. And it is the Auburn fans who are groaning the most about Saban over-signing. And the were all moaning about a recruits dad or family steering their kid to Bama, after all Cams dad did. It’s also funny how they talk about being the ‘awbun fambly’ yet don’t think a recruit should be influenced by their own family. The religion angle is getting to be just a little weird too. I think the Auburn fanbase as a whole has really gone off the deep end after winning the NC. It’s not like we can tell them to act like they have been there before or anything.

  6. I posted the above recruiting facts on Scardbutthole’s AL.COM article and they were deleted.LOL. They’ll be wishing they could delete the coming BARNERGEDDON,but there will be no one to save them.

  7. May I also point out that every team in the SEC except Florida,LSU, Vandy and Miss. St.have signed more players in their 2011 class than Bama.

  8. Barnergeddon? How about Mulletgeddon when the SEC discovers that CK was number 86 on the roster. Wonder who they’ll kick off the team…

  9. LMAO@ Smurfette Ewok grasping at straws over an anonymous donation.Fear of the coming BARNERGEDDON will do that to barntards.

  10. Barntard booster Ronnie Gilley is behind bars again after a Federal Judge revoked his bond yesterday after he tried to bribe fellow barner Jerrod Massey with $500K to shut him up.Big fish Lowder is next.

  11. First place Bama has no cataclysmic need for an offensive lineman such as was Barnies need for Scam, and Nicky would tear the balls off any booster who phucked with his program like that. Second, there never has been and never will be a high school lineman worth 1/2 a million dollars. Obviously some good samaritan saw drastic needs for a church school who in spite of their handicap has a history of producing powerhouse football teams. And even if it was an Alabama good samaritan there is nothing against the rules about it as long as it was anonamous and with no reference or attachment to any athlete. Such donations happen on a regular basis for organizations in need and $500,000 is a paltry sum in comparison to most. Now if Clowney signs with Bama and his daddy delivers him to school in a Lamborghini Countach, then we can start worrying. LMAO! RTR!

  12. Hey Nicket, I hope Bama did contribute to helping the school. That would be awesome. They did at the high school they practiced at at the bowl game too. You know, the one that Ha Ha and Dee Hart went too. Not any big secret, and it isn’t against the rules. But laundering money through construction contracts, slot machines, and rebuilding a corrupt preachers church to land his son, now that is also a real issue with people associated with Auburn. Who stands to get into the most trouble? But hey, you keep on trying ok?

  13. Sure,
    Nice crimson colored world if you can’t see the obvious. And yes there aren’t many 4 and 5 star lineman who in the trenches help you win a NC. You are an idiot if you can’t see that your team is as good as the offensive line. The REC will stop at nothing. We are not on probation and as much as you itchy goobers want to beleive, no evidence is there that the Newtons asked or received money from AU. Crystal Losers.

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