Mike London this week agreed to a two-year contract extension that will, on paper, keep him as UR’s football coach through the 2014 season.
    How long will he stay? The guy is about as wanted as a Football Championship Subdivision coach can be. London directed the Spiders one year and won a national championship. UR returns 16 starters from that team.
    So here’s a theory advanced by an offensive coordinator at another university: London moves to East Carolina after 2009 when Skip Holtz leaves for a job at a higher-profile school. London has Tidewater roots and connections that would serve him well as ECU coach.
    Obviously, the Spiders, and the Pirates, need to keep winning for that scenario to be a possibility. What about Virginia, you say?
    Al Groh, U.Va.‘s coach, probably requires a solid season to keep his job. If the Cavaliers are looking for a successor after this season, London would almost certainly receive consideration. But would U.Va. hire an FCS coach, even a guy (London) who was a popular defensive coordinator and well-regarded recruiter at Virginia? Maybe. Maybe not. ECU, a bit lower on college football’s totem pole, would.
    The cart is way ahead of the horse in this discussion, but UR is the preseason No. 1 in FCS according to The Sporting News, likely to win big again. UR Athletic Director Jim Miller acknowledged that there are provisions in London’s contract that would allow him to leave Richmond. There would probably be financial payback to UR by London if that happened before his contract expired.
    Let’s say he’s making $175,000 a year at UR (just a guess because private schools don’t give up that info). Richmond couldn’t come close to matching what London can make at the next level. He is a UR alum, and that will count for something if London has to make a go-or-stay choice. But he doesn’t mind moving. London has been a coach since 1988 and switched jobs seven times.
    London has shown he can coach and recruit. Good luck finding anybody who doesn’t think he’s a high-quality man. Enjoy him while you can Spiders’ fans.
  Will he be UR’s coach when the Spiders settle into their on-campus stadium in 2010? And if he isn’t, who will be?
                                                              - John O’Connor

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