Welsh retires as Virginia's football coach

Monday, December 11th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ Sitting in the bowels of the stadium he helped turn into a masterpiece, and in a room made possible by the success of the program he built, George Welsh said a tearful goodbye Monday.

``I am now and will be forever a Wahoo,'' Welsh said before pausing to collect himself at a news conference called to announce his retirement after 19 years that turned Virginia from a laughingstock into a contender.

``It's time for this old salt to sail off into the sunset.''

Welsh, who came to Virginia from Navy to take over a program so bad its team was mockingly referred to as the ``Cadavaliers,'' leaves as the winningest coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history, and one whose mark on the university can be seen in the structure he leaves behind.

``The best measure of a coach's impact is what was and what is,'' athletic director Terry Holland said. ``This stadium will stand forever as a very visible reminder of the legacy that coach Welsh has left us.''

When Welsh arrived at Virginia in 1982, the Cavaliers had a 33-121-11 record in the ACC and had never been to a bowl. Since his arrival, they are 85-51-3 and will be making their 12th bowl appearance this month.

Overall, Welsh has a 28-year record of 189-131-4, including a 134-85-3 record at Virginia.

Their home field, Scott Stadium, also was enhanced by an $86 million expansion and renovation in the offseason. The work pushed capacity to more than 60,000, and has made the stadium an important recruiting tool.

But Welsh, 67, said he decided after wavering back and forth all season that he doesn't have the energy and drive necessary to return.

``Without doubt, this has been the most difficult decision of my coaching career,'' he said, reading from a prepared statement.

``I admit I changed my mind on this many times over the past two weeks, but by this past weekend, it was clear to me that I should retire.''

This season marked the first in three years that Welsh did not have back surgery in the offseason, but Welsh said ``something happened'' and he found he didn't have the energy to stay awake as late as he once had.

``It runs the whole gamut of things what one has to do as a head football coach at this level to be really good,'' he said of his decision. ``I just don't think I had the will or the energy to get it done.''

Welsh's contract went through the 2001 season, and he said he'd been offered a lucrative two-year extension and encouraged to return.

But Welsh said the frustrating season had caused him trouble sleeping and been ``physically and emotionally the toughest of my career.''

Virginia (6-5) failed to win seven games in the regular season for the first time since 1986, and will need to beat Georgia in the Oahu Bowl to extend to 14 its string of seasons with at least seven victories. Only powerhouses Florida State, Nebraska and Michigan can match that run.

Holland said the next few weeks should be a time to honor Welsh.

``We used to be cannon fodder,'' said Holland, who was the basketball coach when Welsh, then 48, arrived after nine years of success at Navy.

He said the task of replacing Welsh will be ``gargantuan,'' and that he expects school president John Casteen will look for someone with Division I-A experience, preferably with knowledge of the school and the state.

Among those thought to be high on the list of candidates are Boston College coach Tom O'Brien, a former offensive coordinator under Welsh who left before the 1996 Carquest Bowl to take over the Eagles program.

Welsh originally promised to announce his decision within a week of the Cavaliers' 42-21 loss at Virginia Tech on Nov. 25. He said he finally decided on Friday, and only told his coaching staff earlier on Monday.

``I think they were surprised because I gave no indication I was going to do this,'' he said of his staff, some of whom had come to Virginia with him from Navy. ``We were into recruiting and working on the game plan.''

Welsh called a 5:30 p.m. meeting to tell the team his decision.

The decision to retire comes less than a year after an embarrassing 63-21 loss to Illinois in the MicronPC.com Bowl, followed by Welsh's pledge to ``reinvent the corporation'' in a top-to-bottom program evaluation.

But after rejiggering his staff and giving several assistants new assignments, this season started with the Cavaliers taking a 21-0 halftime lead at home against Brigham Young, only to lose 38-35 in overtime.

The Cavaliers also lost games by 35, 34 and 21 points twice, prompting a lot of criticism by fans who thought it was time for some new blood.

Welsh said the criticism played no factor in his decision to quit.