Tony Elliott Introduced as Virginia Head Football Coach

Jim Ryan and Carla Williams formally introduced Tony Elliott as Virginia’s next head football coach on Monday

Matt Newton | Dec 13, 2021

The Tony Elliott era of Virginia football has officially begun.

Elliott was formally introduced as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers football program in a press conference at Virginia’s outdoor turf practice field on Monday afternoon.

UVA President Jim Ryan spoke first, describing Tony Elliott as the “perfect fit” for Virginia.

“The reason I believe Tony is a perfect fit for UVA is because of his values, because of his track record, and because of his life experience,” Ryan said. “His life story is one of resilience and of overcoming obstacles. It's a life guided by faith and by a sense of purpose. It's a life story of success, and it's a life story that is a powerful testament to the ability of education to transform lives.”

“More than this, I believe deeply that Tony is a coach for the right reasons,” Ryan continued. “I had an opportunity and the great good fortune to spend time with Tony and his terrific family before he had made his decision to accept our offer, and I asked him what motivated him to be a head coach. He said he saw it as an opportunity to develop young men and to prepare them to be leaders for the rest of their lives.”

Next, Virginia Director of Athletics Carla Williams spoke and provided some of her reasoning for hiring Elliott as UVA’s next head football coach.

“Humble, hardworking, intellectually curious, a passionate educator, a gifted teacher and coach, a person of integrity and high character, innovative, analytical, genuine, competitive, loves the young men in his program, committed to developing champion men, role model, ambassador, champion, winner. These are just a few of the reasons Coach Tony Elliott is perfect for the University of Virginia,” Williams said. “This is a pivotal moment for our football program, and we are honored to have Coach Elliott as our coach, as our leader.”

Tony Elliott then went on stage and read a prepared statement in which he listed some lofty goals for Virginia football under his direction.

“There is no better place for me than UVA. And there is no better time than now,” Elliott said. “My vision for the UVA football program is to become the model in college football, the model program in college football. My goal is to contribute to changing the narrative in college football and demonstrate that you can win at the highest level and you can do so while achieving excellence in education, leadership and service.”

“Virginia football has a lot of work to do to become the program that is authentic, connected, transparent and about service,” Elliott continued. “We also have a lot of work to do as a team, to be a team that is fast, intelligent and tough. To all the former players, I look forward to embracing your legacies and your traditions as we build a program that acts and we field the team that is fit. It's time to go to work. Go Hoos.”

I like him already.

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