After an implosive loss
against Duke, Virginia
fans took to social media
to present their criticisms and hot takes. Some of them are fair. However, many are not - and the most ridiculous one is that firing Athletic Director Carla Williams is a fair idea.
It most definitely is not.
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In Williams' tenure, Virginia programs have won several national championships, and her track record of hiring head coaches has been strong (with the exception of women's basketball with Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton).
The verdict is still pending on Coach Tony Elliott. For the record, I do believe in Elliott. But if he insists that offensive coordinator Des Kitchings
is part of a package deal, then this program will never be able to reach its full potential.
It is time for Williams to intervene and force Elliott to let go of Kitchings.
A trio of Power Four teams have already changed coordinators mid-season this year (Oregon, Illinois and Maryland). The Ducks have struggled mightily after losing quarterback Dante Moore to injury - but they fired their offensive coordinator anyway. It is not all that unorthodox, especially for programs that value standards more than goals.
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When a program has goals, it won't always achieve them. But when a program has standards, everyone is held accountable. To quote the great Coach Vince Lombardi, winning isn't everything. It's the only thing.
The Cavaliers have their goals. But the standard has yet to be established. To do so, that takes multiple winning seasons in a row (which probably will not happen in 2026). Winning 11 games each year isn't realistic, but Virginia should be able to win eight or nine games each season given its talent, facilities and cerebral front office.
If the Cavaliers truly hold themselves to a standard, then they cannot accept that this offense has never ended a ranked better than seventh in the ACC the Kitchings era.
Virginia has suffered some key injuries on offense this year, but that cannot be a valid excuse when defensive coordinator John Rudzinki's unit has overcome more injuries (and more costly ones) and continues to perform well.
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The defense of Kitchings (this season) is that quarterback Beau Pribula has missed throws, receivers have dropped passes and the skill position players have not been consistently blocking well. However, Kitchings is at fault for conversative play calls, as well as shying away from the concepts that led to a successful 2025 season.
This is not Williams' fault. It is not Elliott's fault either. However, the longer that both of them allow mediocrity to supercede the long-term foundation of this program, the more these failures start to fall on the people in charge.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/virginia as TILOCK: Calls To Fire Carla Williams Are Asinine, but She Should Intervene in Football
.
