Virginia Cavaliers Football: Why Coach Mike London Is on the Hot Seat

If the Virginia Cavaliers don't show marked improvement from last year's 5-7 finish, head coach Mike London's sixth season in Charlottesville may be his last.

London's first half-decade at the helm hasn't gone as planned, with Virginia suffering through four losing seasons.

Two seasons into his tenure—after taking over for Al Groh, who left the program in not-so-good shape—London appeared to have Virginia on the rise. The West Point, New York, native led the team to an 8-5 record in 2011, which culminated in a trip to the Chick-fil-A Bowl. 

His work with that group didn't go unrecognized, as London was named ACC Coach of the Year.

Sure, the Auburn Tigers dominated the Cavaliers in the bowl game, but things were looking up for Virginia football after the 2011 season.

Since then, however, the Cavaliers have won just 11 games in three years. 

Still, athletic director Craig Littlepage committed to London for the upcoming season back in November, according to VirginiaSports.com:

"

It was important to see improvement in our football program this season. I've seen signs of progress in many areas. Through the staff changes made over the last two years, we are better at teaching the game and in the overall development of the student-athletes. ... It's important for each of our sports programs to continue to show progress and follow a plan to compete for conference championships and in postseason competition to support the department's goals.

"

The Cavaliers actually got off to a really nice start in 2014, which may have been enough to convince Littlepage to stick with London another year.

After playing a close game against then-No. 7 UCLA—losing 28-20—in the season opener, the London-led Cavaliers won back-to-back games.

The second win of that back-to-back was perhaps the most impressive game of the season for Virginia, an upset of No. 21 Louisville:

Virginia went on to win two of its next three games to start the season off with a promising 4-2 record.

That success was short-lived, however.

Not only did Virginia fail to sustain that level of play, but the season also completely spiraled out of control from that point forward, as it lost five of its last six to end on a down note.

Furthermore, the Cavaliers fell to the Virginia Tech Hokies for the 11th consecutive time, with the last five coming under London.

In fact, the ACC in general has given London's team trouble, with the Cavaliers going 11-29 in conference play since 2010.

Headlined by safety Quin Blanding and defensive tackle Andrew Brown, Rivals.com ranked Virginia's 2014 recruiting class 41st in the nation. The Cavaliers' 2015 class includes promising inside linebackers Jahvoni Simmons and C.J. Stalker, prompting a No. 44 finish, per Rivals.com.

Though that might not seem all that impressive, Virginia was 67th in 2010, London's first year on the job, and rose to the 20s for a few years up until recently.

Tim Ciesco of NBC can't seem to figure out why Virginia can't get it done on game day despite seemingly solid recruits coming in:

Clearly, London is capable of attracting talent, but now it's time for that talent to showcase itself on the field.

According to Norm Wood of the Daily Press, Matt Johns has been named the starting quarterback, appearing to have prompted Greyson Lambert—who started nine games under center for Virginia last year—to transfer to Georgia.

That means it'll be up to Johns to elevate a unit that finished 98th in the country in total offense a year ago.

Last year's 28th-ranked defense, meanwhile, has to make up for the departures of Eli Harold and Max Valles, who both moved on to the NFL.

It may not be easy, but London has to find a way to get this group to a bowl game in 2015.

In a results-oriented business, a fifth losing season will probably cost him his job.