Michael Wilson London Sr. (born October 9, 1960) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach. He is the head football coach for the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

. He is a former defensive back and associate head coach and defensive line coach for the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

. Prior to Maryland, London was the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers football program of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. Prior to William & Mary, London was head coach of the

Howard Bison football The Howard Bison football team represents Howard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). History ;First FBS Victory On Sept ...

program at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

A native of the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

area of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, London played college and pro football as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the Richmond Spiders and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He was a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

and

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

with the city's

street crimes A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

unit before pursuing a coaching career. He has served in various coaching roles with

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, William & Mary,

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, and

, as well as the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. His most notable roles have come as

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

and later

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

at the University of Virginia, head coach at Howard University where in 2017 he coached his team to the largest point spread upset victory in college football history, and previously as head coach at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

, where his team won the

NCAA Division I Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was ca ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Coaching career

Position coach

First hired as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

coach at the University of Richmond, Mike London later coached the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

at the

, the

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, and the

, twice. London worked closely with

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

defensive end Chris Long while he played for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

. In an interview with ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

,'' Long would later say of London, "when you get a coach who matches your intensity and emotion, you can just look at that person and know that at some level that coach is going to be with you through the thick and the thin."

Defensive coordinator

In 2006, London was named by Virginia coach Al Groh as the team's new

to replace

Al Golden Alfred James Golden Jr. (born July 4, 1969) is an American professional football coach and former tight end who is the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head football coach f ...

. Virginia's defense under London was much more aggressive than it was under Golden. Allowing just 289.5 yards per game, the Virginia defense under London gave up fewer yards than any Virginia defense had in the past 27 years. London developed first year defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald, who by the end of the season had more tackles than any other freshman in the country. The next year his defense was perhaps even better given the scope of the UVA football program. A highlight of this season was when Virginia was scheduled to play the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

in the last game ever in the legendary

Miami Orange Bowl The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the Little Havana neighborhood west of Greater Downtown Miami, downtown Miami. The venue was considered a landmark and ser ...

. The Virginia defense, under the supervision of London, dominated the 'Canes and Virginia won, 48–0. It was Miami's worst loss at the Orange Bowl in their 70 years of playing there. The Cavaliers finished the season ranked 6th in the nation in sacks with 40, and allowed the 19th-fewest rushing yards (106.7 yds/game) and the 16th-fewest points against (19.7/game) on the way to a 9-win season and a narrow loss to Texas Tech and Heisman Trophy candidate

Michael Crabtree Michael Alex Crabtree Jr. (born September 14, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, twi ...

in the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televise ...

. At the end of the season, lineman Chris Long won the

Ted Hendricks Award The Ted Hendricks Award is given annually to college football's top defensive end. The award is named after Ted Hendricks, a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame, and is presented by his own foundation. I ...

and was drafted second overall in the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

Head coach

Richmond Spiders

;2008 season On January 19, 2008, Mike London was named the head coach of the Richmond Spiders. Previous coach Dave Clawson had left to become the offensive coordinator at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

. Sixteen starters returned from a team that Clawson had taken to the semifinals of the FCS Football Championship playoffs. Soon after opening the season with a loss to

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

team Virginia 16–0, the team suffered heartbreaking losses to the

James Madison Dukes The James Madison Dukes are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent James Madison University (JMU), in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The name "Dukes" is derived from Samuel Page Duke, the university's se ...

and Villanova Wildcats by a touchdown or less. After the JMU loss, London's team stood at 4–3. The 2008 Spiders would not lose another game. They rattled off nine straight victories including last-minute heroics against the

William & Mary Tribe The William & Mary Tribe is a moniker for the College of William & Mary's athletic teams and the university's community more broadly. William & Mary has won two team national championships (both in men's tennis), the AIAW championships in wo ...

and Northern Iowa Panthers, a 33–13 dismantling of the heavily favored Appalachian State Mountaineers in

Kidd Brewer Stadium Kidd Brewer Stadium is a 30,000-seat multi-purpose stadium located in Boone, North Carolina. Nicknamed "The Rock," the stadium is the home of the Appalachian State Mountaineers football, Appalachian State Mountaineers football team. Kidd Brewer ...

, and culminating with a 24–7 blowout victory against the

Montana Grizzlies The Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz are the nicknames given to the athletic teams of the University of Montana, located in Missoula, Montana, Missoula. The university is a member of the Big Sky Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fieldin ...

in the NCAA Championship Game. In his first season, the

had earned its first national championship in any sport. ;2009 season On September 5, 2009, Richmond upset the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

, 24–16, on their home turf in

Wallace Wade Stadium Wallace Wade Stadium, in full Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium, is a 35,018-seat outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States, located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Primarily used for American football, it i ...

. After beginning the 2009 campaign 8–0 and riding a streak of 17 straight wins, the Richmond Spiders became only the third FCS team ever to receive a vote in the AP Poll (after Northern Iowa in 2007, and Appalachian State later in the same season). Ray Ratto of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' gave the Spiders their AP Top 25 vote for the week of November 2. The Spiders won the CAA regular season, but lost in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament to Appalachian State. Just two days later, Mike London was announced as head football coach at the University of Virginia on December 7, 2009.

Virginia Cavaliers

;2010 season Following the termination of Al Groh, London was hired to coach the

and initially awarded a five-year contract paying $1.7 million per year. He is the third African-American head football coach in the ACC, behind Wake Forest's Jim Caldwell and

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Randy Shannon Randy Leonard Shannon (born February 24, 1966) is an American football coach and former player. He is the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for Florida State University, positions he has held since 2022. Shannon was the head coach a ...

. He is also the second African-American head coach of a major sport at Virginia; the first was former men's basketball coach Dave Leitao. In London's first season with Virginia, his Cavaliers went 4–8, with two wins coming against I-FCS opponents. The best win of the season was over then-#22

. Following the season, London enjoyed a strong recruiting class, pulling in what is widely regarded as UVA's best (and largest) recruiting class since Groh's first full season in 2002. ;2011 season Having finished with a 4–8 overall record and having managed just one win in the ACC the previous season, London orchestrated a turnaround in 2011, taking the team to an 8–4 regular season record and a 5–3 mark in the conference. Signature wins in the 2011 campaign included upsets over previously undefeated and 12th-ranked

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, at

, and at 23rd-ranked

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, at a venue ( Doak Campbell Stadium) where UVA had never won. The final regular season game of the year pitted the 24th-ranked Cavaliers against the #5 Virginia Tech Hokies in a battle for not only the Commonwealth Cup, but also for the Coastal Division crown and a chance to play in the ACC championship. UVa lost the game 38–0, suffering its first home shutout since 1984. Following the regular season, London was named ACC Coach of the Year, receiving 31 votes, ahead of Virginia Tech's

Frank Beamer Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is an American former college football player and coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies football, Virginia Tech Hokies. Beamer was a cornerback, defensive cornerback for Virginia Tec ...

, who received 12 votes, and Clemson's

Dabo Swinney William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney (; born November 20, 1969) is an American college football coach, currently serving as the head football coach at Clemson Tigers football, Clemson University. Swinney took over as head coach of the Clemson Tiger ...

, who received two votes. ;2012 season After leading the Cavalier football program to a bowl game the year before, London led UVA to a disappointing 4–8 season. Highlights included wins over Penn State and Miami. The Cavaliers suffered a loss to rival Virginia Tech their final game of the season, making it the ninth year in a row UVA has failed to beat Virginia Tech. ;2013 season The Cavaliers won their opening game against BYU, then lost ten of the next eleven games, culminating in a 2–10 season. The University lost every game against ACC opponents. The team suffered lopsided loses to Oregon, Ball State and Duke. Despite not being able to win consistently, London was able to recruit a small but stellar class for the 2014 season headlined by consensus five-star prospects Andrew Brown and Quin Blanding. ;2014 season Despite an opening game loss to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, Virginia began the season 4–2, including an upset of top-25

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, in their first game as ACC rivals and their first meeting at all in twenty-five years. Virginia lost their next four games, but rebounded with a win against Miami, only to lose at Virginia Tech. ;2015 season On November 26, 2014, Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage confirmed that London would remain as coach for the 2015 season. After a 1–3 start in the 2015 season, including a September 25, 14-56 blowout loss to the Boise State University Broncos, calls for London's resignation or termination began appearing in the media and elsewhere The University had no comment to the rumors and press stories, and many college football pundits did not give the reports much long term credibility, including Mike London himself. On November 29, 2015, after losing the last game of the season to Virginia Tech, London announced his resignation.

Howard Bison

;2017 season London became Howard University's head coach prior to the start of the 2017 season. On September 2, 2017, under the leadership of freshman quarterback Caylin Newton (younger brother of

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He is the NFL le ...

), London coached Howard to the program's first Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) win; defeating

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

, a 45-point favorite, in the biggest upset in college football history by point spread. The Bison would finish the season 7–4, 6–2 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for second place. ;2018 season The 2018 season was less favorable for Coach London's Bison as the team finished the season 4–6, 4–3 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. However a bright spot for London was that his sophomore quarterback Caylin Newton was awarded 2018 MEAC Offensive Player of the Year. On November 19, head coach Mike London resigned to become the head coach at William & Mary, replacing Jimmye Laycock, who was the Tribe's football coach since 1980. He finished at Howard with a winning two-year record of 11–10.

Personal life

His son, Brandon London, is a retired

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

who played for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. His younger brother Paul London played

for Virginia under George Welsh in the early 1990s. His daughter, Kristen London, played women's basketball at Virginia under famed former coach Debbie Ryan, and is currently playing professional football for the Denver Bandits of the Women's National Football Conference (WNFC). He is a member of

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...

- The National Leadership Honor Society, and

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1914. The fraternity's founders, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, wanted to ...

fraternity.

Head coaching record

References

External links

William & Mary profile

Howard profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:London, Mike 1960 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American coaches of American football American football defensive backs Boston College Eagles football coaches Coaches of American football from Virginia Dallas Cowboys players Houston Texans coaches Howard Bison football coaches Maryland Terrapins football coaches Richmond Spiders football coaches Richmond Spiders football players Virginia Cavaliers football coaches William & Mary Tribe football coaches Phi Beta Sigma members Sportspeople from West Point, New York Players of American football from Hampton, Virginia