Purdue assistant coach Anthony Poindexter during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette. Cfb Purdue Vs Nebraska

The Virginia Cavaliers are looking for a new head football coach but one of their top targets appears to be out of the running.

Virginia wasn’t supposed to be searching for a new coach but Bronco Mendenhall abruptly resigned last week, citing a need to step back from college football. Mendenhall came to Charlottesville in 2016 after 11 seasons as the head coach at BYU. He rebuilt the ACC program quickly, getting to six wins by his second season and leading Virginia to three bowls, including an Orange Bowl in 2019.

The school seemed to have zeroed in on two major candidates. Anthony Poindexter, the co-defensive coordinator at Penn State, and Tony Elliott, the offensive coordinator at Clemson. Elliott has been considered a frontrunner for the open Duke job but has reportedly expressed more interest in the Cavaliers gig instead. Meanwhile, Poindexter, a Virginia alum and longtime assistant coach with the school, was thought to be a shoo-in for the position given his background and coaching acumen.

Turns out, that won’t be the case. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported that he texted with Poindexter and the coach has decided to stay with the Nittany Lions.

“Timing is everything for both sides,” texted Poindexter. “There will be a day, but I’m going to stay at Penn State.”

Meanwhile, it appears that Elliott is en route to Charlottesville to interview or possibly accept the position, though the outcome of the meeting is obviously unknown at this time.

Whatever happens with Elliott, we know that Poindexter, who has also made stops in Purdue and Uconn, is staying in Happy Valley for now. And the move has certainly generated some reactions amongst the college football world on social media.

Like so many decisions in this coaching cycle, we’ll see how the ramifications of this move play out for Penn State, Virginia, and other schools.

[Adam Rittenberg]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.