Groh and Dugans Added to Louisville Staff
January 19, 2010 | Football
Jan. 19, 2010
Louisville, Ky. - University of Louisville head coach Charlie Strong completed his offensive coaching staff with the addition of quarterbacks coach Mike Groh and wide receivers coach Ron Dugans.
"I like the additions of Mike Groh and Ron Dugans to our offensive staff," said Strong. With Mike Sanford as our offensive coordinator, I think Mike (Groh) and Ron are excellent compliments to the staff. Groh has been an offensive coordinator at the University of Virginia so he brings a ton of experience to our staff, while Dugans was a standout wide receiver at Florida State and played four years in the National Football League."
Groh will coach the quarterbacks at Louisville after spending one year as a graduate assistant at the University of Alabama, who won the 2010 BCS National title with a win over second-ranked Texas.
Prior to that, Groh spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at Virginia and three years as the team's offensive coordinator for the Cavaliers.
Considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in Virginia history, Groh was hired on the Virginia staff in 2001 as the wide receivers coach before he took on the task of coaching the Cavalier quarterbacks in 2003. He was also the recruiting coordinator in 2005 while continuing to coach the quarterbacks.
Starting in 2003, he has helped to mentor several talented quarterbacks. His first year working with the position, Groh coached Matt Schaub, who completed a school record 69.7 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,952 yards and 18 TDs. Schaub is now the starter for the Houston Texans.
Under Groh's direction, Marques Hagans transitioned from wide receiver to quarterback for the 2004 and 2005 seasons and ended his career with a 358-yard passing performance in the 2005 Music City Bowl to earn game MVP honors. Hagans finished his career with 4,877 passing yards, the fifth-highest total by a Cavalier.
As the wide receivers coach in 2001 and 2002 seasons, Groh helped Billy McMullen become one of the top receivers in the nation. As a senior in 2002 he became the second all-time leading receiver in conference history with 210 career receptions.
Groh returned to his alma mater after spending the 2000 season as an offensive assistant/quality control coach for the New York Jets.
As the starting quarterback for the Cavalier in 1994-95, Groh is the only quarterback in school history to lead the Cavaliers to nine wins and a bowl victory in Consecutive seasons. As a tri-captain in 1995, he helped lead Virginia to a 9-4 record, including a 34-27 victory over Georgia in the Peach Bowl, and a share of the ACC championship.
During the regular season, he guided the Cavaliers to a 33-28 win over No. 2-ranked and previously unbeaten Florida State, ending the Seminoles' 29-game winning streak against ACC teams. He earned second-team All-ACC honors in 1995 and received Virginia's Joe Palumbo Award for self-sacrifice.
Groh led the ACC and ranked 13th in the nation in passing in 1994 as the Cavaliers finished 9-3 and defeated TCU 20-10 in the Independence Bowl. Groh earned MVP honors of the Independence Bowl.
For his career, Groh completed 58.2 percent of his passes (339-582) for 4,366 yards and 29 TDs. He finished his career in the top three in every Virginia passing category. His 2,510 yards passing in 1995 was a school record until broken by Schaub in 2002.
He played his final season at Virginia as a graduate student after receiving his undergraduate degree in rhetoric and communication studies from Virginia in 1995. He attended the Baltimore Ravens' training camp as a free agent in 1996 and later played in the World League for the Rhein Fire in 1997.
Dugans was hired to coach the wide receivers at Louisville after serving three years as the wide receivers coach at Georgia Southern.
Dugans brings a wealth of collegiate and professional experience to the staff at Louisville.
Under Dugans' tutelage, GSU wide receiver Raja Andrews broke several school records during his senior campaign, en route to finishing 15th nationally in receptions per game and 20th in receiving yards. Andrews smashed the single-season records in receptions by 25 (64), the receiving yards by 200 (873) and most games gaining 100 receiving yards by three (5).
In 2008, the speedy receiver corps accounted for the majority of the team's 42 receptions of 20-plus yards. During the 2007 season the receivers corps caught eight touchdown passes, including the third-longest completion in program history (Michael McIntosh, 81 yards). That year Andrews nearly set the season receptions record, finishing one shy of the mark.
Dugans spent the 2006 season at his alma mater Florida State as a graduate assistant coach on offense. FSU ended its 7-6 season with a victory over UCLA in the Emerald Bowl. The year prior he worked as a graduate assistant with the Florida State Strength and Conditioning program.
As a player, Dugans spent five years in the National Football League, the first four with the Cincinnati Bengals and one season with the Houston Texans.
A member of the Florida State program from 1995-99, Dugans won a National Championship his senior year and was the wide receiver opposite fellow NFL pick Peter Warrick. Dugans holds the distinction of having played in three title games with the Seminoles, recording a stellar 45-4 record during his playing career.
A native of Tallahassee, Fla., Dugans played his first two seasons at FSU before taking a medical redshirt during the 1997 campaign. He returned as a starting wide receiver his final two years in 1998-99.
In his career with the Seminoles, Dugans caught 105 passes for 1,520 yards and seven touchdowns. Two of his most impressive games came in bowl games. He caught six passes for 135 yards in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl, then in his last collegiate game tallied five receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns in the 2000 Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech.
A three-sport standout at Florida A&M University High (football, basketball and track), Dugans rushed for 730 yards and 10 touchdowns his senior year, on just 70 carries. He also tallied 75 tackles, two sacks, three forced fumbles and seven interceptions on defense.
Dugans graduated from Florida State with a bachelor's degree in Political Science in 1999.
