To hoist a football program out of a period of prolonged futility, you need to make a good head coaching hire, sure, but you’ll need a little luck as well. For instance, it helps quite a bit if you can find a good quarterback early in the rebuild to help put you ahead of schedule, build confidence in the process, and use that to gain momentum in recruiting.
Virginia managed both after years of failing on both counts. The Cavaliers brought in Bronco Mendenhall, whose proven track record at BYU has not surprisingly translated to a school in a better league in better recruiting territory.