The new coach is, evidently, not acting like a new coach. Mike London, 47, was named the University of Richmond's head football coach in January. The former Spiders defensive back, a former assistant at UR, Virginia, William and Mary, Boston College, and with the Houston Texans, has never before been a head coach.

"He definitely does not show it," said UR receiver Kevin Grayson. "He came right in and you would think he had been a head coach his whole life, the way he was like, 'This is how we're going to do things.' He laid it all out for us and no one has questioned anything he's done.

"We're fully behind him and ready to roll."

As the Spiders, 11-3 last year and co-champions of the Colonial Athletic Association, prepare for their Aug. 30 opener at Elon, a conversation with London:

Are you ready to go as a coach?

"With preparation and planning and all that, you feel like, 'OK, I've done everything I've seen some good coaches do.' Now it's just time to play the games and see [what happens] when the score starts to count."

Wouldn't it be easier to take over a program that was 3-8 last season? The Spiders are picked to win the CAA South.

"I don't even pay attention to the preseason expectations. I know that's good fan talk and everything, [but] I just do what we've got to take care of. We've got to block and tackle better than the other team."

How about terminology, etc.? Do you try to change that with a partially new staff or try to keep it as similar as possible to that used by former UR coach Dave Clawson?

"You change the terminology, but you try to fuse the concepts, so now you can say, 'It's just like this, same as.'"

Were you ready to be a head coach in previous years and just didn't have the opportunity, or did the opportunity mesh with you being ready to be a head coach?

"I had interviewed for head [-coaching] jobs. It's all about timing. This time, the timing was right. It was perfect. The stars were aligned. I'm blessed with the opportunity to be here. I've been ready, but now is the time that I have to perform and be a head coach, and I'm looking forward to that."

When coaches change from assistant coach to head coach, the story goes that relationships change with players. Have you found that to be the case?

"I'm the same way I was anywhere else I've been. When you ask the question, 'How are you doing?' then you've got to be able to listen to the answers, because there are some tough answers these guys give you. They're real-life situations. The relationships probably matter more now than they ever have."

Your reputation at previous stops as a recruiter was excellent. Can you keep a hands-on approach to that as head coach?

"It's just my personality. I'm just going to keep doing what I do."

Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233 or joconnor@timesdispatch.com.