Jim Grobe is entering his ninth season as Wake Forest's head football coach and that's longer than many expected him to stay in Winston-Salem.
Grobe became a hot property after leading the Deacons to the ACC championship three years ago and his star hasn't dimmed significantly with 28 victories in three seasons with a program once considered among the worst in Division I-A football.
Asked Sunday if he's surprised Grobe is still the Deacons' coach, quarterback Riley Skinner said, "Yes."
It's not as if Grobe hasn't had opportunities to leave Wake Forest. The most serious consideration came more than a year ago when it appeared Grobe might accept the Arkansas job. Instead, he remained at Wake Forest.
"It doesn't surprise anyone that every other school is after him," Skinner said. "He's an unbelievable coach and an unbelievable mentor.
"After the Arkansas deal, we were just very excited and grateful that he was going to stay with us.
"He's a loyal guy. He loves his players and I think his wife really likes Winston-Salem. He likes the fact that he's built this program and he really has. If nothing's wrong, why change?"
Ron Green Jr. has been covering ACC sports for decades. He attended Mike Krzyzewski's introductory press conference at Duke; remembers when South Carolina was the southern-most school in league; and he thought he'd seen it all, then saw Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl.