Lars Tiffany was not fired as the college lacrosse coach at Virginia, technically speaking. The university chose not to renew his contract.
Nevertheless, he will not return as head coach of the men’s lacrosse program.
This unexpected ouster sends shockwaves across the entire landscape of college lacrosse. One of the most legendary figures in the sport is now a free agent. One of the most legendary programs in the sport is now in need of new leadership. It came out of nowhere.
Lars Tiffany is out.
Rumors started to swirl about Tiffany’s future at the University of Virginia at the beginning of last week after the Cavaliers lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was another disappointing end to a largely disappointing season.
That might seem strange, because the Hoos won the ACC Tournament in the week prior, but they just so happened to get scorching hot at the right time. Virginia lost seven games during the regular season and finished 2-2 during conference play, one year after missing the postseason all together at 6-8 overall.
As much of a bummer as it was to get knocked out so early, Tiffany is one of the greatest coaches in college lacrosse. The Cavaliers won back-to-back national titles in 2019 and 2021 (the COVID year doesn’t count), made the quarterfinals in 2022 and made the Final Four in 2023 and 2024.
They had two down years in 2025 and 2026, and they won the conference tournament during the down year in 2026. It could be a lot worse. Tiffany compiled an overall record of 108-51 in 10 years.
Despite his success, rumors started to swirl about the head coach’s future at Virginia after the first round loss. One report suggested that the rumors were false and that Tiffany signed a new contract. Tiffany’s agent said there was no truth to the rumors. Tiffany himself said “the report of his death was greatly exaggerated.”
It wasn’t.
The Cavaliers announced a “leadership change for men’s lacrosse” on Monday morning. They decided to move on from their head coach of 10 years. A national search for his replacement will begin immediately.
Virginia needs a new college lacrosse coach.
Despite the rumors, nobody saw this coming. Lars Tiffany is one of the top coaches in college lacrosse. Even if the last two years did not go as expected, he won two national championships.
There are plenty of other coaches with a less impressive resume who are comfortably employed at other programs. This is the exception, not the standard.
Tiffany met with all of his players individually last week, including a returning team captain. He told them that he would be back as head coach in 2027. They were already planning for next season.
And now he’s out. Those plans are scrapped. I would imagine that a number of top athletes will choose to enter the transfer portal. Virginia may have to rebuild its roster under a new head coach.
The active hot board includes names like Dartmouth head coach Sean Kirwan, Richmond head coach Dan Chemotti and Virginia associate head coach Kevin Cassese. However, I would be surprised if the university leadership goes with an internal hire after it let Tiffany go. That seems counterintuitive.