This has all happened so fast. I hate to sound like an 90-year old grandmother who got lost in a grocery store, but it’s true.
While I think taking a few extra nights to sleep on the decision would have been prudent, it’s tough to wait when the players are so vocal about one coach. For right now, I am going to defer to them…
(Don’t worry, I’ll find my bearings soon.)
Pat White
“He deserves it. A great man. A great coach. All the players respect him and all the players love him. You couldn’t ask for a better man to lead us to victory today.”
Greg Isdaner
“This is our coach.”
Owen Schmitt
“He’s the glue that kept us together. West Virginia would be stupid not to hire him as head coach.”
Filed under: coach bill stewart |
West BY GOD Virginia 
This is my agent right here…(holding up his right hand)….classic.
Congratulations to us!
Totally off topic, but:
http://www.tmz.com/2008/01/03/a-dingle-berry-berry-close-call-at-fiesta-bowl/
Berry and Dingle sitting side-by-side made TMZ. Yes, that’s the site that made its name on the exploits of Paris and Britney. This is big time 🙂
Support of the players is great, and if he can keep some assistants and recruits in the fold, all the better. But, I think this decision was based on emotion rather than thoughtful deliberation. Decisions like that tend to come back to bite you. I think he’s ok next year with the core of the team (read: P. White) coming back, but the true test is the subsequent years. As great a man as he obviously is, he needs to be on a short-leash.
I’m also not thrilled that this lets the administration off the hook for a short-sited coaching search.
That said, I hope Bill Stewart is awesome and wins 5 national championships in a row.
If you have bee watching ESPN, Thursday morn, all you have been hearing is how OU lost the game, Stoops not having them ready, missing players, etc. Not once maybe the better team won. ESPN kiss my ASS!!!
Must say I am a little concerned with Stewart. He may be a great guy, but that doesn’t win games. Who will he have for assistants, I believe most are going with rr. And recruits, most want to go with a known winner, one that will give them the best shot at that elusive dream- -the NFL. Can’t help it after next year, I see lean times for the Gold & Blue.
I’ve been trying to digest the last 24 hours. I am thrilled, obviously, with the win last night. After some contemplation on the hiring of Stewart, I’m cautiously optimistic. Here’s my take:
Stew was really the only move the Athletic Department could make. It’s not as short-sighted as people may think. Is he the long-term answer? No. Does this hiring avoid a mutiny and possible exodus? Yes.
Following the Fiesta Bowl, many players would not have responded well to someone else taking over the team. Some may have transferred. Others may have decided not to return next year. Quite simply, we risked losing players…physically and mentally. While you can’t let the inmates run the asylum, you should at least take their feelings into account.
I would like to see Bill bring in a quality OC, agree to coach the team for the next three years then let someone else take us into the next decade. Bill can keep the ship on course while the new OC sharpens his skills and recruits his guys.
That being said, Bill Stewart is a good man. I am proud he is one of us, as he is likewise proud of being a Mountaineer. I doubt that his team will ever quit, give up or give in. He may not be the future, but he is the now. And I, for one, am happy with now…as long as we prepare for the future.
I know that the decision seems emotion-driven, but I actually suspect that this was the plan for a while: see how Stewart does in the Fiesta Bowl and if he impresses, offer him the job. I think it is likely that it was deliberated.
I see a lot of doubters posting here and elsewhere on wbgv. I can understand where they’re coming from. But boy, I have to think that it would be very difficult to deny Stew the HC job, given his performance in the wake of RR’s departure, rallying the team and overseeing the bowl prep, the way he dealt with the media in AZ, the team’s performance, all culminating in the one-for-the-ages showing in the immediate aftermath of the game. He struck all the right notes from beginning to end.
Does anyone think anything like this would’ve happened if RR was still on the job? Against all odds, Stew has been a breath of fresh air just by being a steadying hand and a first class gentleman. He is the anti-Rod. Maybe that’s just the ticket. I’m just not smart enough to know.
In the absence of all that transpired last night and over the last month, obviously I might not think of Stew as the best candidate, but here’s the point: “the absence of all that transpired” is not a consideration, because “all that” in fact happened, and it happened under his “stew”ardship, pun intended.
I do hope he finds/retains some strong assistants (maybe even a l’il Rod to balance out Stew’s anti-Rod, if that’s not too phallic), which is a real concern because it seems to have been suggested that the assistants’ salary pool has been too shallow. I hope that can be effectively addressed.
So yeah, I have my doubts too, but I am more than willing to go along for the ride with this man and see where it takes us. I think it’s the right thing to do.
Let’s [keep] Go[ing], Mountaineers! (Fingers crossed.)
I liked his genuine dialogue at his press conference. I am, however, a little concerned at his Nehlen-esque appearance and demeanor. Especially since he all but genuflected towards him (Nehlen)at the press conference.
And being an emotion-driven decision…does that mean if we’d lost they wouldn’t have hired him? If so, that’s middle school philosophy.
Hey, What about me? Did you hear me mention on my SIRIUS RADIO SHOW I wanna coach the Mountaineers? Daddy, call Joe!! This is a travesty!!!
Well put, glibglub! I’ll add this:
Stew was the only reasonable move following the Fiesta Bowl. Had we announced the hire of a different coach – any other coach – we would have lost players. Physically and mentally. Those guys in Gold & Blue went to war with/for Bill Stewart last night. They wouldn’t want to march under the standard of a different Caesar. You don’t let the inmates run the asylum, but you should consider their feelings.
Bill can be a calm hand to guide us for the next two or three years. Ultimately, I hope we hire an OC who can be groomed to become the next head coach while Bill keeps us on course. After some contemplation, I like the hire. Stew may not be the future, but he’s the now…and I like the now. Let’s build for the future.
I am proud of Coach Stewart, proud of our team and proud to be a Mountaineer. Stew is one of us, and he revels in that. We revel with him.
Rich, Gibby and the rest will never find in Ann Arbor what exists in the Mountain State. Ken Kendrick cannot buy the type of love that we have for our team. This month long soap opera has provided quite a bit of perspective. We now know who the true Mountaineers really are.
Hail, West Virginia, hail!
Terry everyone knows you are the spoiled brat of the family, Dad helped you get a job 10 years ago and you quit. Dad brought you on as an advisor at FSU, your decision to try and help your brother become the next head coach at FSU was terrible. The boosters are still paying your brother $300,000. to not coach. Terry, stick to what you know, acting like you can coach from the analyst chair. Everyone knows I’m the only Bowden besides Dad that can coach.