Last night, the West Virginia Mountaineers absolutely dismantled the Oklahoma Sooners 48-28. That isn't the reason Bill Stewart is the new head coach for WVU. Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia and could take as many as 9 assistant head coaches with him to Michigan. That isn't the reason Bill Stewart is the new head coach for WVU. West Virginia University is in the midst of a lawsuit to recuperate a portion of the contract Rodriquez will not be fulfilling. That isn't the reason Bill Stewart is the new head coach for WVU. Mountaineers athletic director Ed Pastilong has gone through an arduous process attempting to replace Rodriguez and was extremely emotional after the Fiesta Bowl. Even that wasn't the reason Bill Stewart is the new head coach for WVU....Ok maybe not, but that does not mean this is a bad decision.
Pastilong has drawn considerable criticism for his knee jerk hire of Stewart following a presumed once in a lifetime performance by his team. The Mountaineers dominated the Sooners from wire to wire and made Oklahoma looked overmatched and underprepared. Anyone who watched the game saw the emotion the players utilized. The defense flew around the field making plays, the the potent spread offense had the top 10 OK defense on skates all night. We see assistants hired for doing less and athletic directors don't draw this much ire from fans, boosters, and the media.
Owen Schmitt was in tears talking about the job Stewart did for this team. As Pat Forde of ESPN.com joked, Stewart was getting hugs from everyone even assistant sheriffs on the sidelines. This team returns a tremendous amount of talented players including Pat White, Noel Devine, and most likely Steve Slaton. How do you think these guys will talk about Stewart? Any potential recruit who watched this game saw the kind of fire and passion this guy inspires in his team. Stewart is a players coach, the kind of guy who makes 260 pound power fullbacks who break facemasks, break down in tears. He will be able to recruit because he is a born and raised West Virginian. He loves the state, the school, and he will be able to use the Fiesta Bowl as a jumping off point to sell WVU on potential recruits. If Stewart can't do the job, all he has to do is pop in the tape of Noel Divine and Pat White running circles around the Super Dome. Stewart will recruit and he will do it effectively, so why should he not be a head coach?
Stewart does have some experience being the head man in charge. He went 8-25 at the Virginia Military Institute, but he spend just 3 seasons as the head coach and VMI is not exactly the place to go for high school blue chippers. Stewart has spent the last 7 years at West Virginia who has reached national prominence once again and ever since they started recruiting again, this team has been a threat not only to win the Big East, but win a BCS Championship. Recruiting can be like a diesel engine, once you get it going, it can go a long time and can't be tough to slow down. Even a place like Florida State and Bobby Bowden who seems to mull retirement every year, can still get recruits because people want to play where so much talent has been before.
Recruits want to go to a place where there has been success. For the past 3 seasons, the West Virginia Mountaineers have been in National Title talks, and the fans in Morgantown are fantastic. The Big East was a bit of a disappointment this year, but has a rich tradition and still plays on a national spotlight regularly. More importantly, Stewart has three guys who will sell another generation of high school studs to committ to where the blue and yellow: Noel Divine, Steve Slaton, and Pat White. All three will be back and WVU will be a threat to win it all as front runners to roll through the Big East in 2008.
Teachers often tell their students to trust their gut when making decisions on a test. Ed Pastilong trusted his after he watched an inspired team play their heart out for a coach who got them to believe they deserved to play and win despite being touchdown dogs. The national media and fans seemed to be obsessed with "gurus" and "zenmasters" and whatever other bogus terms people use to define people who seem to succeed. Good coaches get their players prepared mentally and physically to play every game hard and well. It isn't about setting up complex schemes or trick plays. A coach's job is to prepare. Bill Stewart did that in the biggest game of his team's season. That is why Bill Stewart is the new head coach at WVU.
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