Architect or Painter?
The emotionally charged debate continues to rip through the hills of West Virginia as to whether Bill Stewart is the man to lead West Virginia, or if he is indeed just a painter trying to accomplish an architect’s job. There are two extremist groups in the battle. One is the compassionate Stewart supporters that need not delve into coaching details because of the faithful attachment to the man who picked up a fallen fan base following Rodriguez’s departure. The other extremists are the Rodriguez die-hards that believe nothing or no one came close, nor will again, to the rankings and level of play during his stint at West Virginia. The vast majority inhabits the intermediate region, realizing Rodriguez’s impact (positive and negative), but not forgetting the history and tradition of previous head coaches. Still, there is a level of wonderment about the current status and future of West Virginia football that starts at the top with the head coach.
The simple fact is no self-respecting West Virginia fan could or would ever accept Rodriguez back into Mountaineer nation after the display of insolence and severe self indulgence after losing to Pitt and then abruptly abandoning the players, coaches, university, and fans. The fantasy scenarios are being played out by Rodriguez die-hards in hope that the previous head coach’s misfortunes at Michigan could eventually lead him back home. In my humble opinion, Rodriguez shouldn’t get so much as a sniff at the locker room urinals, let alone any consideration for any future West Virginia Mountaineer coaching position.
Without giving a Rodriguez return a shred of notion, the question now begs: Is or isn’t Bill Stewart the right man for the job?
Countless puzzling decisions plague Bill Stewart’s reputation as a head coach. But, the tight criticism of the New Martinsville native may not be entirely warranted. The 2008 season, Stewart’s first as WVU head coach, led to a bitter loss right off the bat in an all out ass-kicking at the hands of East Carolina. The Mountaineers entered the game ranked #8 in the country, a major oversight considering the offensive players lost and the transition of the new coaching staff. Still, a combination of over-confidence and lack of respect for the Pirates gave Stewart a lesson in D1A preparation. As a result, many fans grew immediately edgy and displayed their frayed nerves as disapproval toward the new staff. But hindsight is 20-20 and looking back on Stewart’s work, there is method to the madness.
With the season already soured and the coaching staff in panic, Stewart appeared to mangle the clockwork in the 2008 game at Colorado. He allowed the clock to waste away electing not to use his timeouts when the Mountaineers had possession at midfield and ended the game in a tie. The normally reliable Pat McAfee missed a field goal in OT, Colorado did not and the Buffs won by three. Stewart later explained in a press conference that he knew he could fall back on OT. He wanted one shot at the end zone for the win as time expired. Keep in mind Les Miles took the same risk against Auburn in 2007, except LSU was down 23-24 and Miles called for a 22 yard fade route as time expired. Miles won and his decision was glorified, Stewart’s decision could have easily been a winner as well.
Angry fans slammed Stewart and OC Jeff Mullen for the offense, or lack thereof against Syracuse that same season. Pat White sat the game out with an injury. Jarrett Brown got the call in front of a loaded Syracuse box that pile-drove any attempt to run the ball. The Mountaineers attempted just 20 passes, hitting 14 for a measly 52 yards. Why run 32 times against an 8-10 man front? Come to find out Brown had an injured shoulder and was unable to raise his arm over his head. The game ended in a win, no love lost.
Same season at Louisville, West Virginia faced 4th and Goal at the Cardinal 1 yard line with five seconds on the clock. Bill Stewart rolls the dice by going for the touchdown. Noel Devine lost his footing, dove for the end zone, but the replay officials ruled him down for no gain. Bill Stewart simply put the ball in his playmaker’s hands and let the offense get after it. If Devine scores, West Virginia puts 7 on the board with no time left in the half. The game ended in a win, no love lost.
Heartbreak happened again in Pittsburgh when the Mountaineers couldn’t sit on a 15-7 lead with 11:53 in the 4th quarter. The Mountaineers with theball elected to pass twice; the first pass bounced incomplete off the turf to stop the clock, and the second pass was intercepted. All the momentum shifted to Pitt who capitalized with 12 unanswered points and the victory. The truth is Pat White made a bad read, Pitt jumped the pass, and the rest is history. Stewart would have been chastised for being too conservative, a negative attribute echoed loudly by fans during the Nehlen years, having run three times against a loaded Pitt front and punted.
Special teams have been a grand display of buffoonery for quite some time. For the Stewart bashers it comes as no surprise that the head coach is also in complete control of those squads. If kickoffs aren’t squibbed, then poor coverage has given opponents great field position. The most asinine special teams performance, however, has to be attributed to the three ‘Illegal Formation’ penalties called on the kick-off team during this season’s Cincinnati game. As if kick-offs weren’t a malignant tumor in the body of West Virginia’s game already, penalties optimized the Bearcat’s advantageous field position further. The idea, according to Stewart, was to get an extra body on Marshawn Gilyard’s side of the field to keep the speedy returner fully corralled. The timing of the shifts was off and ended up in penalties.
Most recently Stewart baffled the nation when he refused to kick field goals in the Backyard Brawl’s first half despite being in good positions. Twice the Mountaineers clawed within range only to lose possession on failed 4th down conversions. Those decisions spawned from the pregame notion that West Virginia could not win the game against #8 Pitt on field goals alone. Rather, the spunky head coach decided to risk a loss of possession by trying to put touchdowns on the board. Both failed 4th down conversions gave Pitt the football deep in their own territory which was almost equivalent to a punt. Stewart later explained that he believed he was also boosting the confidence of his down trodden defense by putting his faith on their shoulders. The defense finished the game in victorious fashion holding the revamped Pitt offense to just 325 total yards.
Still, all the explanations fail to hold back the rushing waters of disapproval for three reasons.
First, West Virginia was spoiled by the big play output, high scores, and offensive fireworks experienced with White, Slaton, and Reynaud. Every touch of the ball provided the opportunity for a touchdown regardless of field location.
Second, the unwarranted expectations for the 2008 football team were sky high despite losing three of the top four offensive producers (each having taken their deserved place on NFL rosters) and nearly an entire coaching staff. Bill Stewart and his crew seemed set-up for failure from the start.
Last and most importantly, Mountaineer fans are extremely angsty. All the monster wins over the duration of Mountaineer football lack the national recognition supplied by winning a national championship and therefore the respect of the media. There’s no award for being the ‘Winningest team to never win a National Title’ and that fact wears on the fans.
It’s human nature to never be satisfied. Try as you may, and some folks aren’t giving maximum effort, human genetics won’t allow it to change. But West Virginia is the white buffalo of college football in that it is very unique in a good way. Bill Stewart is a home grown West Virginian working his dream job. He will beat his bloodied noggin against the wall until he gets this right, not because of financial or career advancement, but because he loves West Virginia. His salary is the lowest in the Big East, not because West Virginia can’t afford to shell it out (highest revenue of all Big East football programs), but because the budgeted money was allocated to pay for and secure a top notch coaching staff. That impact is benefitting recruiting in a major way. Stewart treats the players like gentlemen, not a piece of meat or career building asset. He is honest and sincere and that’s why his comments and explanations should be taken seriously. Whether the results are good or bad, Bill Stewart makes decisions that make the game as exciting and unpredictable as the old wild, wild West. If you can’t love Bill Stewart as West Virginia’s head coach, perhaps you just can’t love.
Nice guys finish last……