PCP Sports

By Mike Gill

It took Rich Rodriguez six years to build it and Bill Stewart three games to rip it down. 

This will be the only success Bill Stewart will obtain.

The West Virginia University football team has long been a respected program. From 2001-to-2007, with coach Rod at the helm, it was a power house, a legitimate national title contender and one of the most visible teams in the country.  In his first four weeks as head coach, coach Stewart has destroyed six years worth of growth and respect. 

On Thursday night, Stewart was simply over-matched on the sideline in the Mountaineers 17-14 overtime loss to Colorado. 

When Rich Rodriguez bolted for Michigan, it was Stewart who was asked to step in and watch over the WVU program.  Stewart responded with a dominating Sugar Bowl victory over Oklahoma, but all that generated was false hope. 

You wouldn’t ask your baby sitter to be mom just because she did a good job of watching little Joey one night while you were at dinner would you?  Of course not.  She is fine to watch little Joey for a few hours, but over an extended period of time, little Joey knows he can take advantage of things and disaster happens. (Not to mention dad probably sleeps with the baby-sitter).

How could the WVU athletic department not see through this and how could they be so foolish to offer this man a six-year contract? 

Its all spite, bitterness and cold feet.  When Rodriguez left, WVU got cold feet that if they hired another young, up-and-comming coach, in three-or-four years that young coach would leave them high-and-dry like Rodriguez did.  So instead they went with the long-time, loyal guy that no other program will want to steal away from you. 

WVU has long been a program that holds on to the face of their program.  Longtime football coach Don Nehlen and basketball coach Gale Catlett stayed past their coaching primes and put their programs that they help build to prominence into dire need of a face-lift.

Both programs got the face-lift they were looking for with fresh ideas from Rich Rodriguez and John Beilien.  With their new schemes and ideas, the WVU programs were in the national spotlight almost weekly.  In one panic move WVU pushed the program back six-years. 

How did it get to this?

In a just few months, one of the most visible, and respected programs; Michigan is 1-2, losing to Utah at home.  One of the fastest rising programs – WVU is now 1-2, losing to two unranked teams and coughing up their national ranking to become invisible in the college football world. 

The fact is however, Rodriguez will be back, his resume and track record suggests that Michigan will be back in the national title picture within two years.  All WVU will be is just another noon kick-off in the Big East that nobody cares about.  For six seasons, you had to be in front of the TV for a WVU game because you knew something great was going to happen. 

Bill Stewart I am sure is a nice man, but he is over-matched on a major division I sideline.  His inability to manage the clock is just one blunder that was evident during his first three games on the job.  He is now the butt-of-jokes nationally and has turned the once proud Mountaineer program into a laughing stock. 

National radio host Colin Cowherd used his platform to lay into how our once mighty-Mountaineers have fallen with Stewart in charge.  Just one-year ago, WVU was a program that people envied, now Mayberry music and bad stereo-types are back.

As Cowherd mentioned during his radio program, you don’t hire your goofy uncle to run a major corporation – WVU did.  Other national powerhouses teams have tried to give the keys to the car to the long-time loyal assistant and they have failed miserably.  Think Miami football, they hired Larry Coker and Miami football has fallen completely off the map.  Think Nebraska football, they promoted Frank Solich after Tom Osborn left and they went from title contender to 8-5 real fast.  Those programs left their tire tracks and WVU is following them down the same path to being irrelevant.  They hired a long-time, loyal, nice-guy assistant coach that everyone likes but nobody respects enough to play hard for.  They don’t take him serious enough because in the past he allowed them to get away with things that Rodriguez never would. 

WVU was a mess on the field, on the sideline and now among long-time loyal supporters.  Bill Stewart was a long-time loyal support just like the fans, you wouldn’t hire a fan to coach the team would you?

A WVU football weekend used to be the most exciting time of the year, just three weeks into the season, its a complete after-thought.  A team that started this season as the number eight team in the country is now 1-2, forget the record, its the manner that they lost. 

Bill Stewart is so over-his-head its not even fair for him to continue.  Recruiting is going very well, I am very fearful that those recruits saw this game will now leave.  I was never in favor of this move from day one and now the only national exposure this move gets WVU is a 15 minute segment on national radio making fun of a once proud program that Bill Stewart just killed.

The saying in West Virginia is “Take me Home Country Roads, to the place I belong” and WVU belongs back on top, its fans have been loyal too long and deserve some action.  Do the right thing WVU, give Stewart a nice cushy job in the Athletic Department and move on.  And don’t “Skip” over the better Candidate this time, or your program just might not be able to recover.