What Hath Stew Wrought? (Or, more accurately, What Hath the People Who Hired Stew Wrought?)

In a few short weeks, WVU has gone from being the conference favorite with dominating winning streaks against almost half our Big East foes to a sub-mediocre also-ran. One cannot blame Coach Stew for taking his dream job when it was offered to him, but you could see in his body language during UConn's possession in OT the excruciating reality of dream-turned-nightmare setting in.

Remember the pre-game videos touting 7 years of achievements and featuring Stew's visage? What a fraud. Any holdover cred from the Rod era that this team has had has been thoroughly flushed down the toilet. Whether now or the end of the year, it's time for Luck to put his first stamp on the program by hiring a competent head coach.

West Virginia doesn't have flocks of in-state talent to constantly replenish its roster. Any coach must be able to do more with less. An offense that is so much less than the sum of its parts is fatal. Maybe if we were USC or Texas or Ohio State we could afford to have a figurehead as a head coach. Not WVU. We need someone who will pull the plug on underperforming subordinates. We need someone who will recognize and cultivate winning strategies. Not someone who takes personal responsibility for special teams and watches as it becomes a season-tanking disaster. What a shame to squander Casteel's excellent defense. Is it any surprise that the most effective coordinator predates Stew's tenure as Head Coach?

I know it's totally out of the character of any institution in West Virginia to work this way, but it's vital that when Luck makes his next hire, he values competence above who-knows-who. Even if that means the coach leaves for greener pastures in the future. I think we are all quite aware that hiring someone with West Virginia connections can result in that outcome anyway.