Congratulations to the new non-interim-HC. As I told DaGeek last night, I really don't feel like I can give a heartfelt argument against this hire at a time like now, after he executed to perfection what was thought to be a lost cause. But that's what worries me.
This makes me think that the administration was trying to hire an insider for cheap instead of hiring the best qualified candidate in the country all along. It does not raise my confidence level in the administration that they decided to do this in the wake of a big emotional event when all Mountaineer fans would be less resistant for sentimental reasons. If there had been a blowout loss, would they have made the hire? Would they have announced it in the middle of the night? Frankly, if they think Stewart is the man, the results of this one game shouldn't matter too much. The circumstances make it seem like it's the only thing that matters, at the expense (potentially) of recruiting prowess, team management, coordinator hiring ability, offensive and defensive philosophy, etc etc.
The players seems to heavily support him, and he pulled off this game against long odds (albeit with the help of Calvin). I'm not going to pull my hair out about this, and this hire doesn't reduce my expectations for next year. I hope my general skepticism is proven wrong- but is this the hire a top tier program makes? On one for whom life at the top is just a blip?
Think of it this way- this is the Steelers hiring Russ Grimm instead of Mike Tomlin. Maybe it would have been fine. We'll get to find out between now and the first few years of the next decade.
This makes me think that the administration was trying to hire an insider for cheap instead of hiring the best qualified candidate in the country all along. It does not raise my confidence level in the administration that they decided to do this in the wake of a big emotional event when all Mountaineer fans would be less resistant for sentimental reasons. If there had been a blowout loss, would they have made the hire? Would they have announced it in the middle of the night? Frankly, if they think Stewart is the man, the results of this one game shouldn't matter too much. The circumstances make it seem like it's the only thing that matters, at the expense (potentially) of recruiting prowess, team management, coordinator hiring ability, offensive and defensive philosophy, etc etc.
The players seems to heavily support him, and he pulled off this game against long odds (albeit with the help of Calvin). I'm not going to pull my hair out about this, and this hire doesn't reduce my expectations for next year. I hope my general skepticism is proven wrong- but is this the hire a top tier program makes? On one for whom life at the top is just a blip?
Think of it this way- this is the Steelers hiring Russ Grimm instead of Mike Tomlin. Maybe it would have been fine. We'll get to find out between now and the first few years of the next decade.
2 comments:
Your caution is as natural as it is reasonable, however, I think that though this hire has the looks of an emotional knee jerk response to the PR nightmare of December, I believe we have the right man for the job. He can recruit and he does a very fine job with both the team and the staff. I believe that though the die is cast upon CMcG leaving it is not yet dried. In fact I believe that Coach Stew may have a few tricks up his sleeve to keep some of the "Rod" coaches in Morgantown. One thing that can not go unnoticed is the degree with which the team was prepared for last nights game. It is clear to me that with talent Coach Stew is more than capable of getting the job done. Anyway, DaGeek is quite happy with this move.
DaGeek
First, let me say, I couldn't more proud of the team last night and the effort and emotion that they brought to the game. I thought it was a great night for college football and much needed for the Mountaineer "family". That being said, I have mixed emotions about hiring Coach Stew. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy. I've known Coach Stew since 1990 when I was a lowly student assistant and he was the defensive line coach at AF. He even gave me a key recommendation for my current job. He coached then as he does now; very hard nosed, intense, charismatic, tough and the his guys loved him. When my dad came out for a visit, we stopped and watched Coach Stew have his defensive lineman run hills after all the other players had already went in. Then they huddled around each other and declared the we're better than everyone else in not so PC terms. (True) I also followed his career as he left to coach VMI and was later fired for making some rather not PC remarks. I guess my point is he clearly is fiery guy and was just the right prescription under the circumstances to lead the team through the bowl game. However, it feels like to me we just took the Pepsi challenge. You know Pepsi always beat Coke in those individual taste tests because it was a much sweeter brand. But most prefer Coke in the long run. Coach Stew has his place as a coach but as sweet as it is, I don't think I'll prefer it in the long run. Decisions, seemingly made on emotion, seldom are the best ones. He now must be the face of our program and I think he'll have to curtail his emotions to be successful.
I would have said before the bowl game that he lacked name recognition. However, those things can be finicky. Another strong season and he won't have to worry about that. He's a proven recruiter in his own right. Hopefully, he can establish a solid coaching foundation with his assistants and bring the work hard play hard attitude that he used so successfully last night to the program over the long haul.
PS. Loved the play calling last night. Stretched the field vertically last night and not only kept them honest, Tito Gonzalez proved we can successfully go deep. And the defensive blitz calls were well timed and VERY effective. Hope to see more of the same next year. Go Mountaineers!
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