[Caveat: The following assumes that Colin Dunlap was not lying during his 93.7 interview. If he was, then I'll retract this post.]
We've heard much over the last three and a half years about Bill Stewart's loyalty to the State of West Virginia and to WVU. The events that have been disclosed over the last week, specifically that Stewart contacted multiple reporters in an attempt to generate negative publicity about Dana Holgorsen, give us reason to question that notion. While I don't doubt Stewart's loyalty the the state for a second, I believe that he subsumed his loyalty to WVU to the previous, now-departed cronies that ensconced him as Head Coach. Now that Pastilong, Garrison, Manchin, etc, are gone, Stewart has acted repeatedly to undermine both his colleagues and his boss. Such behavior is not the sign of loyalty. It is the sign of a man motivated by naked self-interest.
Not surprisingly, many football coaches are motivated by naked self-interest. Saban, Petrino, and Kiffen all come to mind as especially potent examples of this character trait. So does another familiar name from around these parts: Rich Rodriguez. How devastatingly ironic that Bill Stewart has engaged in a sort of disloyalty more atrocious than that of his predecessor. It's one thing to leave West Virginia and go to Michigan, even if you lie and deceive in the process. Quite another to try to defame Dana Holgorsen, sabotage Oliver Luck and sully the program in the hopes of eking out.... what? a tenuous chance of remaining head coach? At the expense of how much humiliation and setback for the program he claims to love?
Holgorsen and Luck, of course, have erred as well. Holgorsen by choosing to disagree with the determination of a bartender that he was too drunk to serve. And Luck, by failing to fire Stewart for cause for the NCAA violations under Stew's watch.
I feel like the most appalling thing about this whole charade is that Bill Stewart hasn't grasped the reality of the situation. Most AD's in Luck's position, if they want to install a new coach, will dispense with the incumbent in as unceremonious and inexpensive a manner as possible. But Luck, placing value on the "loyalty" Bill Stewart has shown, gave him a golden parachute- another year in his dream job, and a cushy financial package in a post-coaching role with the Athletic Department. In reality, there is a strong argument to be made that Luck could have gotten the university out of its contractual obligations to Stewart because of the NCAA violations Stewart oversaw. He could have been cashiered, tossed to the curb, and disgraced. But Luck treated Stew better by an immense long-shot than he had to. And this is the thanks he gets.
I am of the opinion that Stewart's sense of judgment in these events is many times worse than Holgorsen's or Luck's, and that Stewart should be severed from the program as soon as it's feasible.
2 comments:
Ole JB tis pretty darned disappointing. The one thing that Coach Stew always had going for him was his salt of the Earth honesty. I am afraid that his legacy is damaged catastrophically in this arena. I am saddened that my alma-mater is suffering at the hands of subterfuge and innuendo. The fact remains that actions, whether in house or in public, need to be taken in a deliberate and definitive way. I have every confidence that Oliver Luck has this under control I just hope that the timing proves to be good to make a transition. Maybe it is better for this to happen in June than in August. We need one leader in charge of this football team. We need that leader to have full authority and autonomy to make decisions about the football team. We need those decisions to be unmolested by the actions of another coach on this team. It is time for the Holgorsen Era of WVU football to begin in earnest.
Da Geek
Stewart may have had a fight given the infractions started under Rod didn't they? I think they would have had to buy him out so finances may have played a significant part of keeping Stew for one more year. Regardless, Luck did what he thought was right for the University and he himself didn't handle it terribly well. I still believe Luck made a good decision in the hiring of Holgerson despite the handling. That being said, with Holgerson's "brash" personality, it shouldn't have taken a genius to see that there were many potential problems coming into the season with he and Stewart's differing personalities. Hopefully Luck has expected some difficulties with the situation that was created and will handle it well moving forward.
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