West Virginia Pulls Another Shocker and Hires Stewart

January 4, 2008

The West Virginia coaching search had every element of a melodrama. There was meddling from the state’s governor, big-money boosters bickering with the administration and volumes of vitriol directed at the departed football coach and his family. And just when it appeared that the search could be starting over, West Virginia added one more twist — a surprise ending.

In the aftermath of West Virginia’s stunning 48-28 victory against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on Wednesday, the university named the interim coach, Bill Stewart, as the replacement for Rich Rodriguez.

As further evidence of just how all-consuming coaching searches have become, the university’s president, Mike Garrison, used a news release that took a thinly veiled shot at Rodriguez, who left West Virginia for Michigan last month.

“W.V.U. is a very special place and no one knows that better than Bill Stewart,” Garrison said. “At this university, loyalty and trust are important. We know we now have a coach who truly values the opportunity to work as the head football coach at West Virginia University.”

After the Dec. 17 announcement that Rodriguez would take over at Michigan, West Virginia’s governor, Joe Manchin III, criticized Rodriguez for his decision, while several boosters said the university had not worked hard enough to keep Rodriguez. When Stewart was announced as the coach Thursday in Scottsdale, Manchin said, “I couldn’t be more happy.”

West Virginia is suing Rodriguez for the $4 million he is required to pay in his buyout. The pressure on Rodriguez and his family became so great that Rodriguez’s mother wrote a letter of complaint to The Times West Virginian of Fairmont.

“It was deplorable that our family, especially the children, have been threatened and property damaged,” Arleen Rodriguez wrote. “I hope those of you who feel the need to spend your hard-earned money on the anti-Rod T-shirts would take a suggestion and instead donate money to a West Virginia charity, since that would help the state.”

The West Virginia players used the postgame forum Wednesday to lobby for Stewart. The decision was made a few hours after the game, Stewart’s two-and-a-half-week stint effectively a job interview.

“He obtained this position the old-fashioned way: he earned it,” said Ed Pastilong, the university’s athletic director. “Billy led us to our biggest football victory in the school’s history against Oklahoma and he, his coaching staff and his support staff are outstanding Mountaineers, leading us through a tough time.”

Stewart, 55, who called himself “a West Virginian all my life,” had been the associate head coach in charge of tight ends, fullbacks and special teams. He will make $800,000 annually, plus incentives, for five years. West Virginia should be considered one of the five best teams in the country next season. The Mountaineers will return quarterback Pat White, a Heisman Trophy contender, and tailback Noel Devine. The junior tailback Steve Slaton, whose performance dipped from the previous season, will decide whether to go to the N.F.L.

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