Who was the fat guy in the cowboy hat that they kept showing on the OU sidelines. Hw looked lke "Boss-Hog"? what that a booster or and old player or what? Thanks

Haha - his name is Jim Ross and he does color commentary for WWE (used to be WWF) - World Wrestling Entertainment. He's a huge Sooner fan, but I'm actually not sure if he ever played there or is just a big fan. I'm not even sure he went there. But yeah, way to go FOX on showing us someone who has nothing to do with football. Stick with the NFL.

stewart mandel, you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, we finally have a coach who wants to be here, and every one of the players love him. i believe that they will play harder for him than they would have for Rodriguez. Lets Go 'Eers!!!!

hhhmmm...where are all the ou fans that swore up and down they were the best team in the country and should be playing for a national title?.....Sooners come out and play lol...GO BUCKS and CINCY!!!!

Stewart, I have the same concerns you do. However, WVU certainly did not want to be burned by another prima donna coach who will be constantly bargaining for raises or looking elsewhere for another job. I hope as all WVU fans do that Coach Stew works out, but given what everyone just went through with Rod, this is an understandable decision.

Well, well, Stewart...so you looked into your crystal ball and saw the future of West Virginia football, eh?! If WVU had listened to you and the rest of the sports "experts" over the past couple of weeks, they would not have even showed up to get "blown out" by OU. I guess that crystal ball of yours has a few cracks in it. Turns out, OU was the team to get blown out. Even though you didn't give WVU a chance in the Fiesta Bowl, at least give the new coach a chance to succeed before throwing him under the bus. I know he's not as "elite" as Saint Rodriguez, but I think he knows what he's doing.

I think Mandel's column is ridiculous and inacurate. I know that the WVU search did not go as Mandel describes, and so does Mandel. He just makes a ridiculous claim and then does not even attempt to attribute it to a source. What a joke of a journalist.....Mandel should get in touch with perennial WV hater Lee Corso (he predicted that WVU would lose to Oklahoma by 21 last night) so they can talk about the inept and befuddled West Virginians while Coach Stew takes this team to a BCS bowl again next year and the best fans in the country support the best football team in the country in Morgantown, WV....

You are comparing this hiring decision to one other similar instance(Larry Coker). That is an intelligent comparison..haha. If I remember right Coker won a National Championship. Anyways, you, as well as, ESPN, SI, FOXSports, etc. never give WVU any credit and yet we still rise to the occasion. Say what you want but you better not under-estimate us.

Not a WVU fan, but I think this is a bad hire based on emotion and not logic. Just because someone wants to be the coach and stay a while doesn't mean they will do a good job. Hope he does well (seems like a nice guy), but we will only know in 2-3 years in how this pans out.

hey mandel, why all the hating on Coach Stew. You bring up his previous stint as a coach at VMI. don't you think he could have become a better coach since that time. maybe he has learned a few things along the way (like leading a team that just lost its coach to a BCS win over the "Mighty" Sooners). Maybe he is a better coach now. has your writing gotten better over the years?? were you the writer back then that you are now. presumably you have gotten better, although I doubt that very much. you are supposed to be an expert, right? good job on your research and your prognostications into the future.

Yeah, everyone who predicted that WVU would get blown out by OU just got as embarrassed as everyone who predicted Pitt would get blown by WVU.

WVU will regret another emotional decision...to loudly and prematurely sue RR for the $4M buyout. When Stewart needs replacing, which may be soon, good luck getting anyone of stature to come. Would you marry a woman who murdered her last husband?

Mandel is right on with the WVU comments. For all intents and purposes, Stewart was not even considered a possibility until they beat Oklahoma. Then he was handed the keys to the car. This guy is a no-name in recruiting circles, and doesnt have exactly a glittering track record as a head coach. Obviously next season WVU will be good (I expect that with the weak Big East they go undefeated or lose 1 game at most), but the year after that the bottom will begin to fall out. WVU fans need to separate the emotion from the coaching search as well. Just because a guy has ties to a program doesnt make him the best fit, nor should the loyalty argument come into play when selecting a coach.

You know, I don't remember everyone singing the praises of Butt Rod when he was first hired either. Give Coach Stew a chance. Genuine love for the state, respect for the game, respect for his players and opponents, its a breath of fresh air for College Football, in the days of the dollar and disloyalty.

secondly WVU fans need to come off their high horse. Best fans and team in the country?? Please. You actually had to give back thousands of tickets to a BCS bowl game. Spare me the disappointment argument. great fans find a way. The Larry Coker comment was pretty accurate. Like Stewart, he inherited a loaded team from Butch Davis and won a national title with those guys. Then the bottom began to fall out when his own players came in culminating in some of the worst football played at the U in decades. Stewart isnt inheriting as much overall talent as Coker did, but that team next year will be great. After that I think you see WVU fall off to a large degree.

Mr. Mandel: An opinion without knowledge is ignorance. You state "I must confess, I know very little about Stewart," How then can you offer an intelligent opinion? You can't. You can say the hire was emotional and that WVU's search was not professional. However to state: "It’s ...most likely, disastrous. . ." when you admit you do not know the man's body of work makes me further question your knowledge of life let alone college football.

If Coach Stewart wins his first 23 games like Larry Coker, will that still make him a poor choice?

By the way, if I remember correctly, three years ago you said that the new Big East ranked with the Mountain West and WAC as a conference and you questioned its continued inclusion in the BCS. Since your comments, the Big East champion has beaten the SEC champions, the ACC champions, and now the Big 12 champions in three straight years.

I'm a WVU alumnus and a huge WVU football fan. Unfortunately, I agree with Mandel. Stewart was the right man at the right time to pull the team together for the Fiesta Bowl. Sure the current players like him. He's what they are familiar with. But can he recruit? Is he innovative? Can he handle the load of head coach day in and day out year after year? He's unproven in these areas. Hasty decisions made during emotional times are rarely good ones.

Stewart, I enjoy your commentary very much, most of the time. It is usually insightful and humerous, and occasionally inspired. But commenting that the new WV coach "may be the next Bill Belichick" was incredibly rude and not very well thought out.

I know you were being facetious, but Bill Belichick is a cheater, and a remorseless one at that. And please pass that on to your cohorts at SI, where pro football writers are more interested in their relationships with coaches than they are in providing the unvarnished truth to readers. Especially ol' Z, who thinks cheaters belong in the Hall of Fame.

Someone pointed out that I only used one (actually two) examples of short-sighted coaching promotions. Fair enough -- here are some others.

Steve Fisher, Michigan basketball.

Mike Davis, Indiana basketball.

Keith Gilbertson, Washington football.

Frank Martin, current K-State basketball.

The first three, like Williams and Coker, started strong before going down in flames. Martin, who was promoted solely to appease the current players, has shown to be way in over his head.

Obviously, I could wind up wrong, but the WVU situation reminds me very much of those -- only even more extreme.

If hiring Stewart is what it takes in order to keep chemistry and the program rolling full steam for one more year, then i say do it. With White, Slaton and Reynaud as seniors, and an experienced Devine, this may be WVUs best and last shot at a national title. A crop of talent like this comes along few and far between. If this calculated risk pays off with a Nat'l Title for WVU, then that will make up for what recruiting capital Stewart is percieved to lack.

The bottom line is and always will be... people hate West Virginia. We could've hired God himself and there would have been people out there like Mandel... "Well, after a couple years...". WVU could beat all the great teams in college football game after game and there would still be those that talk crap. Love it.

To all those comparing Coach Stewart to other coaches who have failed... Coach Stewart was compared to all the other interim coaches who lost their bowl games. Only one interim coach one their bowl game. Coach Stewart. If we hired Terry Bowden, we would have been criticized. Butch Jones? Ridiculed. Reality is, WVU would have been criticized no matter who they hired. WVU will be ridiculed no matter what level of success is achieved. For all the hating we sure get a lot of attention.

I feel that Stewart Mandel is astute in objectively bringing up the questionable character of emotional hires. Smart and successful business people hire the best candidate, not their best buddy. I've had close contact with WVU and can say that 90% of their graduates with an above average iq do not want their kids to go to WVU. Why? The place is badly run by one administrative nutjob after another. This is no secret in the national academic commiunity. Best of luck to Mr. Stewart. I think he'll bring an interesting personality to college football, but if he succeeds, it won't be because some genius hired him, it will be because some dude with stars in his eyes got lucky.

Stewart,

An addition to your list of hasty assistant coach promotions that paid off big for a couple years before flameout: Randy Ayers to replace Gary Williams at OSU, circa 1991(?) The Buckeyes had a first-rate squad featuring Jim Jackson, and the players pushed hard to have Ayers promoted to Head Coach. They (and we) were promptly rewarded with a trip to the Elite Eight under Ayers. Soon after, the bottom fell out: Greg "Killer" Macon, suspensions, NCAA nastiness, and an ignominous exit.

I'll beat you to the punchline: vowing not to repeat the mistake, OSU subsequently conducted a painstaking search to find a better qualified candidate. The choice... Jim O'Brien.

Machivelli:
You are the only one here who made a convincing argument FOR the hiring of Bill Stewart. All the other WV people here keep talking about how everyone hates WV, they dont get any respect, Bill Stewart will be loyal and will stay for awhile, blah, blah,...your post was
a realistic, fairly intelligent way of looking at it, and even though I still dont agree with the hire, I can totally see where you would want to ride this talent train they have while they still can. BTW, to all you WV fans talking about his loyalty and how the players will play hard for him...that still doesn't mean he's a good coach, in crunch time, in major college football on a national stage. Players can play hard all day long, but if the playcalling is sub-standard, or the players dont execute properly, or if bad decisions are made during the course of a tight game, none of that matters.

Gunnar,

Coach Stewart has coached 1 game at WVU and beat Oklahoma handily. Do you have some crystal ball that you can see his failure through? Did you come here to prove me right? You congratulate machivelli like his post was good enough for YOU. No one cares.

To please you my good buddy gunnar, Stewart is a great choice for at least the time being because he motivates this team to play to the best of their abilities (see the Fiesta Bowl.) Save your condescending and broad comments for someone else.

Gunnar says "All the other WV people here keep talking about how everyone hates WV, they dont get any respect, Bill Stewart will be loyal and will stay for awhile, blah, blah,"

What do you think the article was about genius?? It was a short and sweet article about how West Virginia will fail. Tell me you read the article before you came here to post your words of absolute wisdom.

If the article was about theme parks, would you criticize people for talking about rollercoasters?

Was it Stewart that motivated the players to beat OU, or was it Rodriguez leaving that motivated them? I think that's a legit question. Some might argue that Don Knotts could have led those guys to a win over the New England Patriots after "Rich Rod" jilted them.

P.S. No one hates you. I've noticed that in college football, hate is reserved for the best teams.

Besides, I think articles like this and posts like those from Gunnar motivate teams like WVU. 90% of the country including Gunnar thought wvu would lose. By golly, 90% of the country was wrong. Thank you to Gunnar and others for encouraging us to do so well. You are our honorary head coach!

Like many other Ohioans, it's hard for Mandel to break the habit of putting down the neighbors in West Virginia. Maybe he'll realize it's the 20th century now and wake up to be a balanced and fair sports writer. I'm sure it even pained him to describe WVU as 'a nationally prominent program'. I think it's high time WVU gets the respect and recognition it deserves.

As for the hire, I agree that these decisions need to carefully weighed out and should be absent of emotion. Generally speaking, the system WVU uses right now would be hard to sustain with an outsider. Even other disciples of the Spread Offense run it differently. Defense and Special Teams are unique at WVU as well. To bring in any outside coach right now is to rebuild at some level. This selection will keep some continuity and I hope the best for next season. Beyond this coming year, WVU will likely need a real thought leader to work magic in West Virginia again. They need a strong leader that can help recruit as well. There is no evidence that Stewart brings this longterm talent to the table. At this point I'm hoping that we'll be looking back at this hiring decision as brilliant 3 years from now but right now I'm only cautiously optimistic at best.

Ok Stew - You're the WVU AD, How do YOU handle this? I'm not defending the administration I could fill volumes about their bungling...but seriously give us the benefit of your keen intellect and name the best coach. Bill Stewart has received strong endorsements from both Jim Grobe and Mike Tomlin - 2 guys who know a little about football. His team just schooled OK in every aspect of a BCS bowl. He did something that RR could only manage for part of one game (Sugar Bowl) - get the team to play well in a big game! The AD could not bring in a new "assistant" to be the head coach - how do they justify that? So they'd be stuck raiding another team...who? Alabama? You guys would have a field day with that - if your heads didn't simply explode first. Wake? Grobe already endorsed Stewart... Boise? Not interested in coming east...It's easy to offer up criticism - let's see you offer up a solution. The biggest mistake the WVU AD made was to not delay this announcement a couple days. If they had, you experts would have been stuck commenting only about the Mountaineers thrashing of the almighty Sooners and THAT would have would REALLY have made your heads explode!!

eric y town "P.S. No one hates you. I've noticed that in college football, hate is reserved for the best teams."

And for expert analysis on the opinions of America lets turn to our veteran opinion analyst eric... eric your thoughts?

Please.... nice job sliding in the West Virginia slam. Did you watch the game last night?

Stewart,
Bill Stewart didnt wake up at the Holiday Inn Express the day of the Fiesta Bowl and decide to be a coach. Bill Stewart is 55 yrs old and I believe has been earning this his whole life. You see the problem is it shakes the world system of innovative coaches who character wise are not ready to lead young men as head coaches, but get promoted pre-mature. Young coaches who can x & O with the best of them, becomes all about them, which in effect drives young men to feed the ego they so desperately desire. Fact, the best head coach dosnt have to be the best at x's & o's but at leading young men and in the ideal world young innovative coaches into real men and leaders with character.

Sorry Erin, but the best teams don't lose to Pitt and South Florida in the same year. I have no problem with WVU's football team. They seem like good people, but the truth is the truth. You guys haven't achieved enough to have a persecution complex.

Everyone can argue to kingdom come. However, as a WVU alum who attended school during both the Nehlen and Rodriguez days I think a few comments are worth making. To say WVU football is now at new levels is not entirely accurate. Nehlen led the Mountaineers to two undefeated regular seasons and one failed national championship game. This was when we played Miami and Virginia Tech and Boston College still. Second, Nehlen is one of the top 20 winningest coaches ever I believe. Finally, his defenses were way meaner and more physical than Rodriguez' silly 3-3-5 stack that only finally looked good this year. Nehlen's problem was the same as Bobby Stoops: bowl losses. But does anyone question Stoops' legacy? Of course not. In 6-7 years of coaching Rod merely served to change the style of WVU football. Along the way he built a good team that has come together in the past 3 years. Before that, his first 4 years were definitely not any better that Nehlen's normal years. Remember, Stewart worked for both Nehlen and Rodriguez. If he is smart enough to take the best from both coaches, he could be a wonderful coach. The recruiting concerns are valid. But, that will be shown in due time. Everyone can argue, but as last nights game showed, and this entire season, nobody can predict the future in college football. Good luck to a seemingly very nice guy.

Oh Eric, if you want to be logical then don't use flawed logic. Who did Oklahoma lose to this year? Who did LSU lose to this year? Who did Ohio State lose to this year? Who did Florida lose to this year? Who did USC lose to this year? Who did Georgia, and Boston College lose to? Unranked teams.

Losing two games in any season do not define a football program. If they do, then all of college football is a joke.

USC got beat by Stanford. Michigan got beat by Appy State. Don't even try to tell me they are not great teams.

Nice try buddy. But I'm not impressed.

Erin,
I'm not going to get into this with you. It's not worth it. I have a great amount of respect for WVU as the greatest drinking school in the modern world. I bow to your excellence.

a few more thoughts...

Rodriguez wouldn't have been able to win a national championship with WVU because he was like a rat hooked up to electroshock therapy for positive reinforcement when it came to throwing sideways and running horizontally. He was getting worse and worse at not throwing the ball down the field as the seasons past. Only 2 times last night did I see WVU throw horizontally. In addition, I argue Slaton's numbers were down largely in part to the fact that Rod kept making him run horizontally and hoping he could turn the corner rather than doing pitchbacks like to Devine in last nights game. It's easier on a pitchback because your shoulders are already north-south. If Coach Stewart is willing to throw down the middle then I will gladly endorse him as the new coach. We won last night b/c Coach Stu prevented OU from putting 7-8 in the box which is how Pitt and USF beat WVU.

Finally, this Kendrick donor guy from the Arizona Diamondbacks really needs to shut up. From his comments, he clearly is not interested in putting the school first, but rather his own ambitions. I am glad WVU is making a stand to donors who want to run the university. Schools are for academics (even if football brings in the money).

Erin:
The bottom line is WV hired a coach who was mediocre at best in the only other head coaching position he has ever held. Stew didn't say they would fail, he suggested the odds are better for failure than for success when you hire an unknown commodity, which WV did. The problem isn't next year, because I or anyone else could win games with White and Slaton. The problem is after they are gone, and you try to convince other, elite players to come to your school. If you don't understand how important recruiting is, then you don't understand college football.Try telling a kid to choose Bill Stewart over Urban Meyer, or Pete Carrol, or even Rich Rodriguez (BTW, thanks for the coach), it aint gonna happen. Stewart didn't suggest he probably wouldn't be very good as coach because he dislikes WV, or because he is a "hater", he did it because of the history behind other schools who have made similiar hires, for similiar reasons. It rarely works out, and he even listed several examples. So instead of being all angry and defensive, try looking at the situation realistically and understand the odds of success with this hire are slim.No one, Stewart included, said he couldn't do well, just that he probably wont. I also question whether YOU actually read the article, or did you just read the parts that were critical of WV? People dont hate your school, they just hate the everyone is against us, we get no respect, they're out to get us, whining mentality we've all had to listen to from you crying WV fans since your former coach decided he didn't like being at a school that nickles and dimes everything they do. See ya in the Poinsettia Bowl in 2 years.

By the way, I won $40 on WV's win, don't ever try to presume you know who I or anyone else you dont know is rooting for, you pompous A**

lol.. I'm pompous. That's awesome. I'm also omnipotent, so beware.

You are the master of the double standard. You get mad because I presume to know what you know, then you claim "People dont hate your school, they just hate the everyone is against us, we get no respect, they're out to get us, whining mentality we've all had to listen to from you crying WV fans since your former coach decided he didn't like being at a school that nickles and dimes everything they do."

What do you think prompts all the tears? We have to defend ourselves from people like you. Don't bash us, then get mad when we put up a fight.

Man, hypocrisy.. you embrace it. And don't act like you know WVU. Your chosen side of the story is just that, one side of the story. Don't write back if you can't make cents (get it!) Go to bed Gunnar. Go to bed.

Perhaps you never should have been promoted from "interim crappy journalist" to "crappy journalist".

Stewart, where did you get your info?

Manchin is not the one that shot down the Doc hiring and Coach Stewart wasn't decided on last night during the game. Word had leaked over a week ago that they had locked in on a "suprise candidate" and some sort of announcement would be made after the bowl game. Everyone figured that meant they were trying to bring Saban, but its not true.

You bring up his 8-25 record at VMI, but don't mention that he set school records for offense while there and his winning percentage is third best at the school in more than 30 years. This is a school that has won a total of 23 games since he left in '96.

Your last comment about the Meineke Care Car bowl was low and unprofessional. I was a fan, but now I see why the accuracy of your info is always in question and there's more than handful of bloggers out there pointing it out on a regular basis.

Eric,

So instead of admitting I'm right, and acknowledging that I totally destroyed your argument, you bow down to west virginia's drinking prowess?

Wow.

Erin:
You are very adept at twisting words to suit your argument, and planting insinuations about other people's opinions. That still doesn't make you right. The people I refer to who are tired of your whining, are the people I actually interact with, and speak to, face to face. Unlike you, who suggest "90% of people rooted against WV" that day. I suppose it's possible you really do know 90% of the people, and spoke to them personally to find out they rooted against your school, but I highly doubt it. And let me clear something up for you; I know WV as well as you do having parents born and raised there and spending much of my life there as well. So don't act like you know something I dont, and don't think for a second you can twist words around to suit your argument, because you aren't the only one who has 'lernt sum big werds. You and your arguments are an absolute joke, and after your last couple posts, I now see I should have added arrogant to my description of you.I think YOU should go to bed, because you are obviously becoming delirious. Just go to bed and dream about all those 5-7 seasons your about to endure, because your favorite team just hired a high school coach, at best.

Quote:
You bring up his 8-25 record at VMI, but don't mention that he set school records for offense while there and his winning percentage is third best at the school in more than 30 years. This is a school that has won a total of 23 games since he left in '96.
/Quote:

Err.. You are excited at the prospect that this guy had the "third best" winning percentage at VMI with a .320 average? Um. I might be missing the boat here but while the hire is certainly interesting, it appears to be far from a thought out process.

I am utterly speechless at the hate that Rod is being blasted with, when slime bags like Petrino and Saban pretty much get a free pass (no pun intended.)
Personally I think Rod saw this as his chance to move into the big leagues, and lets face it, a job like Michigan doesn't come up all that often. Theres a good reason for that. I don't want to hate on WVU, but WVU is certainly not Michigan, and I think Rod figured he got as far as he possibly could at WVU.
Even though I disagree with Mandel on a lot things, I have to agree with him here. Stew might be a nice guy, he might have all the players on his side, hell he might be the greatest coach in WVU history. But the simple fact remains that in 2-4 years we'll see what really happens.

Erin-
I just can't get totally mad at WVU people. How can anyone dislike a town or university that has a street called Don Knotts Blvd? I don't even remember what we were arguing about. Oh yeah yeah okay, you guys are awesome or something like that. Sure, I'll buy that. Go 'eers.

I think that you guys who are giving Stewart Mandel a hard time are misguided. The WVU persecution complex makes you think that he's persecuting you, when the truth is that Mandel has always been an avid cheerleader for WVU and the Big East. He loves Slaton and White. More than anything, I think he's expressing disappointment at the possibility that an up and coming program may have blown it just as they were about to start getting some real respect. We shall see. But in the meantime, maybe you folks should lighten up and enjoy your win.

Personally, I'm not mad. I just see that as a poorly researched column. The stuff about Manchin shooting down Doc, Coach Stewart only being hired because of last night, and simply siting his VMI record is the stuff ESPN guys like Skip Bayless have been spouting off all day and its either inaccurate or half-truths.

Coach Stewart has been WVU's prime recruiter for the Md, DC, and VA areas, had the best offenses in VMI history, and is the only guy that could keep the current staff and recruiting class together for the most part.

I have no problem with critiquing the hire or being disappointed in it, but at least present an informed, researched opinion. Acting like he was hired out of emotion and without thought is misguided and dead wrong in this instance.

"make no mistake kansas, this does not make you legit. your team has to win that many game year in and year out. i don't see that happening"

That comment is from a poster at the ESPN forum for the Kansas vs. Vtech game. See, look at the type of venom that is unleashed to teams like Kansas and WVU.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you lose, you suck. If you win, you don't deserve it, you don't compare to the big teams, you'll never succeed, "see you in the poinsettia bowl,".. you catch my drift... clones..

But it's true Erin, college football is an ultra-competitive, cut-throat world. You need to do it year in and year out to get real respect. That's what makes a great program. Consistency. Nonetheless, congrats to KU on an okay year.

Stewart - you're brilliant and hilarious.. as usual... Happy New Year!

I would hardly call KU's year just "okay". 6-6 last year to 12-1 and beating the #5 team in the country is a great year for any school. Lets see if they can hold on to that for the years to come however.
As for me, I'll put Kansas in my Tier2 of Div.1a teams, up from Tier3, but not quite at Tier1 status.

Stewart - I can't tell you how overwhelmed I am at your bowl picks. Out of 8 games so far you've been wrong 5 times and the other 3 were even more lopsided then you made them out to be.

I treat your articles pretty much like movie reviews. If they don't like it there is a better than even chance I will. Simply based on your prediction my guess is that Bill Stewart is going to do just fine next year.

Let's face it, your track record this year has been a lot worse than the coaches you've been criticizing.

The great thing about be a sports writer or any kind of critic is that you can be wrong most of the time and nobody really seems to care...

To start, I am a proud WVU grad. As I was leaving the game last night a buddy sent a text reading "Huge win! Can you say Coach Stewart!" My reply: "Sure can..as associate head coach".

I think Coach Stewart is great. I just thought there were better candidates and Coach Stew could have still been a large part of the team. The hire certainly does reek of an emotionally charged decision. I hope that it only appears that way and he was the leading candidate in their minds for a while now.

That being said, Coach Stewart now leads the football program I love. I hope he bucks the trend of the interim to head coach thing. I think he can. I am not as worried about recruiting as I am about the X & Os. Hopefully he will prove to be a diamond in the rough and be successful with the program until he decides to retire.

I also believe no matter who we hired the 2009 season wasn't going to be as good as 2008. Can't lose Pat White and hope for better. How far the fall and where the program goes after that is the big question. (quick question: does the statement "see ya at the poinsettia bowl" mean we're going to be playing you? For mighty Mich that certainly wouldn't be good)

Lastly, Mr. Mandel, I certainly see your point. And I understand this is a blog designed to entertain (it's certainly the most memorable article on the subject I read today). But it does seem damn vicious. Especially for a decision with an undetermined outcome.

As a Buckeye fan, I'll be the first to admit that NO coaching search can guarantee results...be it one made through due diligence, or in a hasty, emotional time. (See Randy Ayers, Jim O'Brien, or John Cooper as proof)

For every example that Stewert can find, I'm sure we can find examples of coaches who went through the "process" - only to end up an abysmal failure. (*cough* - Bill Callahan - *cough*)

Only time will tell if WVU remains prominent, or becomes second tier again (the way they did after Major Harris' team failed in the NC game), but a marquee coach certainly would HELP things along.

Kids today seem to care less about the school jersey than they do about face time on ESPN, or where they might be ranked in the NFL draft, or if they can get paid to play the game. A coach who is a saleman is invaluable to an institution in an environment like that...and WVU does NOT have the long standing tradition (or a recent history of NFL draft success) that a head coach could plop down in front of a recruit to explain why WVU would be the best fit for them. Remember that WVU was the ONLY school to let Pat White play QB...so there weren't a lot of big schools to compete with for his services at that position.

Heck, even a school like Florida has the verdict still out on it. Urban Meyer inherits Ron Zook's players, wins the NC with them in his second year...and follows that success with a four loss season, including an abysmal showing against an unranked Michigan team.

So, I think Stewert's point is well taken that if you're going to gamble and put all your proverbial chips in the middle...I'd rather do it on pocket aces and a marquee coach than pocket deuces and the promoted assistant. Just my thoughts.