I stated in my last post on 10/24/10 "Looking for a Reason to Burn a Couch" that, "The Mountaineers can not afford to stumble on any of the remaining games". Well, they stumbled and lost the next two. Both on national television, and one at home during Homecoming in front of thousands of alumni, a big no no. I also stated that, " The Mountaineers are a good team. They are going to have a good record." I now have to eat those words.
Bill Stewart is in a different situation than his two most recent predecessors. Don Nehlen took over an underachieving program, and turned it into a winner. Rich Rodriguez took over a winning program, and turned it into a top ten program. Stewart has inherited thirty years of building expectations, expectations for a championship. That is the reality of the situation. Losing two games in a row to unranked teams is not acceptable. Nehlen could get away with it, the expectation was not the same back then. Rodriguez could have done it his first two years, but after that he raised the bar and made it unacceptable. WVU fans still haven't forgiven him for the loss to Pitt that cost the Mountaineers a shot at the National Championship. It was obvious that his head was already in Michigan. Coach Stewart may have bitten off more that he can chew when he took this job. The man is in a lot of hot water. And I am not sure he will survive it. Connecticut beat West Virginia with their third string quarterback, which is unbelievable. The Mountaineers have been embarrassed on national television twice in seven days. The frustration level with Stewart has reached a new high, and Alumni are calling for Stewart's head.
Let's face facts, he's not the sexiest coach to have leading your team. He often has a confused
or frustrated expression when pacing the sideline. He kind of resembles Luthor Van Dam, Jerry Van Dykes character from the old TV series Coach. As a matter of fact, when I googled Luthor Van Dam images, guess who's picture popped up? Coach Stewart often looks lost, doesn't enunciate very well, and can come off as, dare I say it, kind of a hillbillyish. WVU already has an image problem that they constantly fight, see my first blog post. We all would have preferred a more dashing character for a head coach. But we got Bill, and until now, we have supported him. And he has given us some reasons to do so. He has a winning record as head coach, and has had some big wins. However, I think these two losses have eclipsed all that.
Back to leadership, I see a flaw here. It appears to me that after the loss to LSU, Offensive Coordinator Jeff Mullen and Coach Stewart lost faith in Geno Smith. They are not letting this kid be himself. It seems they are trying to mold him into something different. They began calling more running plays, and against Uconn, they had Smith rushing in several plays. This kid is a throwing QB, let him throw. He needs to get his confidence back. He is not Pat White, so don't push him in that direction. When you get thrown from a horse, you have to get right back on the horse. You don't go back over and ride the pony. After LSU, they put Smith back on the pony.
Geno Smith is at a dangerous point in his development. Young people are very impressionable. They seek approval and recognition from their mentors. They are molded on the feedback of others. We all learn from the wisdom of others, but there can be a cost. When you shape yourself to the desires and wishes of others, you can lose yourself. You can begin to doubt your judgement, and lose faith in your your choices and your own insight. A good mentor teaches what he or she knows. But they also allow the student to develop on their own. There should be more direction at the beginning, and less at the end. The mentor has to let the little bird fly. They may not fly well at first, but they will eventually soar. There comes a point when the student has to stop asking questions, and start making decisions. And the mentor needs to encourage this. This is the point where self confidence and assurance are born. It appears that Geno Smith is not being mentored this way, and that scares me. He was dynamic before the LSU loss. Now he seems to try to force plays, there is no confidence in his actions. I believe he is lost and struggling with who he is.
Athletic Director Oliver Luck has a big decision ahead of him. Keep Stewart, or let him go. It's a tough one right now, but may be a no-brainer by the end of the season. Stewart let the Big East, a terrible football conference, slip right through his fingers this year. Wonder what Evil Spock would do?
