Morgantown's shot at their first crystal football? Erased.
The Mountain State's favorite son? Departed.
Hope? In short supply, to say the least.
West Virginia, then removed from the national championship discussion after a crushing defeat at the hands of a 4-7 archrival Pitt squad, was slated to play Oklahoma in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl. Despite their recent #1 ranking, the Moutaineers were massive, massive underdogs to the Sooners. No one on national TV gave them a chance. It was just a bunch of hopelessly lost boys, destined to flounder in a clear leadership vacuum.
Enter Bill Stewart.
Stewart single handedly put the emotional wellbeing of an entire state on his shoulders and just chugged right along. Here was an absolute nobody, an assistant that no one had ever heard of before and, had he lost the BCS Bowl and failed to obtain the promotion to head coach, no one would likely ever hear of again. By anyone's reckoning, he was not a man who was prepared to lead one of the most shocking upsets in bowl history.
Then, this happened. It's one of the most inspirational sports videos out there, in part because it's not fiction; it's not from a movie. It's a real life speech from an underdog coach, given to a 20-point underdog team. And yes, that team dominated one of the winningest programs on the biggest stage of BCS football.
Bill Stewart saved West Virginia football. It's not an understatement. Rather than watch the program crumble to mediocrity under the weight of a historically embarassing loss, he lifted up a team whose soul had eroded under sudden and unavoidably damning circumstances.
I don't care for the other stuff. If fans want to complain about 9-4 seasons, that's fine. Living up to the lofty expectations of Morgantown, WV is no easy task. In fact, I can only count about three coaches in the history of the program that truly have. Stew was 27-12 as head coach, and though it may have felt substandard at the time, the odds are we were an incredibly selfish fan base as a whole. I never felt right about how he was forced out, even if Coach Holgorsen was a "better" coach.
And today, at age 59, Coach Bill Stewart sufferend an apparent heart attack while golfing with former WVU AD Ed Pastilong at Stonewall Jackson park, a place I often played as a kid when visiting family. He died at a nearby hospital in Weston, WV-- the small town where my dad and his family are from. My proximity to the story makes his death even harder to swallow.
Just like legendary coaches Bear Bryant and Joe Paterno before him, it seems Stewart may have quite literally been unable to live without the football program he adored so greatly. The comparison is especially relevant for the late JoePa-- though their levels of success are wildly contrasted, both suffered from incredibly public exits from their respective, beloved Universities, and it seems neither's heart could take it for very long.
But don't remember Coach Stew for his departure. Remember him for his arrival. Remember him for the team that he bled for and was devoted to, just as much as the most fervent of fans. The man may not have been the sexiest or the flashiest, but anyone who knew or watched him would go to their grave saying he was truly devoted to the old gold and blue. Wins are great, but devotion to the fraternity that is Mountaineer football is what truly matters. In that regard, Coach Stew's success was unparalleled and without question.
Never leave your wingman ever, indeed.
Rest in Peace, Coach Stewart. You were one of the good ones, and you will be missed.
"Leave No Doubt"
Bill Stewart
June 6, 1952- May 21, 2012
Montani Semper Liberi
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