Bill Stewart or Calvin McGee !?!

Submitted by doxa on

 

I’m getting tired of reading articles that praise Bill Stewart but completely forget to mention that Calvin McGee was at the game. It’s as if the world forgot that RR put the system in place, Barwis turned it into a machine, and Calvin schemed his ass off…which leads me to ask this question…

 

West Virginia went out and b-slapped Oklahoma all over the Fiesta Bowl field. Instantly the credit for this whipping went to the coaching and preparation of Bill Stewart.

Question-

  • Did Bill call the offense?
  • Did he do anything new with the defense?
I look at this and say…the assistant coach's did their job and Stewart was a figure head to rally the team. IMO, Bill gets credit for getting the team to the game…but McGee and the D-coordinator get credit for organizing the game.

So…What do you say? Beyond the players, who gets credit when an interim coach comes in and wins a big bowl game?

Comments

Farnn

July 19th, 2008 at 11:22 AM ^

I would give most of the credit to the staff that recruited the players and coached them the most. I think the only credit Stewart deserves is for keeping the players focused when their coaches left, and for whatever play calling he made during the game. I guess credit also has to be given to whoever came up with the game plan for the game, but I don't know whose responsibility that was.

MGoObes

July 19th, 2008 at 11:55 AM ^

magee and the d-coordinator (who's name escapes me at the moment) stewart himself has said he doesn't sit in on position meetings or film sessions so how could you possibly believe he had anything to do with the gameplanning?

The Barking Sp…

July 19th, 2008 at 12:52 PM ^

Jeff Casteel is their DC. From what I recall, Magee was the mastermind of the bowl bame beatdown (offensively). That was one of the yapping points for WVU fans: that without Rodriguez there, Magee was free to call his own game, thus the rampage. Now, I can only add that if Rodriguez is a stubborn guy who over rides Magee alot, and doesn't let him call his own game, why would Magee have been the third person on the plane outta there (behind RR and Rita's hair)?

Ghost of Yost

July 19th, 2008 at 3:51 PM ^

Yeah, I recall a lot of WVU fans claiming that Magee was finally free of RR after the bowl game. Magee, though, did an interview with the local WV news prior to the Fiesta Bowl where he discussed that very subject. Not surprisingly, it contradicts their claims. The video and original story are no longer available at wvmetronews.com but a WVU fan site has a copy:

Magee: I Wanted to Be Here

Even while Rodriguez was here, the play calls originated with Magee.

“I make the original calls. Rich lets it ride most of the time," said McGee. “Rich (was) the head ball coach so he always had the final say.”

http://www.wvupressbox.com/?p=2501

Ghost

 

Ghost of Yost

July 19th, 2008 at 2:09 PM ^

From everything I've read, Team RR had already finished formulating the gameplan for the Fiesta Bowl, and had begun practicing it, before Coach Rod left for UM. Bill Stewart upon being named Interim Head Coach at WVU: Dec. 17, 2007 Stewart said the game plan has already been in place and mentioned that it would be foolish to make wholesale changes in such a short period of time. http://www.msnsportsnet.com/page.cfm?story=11919&cat=exclusives Rich Rodriguez at his UM Introductory Press Conference: Dec. 17, 2007 "Probably what happens is they will name an interim coach. The bad part is the players, but our players have been trained pretty well I think. They are pretty focused. The game plan had already been started. We practiced four or five times already before this situation even came up. So a lot of the things are already in place. The schedule is in place for the bowl game and everything like that.” http://www.mgoblue.com/football/article.aspx?id=103288 Ghost

Casa Grande

July 19th, 2008 at 4:14 PM ^

Well, living here in WBGVa I have heard SO MUCH of this argument that it's amazing. There was quite a bit of head scratching though over Stewart even though his team just whupped OU. I think a lot of folks thought the Stewart hire was based on emotion. He certainly was cheaper. He fits the mold they want of a home town, home spun, aw shucks kinda guy - PLUS he didn't have a big time agent that would cost them a lot of money. He took quite a pay cut from what RR was making. He seems to be a really nice guy, but he will not have as much leeway in the losing department with fans. They will demand that another "big name" coach be hired because in their minds they have "arrived" with the Michigans, Ohio States and Oklahomas. We shall see. I think the scoring against OU gets credited to Calvin. Stewart was pretty much the cheerleader/motivator and there to manage the clock and decide on overall strategy, etc.

The Barking Sp…

July 19th, 2008 at 6:53 PM ^

I continue to be amazed at the number of Michigan fans who have popped up living in West Virginia since the Revolution began. These intranets are wonderful, are they not, Comrades? *Note: I am not officially a member of the Revolutionary Party yet, as I haven't killed enough captialist pigs yet.

chitownblue (not verified)

July 19th, 2008 at 7:28 PM ^

Obviously, Stewart demands some credit for the huge win, as he was a member of the coaching staff for the entire season. Re: the Magee being shackled by Rod - I think The Barking Sphincter nails it. If Magee carried no authority whatsoever under Rodriguez, and presumably was allowed to do what he wanted under Stewart, it wouldn't make sense for him to be present at Rodriguez's unveiling before he had even quit WVU.

behind enemy lines

July 19th, 2008 at 9:43 PM ^

WVU's quick hiring of Stewart after the bowl game shows just how ass-backwards that athletic department really is. Stewart had a lifetime 8-25 record as a head coach before the Fiesta Bowl. He was RRod's QB and special teams coach until last year when he coached the tight ends and held the title of "associate head coach."

This felt like some sort of "we stick to our own" statement hiring to show everyone how loyal WVU is to their people in the wake of RichRod betraying them or something. Horrible hire, imo.

chitownblue (not verified)

July 20th, 2008 at 10:56 AM ^

Look, WVU only lost 3 players on offense from last year (Slaton, Schmitt, Reynaud). Slaton is being replaced by Five-star, all-everything Noel Devine. They still have the same playbooks as last year. They're going to score plenty of points.

They lose 7 players on D, but still have their leading tackler and top pass-rusher. Also, their defensive coordinator, who has turned out top-20 defenses the past 3 or four years is still there.

Long story short, I don't know if Steward will be good for the long-term health of the program. But WVU, IMO will be better than Michigan next year.

oriental andrew

July 21st, 2008 at 4:40 PM ^

WVU + Stewart = Miami + Coker

Year 1, Coker was off to a smashing start with his inherited team.  He kept up the pace a couple more years with (mostly) Davis' recruiting classes.  Years 4 and 5 were good, not great, but saw a very steady decline (especially the Peach Bowl FBD at the hands of LSU), culminating with a crappy Year 6 campaign that saw him get canned.  WVU likely won't be winning a national championship on RR's coattails, but see a similar - if not accelerated - trajectory for Stewart.  Once White is gone, it'll be interesting to see what happens to the offense.