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Chuck Landon: Don't look for Bill Stewart to be nervous Saturday
Nervous? Billy Stewart?
The very notion of Stewart being nervous during his debut as West Virginia University's head football coach Saturday is laughable.
So, that's exactly what he did during the Big East coaches teleconference this week.
Stewart laughed.
"Ohmigosh, I'm excited," he said, after finishing a chuckle. "But I'm going to be very, very loose. I'm going to be me. I'm the same guy as the head coach as I was as an assistant coach.
"I just switched offices.
"If I change, then shame on me. I'll be loose. I've got to be able to think. I've got to be able to keep cool and calm."
Otherwise, Stewart imagined the worst-case scenario as he and his No. 8 ranked Mountaineers take the field to host Villanova at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown.
"I'm not going to get all hyped up," said Stewart, "and come charging out of that helmet (the large inflatable helmet the team runs through onto Mountaineer Field) and trip and fall and embarrass myself."
WVU's first-year head coach isn't really worried about that. Stewart is a little nervous about Villanova, however.
Why? Because he's a coach. And that's what coaches do.
"Like any coach, I'm leery and scared of the first game," said Stewart. "We have an old saying in these hills of West Virginia: 'We respect all, fear none.'
"We certainly respect Villanova."
But WVU doesn't fear the Wildcats.
One reason for that is star quarterback Patrick White. Another is running back Noel Devine. But what really soothes Stewart's nerves is his coaching staff.
Unlike some head coaches, Stewart is going to let his coaches do what they do best. ... coach.
"I won't be nearly as involved in the play-calling as I was," said the former quarterback coach. "I told the guys, 'I'll have the headset on, but I'm into the special teams.'
"That's my job. I know the head coach (Stewart) is going to want to make sure the special teams coordinator (also Stewart) has his game together. So, that's my top priority.
"We've got a great offensive staff and a great defensive staff. They don't need a whole lot of input from me.
"I'll listen to play-calls, but I never go to the defensive (phone) line. I've got more brain-trusts over there than a man deserves. I don't even need to worry about those guys."
So, Stewart has no worries heading into the season-opener? Not quite. Stewart is concerned about the play of WVU's safeties, the cornerbacks' collective inexperience and a defensive line that needs to improve.
Yet, Stewart still believes the Mountaineer defense is the strength of the team.
Honest.
If that assertion surprises WVU fans, it's only because it should.
I mean, it has been the high-powered, high-publicized WVU offense that has been the show-stopper, the marquee unit, the catalyst of the Mountaineers' rise to national prominence.
That's why Stewart's statement about the defense is. ... well, stunning.
"Defensively, we feel that's our strength," he said. "It was in the spring. I felt like the defense won the Fiesta Bowl for us.
"And they started up in fall camp where they left off. They were very, very aggressive, playing downhill and they had a good camp."
Hmmm. Playing up the defense over the offense, not being involved in the play-calling and being very, very loose on the sidelines?
Things certainly have changed in Morgantown.
Chuck Landon is a sports columnist for The Herald-Dispatch. Call him at 526-2827. E-mail him at clandon@herald-dispatch.com.
