Mike Garrison’s Continuing Legacy

I’m not one of those people who blames Mike Garrison for running off Rich Rodriguez. Maybe he did — I just don’t know. Although it did look like Garrison handled the situation in the same meatheaded way he handled the Bresch affair. But the decision to Hire Bill Stewart as head coach falls squarely on Mike Garrison. Take Heather Bresch out of the equation and it was the only big decision Garrison ever made.

And please, can we quit pretending and admit what this was? It was complete foolishness. WVU was in a position to hire a really great coach. Instead, we hired a sweet old clown whose previous accomplishments as a head coach included losing 25 games in three years before resigning after calling a player the N-word. Yes, the Fiesta Bowl sure was something, but it was won with Rodriguez’s players, with Rodriguez’s coaches calling Rodriguez’s plays. Get real.

Garrison gave less though to the decision to hire Stewart that Miss Britney Jean Spears gave to her first marriage. But the thing is, it’s exactly what you’d expect from a professional lobbyist. It wasn’t just a political decision — it was a purely short-term political decision. Anyone with a half a brain could see that Stewart was going to be a loser in the long run, and consequently would be a political liability in a year or two. But a lobbyist focuses on the next vote. Mike went for the cheap, instant political gratification of hiring Coach Stew. It’s precisely the type of prediction people made when Garrison was hired.

Maybe Rich Rodriguez is an egomaniacal prick who would have never been happy at WVU — maybe not. But he was a damn good football coach. Now we have a clown at the helm.

Thanks, Mike.