As you may have noticed, our last TSM Coaching Approval Meter occurred between the Rutgers game and Champs Sports Bowl.  Under any other circumstances, I would have done another version of this popular post right away, but with the coaching turmoil, etc. going on, I thought better of that and waited.  Now, it seems things have sufficiently calmed so that we can take a bigger picture view of the entire situation.

How do we do that?  Well, we evaluate the entire Bill Stewart era, that's how.  Sure, it seems certain that Bill Stewart will still be the head coach of the Mountaineers next year, but it will be with a giant asterisk, one named Dana Holgorsen.  You can't say the Holgorsen era begins this year, as he won't be the head coach for another year.  And you can't completely discard Stewart until he's actually out the door.  What you can do, however, is close the book on the Bill Stewart solo act.

Today, you'll be voting on three years worth of Bill Stewart resume, which is as follows:

• 27-12 overall
• Three straight 9-4 seasons
• 1-2 in bowl games
• No solo Big East Championships or BCS appearances
• 1-2 against ranked opponents (2008 Cincinnati, 2009 Pitt, 2010 LSU)

So, for the last time, we humbly ask (and note the past tense):

All Bill Stewart does is win nine football games.

Now, the prior statement is a very glass half full/empty scenario.  Is nine games enough?  Ten is, of course, better, but is the prospect of below nine not worth it?

With the bowl game in Orlando, he'll have the chance to go where no Bill Stewart team has gone before and win ten games.  But, then again, he had that chance last year and failed.

Still, before we get to that point, we must judge him and the staff on the job currently being done.  What is that job, exactly?  Again, even though the nine wins is fact, there is a lot of subjective discussion about what those nine wins really mean.

So, before you do anything else today -- unless of course you must really use the restroom -- please vote on your satisfaction with Bill Stewart & Co. as well as leave your longer opinion in the comments.  Do your civic responsibility proud and go vote.

Last Week: 40.2%

Season Average: 33.1%

It's been four games since the Approval Meter broke 15%, but that certainly looks to be a streak that ends today.

It will be extremely interesting to see the progression of thoughts from the depths of Syracuse and UConn, to general indifference of Cincinnati and Louisville, to now a win over our most hated rival.  Sure, Pitt was never to be confused with a world-beater, but even an ugly win over a very bad Panthers squad is probably worth 10%.  What will a 25 point win over the conference leader do?

Over the past few weeks, the record has certainly spoken for itself.  Awful losses, lackluster offensive performances, and generally malaise had stricken the program.  But now, there seems to be a small light at the end of the tunnel.  It's not enough to forget the past few weeks (or past two years, no matter how you view them), but it should make discussion a little more lively.

As for the discussion, remember: please explain your yes or no vote in the comments.  If you feel strongly either way, make your case.

Last Week: 13.6%

Season Average: 32.3%

A convincing win.  Like sherbet served between courses of a meal, it did a lot to get the taste of the past few weeks.  Unfortunately, the feeling is fleeting, because as awful as the courses before truly were, the taste is coming back gradually.

That's a very long-winded attempt at saying that this win was good, but more is going to be needed to put the earlier disappointments behind us.  A lot more.

Still, the approval ratings have generally nowhere to go but up, considering we hit a paltry 3% two weeks ago.  But how much higher will it go?  How many people will see the 37-10 scoreline and jump back on the proverbial bandwagon?  Or literally jump on it, I suppose, if there so happens to be a bandwagon driving through your town.  Either way, stay tuned.

Last Week: 3.7%

Season Average: 36.1%

Scene: Deep inside the secret bunker located below the Puskar Center, Coach Bill Stewart and Equipment Manager Dan Nehlen meet again, just as they have here and here.

Dandy Dan, I'm glad you're here.  I have great news!

Sir, we're on a two game losing streak and last in the Big East Conference, by far the worst major conference in the country.  Also, according to an NBC Sports poll, your seat is the hottest in all of college football.  How could you possibly have good news?

I just do.  Ask me what it is!

OK, what is it?

I GOT AN EXTENSION!

Continue reading this post »

Very little intro needed.

West Virginia went on to the road as a clear favorite and once again dropped a game that was equally dramatic and pathetic.  UConn is a team that has lost to Temple in convincing fashion and was shut out -- yes, they failed to score -- against Louisville.  They now also own a win over West Virginia, which is not anything of note in 2010.

Oh, how far we've fallen.

As is always the case with the Coaching Approval Meter, please explain your vote in the comments.  If you have a potential solution to the problem, please give us that, too.  And just so you know, just saying "Fire Bill Stewart" is not a satisfactory response, even if you add 14 exclamation points.  I might agree with you, but you need to take your answer further.  If you want him gone today, tell us why and how.  If you want him gone at the end of the season, tell us why and how.  And if you want him to stay -- yes, it's possible -- tell us why and how.

Go to it, both old grads and young lads.

Last Week: 9.01%

Season Average: 43.82%

There once was a fear about Mountaineer football.

Facing White, Slaton, Schmitt, and Reynaud was a Herculean task for any team.  Of course, we weren't always victorious, but teams knew that one false move, one blown assignment was going to be punished.  Where is that feeling now?

Bill Stewart has continually used the rallying cry of "respect all, fear none" as some type of motivational tool.  Unfortunately, it's simply not effective, mostly because it's something you would hear from the coach of a top-ranked team.  When you're a top-ranked team, it's easy to think your unbeatable, to think you're easily better than a lesser team.

When you're the 2010 version of the Mountaineers?  No way, no how.  I have absolutely no idea how the thought that this team is so much better than anyone creeps into the locker room.  "Respect all, fear none" smacks of condescension at a time when such an emotion shouldn't reside within a two-hour drive of Morgantown.  It's a cliche, one that does our team a disservice in the long run.  Of course we better respect all, because when teams come into Mountaineer Field and push us around, we have no other choice.  Why do we need a rallying cry to tell us that?

Continue reading this post »

If anyone is a fan of baseball, and more specifically a fan of baseball statistics, you've probably heard of Value Over Replacement Player, or VORP for short.  According to Wikipedia, VORP is:

...a statistic popularized by Keith Woolner that demonstrates how much a hitter contributes offensively or how much a pitcher contributes to his team in comparison to a fictitious "replacement player," who is an average fielder at his position and a below average hitter. A replacement player performs at "replacement level," which is the level of performance an average team can expect when trying to replace a player at minimal cost, also known as "freely available talent."

It's a very easy way to quickly determine if a player is worthy of his position in the lineup.

Now, none of us at The Smoking Musket are smart enough to truly invent a new statistic (well, WVUIE97 might be, but ignore that for now), but we're going to do our best to apply the principals of VORP into our own metric: Value Over Replacement Coach (VORC).

Continue reading this post »