Better late than never, right?  I'm pretty sure that's a real, honest phrase, so that's my cover for posting the Coaching Approval Meter on January 14th, even though the Gator Bowl was on New Year's Day.

Hopefully, the two week respite has given you time to cool down and think rationally about the whole situation.  Or, if you're like me, still tripping on mescaline and balls deep in Filipino hookers.  To each his own, I guess.

You know the drill: vote, then give us the lame reasoning behind your vote.  Make sure you openly disregard anyone's logic and insert your own, stupidly formed ideas instead.  Like we've been doing every week.

Good luck.

Big end to the season, as a possible 7-5 disaster was replaced with a 9-3 gift for the holiday season.

Over the past few weeks, we have hashed out this team and coaching staff ad naseum with no real definitive conclusion, so I won't try to give talking points here.  I will say, however, that the bandwagon seems to be getting more full.  Why?  Well, just beating Pitt on a last second FG lifted HCBS's approval rating 33 points, which is easily the biggest one-game jump in meter history.  And it should rise again -- but how much?

Remember, after you vote, please explain your reason(s) for that vote in the comments.

Two things we know:

1. We reached a new all-time low last week, dropping to 28% "approval" after the Cincinnati loss.
2. The approval will be higher this week.

But how much higher?

We beat a top 10 Pitt team, which is awesome in every respect.  But will HCBS continue to be judged for some in-game clock and game management gaffes that seem to be present every single week?  Find out when we play this week's version of TSM Coaching Approval Meter!

It is blatantly obvious from call-in shows, message boards and the Coaching Approval Meter, that a majority of WVU fans either want HCBS fired right now or are seriously leaning in that direction. [I am not in either of those camps.]  At the end of the day, however, it does not matter what the hell we think about HCBS.  It only matters what the players in the locker-room think about him.

If you go back to the night Smilin' Bill was hired, it  was the players, specifically Patrick White, that first lobbied for Stewart to get the job.  The administration ran with it and by about 3:30 that next morning, Smilin' Bill was our coach.

For me, Noel Devine's decision on his NFL future will be a good guage of how the players feel about this coaching staff and the program's future.

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Scene: Deep inside the secret bunker located below the Puskar Center, Coach Bill Stewart and Equipment Manager Dan Nehlen meet again, just as they did before last year's Meineke Car Care Bowl......

 It's been a tough week for me Dandy Dan.  I'm glad I have you here to talk to.

 No worries, sir.  You've had some slip-ups, but you're still the head coach.

 Yes, I am! And speaking of those slip-ups, I think I have the perfect solution.

 Wait, not the time machine again, right?  We all know how that ended.

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UPDATE: SEE BELOW.

That is a mouthful, to say the least, but it doesn't make the situation any less serious.

Mike Casazza has begun to tackle this controversy, but even before that was posted, we were receiving word from people that cover the team regularly were not happy about this exchange.

Here's the timeline:

• First, Tony Caridi sits in the front row of journalists, not a usual spot for him.  He is usually towards the back.
• Stewart calls on Dave Hickman, who asks a question about the officiating, to which Stewart deadpans a joke.
• During the laughter, just after the 17 minute mark of this video (seen below), Stewart looks right at Caridi and very, very, VERY clearly mouths the words, "Ask me about kickoffs. Kickoffs."  You can actually hear him say it on the video,
• Hickman continues with another unrelated question.
• Caridi asks "his" question about kickoffs.
• Stewart delivers what looks to be a very canned, rehearsed answer.

Don't believe me?  Watch it for yourself.

[video courtesy of WV Illustrated]

I hate to inform Bill Stewart of this. but that's not how a press conference works.  This also isn't a conspiracy theory, as it's plainly visible on the tape.

In press conferences at any level, it is common knowledge to ask on favored journalists for less than hard-hitting questions.  Every elected official has done it at some point in time.  But to very clearly (and secretly, or least an attempted secrecy) ask for a specific question from someone on the staff at Mountaineer Sports Network planted in the front row is disrespectful to both the other journalists in the room and the fans watching at home.

As I mentioned above, the other journalists are not happy about this, and can you blame them?

UPDATE: I have gotten numerous e-mails from readers asking me if Mike Casazza from the Daily Mail was my source.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I understand the way I worded my sentence may insinuate that, but I assure you, that is not true.  Sorry for the confusion.

Lately, Bill has been dazzling us with explanations for his rationale behind certain moves in games, like "The Punt" (as it will now be called) at USF to the fourth and eight at Cincinnati.  It's the quote that explains the play before that play, third and nine from the Cincinnati 25 yard line, that is the most curious.

Now remember, it was Jock Sanders that run up the middle for a gain of one on that play, setting up the fateful fourth and eight try.  Here is Bill's explanation:

"That was a power play that we had been gashing for 6, 8, 12, 10 (yards)," Coach Bill Stewart said. "They slanted and blitzed and Jock got caught off the backside. It was one of those 'gotchas.'"

That's an extremely interesting take on the situation, one that is not totally incorrect, but one that is certainly not 100% truthful.

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This idea has come up many times, previously on this blog (in the comments) and message boards across Mountaineer Nation.  Pastilong is still tentatively set to retire, and even people who don't like Stewart as a head coach generally like Stewart as a person and don't want to see him thrown out into the cold.  Therefore, the handy-dandy "Stewart as Athletic Director" campaign begins.

Here are several reasons why that isn't a good idea:

• Stewart would make for an excellent ambassador for the state and this program.  That's a wonderful quality to have, and it would certainly benefit the athletic department in some capacity.  That's where the bulk of this idea comes from.  But there is much, much more to being an athletic director than being a great guy.  Just as there is being a major head football coach.

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