Bill Stewart (American football) facts for kids
.jpg) |
|
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 11, 1952 Grafton, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | May 21, 2012 (aged 59) Roanoke, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1972–1974 | Fairmont State |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1977–1978 | Salem (assistant) |
| 1979 | North Carolina (assistant) |
| 1980 | Marshall (OL) |
| 1981–1983 | William & Mary (OL) |
| 1984 | Navy (OL) |
| 1985–1987 | North Carolina (OL) |
| 1988–1989 | Arizona State (TE/OT) |
| 1990–1993 | Air Force (DL) |
| 1994–1996 | VMI |
| 1998 | Montreal Alouettes (OL) |
| 1999 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers (OC) |
| 2000–2007 | West Virginia (QB/TE/ST) |
| 2008–2010 | West Virginia |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 36–37 |
| Bowls | 2–2 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 Big East (2010) | |
William L. Stewart (June 11, 1952 – May 21, 2012) was a well-known American football coach. People often called him "Stew". He became the temporary head coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team in December 2007. This happened after their previous coach, Rich Rodriguez, left for Michigan.
Coach Stewart led the Mountaineers to a big 48–28 win over the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl. Because of this impressive victory, he was officially named the team's 32nd head football coach on January 3, 2008. He later stepped down from his role in the summer of 2011. Before joining West Virginia, he was the head coach at Virginia Military Institute for three seasons.
Contents
Playing Football
Bill Stewart played football himself in college. He went to Fairmont State College and graduated in 1975. During his time there, he was a three-year letterman. This means he played well enough to earn a special award for being on the team for three seasons. In 1974, he was even the team captain. That year, his team won the WVIAC championship.
Coaching Journey
Starting Out
Coach Stewart's coaching career began at his old college, Fairmont State. He worked there as a student assistant coach for one season. In 1975, he became an assistant coach at Sistersville High School in Sistersville, West Virginia.
In 1977, he moved to Salem College. There, he was an assistant football coach and also the head track coach for two years. After that, he worked as an assistant coach at many different universities. These included the University of North Carolina (1979), Marshall University (1980), the College of William & Mary (1981–1983), and the United States Naval Academy (1984). He also coached at North Carolina again (1985–1987), Arizona State University (1988–1989), and the United States Air Force Academy (1990–1993).
Coaching at VMI
In 1994, Stewart became the head coach at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). He coached there for three years. During his time, the team had a record of 8 wins and 25 losses.
An interesting fact is that Coach Stewart gave Mike Tomlin his first coaching job. Mike Tomlin is now the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He worked as an assistant under Stewart at VMI in 1995. Later, Tomlin helped Stewart get the coaching job at West Virginia University.
Stewart resigned from VMI in 1996. This happened after an incident involving a comment he made to a player. Stewart later said it was an "isolated incident" and that he was trying to help the player.
Coaching in Canada
After VMI, Stewart coached in the Canadian Football League (CFL). In 1998, he was the offensive line coach for the Montreal Alouettes. His team's offensive line helped Mike Pringle become the first player in CFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season. In 1999, he became the offensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. There, he coached two top receivers and a running back who gained over a thousand yards.
Time at West Virginia University
Early Years at WVU (2000–2007)
In January 2000, head coach Don Nehlen hired Stewart to coach quarterbacks at WVU. When Rich Rodriguez became the new head coach after the 2000 season, he kept Stewart on his staff. Stewart continued to coach quarterbacks and special teams until 2007. Then, he started coaching tight ends and became the associate head coach.
The Big Break: 2008 Season
When Coach Rodriguez left for Michigan in December 2007, Stewart was named the temporary head coach for the 2008 Fiesta Bowl. In this important game, Stewart led the Mountaineers to a surprising 48–28 win against the #3 ranked Oklahoma Sooners. After the game, West Virginia quarterback Pat White said Stewart deserved the head coaching job.
On January 3, 2008, just one day after the Fiesta Bowl victory, Bill Stewart was officially announced as West Virginia's 32nd head coach. He signed a five-year contract. Stewart then brought in several new assistant coaches, including former Mountaineer players. He also kept key coaches like defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel.
The 2008 recruiting class for WVU was ranked well nationally. It included top players like offensive guard Josh Jenkins. The Mountaineers started the 2008 season with a big win over Villanova. However, they then lost two games in a row to East Carolina and Colorado. After these losses, they improved their record by beating Marshall, Rutgers, and Syracuse.
A big moment was their comeback win against Auburn, where they scored 31 points without reply. They also upset #25 Connecticut on the road. The team finished the regular season with a 9–4 record. They ended the year with a 31–30 victory over #25 North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
2009 Season Highlights
For the 2009 season, Coach Stewart and his staff signed a strong group of new players. This included highly-rated quarterback Eugene Smith and running back Tavon Austin. The Mountaineers had a perfect record playing at home that year. This included a 19–16 upset win against #8 Pittsburgh in the "Backyard Brawl" game. However, they struggled in away games, losing three times. They also lost their bowl game against Florida State.
2010 Season and Transition
In 2010, Stewart led West Virginia to another good season with a 9–3 regular season record. They also shared the Big East conference title. However, they lost their bowl game for the second year in a row, falling to NC State in the Champs Sports Bowl.
After the regular season, it was announced that Stewart would coach for one more year in 2011. After that, he would move into a different role in the WVU Athletic Department. Dana Holgorsen was named as his successor and would serve as the team's offensive coordinator in 2011.
Life and Legacy
Bill Stewart was born in New Martinsville, West Virginia. He married Karen Kacor on July 1, 1978. They had one son named Blaine. Stewart was a Christian.
Sadly, Bill Stewart passed away on May 21, 2012. He was playing golf with a friend at Stonewall Resort when he collapsed. He was taken to a hospital nearby, where he was pronounced dead from what appeared to be a heart attack.
Coaching Records
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VMI Keydets (Southern Conference) (1994–1996) | |||||||||
| 1994 | VMI | 1–10 | 1–7 | 9th | |||||
| 1995 | VMI | 4–7 | 3–5 | 6th | |||||
| 1996 | VMI | 3–8 | 3–5 | 6th | |||||
| VMI: | 8–25 | 7–17 | |||||||
| West Virginia Mountaineers (Big East Conference) (2007–2011) | |||||||||
| 2007 | West Virginia | 1–0 | W Fiesta† | 6 | 6 | ||||
| 2008 | West Virginia | 9–4 | 5–2 | T–2nd | W Meineke Car Care | 23 | |||
| 2009 | West Virginia | 9–4 | 5–2 | T–2nd | L Gator | 22 | 25 | ||
| 2010 | West Virginia | 9–4 | 5–2 | T–1st | L Champs Sports | ||||
| West Virginia: | 28–12 | 15–6 | |||||||
| Total: | 36–37 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
