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Is there such a thing as a Big East coach being hated because he wins too much?

The answer is clearly no when you look at the current group of head coaches. Three of them have never coached in a Big East game. Three are going into their third seasons in the league and are barely above .500. Paul Pasqualoni has a bushel-full of victories, but nearly all of them came at Syracuse two decades ago.

So let us take a dip back into history to find an answer. Here are the all-time winningest coaches in Big East history, by overall percentage. I am using this statistic because many of the biggest winners do not stick around the Big East for long.

• Larry Coker, Miami: 35-3 (.921)
• Dennis Erickson, Miami: 42-6 (.875)
• Brian Kelly, Cincinnati: 34-6 (.850)
• Bobby Petrino, Louisville: 21-4 (.840)
• Butch Davis, Miami: 51-20 (.718)
• Bill Stewart, West Virginia: 28-12 (.700)
• Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia: 60-26 (.698)
• Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech: 108-48-1 (.691)

The conclusion is an easy one: Much more than one hated coach, Miami was a hated team because of all the wins it racked up while playing in the Big East from 1991-2003. That includes two national championships and seven Big East titles, more than any other school. Coker was never vilified or hated. The man is impossibly nice.

Davis' image took much more of a hit at North Carolina because he left the place in scandal, with two major investigations hanging over the program. While at Miami, he was lauded as the man who saved the program from NCAA sanctions. It is hard to hate a coach who won 10 games only once in his career.

Erickson simply took over for Jimmy Johnson and continued what was started.

But the assignment is to find a coach hated for winning. Let's look at some of the other names on the list. Kelly and Petrino were hated much more for the way they left their programs, as documented earlier in this series. Kelly only coached three years in the Big East; Petrino only two in the Big East. I can't imagine their short stays struck fear into the hearts of opponents, despite all the victories.

So let's turn the focus to Rodriguez. He, more than any of the aforementioned coaches, probably fits the bill. In his final three seasons in Morgantown, Rodriguez won two league championships and had three 11-win seasons. His team went undefeated in league play in 2005, one of only two teams to accomplish the feat in the past seven years. He won with swagger and style, and some of the best athletes in Big East history.

But I used the word probably. Because as great as Rodriguez was, his on-field coaching career in the Big East will be defined by what he didn't do in 2007. West Virginia was ranked No. 2 in the country going into the regular-season finale against Pitt in the always heated Backyard Brawl. Win, and the Mountaineers would be playing for the school's first national title. Pitt was already out of the bowl picture, entering the game at 4-7. West Virginia was a 28 1/2-point favorite.

Slam dunk, right? Well, you guys know what happened. Pitt pulled one of the biggest upsets in the series, and Rodriguez went packing to Michigan. The loss will always follow Rodriguez, despite all of his wins in the league. On the day he needed a win most of all, he failed. But that loss did not make him a villain in Morgantown. Leaving did.

That is why it is hard to anoint any Big East coach as somebody hated for winning.

Current Big East coaches' career records in the league:

• Paul Pasqualoni, Syracuse and UConn: 112-63-1
• Doug Marrone, Syracuse: 17-20
• Butch Jones, Cincinnati: 14-11
• Charlie Strong, Louisville: 14-12
• Skip Holtz, USF: 13-12
• Steve Addazio, Temple: 0-0
• Paul Chryst, Pitt: 0-0
• Kyle Flood, Rutgers: 0-0

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Last May, Bill Stewart joined his colleagues at the Big East spring meetings to tackle league business and catch up with old friends.

One of them, Cincinnati coach Butch Jones, was particularly saddened by the news of Stewart's sudden and tragic passing Monday. When Jones took a job as receivers coach at West Virginia in 2005, Stewart was there as quarterbacks coach. The two grew close in the two seasons Jones spent with the Mountaineers. They then had the opportunity to face each other on opposite sidelines as Big East head coaches.

"Just one year ago, he was sitting in the meetings with us and we were sitting on the beach together talking," Jones recalled Tuesday. "Things like this put things into perspective in all aspects."

Here is the way Jones will remember his good friend:

You think of Bill Stewart the man and how much his wife Karen and his son Blaine meant to him. The best word that describes him is family man. They were everything to him. That was first. Him and I have been through a lot of wars together on the same team and also competed against each other. He was an individual of high integrity. We had that special bond from the positions we coached, and our friendship really grew. He was one of the guys who took me under his wing. He was a mentor to a lot of people. A father figure but extremely competitive. He had a love and passion for the state of West Virginia and that university. He used to talk about the old blue and gold, so I will always think about the passion and the affinity he had for Morgantown and the people in that community.

USF coach Skip Holtz also shared his fondest memory of Stewart.

He’s one of those guys that when you would have a big win, your phone would ring and it would be Bill Stewart. But the thing that makes Bill so classy is when you had that heartbreaking loss, your phone would ring and it would be Bill Stewart. I have great respect for him not just as a football coach but as a man and the way he handled everything. We lost one of the good people in this business, without a doubt. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and the entire West Virginia family because he was a special individual.

Last spring, I sat in Bill Stewart's office in the West Virginia football complex for a long chat, as I had the previous two Aprils. Of course, this visit carried a distinctly different vibe, as Stewart was preparing to coach what he thought would be his final season as Mountaineers coach before handing the reins over to Dana Holgorsen.

Stewart never really wanted to participate in the peaceful transition of power, which became even more obvious just a few weeks later. Outwardly, though, he maintained his ever-rosy persona when I asked him what he planned to do with his life after football.

"I'm only going to be 59 this year," he told me. "I was born to coach. I was born to lead."

Sadly, and incredibly, Stewart didn't have much time to write a new chapter in his life, dying of a heart attack Monday just a couple of weeks shy of his 60th birthday.

His three-year run as West Virginia's head coach coincided with my three years covering the Big East for ESPN.com. I would always tell people who asked about the league one thing: There's not another football coach like Bill Stewart.

Nobody loved West Virginia more than the New Martinsville native who spoke reverentially about "the old Gold and Blue" every chance he got. You could have never pictured Stewart leaving the Mountaineers for a supposedly bigger job the way Rich Rodriguez did before the 2008 Fiesta Bowl. Which is why, in the hours after Stewart led the the team to an upset of Oklahoma in that game as interim coach, West Virginia leaders got swept up in the euphoria and emotion and named him permanent head coach.

It was a hasty decision that in retrospect was probably the wrong call. Stewart hadn't even been a coordinator during his career as an assistant in Morgantown, and his one stint as a head coach, at VMI, was a failure. He could deliver a rousing speech, he could connect on a personal level with his players and -- despite the perception caused by his "aw shucks" manners -- he knew football.

But Stewart lacked an obsessive focus on details that mark most successful coaches at powerhouse schools, and his teams often reflected that. The Mountaineers in the Stewart era lost games to less talented teams because of untimely mistakes, turnovers and penalties. Fans believed his teams underachieved, and their case was only strengthened when Holgorsen won the Orange Bowl with Stewart's players last season.

But if the worst thing you could say about Bill Stewart was that he didn't spend every waking minute breaking down film or yelling at his assistants, so be it. He was a people person, through and through. On one of my first spring visits, we sat in his office talking for more than 90 minutes even though he had to attend a high school coaches' clinic that was underway. He asked me more questions than the other way around. On another visit, I was scheduled to drive back to Pittsburgh at the end of the day. Stewart worried that I would be driving into storms and kept checking the weather reports throughout the day. He asked me to let him know that I got back safely that night. How many BCS conference coaches would do that?

But that's how Stewart was, a genuinely nice and thoughtful person. His players -- some of whom, like Noel Devine, had wildly different backgrounds -- clearly loved him as a father figure. Players, media members and others who knew him got used to receiving daily inspirational text messages from Stewart while he was coaching.

And if Stewart was not the right guy to follow Rodriguez, then whose fault was that? If someone handed you your ultimate dream job, would you say no? Rodriguez's departure created an ugly rift, and Stewart helped unite the West Virginia family once again. His tenure was hardly a disaster, as the Mountaineers won nine games in each of his three seasons, including a share of the 2010 Big East title. The program recruited well on his watch, and he's responsible for bringing stars like Geno Smith, Tavon Austin and Bruce Irvin to campus. Things could have gone a whole lot worse after Rodriguez left, but Stewart maintained the strength of the program and made it possible for Holgorsen to excel immediately. He was a nice guy who didn't finish anywhere near last.

Stewart was an American history buff who was convinced that his legacy would look better down the road. He might have been right about that, though the controversial end to the relationship between him and Holgorsen did him no favors. What I'll choose to remember about Stewart was his overwhelmingly decent, fundamentally caring personality. There was no head coach like Bill Stewart, and there weren't many people quite like him, either.

Former West Virginia coach Bill Stewart has died of an apparent heart attack, the school announced Monday.

Though Stewart's departure as head coach was a mess, there is no doubt he loved his Mountaineers. This is a sad day for college football, and thoughts and prayers are with West Virginia and the Stewart family.

Stay tuned to the blog for more reaction.

Nearly every Big East team practiced this past weekend. Here are a few notes from each:

UConn: The Huskies had their first practice in pads Saturday, but did not scrimmage; that is planned for this upcoming Saturday. Early reports indicate that both Casey Cochran and Chandler Whitmer have looked good at quarterback. Coach Paul Pasqualoni also commented on the dismissal of backup cornerback Tevrin Brandon.

Louisville: The Cardinals also held their first practice in pads Saturday. One player who already is standing out is redshirt freshman running back Corvin Lamb. Running back Dominique Brown has added 10 pounds and looks much more physical.

Pitt: The Panthers scrimmaged Saturday, and running back Isaac Bennett delivered the highlight -- a 70-yard touchdown run. Bennett has had a nice spring camp, building off the momentum from the end of last season. Bennett will be relied upon to be a contributor this season with Ray Graham coming off a knee injury. Sophomore transfer Ray Vinopal forced a fumble, which Lloyd Carrington returned 60 yards for a score. The Panthers also practiced Sunday and got a visit from former West Virginia coach Bill Stewart.

USF: Coach Skip Holtz told reporters after the first day in pads Saturday that Lindsey Lamar had moved back to running back to help shore up depth at that position. Holtz also talked about the emerging leadership on the team after a few days of practice.

Syracuse: The Orange began practice last week, but practices have been closed until further notice.

Temple: The Owls have already completed seven practices and held their second scrimmage Saturday. There have been a few standouts, but best of all, no major injuries of note. Temple will hold its Cherry and White Spring Game at Lincoln Financial Field, a first for the school. The practice facility -- where the game is usually played -- is currently undergoing a $10 million expansion.

After a bit of a delay, thanks to some legal wrangling, West Virginia is finally free.

The Big East and the Mountaineers have settled their lawsuit, and West Virginia is officially on its way to the Big 12 for 2012.

That means it's off the Big East blog and onto the Big 12 blog, too.

To help the Big 12 get to know its newest member, Big 12 blogger David Ubben asked Big East blogger Andrea Adelson for her thoughts.

David Ubben: AA, Les Miles had my favorite quote of the 2011 season in relation to West Virginia. "They were having a football party and invited us. I knew our guys would show up."

You were there, Andrea. What can Big 12 fans expect when they go to Morgantown? Is it a football party every weekend?

Andrea Adelson: Define "every weekend." West Virginia fans show up for the super gigantic games against teams like LSU and Pitt, but there has been concern that the fan base is "fair weather." Note -- 46,000 fans came out to watch Bowling Green. Now, the truth is, no fan in America gets up for the cupcake patsy schedule. But this rubbed Dana Holgorsen the wrong way, and he ripped on the fans after that game:

"All I heard about was how much this meant to everybody across the state of West Virginia. This was the NFL team in town and we're going to be here to support you. Well, having 40,000 people at a game isn't doing that. ... We do our best every week to fix what the problems are offensively, defensively and special teams wise. Well, what's everybody across the state of West Virginia, including the student body, doing to fix the fact that our players had to play in front of 40,000 people?"

Now, you remember Holgy from his days at Oklahoma State. OK maybe not, since there were not many of them. But he likes stirring the pot, and I firmly believe he did that to motivate a fan base that had become dispassionate with good ol' Bill Stewart "I never met a punt I didn't like" in charge. The fact is that West Virginia has the most spirited fan base in the Big East and averaged 8,000 more fans than Louisville, which ranked No. 2 in the league in attendance in 2011. The atmosphere is fun, and was absolutely electric against LSU.

I anticipate many more crowds like that with teams like Texas and Oklahoma appearing on the schedule. West Virginia fans have gotten a bad rap nationally because of the couch burning and rowdiness. But in the two games I attended last season, I thought everybody behaved themselves accordingly.

And hey, they now serve alcohol in the stadium. I'm sure Big 12 fans can drink to that.

DU: No doubt about the couch burning. Apparently West Virginia passed some legislation to make it stop, but I always found it sort of endearing and mostly harmless, albeit destructive. Maybe that's just me.

Holgorsen definitely speaks his mind, and I know fans will be fired up about alcohol sales in the stadium. What about once fans get to the stadium? Any in-game traditions they should be prepared for? Remember, this is the same league that had Texas A&M for its entirety. Visiting fans are prepared for a little weirdness.

AA: You mean weirder than couch burning?

Well, the Mountaineers mascot runs onto the field with the team toting a real rifle. Each year his costume is tailored to fit just him. But my favorite tradition has to be the playing of "Country Roads" at the end of each home victory. Fans stay in the stands and join the team in signing the song, which became a tradition in 1980 after John Denver dedicated Mountaineer Field with the song.

(Read full post)

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen dishes on the West Virginia Mountaineers' win over Norfolk State, his offensive system, Geno Smith, Bruce Irvin, Bill Stewart and more on The Scott Van Pelt Show.

Ryan McGee of ESPN The Magazine goes inside what exactly happened this summer in the head-coach-in-waiting experiment that went awry at West Virginia.

He makes a point that is worth repeating:

There was a time, albeit briefly, when HCIW was considered the perfect road map for a smooth transition of power. When it works, the process keeps the legend in charge while putting the most coveted coordinator on hold, promising him the top job before his inevitable departure to take it somewhere else. Some of the nation's most storied programs were HCIW believers. Then one attempt failed. And then another collapsed. Even schools that managed to pull it off now admit they paid a price. Still, the believers hung on.

But not now. Not since June, when WVU's once-beloved head coach, Bill Stewart, was shown the door after being accused of trying to torpedo Dana Holgorsen, the heir who was forced upon him. The two coaches, along with athletic director Oliver Luck, unwittingly managed to burn down HCIW's final remnants as if it were an old couch the night after beating Pitt.

"I don't see how it can come back from this," says Jimbo Fisher, who ascended to the throne at Florida State in 2010 via the HCIW plan. He's also a West Virginia native. "In the end, it just puts too much strain on the people involved. Too much strain on the kids."

"At first, it's like, well, at least people are talking about West Virginia football nationwide, I guess that's good," says WVU quarterback Geno Smith. "But about the 50th day in a row you're on 'SportsCenter' it's like, okay, let's get out of the spotlight until winning games puts us there. I don't want to answer more questions. I just want to play."

Luck, Stewart and Holgorsen are not allowed to give details on what happened this summer. But even West Virginia fans are none to eager to talk about the fiasco that put them in the national spotlight, McGee finds. Everyone just wants to move on.

Enjoy your links ...

Ejuan Price was granted his release from Ohio State and plans to go to Pitt.

With the recent DUI arrest of Darius Ashley, Louisville has a cornerback conundrum.

Paul Pasqualoni got his chance to talk up the UConn program at ESPN on Monday.

USF newcomers report to campus this week.

Bill Stewart got $1.65 million as part of his settlement agreement with West Virginia. The Mountaineers got a commitment from athlete Brandon Napoleon, son of former WVU back Eugene Napoleon.

A blueprint for Syracuse to land top recruits.

It was Ray Rice Day in New Rochelle, N.Y.

Cornerback Kevin Houchins committed to Louisville.

Welcome to your Friday edition of the Big East mailblog. Keep your comments coming.

Ryan Cavins in Louisville writes: This is a two-part question. Given Charlie Strong coaching and Clint Hurtt's ties to Southern Florida recruiting, do you believe that Louisville (given that both stay for the long run) can build into a perennial top 20 team? Also with the addition of TCU and teams like UConn, U of L, and Syracuse on the rise, do you think it can become a respected football conference again? Nothing like the SEC or Big 12 currently but could the Big East be right in the mix behind them?

Andrea Adelson: Ryan, I do believe Louisville has the potential to be a perennial top-20 team. Look at what Strong did last season with a team many projected to finish last in the Big East, a team that went 4-8 the year before he took over. This year is going to be a challenge as well with so many experienced players gone, but there is a reason players respond to and play for Strong. They did it at Florida and they are doing it at Louisville. The pipeline into South Florida is only going to help boost the talent level. I think a bigger question is what happens if Strong has plenty more success. Does he stay or get offered other opportunities at bigger schools? As for the Big East becoming more of a respected conference, one of the problems is that the Big East is smaller than everybody else. So it doesn't have an opportunity to have five or six teams ranked like the SEC and Big Ten. The addition of TCU certainly will help, but I think the Big East needs to have at least three teams in the Top 25 on an annual basis to start making inroads.

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Kenneth in Charleston, W.Va., writes: Why isn't BYU being seriously discussed as an expansion candidate? They have a huge national following and a very quality football program with a better than average basketball team (way better than TCU's). Why wouldn't the Big East consider adding them as full-time members instead of football only? To me, they seem to be the best option. Villanova is a complete JOKE!

Adelson writes: Kenneth, there are a few reasons here. First, I think going to Dallas is the furthest the Big East is willing to stretch its borders. Going into the mountain time zone would completely demolish its footprint as an Eastern conference. Some question TCU as well, but at least Dallas is a quicker plane ride than to Salt Lake City -- and Provo is one hour away from there, too. Second, BYU just left a conference and is eager to see how going independent is going to work. Yes, the Big East is an AQ conference, but how would joining up benefit BYU right now when it has its own TV network, along with a TV deal from ESPN? BYU has little in common with the schools in the Big East, and aside from TCU has no familiarity with any of the teams, either. I understand your feelings on Villanova. The only way adding Villanova benefits the league is to appease the basketball membership. Adding Villanova does not up the prestige level of the conference.

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Oliver in Philadelphia writes: Why are people concerned about the stadium size at PPL when everyone knows Villanova can't sell 30,000 tickets? Who cares how small the stadium is? They still won't sell out. Because I live in Philly I can tell you this: nobody cares. I mean really, nobody cares. We have 5 pro teams who made or will make the playoffs this year. College football will never be relevant in Philadelphia.

Adelson writes: What really is troublesome about all of this is how the Nova situation has been botched. If there were complaints from some of the bigger football-playing schools, why even make Villanova believe this could happen?

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Bob in Palm Springs, Calif., writes: Where did all of last year's fired assistants from WVU end up? And where do you think Bill Stewart will be next year?

Andrea Adelson: Chris Beatty is now the receivers coach at Vanderbilt; Dave McMichael is now tight ends coach at Kent State; Jeff Mullen is now offensive coordinator at Charlotte, a program set to begin play in 2013; Dave Johnson works at the Offensive Line Academy. As for Stewart, he will be where he is today -- home on his couch.

Anybody else still in shock the Dallas Mavericks are NBA champs? What happened in West Virginia might be more believable. Now on to some links ...

Bill Stewart and West Virginia have had plenty of deja vu recently.

West Virginia is ready to move past the awkwardness of the last month.

Dana Holgorsen sat down for an interview with Decision Makers.

Taking a look back at some of the best moments of Stewart's tenure.

Is the West Virginia fiasco a blessing in disguise?

Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes of teaching moments at Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

UConn Football: Eating right the key to preparation.

Pittsburgh coach Todd Graham says he worries about boosters stepping out of line and offering gifts to his players, but says education is key. Also in this story are Graham's comments on backup quarterback Anthony Gonzalez.

No TV yet for the Louisville-Kentucky football game.

Syracuse picked up a commitment from Georgia tight end Joshua Parris, who had previously committed to USF.

Here is a spring report card on the Syracuse offensive line.

Let us all hope West Virginia is the last school to ever employ a coach-in-waiting.

The Mountaineers are just the latest team to see the situation fail miserably. About the only people who thought it was a good idea to hire Dana Holgorsen to learn under Bill Stewart for a year were Oliver Luck and the West Virginia administration. But after the events of the past few weeks, Luck has been second-guessed to death. He probably is going to second-guess himself, too, after his quote at the late Friday news conference announcing Stewart was out and Holgorsen was in, a year earlier than planned.

"At the time I thought it made a lot of sense and was a good management practice. With hindsight, folks could certainly disagree. I will take some time to think about it myself and decide if I made mistakes and, if I did, I will be the first one to acknowledge that I did.

At the time I thought it made some sense. I had an agreement from both coaches that they liked the idea and were willing to work with us on the concept, but hindsight is always 20/20 as we know."

When has a coach-in-waiting worked? When the departing coach has picked his successor or has his own time line for when he wants to step down. There were easy transitions at Wisconsin, Oregon, Kentucky and Purdue. The Boilermakers are the only team of that group that has yet to make a bowl game under their new head coach.

But the situation turned ugly at Maryland, Florida State and now West Virginia. Even Will Muschamp realized he had no idea when Mack Brown would step down at Texas; so he bolted from his coach-in-waiting designation to take the head job at Florida last December. What happened at Florida State is reminiscent of what happened at West Virginia.

You have a coach who's not quite ready to go, a large part of the fan base eager to see him retire, his replacement standing next to him as offensive coordinator and tensions flaring on the coaching staff. At FSU, there were Bowden loyalists on staff and Jimbo Fisher loyalists on staff, and rumors swirled about infighting and no sense of direction in the final few seasons when it seemed the situation was untenable.

After what happened at Florida State in 2009, it seemed obvious the coach-in-waiting idea was a bad one. But that did not stop Luck, who believed it would help Holgorsen ease into the job if he learned from a veteran coach. The idea is a sound one if it existed in a vacuum. But there are egos and feelings involved in any personnel decision.

Luck said there was nothing concrete that pointed to Stewart being the source of allegations that smeared Holgorsen in recent weeks, but it was obvious the situation was untenable. Players admitted as much this weekend.

Offensive tackle Jeff Braun said, "Coach Stewart said himself that these past six months were tough and it would be tough for anybody to have a dream job in your hometown basically and to know that in the back of your mind this is going to be it for you. It’s tough. I think everything fell into place the way it should have at this point. We got rid of any problems and I think for the program itself, it’s going to help us move forward."

Cornerback Keith Tandy said, "It relieves the tension a little bit, I guess. With Coach Stew and Coach Holgorsen both around, it was hard to figure out who to listen to and who was in charge. Now it's more clear-cut and we can get back to work."

We can all say that West Virginia should have never made the decision to designate a coach-in-waiting. But what is important now is that the situation has been resolved before marring the actual football season. Hopefully the rest of the college football world has made a note: "Never again."

West Virginia offensive tackle Jeff Braun spoke for many of his teammates when he said Saturday afternoon that there was an incredible sense of relief around the program, one day after Dana Holgorsen took over as head coach.

The rumor, speculation and innuendo of the past week were not lost on the players, many of whom took to Twitter to voice their frustration. They saw their school and football program being portrayed negatively, and there was nothing they could do about it. But now that Bill Stewart has resigned and coach-in-waiting Holgorsen is in, everyone can finally move on to the business of trying to win a Big East championship.

Stewart and Holgorsen each addressed players who were in Morgantown on Saturday morning. Braun said Stewart had a smile on his face and thanked his players for giving him the opportunity to coach them.

"Coach Stewart said himself that these past six months were tough and it would be tough for anybody to have a dream job in your hometown basically and to know that in the back of your mind this is going to be it for you," Braun said in a telephone interview. "It’s tough. I think everything fell into place the way it should have at this point. We got rid of any problems and I think for the program itself, it’s going to help us move forward."

Stewart recruited Braun, so he had mixed emotions about the move. "He’s one heck of a man," Braun said. "He teaches you how to walk the daily walk as he used to say." But Braun agreed the decision for Stewart to leave was the right one.

Players found out Friday when athletic director Oliver Luck sent everyone a text message. Braun said players had been going about their daily workouts as normal throughout the turbulent past few weeks, though they did discuss the turmoil surrounding their program in the locker room.

"We knew in the end our athletic department would take care of everything and we, as players, are the ones who are going to have to play," Braun said. "No matter how great (Holgorsen's) offense, we still have to play and still have to execute. We’re the ones who are going to produce a Big East championship. It’s going to have to come through us."

Here are some quick comments from West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck and new head coach Dana Holgorsen following their evening press conference. Holgorsen becomes the 33rd coach in school history as he replaces Bill Stewart, who went 28-12 in three seasons with the Mountaineers.

Holgorsen said he will continue to call the plays but hasn't decided who he will hire now that an extra spot is open on his staff. Holgorsen said he went out of his way to get to know the defensive coaches as he prepared to make the transition. But he was steadfast with one thing: Nothing will change.

On his message to the team: "Just stay the course. Nothing's really changing. We're still going to have the same strength workouts the next few weeks. We're still going to go to school, and once camp rolls around we're still going to run the same offense, the same defense the same special teams. The one thing that's going to be preached is unity. Everybody's in this together."

Luck would not disclose the financial amount of the buyout given to Stewart, and would not take questions on the allegations that Stewart was at the heart of rumors surrounding Holgorsen. In a prepared statement, Luck said the school had not substantiated any allegations of wrongdoing on the part of Stewart.

Why was it best for Stewart to resign: "I think it was a combination of things. As Dana mentioned, (the program) is more important than any individual, more important than any coach, any player and clearly this was becoming a distraction for our football program. The one thing you don't want around any program are distractions. The totality of the circumstances, the totality of all the innuendo and other things that were being said and the distractions ... prompted me to sit down with Coach Stewart over a period of a couple days."

On whether he regretted the coach in waiting situation: "At the time, I thought it made a lot of sense. I thought it was a good management practice. With hindsight, folks can certainly disagree. I'm sure I'll take some time to think about it and decide myself if I made mistakes. If I did, I'd be the first to acknowledge that I did. ... I had an agreement from both coaches that they liked the idea and were wiling to work with us on the concept, but hindsight is always 20-20 as we know."

Dana Holgorsen will take over at West Virginia after the resignation of Bill Stewart.