Morgantown, West Virginia – Look, Tony Washington might end up being a fine hire for Neal Brown as the new wide receivers coach at West Virginia University. He has experience as a wide receivers coach in college and as a player in the NFL.
Having said that, I find it hard to believe that Washington would be a better, more impactful hire than Stedman Bailey.
Bailey, one of the greatest, most accomplished players in West Virginia football history, lacks experience as a coach, but passion is far more important than experience, and passion is something that Bailey has more than enough of.
In addition, Stedman Bailey has spent decades around the game and certainly knows what it takes to make a great wide receiver. The notion that he would not be as effective as a coach like Tony Washington based simply on his lack of experience is absolutely ridiculous.
Do people actually believe that Tony Washington is more suited to get the best out of wide receivers at West Virginia than Bailey because he has two years of coaching at Coastal Carolina?
Bailey is not only a passionate, true Mountaineer, he also already has developed relationships with all of the wide receivers in the locker room and would immediately make a huge impact on recruiting, particularly in the South Florida area where he’s from.
Neal Brown had an opportunity to make a slam dunk hire by hiring a fan and player favorite like Stedman Bailey. Instead, he hired some guy named Tony Washington, who may or may not turn out to be a solid hire, but is certainly not the kind of coach who is going to come in and transform the team.
West Virginia has not been good in three seasons. Not good, not average, not anywhere close to where this program should be, and a major move like hiring Stedman Bailey was precisely the thing needed to push the Mountaineers over the top.
