True Blue
February 19, 2008 09:31 AM | General
February 19, 2008
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| Jeff Casteel |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In what has been a fairly tumultuous last month and a half of transition in the West Virginia University football program, two men have never wavered in their support of Mountaineer football and new Head Coach Bill Stewart.
Jeff Casteel and Bill Kirelawich differ significantly in age and background but both are as true and loyal to West Virginia University as any men you will ever find.
Casteel was hired at WVU in 2001 and was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2002. After making coaching stops at Shepherd and UTEP, the Paden City, W.Va., native considered it an honor to coach major college football in his home state.
“This is where my family is from and I like it here,” Casteel said. “To get to coach and to do it in my home state where my family can enjoy it has been a dream of mine.”
It was for that reason that Stewart didn’t have to make an elaborate sales pitch or promote the benefits of the school to get Casteel to stay with him as defensive coordinator.
“He didn’t have to do anything. I know Stew, I know what kind of guy he is and I know about the great things here at West Virginia,” Casteel said. “The relationships with the current players mean a lot to me. That was the main reason to stay for me. I love this place.”
That love was fostered in his youth when Casteel used to come to Morgantown and watch games at Old Mountaineer Field.
“I grew up as a fan so having the opportunity to coach here is a gift. I teased Coach Dunlap that I probably got his autograph somewhere along the way,” Casteel said. “I was coming over here to Old Mountaineer Field when I was probably seven, eight or nine years old.”
Bill Kirelawich has been a part of the Mountaineer football program at WVU for nearly 30 years. After finishing up his college career as a defensive lineman at Salem, playing for both Ed Pastilong and Donnie Young during his time there, Kirelawich cut his teeth as a coach at Cardinal Brennan (Pa.) High school, transforming a once dormant program into one of the best in the state.
After a year as a volunteer coach at WVU, the Frackville, Pa., native became a full-time member of the staff in 1980. Save for a two-year stint as director of player development in 2001 and 2002, the longtime defensive line coach has patrolled the West Virginia sideline ever since.
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| Bill Kirelawich |
Kirelawich has tried to downplay all the drama and controversy that has come with the recent coaching change, recognizing instead that the coaching business is by nature a nomadic existence.
“In the coaching profession, in the best of times you’re going to make enemies. There are going to be people who for whatever reason, don’t like what you do, what you say or how you coach,” Kirelawich said. “That’s true no matter what level you’re on. Over time, a lot of times people feel like they have to leave just to stay ahead of it.”
Those conditions have not applied to Kirelawich, who recognizes he has been fortunate to be at the same major college football program for nearly three decades.
“I’ve been lucky and I’ve been in a special situation. You look back and Eddie (Pastilong) was my coach at Salem. Donnie Young was my coach at Salem,” Kirelawich said. “I’ve been able to capitalize on relationships over the years. We were good friends long before any of us ever came to West Virginia.”
Kirelawich was sold on staying at WVU to work under Stewart when he witnessed first hand what a superb job he did in getting the team ready to play in the Fiesta Bowl against all odds.
“Nobody had it tougher than he did. Nobody was placed in a more precarious situation than he was. I’m not saying the proof was that he won the game,” Kirelawich explained. “That was the easy part. The proof in the pudding that he should be the next coach was getting them to the game.”
Kirelawich admits that Stewart had to do a job that he wouldn’t have taken on himself. The veteran coach envisioned multiple possibilities for how things could turn out and none of them were positive for West Virginia.
“I had a ton of scenarios in my head of what would happen and none of them were good. He calmed them down, which they needed after getting shell-shocked like they did,” Kirelawich said. “He got them focused and he got them prepared to play that game. He did it as well as anybody I’ve ever been around. That let me know I wanted to work for this guy. He did a job that I didn’t think anybody could do.”
As impressed as the defensive mentor was during Fiesta Bowl preparations, he has been equally impressed by the staff Stewart has been able to attract to Morgantown. He believes this group of coaches combines the perfect mix of young guys with new ideas and veteran guys that have an abundance of experience.
“I love them. It’s a great staff - a lot of guys I’ve worked with before. We’re putting the band back together,” Kirelawich said. “There is a nice blend of the old guys that were here, the guys that stayed on and the young guys that came here. Everybody has something to add to the mix.”
He has confidence that this staff will be able to build upon the winning tradition that has been established here over the last several years.
“In business, in coaching, or in whatever you do, you have to surround yourself with winners. Winning doesn’t happen by accident,” Kirelawich said. “It’s preparation and it’s a characterization of the people in the program. That’s what we have here.”
What WVU has here are two proven winners in Jeff Casteel and Bill Kirelawich. If history is the judge, that doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon.
