MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University football coach Rich Rodriguez is once again looking for a new assistant after inside receivers coach Blaine Stewart announced his departure Thursday.
In a social media post, Stewart – the son of former WVU head coach Bill Stewart and the tight ends coach under Neal Brown – offered his good-byes and his thanks to WVU and its fanbase. FoxSports.com reported that he will take an offensive quality control job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“This place and this program has meant the world to me,” Stewart wrote. “It’s not just where I’ve grown as a coach, but where I’ve grown as a person. It’s where my roots run deepest, and where my family’s legacy is forever intertwined with the fabric of this university.”
Before coming to WVU, Stewart spent five seasons on the Pittsburgh Steelers staff, first as an offensive quality control coach and then as an assistant receivers coach.
Rodriguez wished Stewart the best in his return to professional football.
“Blaine got the opportunity to go back to the NFL and I’m happy for him,” Rodriguez said Thursday.
Stewart was one of two holdovers from Neal Brown’s staff, former running backs coach Chad Scott being the other, and now both have moved on. Scott took the running backs coach job at Texas right before spring practice began.
Rodriguez moved quickly to fill Scott’s spot with veteran assistant Larry Porter. It’s back to the hiring pool to find a replacement for Stewart.
“Probably over the next week or so, I’ll interview or look over some potential candidates,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez once again mentioned the benefit of having senior offensive assistant Travis Trickett on the staff. Trickett filled in during the space between Scott’s exit and Porter’s arrival, and he’ll be able to do the same with Stewart’s role.
“He’s kind of our floating coach,” Rodriguez said. “We’re in good shape.”
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The Mountaineers also have a spot to fill in the 2025 signing class, now that offensive lineman Eidan Buchanan flipped his commitment from WVU to North Carolina.
Buchanan announced his decision earlier this week. A 6-foot-8, 310-pound offensive tackle from Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Maryland, he was rated a three-star prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings.
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WVU coaches dismissed the team for spring break, giving coaches and players a little time off from each other. Rodriguez said that time away refreshes the players and gives the coaches the opportunity to make a deeper evaluation of the first half of spring practice.
“It gives us a little bit of a pause as coaches to say, OK, we’re halfway through. This is what we’ve accomplished, this is still what we need to do over the last two weeks,” Rodriguez said.
With WVU coaches trying to install new schemes with new players, Rodriguez said the evaluation could be pretty rough.
“If I look back at my first spring notes post-spring, it’s been ugly every single time,” he said. “But it’s the first spring, so we’ve got a little time.”
— Story by Derek Redd
