DEVELOPING: Stewart Discussions Today In Morgantown ((UPDATED: Stewart's Gone))

((HT: Charleston Gazette/Hickman))

Current-soon-to-be-ex West By Gawd Virginia head football coach Bill Stewart and his new attorney, Michael Benninger, seem to be discussing some kind of exit.

The points of contention come from Hickman's article:

When Stewart was allowed to stay on for another year, it was done by way of a letter as an attachment to his revised contract, stipulating that he would coach the 2011 season, it was to be at his originally-agreed-upon (in 2008) salary of roughly $1 million.

But there is also a clause in the December agreement that says if Stewart is asked to coach in 2011 and then is terminated at any time during the 2011 season -- and this would presumably count as during that season -- the university shall pay him the aforementioned amounts (the $750,000 and $375,000, or a total of $1.125 million).

This has gone from sad to downright creepy with all the backdoor tactics of a Nixonian dirty tricks campaign as Stewart allegedly tried to have reporters paint coach-in-waiting Dana Holgorsen in the worst light possible so Stewart could stay employed longer than his amended contract... and, at the same time, kinda give an amended "FU" to the higher-ups in Morgantown for kicking Stewart out the door in the first place... somewhat occupationally prematurely...

But Athletics Directors are good at that these days...

Yeesh...the Watergate burglars would be proud of this one...

This tune should sum it all up...


UPDATE:

Bill Stewart's new attorney Michael Benninger confirmed to WVMetronews.com that he will meet with WVU lawyers concerning Stewart's future with the University. Whether that process involves a buyout is unknown.

"We are now engaged in a meaningful process,” Benninger said of the upcoming meeting with University lawyers. “Bill is interested in doing what is best for his family and the University,”

PM UPDATE: He's gone... and by "he" we mean Stewart...

Here's Oliver Luck introducing Holgorsen as head coach, thanks to our friends at WVIllustrated...

Geoff Coyle was there for WVI, and Luck was not really a happy man...

“I think the one thing you don’t want around any program are distractions,” said Luck. “I think the totality of the circumstances, the totality of all the innuendo and other things that were being said and the distractions that I believed would not come to a close prompted me to sit down with Coach Stewart and discuss these issues in a very frank and candid manner.”