West Virginia University's Athletic Director says continuity and character were factors in the hiring of new Mountaineer head football coach Bill Stewart.

"We were looking for a person that would walk in here and, the next day, be ready to coach our football team," Ed Pastilong said on Friday's MetroNews Talkline. "Continuity was very, very important to us, retention of key staff members was very, very important to us."

Offensive line coach Greg Fry and quarterbacks coach Rod Smith notified Pastilong Friday morning of their intentions to leave WVU to follow Rich Rodriguez to the University of Michigan.

Tony Gibson, defensive backs coach, and Calvin McGee, offensive coordinator, have indicated plans to leave the Mountaineers as well. Rodriguez introduced both during a press conference in Ann Arbor, Mich., when he was named the new Coach for the Wolverines last month.

Pastilong says many staff members will be staying with WVU, particularly the coaches on the defensive side.

He says that's critical to next year's performance for the Mountaineers. "People talk about the future, but the most important thing about a future is you must win next season and then that helps you win year two and three."

Right now, Pastilong says Stewart is focused on what is important at this moment.

"The first thing you want to do in a situation like that is make sure that the people that are working with you and the student athletes that are playing for you receive your attention.  And Billy (Stewart) and I talked about that," he says.

Members of WVU's Athletic Department are back in Morgantown after a week in Glendale, Ariz., ahead of the 2008 Fiesta Bowl.