I often wonder what America would be like if every profession was discussed, reported and scrutinized like coaching.  Aside from being the president of the United States, I am not sure anyone has more eyes on them than a Division I college football coach.

It seems like everywhere I turn someone or everyone has an opinion on what a coach should be doing, if he is going to keep his job or even when he is leaving for the next job.  I must admit that it wears me out and makes me more likely to watch old episodes of Sanford & Son instead of Sportscenter or read the funny pages in place of the Sports Section of the newspaper.

I know I am in the minority, but I would much rather have the positive stories and just plain facts relayed to me via the news.  Speculation and negative detrimental opinions have become far too common and I for one am sick of it constantly surrounding the sports world.

Think about how unfair it is to the players at Cincinnati right now.  They are undefeated, have played very well with their backup quarterback and have a chance of winning a national title and the biggest news coming out of the Queen City is that Brian Kelley is likely to move on after the season.

“Expert rumors” have him as the next Notre Dame head football coach and that very well may happen.  I wish that it could be speculated and discussed after the season though.  I strongly believe that now is not the time, spend ink or TV time on the players, not rumors about coaches.  Highlight great play or strong academic achievements by athletes instead of coaching moves during the season.

How about Charlie Weis, ESPN went live to his press conference earlier in the week.  The live feed was just in case he talked about his future for the Fighting Irish.  Imagine if every person had to get in front of cameras and voice recorders every week and talk about every decision they made at work and if they think they will get fired because of it.

West Virginia isn’t without all of this drama as well.  From the constant acquisitions that the current Mountaineer coaching staff is incapable to the drama surrounding former WVU coach Rich Rodriguez. 

What amazes me is that most of the backlash comes from within each coaches fan base or football family as most label it these days.  I know that fans want their teams to win and win big; they feel entitled because they buy a ticket or a sweatshirt.  My question is would they be so negative with theirr own child or someone else in their family?

I know that it is the nature of the beast and that these coaches are paid very well.  I also know that other professionals bring home a healthy living as well and their every move isn’t blasted on message boards and talk shows 24 hours a day. 

How do you think a doctor would perform if they had to work under the same circumstances?  Would you intently watch the press conference after a medical procedure and wonder if that doctor was going to take a job at a different hospital?  Would you get on a message board and tell the world that doctor has no idea what they are doing and then go on to describe what you would have done?

I seriously doubt any of us would and I can’t believe I just compared coaching to something as important and serious as being a doctor.

My frustration with the constant talk of coaching is that there is still a lot of football to be played and important football at that.  The games need to be focused on, not the 2010 coaching staffs.

With that being said the Mountaineers have a huge game to prepare for.  The Pitt game is always big, regardless of records or bowl implications.  Two years ago the Panthers played the role of spoiler and did it in grand fashion.  The loss bounced West Virginia out of the BCS National Championship game, a game many believe the Mountaineers would have won and in turn captured their first ever national title.

Things didn’t go as planned in 2007 and WVU has the opportunity to return the favor in 2009.

If Coach Stewart’s gang can engineer a similar upset at Mountaineer Field on Friday the 27^th maybe the critics will lighten up a little.  A win against Pitt would be huge for this football team; a victory would set a tone for the final regular season game at Rutgers and also the bowl game.

That type of positive momentum would be a huge boost heading into the offseason workouts, spring drills and then into the 2010 season.

Have a great Thanksgiving and good luck to all the deer hunters out there.  If you are heading to the Backyard Brawl on Friday night make it special for the seniors that have accomplished so much in the Mountaineer football program.

Send your story ideas and comments to ernie@wvradio.com.