WVU Football gained a major piece to their puzzle in the hiring of Ron Crook as their offensive line coach. The question is though, was he hired solely as the offensive line coach? Or does Oliver Luck have bigger sights for him?
In 2007, before Luck took over the reins at WVU, the Mountaineers were riding high with Rich Rod at the helm, leading them to a Big East championship and possible National Title birth. What the Athletic Department failed to see, was the failing relationship between the two. We all know what happened next so I’ll spare you the agony.
What the Athletic Department didn’t have after the ugly break-up, was a clear-cut replacement for Rodriguez and that led to the hiring of Bill Stewart after the unbelievable win over Oklahoma. Yes, Stewart had a good record with the Mountaineers, but he didn’t seem to get the big victory to get his teams over the top.
Cue Oliver Luck and the Dana Holgorsen hiring. Again, we all know the sloppy mess that went after this and we’ll spare you the details but this hire seemed to fit what Luck wanted for his football program. Yes, Stewart was an amazing motivator and role model, but he turned out to not be the fit for an ever-changing college football landscape (R.I.P. Coach Stew).
Coach Holgs led the Mountaineers to a dominating bowl victory over Clemson in the Orange but didn’t have the pieces on defense to take them to the Promised Land this past season. What this season did do, was show the nation what kind of offensive mastermind Holgorsen is with the numbers Geno Smith, Tavon Austin, and Stedman Bailey put up in a simple, yet effective, offense. Just think what this team can do once the defense comes around.
What Holgs has done, as well, is have people talking about if he is in for the long run at the University of West Virginia. He has no ties to the Mountain State, unlike Bob Huggins and Bill Stewart, and he is young. He is able to move on to a bigger school or even the NFL and he possibly will. That’s the coaching carousel for you, a coach will work his way from school to school until he gets to his “dream job” or a highly prestigious job.
If this were the case, Luck has an “insurance policy” in Ron Crook. Crook, a Parkersburg native, told WVUSports.com, “One of the main reasons I wanted to come here was because I know how important football is in the state of West Virginia, especially the Mountaineer football program.” Crook added, “I’m very excited about this opportunity to work at a program with the history and tradition that it has. I understand the responsibility that it involves, and I don’t take that lightly.
That seems to be the guy that wants to stay in a place for a while. Crook has been in the coaching ranks since being a student assistant and Tight Ends coach for D II, West Liberty University, and in 1990 as WLU’s Offensive Line coach. He then moved his way from a Grad. Assistant at Cincinnati, to coaching jobs at Clarion College, Glenville State, and West Virginia Tech before landing back at West Liberty as Offensive Coordinator for their WVIAC Conference Championship.
From there, he coached at Illinois for a year, then Harvard for eight, coaching the O Line at both places while building squads that led to many linemen and running backs gaining many accolades. In 2011, Crook was hired at Stanford where he helped the line and tight ends build into a powerhouse that helped lead Andrew Luck and Co. to back-to-back BCS bowl games and a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin this past January.
It was a fairly easy hire for Luck, who had strong ties to Stanford while his son took the snaps. That, added with the fact that Crook is a West Virginia man, made it a match made in “Almost Heaven”. Crook has made every squad he’s coached better. Yes, he hasn’t had head coaching experience, but he does have a year of offensive coordinator under his belt and there have been more line coaches, lately, that have taken over programs. This hire is a good ace-in-the-hole for Luck in case Holgorsen decides to jump ship for brighter pastures and it’s a very smart move for the Mountaineers.
