He said if he was 32 or 42 he would have stuck it out in Guelph, but at his age this just wasn't the right place for him any more.

General manager Kelly said he was surprised by Stewart's resignation.

"But I respect it and it's a decision that Bill had to make," Kelly said.

The search for a new head coach begins immediately.

"We certainly will leave no stone unturned. If the right person is there at the Christmas break then we would certainly go forward with it," Kelly said. "If the right person isn't there then we would delay the decision and look in the off season when the pool of applicants might be a little larger.

"We don't want a knee-jerk reaction just for the sake of having someone in here for the rest of the season."

Storm captain C.J. Garcia said most of the players respected Stewart.

"We're in a tough spot here and Stewie was put in a tough spot. We're not the most talented team here but I think we could have brought more to the table for him," Garcia said.

"I really wish he'd stayed and coached us for the rest of the year. I really look up to him and he's opened up a lot of doors for me and my career. I didn't want him to go, but people have to move on sometimes," Garcia said.

Stewart had nothing but good things to say about the Storm organization.

"Total, total class: From the owners to Mike to (assistant coaches) Todd (Harvey) and Luca (Caputi) to the players. I have nothing but good things to say about them all," Stewart said.

Stewart said he also wants to make sure he's available if an opening comes up that will get him closer to his dream of winning a Memorial Cup, but stressed he does not have any other plans at this point.

"I don't operate that way," Stewart said.

The Storm plays Tuesday in Kitchener.

tsaxon@guelphmercury.com