Particle.news
Download on the App Store

McKeesport High School Football Coach Resigns After Heated School Board Meeting

The resignation follows criticism that program figures testified for a man convicted of killing a local player's daughter, which has raised questions about leadership and church influence.

Overview

  • Brandon Short publicly demanded head coach Matt Miller's resignation after two program figures and a booster testified as character witnesses for Isaac Smith, who was convicted in 2021 of killing Short's daughter and her unborn child.
  • The McKeesport School Board called a special meeting to consider personnel moves and to vote on a motion by board member Matt Holtzman not to renew the assistant coaches' contracts.
  • Board president Dave Seropian had voiced support for Miller while Holtzman said he wanted Miller to step down, creating a divided board response to community complaints.
  • During the Wednesday meeting the board accepted Miller's resignation, the session erupted in shouting, and the board moved to hire Tom Smith as the new head coach for the coming season.
  • All three program figures who drew scrutiny are members of the Church of Life in Christ, whose leader is coach Miller's father, and past reporting on the church has intensified community calls for clearer separation between the program and church influence.