Coder resigns as Canon-McMillan football coach
Ron Coder’s time as head football coach at Canon-McMillan came to an abrupt and unexpected end Tuesday.
Coder, a Penn State graduate and former NFL offensive lineman, and C-M athletic director Frank Vulcano met yesterday morning where an agreement was reached that Coder would step away after only 13 games as head coach.
Former Carlynton head coach and Washington & Jefferson assistant Terry George has been named interim head coach for the remainder of the season. George was hired as Coder’s offensive coordinator last spring.
“We had a couple of internal coaching issues, and it was just really tough dealing with, so Frank and I met,” Coder said. “He encouraged me that maybe it would be better for the program and the kids if I resigned.”
Upon George’s arrival, the Big Macs switched from a Wing-T offense to a spread attack. The results were grim through four games, all losses. C-M has been outscored, 157-21, this season. The Big Macs’ defense has allowed the third most points in WPIAL Class AAAA, and their offense is tied with Shaler as the lowest scoring.
“At this point in the season, we thought it would be in the kids’ best interest for that to be the decision we made,” Vulcano said of George’s appointment. “That’s all I can say at this time.”
With an offensive line featuring Pitt recruit Alex Paulina, Canon-McMillan’s offense has sputtered in the new system. When George was hired, he brought five of his assistant coaches from Carlynton, including defensive coordinator Chris Kessler.
“I love the kids and the parents. They’ve been awesome,” Coder said. “When you bring a guy and a lot of his staff in, it’s hard. There’s loyalties there. It is what it is, and I think rather than losing five guys, losing one guy was probably better for the program in the middle of the season.”
The four coaches who arrived with George are Kessler, offensive line coach Keith Huebner, defensive line coach Randy Famiglietti and wide receivers coach Tyler George, Terry’s son.
George was hired to replace Lance Vallee, who was reassigned to coach the running backs.
The players were not aware of Coder’s resignation until they met at 1 p.m at the school. Vulcano told them about the changes.
“I’m not a quitter. The kids know that, I told them that,” Coder said. “I didn’t feel like I needed to (address them). I felt that (Vulcano) could give them the news, and I encouraged them if they would like to talk. I would be glad to talk to them.”
Coder, a third-round pick of the Steelers in 1976, played five seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Cardinals. He was hired April 23, 2013 by former C-M athletic director Guy Montecalvo, a teammate at Penn State, to replace Tim Sohyda.
Coder coached the Pittsburgh Passion for a year, leading the team to the 2007 Independent Women’s Football League championship. He also served as team chaplain for Pitt.
Canon-McMillan went 1-8 in Coder’s first season as the Big Macs allowed 40 points per game and scored just 65 all season.
Canon-McMillan has not made the playoffs since 2008, which also was its last winning season at 6-4 under Montecalvo, George went 10-19 with no playoff appearances in three years at Carlynton.
“It’s tough dealing with all of the personalities, and I know going forward that if I’m a head coach again – which I don’t foresee happening – I would do a better job vetting guys I hired,” Coder said. “This year was different because I had to hire guys so quickly, but I should have done a better job with it. I’ve been dealing with this for several weeks. It’s a big weight off my shoulders.”