Dalton resigns as McGuffey football coach
Will remain as Highlanders' AD
Ed Dalton, who guided McGuffey’s football team to the WPIAL playoffs in each of the past five seasons, resigned Thursday as the Highlanders’ head coach.
He will remain as the school’s athletic director.
Dalton, 64, who had been McGuffey’s head coach for 12 years, was quick to say this is a resignation and not a retirement, though he is not leaving because another coaching job is on the horizon.
“I care so much about our guys that I would not betray them by looking for another position while being their head coach,” Dalton said. “To take another coaching job, it would have to be really good.
“I do have interest in football in ways other than just coaching. I want to explore some of those opportunities.”
Under Dalton, McGuffey went from a program that had lost 15 consecutive games before his arrival to making the WPIAL playoffs nine times in his 12 seasons as head coach. The Highlanders won multiple conference championships under Dalton and went into the final week of the regular season with a chance to win at least a share of the conference title in each of the last five years.
“I had a good run,” Dalton said. “I had good kids. I had no problems with parents, which is way less than most coaches. I have an administration that loves sports.”
Dalton said he was resigning now so that the administration will have time to find its next head coach before too much time in the offseason passes. He added that he is endorsing Nate Parry, one of the Highlanders’ assistant coaches, as his successor.
“Many times in education you take a capable employee and put them in the next role. Nate is ready for that role,” Dalton said.
“We had a big roster and have a good team coming back. … The timing is right.”
Prior to McGuffey, Dalton was the head coach at Trinity for 12 interesting years. It was during this period that the Trinity-Wash High football series ended and twice Dalton had his coaching position opened, only to have the school board rehire him each time. He also coached at Purchase Line, Mount Pleasant and Altoona. Dalton has been a head coach every year since 1987.
“I was telling someone recently that every August since 1968 I have been involved in football, either as a player or coach,” Dalton said. “I don’t know anything else.”
Dalton is one of the winningest head football coaches in Washington County history. He has a 224-144-1 career record including 78-45 at McGuffey.
The Highlanders went 5-1 in the Class 2A Century Conference this season and were 8-4 overall. McGuffey tied for the conference title with Washington but lost to the Prexies in the regular-season finale. In the playoffs, McGuffey defeated Derry 25-13 in the opening round before losing again to Washington 18-7 in the quarterfinals at Canon-McMillan.
McGuffey is expected to move up to Class 3A next season.
“I’ll be working the AD job hard,” he said. “I love being the AD here. We’ve become good in every sport. We’ve had a resurgence in our girls sports.
But Dalton added, “I think I have one more challenge in me. My body is not broken down.”