Lis back at Chartiers-Houston, this time as head coach
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Coaching stability in Western Pennsylvania is not something exclusive to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
At Chartiers-Houston High School, the Bucs change football coaches about as often as the NFL changes commissioners. Chartiers-Houston has had only two head coaches since 1976 and just four in the last 63 years.
You can add one more coach to each of those totals.
Dan Lis, a Chartiers-Houston graduate and former standout college player at Washington & Jefferson, was hired Tuesday night as the Bucs’ new head coach.
The 29-year-old Lis will put the power of youthful enthusiasm to the test with the Bucs. Lis said he had several coaching opportunities in recent years at various levels but the position at Chartiers-Houston was too attractive to pass up, in part because he had “sweat equity” in the program.
“That’s a good way to put it,” Lis said. “I’ve played here, I coached here and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve gotten out of the program.”
Lis replaces Terry Fetsko, who had his job opened after 19 seasons and nine playoff appearances. The Bucs had an uncharacteristic poor season in 2023, going winless and getting outscored 400-97 while a member of the Class A Black Hills Conference.
Lis cautioned that it will take time to get the Bucs back to the level fans have been familiar with and that there is no shortcut in the rebuilding process.
“Sometimes a program needs a hard reset, a culture shock,” Lis said. “Every day a team coached by me is going to be hard working. (Former Alabama coach) Nick Saban would say that you wake up every day entitled to nothing. It doesn’t matter how talented you are. If you don’t execute, then what you’ll have is nothing. I want to instill in our players that you need to have hard work and discipline.
“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t win any games this year. But what I’m stressing is that we have to stay focused on the process, focus on the small things, instead of focusing on the outcome of games. Seeing improvement every week is the big thing.”
Lis was an outstanding dual-threat quarterback at Chartiers-Houston and went on to have a productive career as a wide receiver at Washington & Jefferson. He caught 82 passes as a junior in 2014 and added 57 receptions as a senior. He also returned two punts for scores as a senior. Lis said he considers W&J head coach Mike Sirianni to be his coaching mentor.
Since his playing days ended, Lis has been involved in coaching at Chartiers-Houston, from 2016 to 2019 and again in 2023, so he does know the Bucs’ roster.
“I feel like I can relate to these kids better than someone who would have to come here from somewhere else,” Lis said, who works as a senior consultant with an accounting advisory company.