Holl resigns as Seneca Valley football coach

Don Holl resigned Wednesday as Seneca Valley football coach following a disappointing season, citing philosophical differences with the school's administration.

Holl, who made headlines by coaching from the press box instead of the sidelines, had a 37-25 record in six seasons. His Raiders went 10-2 in 2012, making a WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals appearance. But Seneca Valley was riddled with key injuries this fall, finished 2-7 and did not qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

“It's really difficult to make that decision because we've had a lot of good teams, great kids and great families to work with,” Holl said. “The simplest way to put it, without bashing anyone or giving details, is that there's a pretty significant gap in the philosophy over how the program should be run. You're in the middle of it.”

Holl, who has five children, coached three of his sons at Seneca Valley. Donnie and T.J., who is a senior, were quarterbacks, while Jake is a sophomore tight end and daughter Maggie is a freshman cheerleader. Holl will remain as a social studies teacher in the district and hopes to coach again in the future.

“We've had wonderful experiences here,” Holl said. “Our kids were in musical theater and chorus, as well as sports. Sometimes, the coaching thing just doesn't work out. I'd like to do some more things in coaching. I'm just not going to do it at Seneca. I do want to coach again. I think there's more things I want to do in my coaching career.”

Staff writer Chris Harlan contributed. Kevin Gorman is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.