HSFB position by position: Coaches replacing two of the best

The WPIAL saw two of its veteran football coaches retire this season, raising to four the number of all-time greats to leave in four years.

Tom Nola retired from Gateway in November, leaving a coaching career that included six WPIAL and four state titles at Clairton.

In January, McKeesport's George Smith ended his second stint with the Tigers, having won 226 games, two WPIAL and two state titles.

Their departures come on the heels of North Hills coach Jack McCurry's retirement in 2013 after 35 seasons, and Joe Hamilton's at Blackhawk in 2015 after 48 years. Those four combined to win more than 1,000 games.

In all, the WPIAL replaced 17 coaches this season. McKeesport promoted assistant Mike Miller, and Gateway hired veteran Don Holl. Elsewhere, Shawn Liotta was hired at Albert Gallatin, Nick Felus at Altoona, Terry George at Ambridge, Joe Kuhns at Beth-Center, Tim Karpiak at Connellsville, Tom Liberty at Freedom, JohnAllen Snyder at Indiana, Dan Bradley at OLSH, T.J. Plack at Peters Township, Ron Sciarro at Riverside, Matt Bonislowski at Riverview, Rob Carter at Seton-La Salle, Luke Travelpiece at South Side Beaver, Bob Ravenstahl at Vincentian and Scott Wood at Yough.

1. Matt Miller

McKeesport

Miller replaces McKeesport legend George Smith, who coached the Tigers for 31 seasons. When Smith retired in January with a 226-112-3 record, the longtime coach endorsed Miller, a 1992 graduate, who was an assistant coach working with the running backs and linebackers.

2. Don Holl

Gateway

Holl built Seneca Valley into a contender during his six seasons and resigned after the 2014 season with a 37-25 record. He was hired by Gateway in January, becoming the Gators' fourth coach in five seasons after Terry Smith, Donnie Militzer and Tom Nola, most recently.

3. Bob Ravenstahl

Vincentian Academy

Ravenstahl went 74-30 in nine seasons at North Catholic, winning WPIAL and PIAA Class A titles in 2013. He resigned after the next season, just as the school moved from Troy Hill to Cranberry. He returns to the sidelines with a Royals team that's entering its third season with a 3-15 all-time record.

4. Dan Bradley

OLSH

Bradley spent the past two seasons at Ambridge but before that took Sto-Rox to the WPIAL Class A final. He left the Bridgers in February for OLSH, a team that went 0-9 last season. After his departure, many Ambridge players transferred in a surprising mass exodus to other schools in the area.

5. T.J. Plack

Peters Township

This is Plack's second head coaching position. Hired at age 27, he went 30-18 in five seasons at South Fayette from 2002-06. After stints as an assistant at Peters, Bethel Park and Ringgold, he now tries to turn around an Indians program that went 2-7 in each of the past two seasons and most recently finished above .500 in 2003. One to watch: Rob Carter

Seton-La Salle

Carter took over as coach last month when Damon Rosol resigned. A 1998 graduate, Carter has coached multiple positions and was the Rebels defensive coordinator the past two seasons. Seton finished 8-3 last season.