Coaching football has taken Steve Campos many places.

He thought being a head coach was in the rear-view mirror, until the perfect fit presented itself.

Campos, who spent the last eight seasons as special teams coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Seneca Valley, was approved Wednesday by the school board as head coach at Pine-Richland by a vote of 8-1.

The Rams won WPIAL and PIAA Class 5A titles last fall.

“The expectations are high and that's what you want,” Campos said. “I want to help that tradition continue and am looking forward to it.”

“Congratulations to Coach Campos and his family,” said P-R athletic director T.J. Salopek in a press release. “Coach Campos will be an inspiring coach for our football players and a great leader within our athletic department at Pine-Richland.”

In April, the Pine-Richland School District chose not to renew the contract of head coach Eric Kasperowicz, citing a pattern of hazing over a number of years within the football program, according to Pittsburgh media reports.

In Kasperowicz's eight seasons with the team, the Rams claimed four district and two state titles. Many of the players who will be returning to play next fall voiced their displeasure over his dismissal.

Campos met for two hours Thursday with players who will be seniors and juniors on the 2021 team.

“It couldn't have gone any better,” Campos said. “It's an unbelievable bunch of kids. They are focused and they want to win. I'm meeting with the sophomores and freshmen Friday.”

Campos played football at New Brighton High School and collegiately at both Slippery Rock and Indiana (Pa.) University, graduating from the latter in 1982.

He spent time as a graduate assistant at Memphis State and at Texas-El Paso in the 1980s before being the head coach at Bethany College for 10 seasons (1992-2001).

He was also an assistant at California (Pa.), Washington & Jefferson, Marietta and Geneva.

His lone head coaching stint in high school came at Ringgold in 2006 when he guided the Rams to the WPIAL playoffs.

At Seneca Valley, he coached on the staffs of Don Holl, Dave Vestal and since 2017, Ron Butschle.

“Steve brought a ton of experience and a lot of knowledge to our program,” said Butschle. “He was a big part of our staff.”

And Campos seemed content to remain there, but the opportunity at Pine-Richland was too good to pass up.

“I had two interviews, met with different members of the administration and everybody is on the same page,” Campos said. “If there was any doubt, I wouldn't have taken the job.

“The hardest thing was leaving Seneca Valley,” he added. “We had some good teams there, two went to the WPIAL championship game (2016, 2018) and I made some great friends.”