Slippery Rock High hires Steve Monteleone as head football coach, replacing Larry Wendereusz
Steve Monteleone remembers being in the stands at Butler High School football games in the 1970s.
“I used to go with my dad, and at one point, I told him that I wanted to be a high school football head coach one day,” Monteleone said. “He told me to work at it, and if I really wanted it, go after it.”
The 1983 Butler High graduate saw his dream fulfilled Monday when the Slippery Rock school board approved him as the next head coach of the Rockets’ football program. He served as the team’s offensive coordinator last year when the Rockets went 4-6.
Larry Wendereusz resigned as head coach in January after leading the Rockets to a 43-59 record and two trips to the District 10 championship game in his 10 seasons.
“I’m honored and excited to be named head coach here at Slippery Rock,” said Monteleone, a resident of Allison Park. “The first order of business is to talk to the kids about how we expect them to act and carry themselves on and off the field. We want to change the culture of Slippery Rock football.”
Slippery Rock athletic director Brienna Simons said there were seven applicants for the job.
“What impressed me about Steve was he gave genuine answers in the interviews regarding how he plans to handle the work that comes with the job, and how he plans to treat our student athletes in general,” Simons said. “He has experience with our program, and that knowledge will help him moving forward.”
Monteleone relayed an exchange from one of the interviews.
“I asked those who were interviewing me, ‘Do you want to be great or just mediocre?’ It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to say at the time, but I wanted to be brutally honest.”
After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Monteleone returned home where he coached in Butler’s midget league for five years. He was on Butler’s staff as an assistant under head coaches Garry Cathell, Jeff McAnallen and Jim Rankin.
He spent three years as the offensive coordinator at Penn Hills and 10 years coaching linebackers and running backs at North Allegheny before joining Wendereusz’s staff last year.
Slippery Rock competes in a tough region in District 10 that includes heavyweights Sharon and Hickory.
“Conneaut, too. It’s great football, and it’s gonna take much effort and commitment from our players and coaches,” Monteleone said. “We need to build these kids’ confidence back up.
“The talent level is good. Our strength will be on the offensive and defensive lines. Mike Buchert has been our line coach, and he’s one of the best in the state, in my opinion.”
