Melnyk resigns as Mt. Lebanon football coach, cites lack of support from administration

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, December 12, 2018 | 8:48 PM

Mike Melnyk resigned as Mt. Lebanon’s football coach after seven seasons, citing a lack of support from the school’s administration.

“I decided it was time to do something else,” said Melnyk, who met Wednesday with the school’s principal and athletic director after hearing that some in the district were unhappy with him — and was surprised by the administration’s unsupportive stance.

He’ll remain a social studies teacher at Mt. Lebanon.

“There are always going to be people who are going to be unhappy about a head football coach,” Melnyk said. “You’re never going to make everybody happy. … I told them I don’t really care who complains about me, as long as you guys support me. And if you don’t think I’m the right person any more, then just let me know and I’ll be happy to walk away.

“I’m proud of the character we displayed as a football program and I’m proud that we did things the right way and treated the kids the right way,” he added.

Mt. Lebanon went 6-6 this season, 5-3 in conference and reached the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals. The Blue Devils went 44-31 in his seven seasons and reached the playoffs six times.

“We certainly appreciate all of Mike’s contributions over the last seven years,” Mt. Lebanon athletic director John Grogan said, “and wish him the best of luck with whatever he does next.”

A former walk-on kicker at Michigan from 1980-84 under Bo Schembechler, Melnyk became Mt. Lebanon’s coach 2012 after 13 seasons at Manheim Township. He’s also a former offensive coordinator and special teams coach at Albright College.

“I’ll coach again,” Melnyk said. “I believe that when one door closes, another one opens, and that God’s got a plan. I’m at peace. I’m not harboring any hard feelings against anybody at Mt. Lebanon.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Mt. lebanon