Aliquippa could hire football coach Wednesday to replace Mike Zmijanac

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, March 17, 2018 | 12:24 PM

Aliquippa could have its next football coach in place within days.

Three finalists will interview Monday with the entire school board, said Aliquippa superintendent Pete Carbone, who received 25 applicants to replace Mike Zmijanac.

“The goal is to hire a coach Wednesday evening,” Carbone wrote in an email.

The school board meets at 6 p.m., Wednesday.

A five-person committee of school administrators and board members conducted interviews with seven candidates this past week, said Carbone, who did not name them. He said six candidates were “Aliquippa people” and one was from elsewhere in Western Pennsylvania. Those seven candidates were then narrowed to three.

The school board voted 7-2 on Feb. 21 to replace Zmijanac, who has coached the team for 21 seasons. Zmijanac owned a career record of 237-36 with six WPIAL titles and one state championship.

Among the 25 applicants, 11 were graduates of the high school or recent Aliquippa assistant coaches, Carbone said. Zmijanac did not reapply.

“Of the 14 outside applicants, very few were from Western (Pennsylvania), most were out of state and one was from Brazil,” Carbone said. “Maybe he thought it was a soccer job.”

Aliquippa also must hire an athletic director to replace Zmijanac, whose contract expires June 30. Carbone said the board wants to hire separate individuals for athletic director and head football coach.

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Aliquippa