Matt Miller denies resigning after McKeesport school board votes to accept his resignation as head football coach
Amid controversy involving a church and a murder trial, the McKeesport school board said it had accepted high school football head coach Matt Miller's resignation, but Miller said he never offered one.
The school board voted to accept his resignation during a special meeting called on Wednesday to discuss a motion by member Matthew Holtzman not to renew the assistant coaches. There was no motion to relieve coach Miller of his duties, but his resignation was still accepted, and Tom Smith was named the new head coach.
However, in a statement on Thursday, Miller denied that he had resigned, saying he "never submitted one."
"I did not submit my resignation on June 11, and I have not submitted my resignation at any time since then," the statement said. "Any representation that I have done so is false."
Board members say Miller verbally resigned to the athletic director earlier this month, but Miller, whose $9,000 salary was renewed by the board in January, denies this, saying he declined to sign a letter of resignation and said he would make no decision until meeting again with the athletic director and the superintendent. He said that meeting never happened.
"I have been terminated from my position as head football coach without having been present with any reason. I have not been advised of any alleged wrongdoing on my part," Miller's statement said.
Through KDKA-TV's reporting on this, Miller has not returned phone calls requesting comment.
Murder conviction looms
Wednesday's meeting came one day after Brandon Short, a McKeesport football legend, called on Miller to step down. Short's outrage stemmed from an assistant football coach and the head of the football booster organization testifying as character witnesses for Isaac Smith, who was convicted of murdering Brandon Short's daughter, Karli Short, and his unborn grandchild in 2021.
Joe Smith, an assistant coach who is not related to Isaac Smith, and Josh Lefcowitz, the head booster, testified in court as character witnesses. All three are members of the Church of Life in Christ, a controversial church whose congregants were in the courtroom on behalf of Isaac Smith during the trial. Matt Miller is the son of Guy Miller, the pastor of the church.
"I believe they made the right call," Brandon Short told KDKA-TV on Thursday. "Two men connected to the McKeesport football program stood up in a courtroom and used McKeesport football to build the credibility for a murderer, and the head coach said nothing."
The controversial school board vote came during a contentious meeting, with board members arguing back and forth over coach Miller's departure and the legality of his resignation. Following Wednesday's vote, board member David Donato, who voted against accepting the head coach's resignation, shared a belief that religion was a factor.
"What I'm very concerned about is that this resignation is materializing with the board because of religious reasons," Donato said, saying they swore to protect the Constitution, which doesn't allow discrimination on the basis of religion. "This coach has an impeccable record as a human being and as a character, unimpeachable character in this school district."
Donato's comment set off a fiery back-and-forth between him and other board members, in particular Mark Holtzman and Matthew Holtzman.
"I take offense to it, David Donato, that this is about religion," Mark Holtzman said. "You are just drumming stuff up again."
Mark Holtzman said months before the sentencing of Isaac Smith that he thought the team needed a coaching change.
"We needed some fresh blood, just like the Pittsburgh Steelers did," Mark Holtzman said Wednesday night.
Board member questions legality
The meeting further unraveled as board members discussed the other reason Donato said he was voting against accepting the resignation. Donato said the district's lawyers had advised them that the resignation was out of order, meaning the resignation effectively wasn't real. The two other board members who voted "no" with Donato said they were doing so after hearing from their legal counsel.
"That verbal resignation was given the day after the meeting to our athletic director, was it not?" Matthew Holtzman said.
"The legal department said it's out of order," Donato responded.
KDKA-TV asked the district's lawyers about the confusion. The solicitor said he and the special counsel weighed in, "And that's attorney-client privilege at that point."
Sources told KDKA-TV earlier this month that Matt Miller informed the school's athletic director that he was resigning, but he rescinded his decision. Brandon Short had requested to speak before the board on Wednesday, but that request was denied. A board member did read a statement from him at the beginning of the meeting.
Lewana Butler, who attended Wednesday's meeting, called it embarrassing.
"The very saddening thing about it is there was kids sitting in the front seat," Butler said. "They're watching the leaders, those who are making the decisions of their education, of their athletic department, and there is just a bunch of arguing and chaos."
Among those in attendance on Wednesday was Kemon Spell, one of the nation's top high school football recruits. The running back for McKeesport has committed to play college football at the University of Georgia.
The coaching staff shake-up also affected the assistants, with the board voting to hire new coaches and retain some returning assistants.
