New coach Marty Spieler brings unique resume, complete with a Kelce tie, to South Fayette

By: Chris Harlan
Tuesday, January 23, 2024 | 11:03 PM

The coaching career of Marty Spieler once crossed paths with the Kelce brothers, but, no, Taylor Swift probably won’t show up at South Fayette games this fall.

But that experience early in his career shows how Spieler, who was hired Tuesday at South Fayette as a first-time head coach, brings a unique resume built as an assistant at both the college and high school levels. One of his first stops was as a graduate assistant at Cincinnati under coach Brian Kelly, when future NFL stars Jason and Travis Kelce were on the Bearcats roster.

“And, no, I can’t call Travis and (reach) Taylor Swift,” Spieler said with a laugh.

The 41-year-old Spieler also made college coaching stops at Allegheny, Buffalo, Florida A&M and Missouri State before becoming Mt. Lebanon’s offensive coordinator under coach Bob Palko from 2020-22. He joined the South Fayette staff last fall as quarterbacks coach under Joe Rossi, who resigned in November after 17 seasons with the Lions.

Now, Spieler will run his own program.

“To be around those two guys and learn from the best of the best, it really makes it a little more comfortable for me,” he said of his time with Rossi and Palko.

What a tremendous person and leader! Our current and future LIONS are gonna love playing for Marty.
Follow @CoachSpieler for all things related to South Fayette Football.
One last time, #AllHeart???????? https://t.co/E1Dggi2cRX

— Joe Rossi (@rossisfcoach) January 24, 2024

Spieler noted that he always was drawn to schools with high academic standards, adding that “the intensity and integrity of the kids at South Fayette make it a privilege to work for the South Fayette community because you know that our kids are going to work for us.”

The 2000 graduate of Woodland Hills played quarterback for another all-time great WPIAL coach, George Novak. The Wolverines won the WPIAL Class 4A title his senior season with Spieler splitting time at QB with future NFL player Shawntae Spencer.

Spieler now works in sales for Renewal by Andersen, which provides replacement windows and doors. He and his wife, Angela, have a 13-year-old son Bryce and 11-year-old daughter Riley.

At South Fayette, Spieler said, he recognizes the challenge of replacing a coach who won four WPIAL titles and two state championships. Spieler worked alongside Rossi for one season but first met him years earlier while recruiting for Allegheny.

Rossi was coach at Riverview and Spieler recruited one of his players to the college in Meadville.

“Everybody always says you kind of live on the shoulders of giants, so you try to do your best to represent the community the way Joe Rossi did,” Spieler said. “Nobody can do it like he did. He truly was special and made a huge impact on WPIAL football.”

In terms of on-field schemes, Spieler favors a spread offense with some elements borrowed from his time at Cincinnati under Kelly, now the head coach at LSU. But Spieler said he also borrowed ideas from Jeff Quinn at Buffalo and Alex Wood at Florida A&M.

But Spieler also highlighted one major difference between coaching high school and college. The best high school coaches shape their schemes to fit their roster, not the other way around.

“Let me say this very, very carefully. At colleges, you can recruit for a system,” Spieler said. “At most high schools, you cannot. You find whatever kids (are in the school), put them in the right position and put the best 11 on the field.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: South Fayette