Conversation with Coach – Jeff Weachter, Bishop McDevitt
Tagged under: Coaches Corner, District 3, News
Phil Myers | September 14, 2022
Weachter celebrating a big win over La Salle this season.
Coach Weachter is a well-respected man around the halls of Bishop McDevitt High School. McDevitt students from all sports come to him for advice regarding their college recruitment, scholarships, etc. He is also well-respected among coaches and others associated with high school football as he has spoken at the Notre Dame Coaches Clinic regarding the McDevitt offense, the Nike National Clinic, and the Glazier Clinic among others. Weachter is extremely thoughtful and feels he was put at McDevitt for a reason. We will get to that reason later.
This season is Weachter’s 30th year as a head football coach and 25th leading McDevitt onto the field. After the first 3 weeks of the 2022 season his record at McDevitt is an amazing 236-68 and Weachter has 250 career victories as a head coach. (He coached 5 seasons at Lebanon Catholic before coming to McDevitt.) While with the Crusaders he has won ten District 3 championships and has made the state title game four times, coming away with the silver medal each time.
We talked about a variety of subjects and exchanged stories for over an hour. Coach Weachter was a pleasure to talk to and had some interesting things to say. Here is that exclusive interview with one of the best high school coaches in Pennsylvania, and the winningest coach in McDevitt football history.
PM: “What’s the outlook for McDevitt football in 2022?”
Weachter: “If we stay healthy, we should be pretty good.”
PM: “Stone Saunders played great as a freshman last year. I know he had a couple of veteran senior wide receivers to throw to in Foster and Easterly which was a big help. Do you look for Stone to have another great year and maybe even improve his game with that year of experience under his belt?”
Weachter: “I expect each year he’s going to get better. We worked hard in the off season on the mental part of things. He has an understanding of coverages and even our offense a little bit better. So yeah, I expect big things from him.”
During Coach Weachter’s tenure at McDevitt, 90 players have earned a D-1 scholarship with many more playing at the D-2 and D-3 level. He has coached 7 players who have gone on to play in the NFL including LeSean ‘Shady’ McCoy, Noah Spence, and current New York Jet cornerback, Bryce Hall.
PM: “How does it feel to coach and maybe shape the lives of so many D-1 prospects and the pro players that have come out of your program at McDevitt?”
Weachter: “I’ve been fortunate to coach so many with a lot of great ability. You know, it’s been a lot of fun.”
PM: “And that probably speaks volumes for your program too, doesn’t it?”
Weachter: “Yeah, I mean everybody preaches that they’re family, but I really feel Bishop McDevitt football really is a family. Most of those guys come back and stay in touch. I talk to Shady McCoy probably every couple of weeks. A lot of former players have come back and coach on my staff. I really think that’s what helps make our program.”
I asked Coach about McDevitt’s former all-state quarterback and MAC Player of the Year in 2015 with Bowling Green, Matt Johnson whom I’d seen play a half dozen times in high school. Weachter told me that Matt is now the running backs coach at Kent State. He gave me plenty of information on Johnson including that Matt may have a bright future ahead in the coaching ranks.
I also told Coach that three of the state semi-final matchups with Erie Cathedral Prep played in DuBois were some of the best games I had ever seen. We then talked for six minutes about those games. He stated that former (Cathedral Prep) Coach Mischler and himself have developed a good friendship over the years as a result of meeting each other 5 times in the playoffs. “I have a lot of respect for Coach Mischler,” he stated.
In 2010 Weachter fondly recalled the second half comeback his team mounted to defeat Cathedral Prep 24-21. People think he made adjustments at half time, but he just told his kids to relax. He also said the leadership of Matt Johnson was unbelievable especially in the second half. In 2013 McDevitt beat Prep 47-42 when Bryce Hall snagged a Nick Marsilio pass in the very back of the end zone late in the game. An interesting note to that game was it was moved from Friday to Saturday due to weather and Weachter could not secure a coach bus for the trip to DuBois. Everything was going to New York City because it was getting close to Christmas. He had even tried to get one from Delaware and Maryland. So, they had to ride in school buses and arrived in DuBois just when Erie was taking the field for pre-game warm-ups.
PM: “Coach, can you give some background information like where you went to high school, college, family, etc.”
Weachter: “My parents’ names are Bill and Gladys Weachter. I have three brothers and three sisters. My dad was midget football coach for 30 years. I played at Warwick for Mark Snyder and graduated in 1983. I played running back and defensive back. I went to Millersville and got a degree in accounting. My wife Andrea and I have been married for 34 years and we have three children. Our oldest, Marisa, played field hockey at Ball State in Indiana. Vanessa is our other daughter and she was the middle (child). Our son Braden played for me at McDevitt as the center. He went to East Stroudsburg and played fullback, but eventually transferred to Millersville as the starting center. He lost his senior year due to Covid. He started coaching at McDevitt in 2020 and is the offensive line coach for us.”
PM: “Any grand kids?”
Weachter: “No, just grand dogs.” (We laugh.)
PM: “How were you able to build the Bishop McDevitt program to where it is today?”
Weachter: “The first couple of years were rocky. We were good, but not great. Some of it was just finding the right staff and things like that.”
He went on to tell the story of the time when one of his assistant coaches at Lebanon Catholic by the name of Mike Shiner asked if he could bring his dad to help with practice a couple days a week. Coach Weachter asked who is dad was and Mike said Dick Shiner. Weachter looked him up and found out he played 11 seasons in the NFL. He then thought to himself, ‘oh yeah.’ This is Dick’s 29th year of helping Weachter out. “He just turned 80. Most of what I know is from what I learned from Dick. He played for Chuck Noll, so obviously he learned a lot of defense from him,” stated Weachter. Another side note is when Dick Shiner quarterbacked at Lebanon high school his top receiver was Mark Snyder. The same Mark Snyder that coached Weachter at Warwick high school.
Weachter: “I think what also really helped turn the corner a little bit was when Pat Berry came in as the defensive coordinator. Pat had been the defensive coordinator for McDevitt in its hey days in the 80s.”
PM: “How do you measure success?”
Weachter: “You know, it’s nice to win. It really is and I’ve been fortunate to win a lot. I judge success as all the kids we’ve helped over the years and just not football. I’ll help out anybody. I teach in the school (McDevitt) and kids can come down to my office and just not football players. In 24 years so far, we have right around 90 kids who’ve ended up getting Division I scholarships, and numerous kids that played Division II and III. Really to me that’s a success, helping them out. I’ve been fortunate over the years to have been offered three Division I assistant coaching jobs and numerous Division II and III jobs. I just feel God put me in this position to help out high school kids. That’s what I enjoy doing. Trust me, I’d love to win a state title, but if I do retire and not (win), it’s alright. Because I think I make a difference in, and our program made a difference in so many kids’ lives and that’s what it’s really all about.”
We somehow got on the subject of Shady McCoy. Coach Weachter has nothing but pleasant memories of McCoy and says he’s the best high school running back he’s seen. He reminisced about the time McCoy flew Weachter and his wife to Hawaii for a week when Shady made his first Pro Bowl. Weachter also stated how former players drop by practice when in the area. “That’s what I call success, not wins and losses,” he said.
PM: “Here’s a two-part question. What’s the toughest thing you find about coaching and what do you enjoy the most about coaching?”
Weachter: “The toughest thing, and I think almost every coach will tell you, is this parent involvement. It’s changed so much over the years. It gets worse and worse. Entitlement and social media haven’t helped out. Everything has to be right now. It gets to the point where we’ve had parents think their kids should come in and start as freshmen. I tell them Shady McCoy didn’t start as a freshman. We’ve had a few freshmen start over the years. Stone (Saunders) is one. Marques Stone was another one. But very few. It’s instant gratification. Everybody wants it now. Nobody wants to wait their turn. It’s crazy. We’ve got kids that say, ‘I don’t want to play JV.’ That’s the toughest thing, the part I like the least.”
“Mostly what I enjoy, besides helping kids, is over the summer just taking kids and starting to build our offense and defense. Working on fundamentals. I really enjoy that part of it. I enjoy the teaching part of coaching.”
PM: “What’s the most important concept that you try to teach your players?”
Weachter: “I think the most important thing, and I got this from Greg Schiano (Rutgers head coach) when he talks to his team about a couple of things like being a ‘Rutgers man’ and being a leader in school. I tell our kids a day or two before school starts that we need to be leaders in school and to be ‘McDevitt men.’ We had a little trouble a few years ago when we weren’t in dress code. I told our team we need to be leaders and be ‘McDevitt men.’ Then the rest of the school kind of follows us.”
“The other thing from Greg Schiano is ‘forget about me, I love you.’ That’s what we try to teach a lot. I think that’s probably the most important concept we teach our kids. Plus, a strong work ethic.”
PM: “What motivates you to keep coaching?”
Weachter: “What keeps me going every time I think I’m going to get out and just retire is thinking there’s another group of kids coming in. Alright, I’m staying and I’m going to help these kids.”
After Cathedral Prep beat McDevitt 38-34 in 2015, Weachter decided he was going to retire, but Father Mark Wilke told him to pray and think about it. During that time Weachter read an article by happenstance that showed two football stadiums, one full of people and one half full indicating the number of kids coaches have helped out. The question was, ‘which one are you? Have you reached as many as you can or not?’ He knew right away he couldn’t retire yet, there were more kids he could help.
Weachter: “I want you to know my wife has been great through all this. I don’t know when I’ll retire. I still really enjoy coaching, I really do.”
PM: “What do you want your legacy to be?”
Weachter: “It goes back to helping kids out anyway I can. I think that will be my legacy. It would be nice to have a legacy of winning a state title too, but it’s alright if I don’t because it’s helping the kids that matters.”
We then talked about many of the different teams he has coached, the state championship game with Aliquippa last year, and how hard it’s going to be for both teams to get back there this year as there are so many good 4A teams out there. He feels everyone who thinks they may as well toss out the season and play Aliquippa is doing the kids on both teams a disservice. These kids have to earn the right to be there, there could be injuries during the season, and people are also not being fair to their opponents either. “You got to play the season,” he said.
He stated that the 2005 team with McCoy and Berry may be the best team he has coached to date. He also said that there’s going to be a lot of talent on the field when McDevitt opens the season on August 27th in Chambersburg with Imhotep. You are talking about probably (on paper anyway) one the best 4A teams in the state butting heads with one of the best 5A teams in PA right off the bat. “Imhotep is a really good team with a lot of good players,” said Weachter.
PM: “Is there anything you’d like to see changed in the high school game?”
Weachter: “I was glad to see that rule changes the past couple years has been about player safety and rightfully so. Intentional grounding by the quarterback was just changed this year, which I thought was crazy they didn’t have the rule. I’m glad they changed that rule. I would like to see the rule changed where in high school if the ball goes into the end zone on a kick, kids can still return it if they want. Also, the PIAA has done a good job in restricting the hours you are allowed to practice.”
PM: “Coach, what is your practice schedule like during the season?”
Weachter: “I have learned two very important things over the years. One is when I was in my second year as head coach at McDevitt, I had a 3-hour practice. Dick Shiner was like, ‘Don’t ever do this again. You can’t hold these kids’ attention that long.’ I believe that. The second thing is that I noticed how mentally and physically exhausted my team was in 2004 when we played Pittsburgh Central Catholic, who was a great team. I learned to give kids time off every now and again. Most of the time I no longer bring kids in on Saturdays. Sometimes less is more. We don’t do a lot of contact in practice now either.” (Coach Weachter is leery of practice contact cause his dad died from Alzheimers.)
“We usually lift and a little individual walkthrough on what we’re going to see and what we’re going to do on Mondays. Tuesday is a long day. That’s a two and a half hour practice. Wednesday is a two-hour practice. And Thurday we do a walkthrough in the morning in the gym. So, when the bell rings at 2:45 in the afternoon, I’m out like a shot and so are the kids. You know what, it really does help.”
Somehow, we broached the subject of 7 on 7s. “They are becoming like AAU basketball. I’m sorry. I’m old school. I hate travel baseball and I hate travel soccer. We have two kids who have scholarships that never played high school soccer. If you’re in this top tier club, you can’t agree to play high school soccer. To me that’s wrong, just wrong. 7 on 7s are creeping into that. We didn’t play one 7 on 7 game this year. People say that’s going to hurt your passing game. I say, ‘oh really?’ 7 on 7s are drop back passing. With us, we only do 10-15% drop back passing. We do play action and RPOs. You don’t get that with 7 on 7s.
PM: “Coach, let’s move on to some what I call ‘fun’ questions. If you could talk to and pick the brain of any coach, past or present, who would it be?”
Weachter: “Probably Buddy Ryan on defense. I’d like to pick his brain. If nothing else it would be really entertaining.”
PM: “What do you do with your spare time?”
Weachter: “I don’t have a lot of spare time. I don’t golf, I don’t have enough time. I like grilling. I like to cook and grill. I also like to play with my dogs. I’m a big dog guy.”
PM: “What kind of dogs do you have?”
Weachter: “So, we have a 12-year old black lab. I have a 9-year old German shepherd and we just got a German shepherd puppy. My grand dogs are three golden retrievers.
PM: “What does your favorite meal consist of?”
Weachter: “If you see my stomach, you know I like to eat.” (Laughs.) “I’d say brisket with some good onion rings and coleslaw.”
PM: “What’s your favorite dessert?”
Weachter: “German chocolate cake.”
PM: “Do you have a favorite movie?”
Weachter: “I don’t watch a lot of movies. I probably haven’t been to a theater since ‘Jurassic Park’ the original one. Probably, ‘All the Right Moves.’ (One of Tom Cruise’s first movies about a football player looking to get a scholarship and get out of an old steel mill town. The movie was filmed in Johnstown.)
PM: “What is your favorite TV show?”
Weachter: “Probably ‘The Sopranos.’”
PM: “If you could go back in time, is there someone you’d love to meet?”
Weachter: “Other than Jesus, I don’t know. Through football I’ve been able to meet a lot of people, famous people. So, I’d say Jesus.” After a couple moments he says, “You know what? My dad was a Civil War buff. Maybe Robert E. Lee and I’d ask him what was your thought process on Pickett’s Charge.”
Then we talked about the Civil War for a bit and compared notes on battlefields we’ve visited, along with some other Civil War trivia stuff.
PM: “Is there something most people may not know about you?”
Weachter: “I like to grill. I have some smokers, a pizza oven, and an outside pit. I’m also a Civil War buff, and I like dogs.”
PM: “Is there anything else on your mind or that you anticipated I’d ask, but didn’t?”
Weachter: “You hit about everything.”
Coach Weachter at one time taught accounting and business law, but when he went to McDevitt they were good enough to allow him to teach one half his schedule business ed. and the other half phys. ed. He now is the physical education department chair and teaches three only classes because in 2019 he became the Director of NCAA Recruiting for all sports at Bishop McDevitt. That encompasses a lot of things, but he enjoys it because he is helping students. And really, shouldn’t we all be doing something we enjoy and shouldn’t we all be helping others in some manner? Especially if we feel God put us in that position.
Coach Weachter should be an inspiration to young and old alike. He is a perfect example of what a role model should be these days. Will he ever win that elusive state championship? I think he will, but if he doesn’t, he’s already a champion in so many young people’s eyes. And that is all anyone could ask for.
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