Miller named head coach after Longo resignation

By Erin Brodbeck
Collegian Staff
March 22, 2006

Tim Miller was named the Explorers’ Head Football Coach on March 20, according to Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Thomas Brennan. The former linebackers coach will replace Phil Longo, who resigned from his position as head coach to serve as the Offensive Coordinator for the University of Minnesota-Duluth. After almost 20 years of coaching at Philadelphia high schools, Miller is now taking his first position as a collegiate head coach.

During Longo’s career at La Salle, the football team has undergone various improvements, including a number of staff adjustments over the four-year span. The staff was hoping to hire someone who would carry on with the success that the team has seen this year. Associate Director of Athletics John Lyons said the committee was looking for someone who “understands La Salle football and their mission.” He said that the ideal candidate would appreciate student athletics and be already familiar with the teams La Salle will play in the future.

On the Explorers’ webpage, Brennan was quoted as saying, “Coach Miller is a quality coach and person and was able to instill a sense of pride and respectability to the Linebacking Corps, which really carried over to the rest of the defense and even the team.  His energy and passion are contagious.”

Before choosing Miller, the Athletic Department received more than 40 resumés from both members of the current football staff and coaches from other schools. Many of them had experience as head coach or had already been working with college athletes. After narrowing the applicants to six candidates, a committee of football staff and teammates interviewed the finalists and made its decision over Spring Break.

Miller received his Bachelor of Science at Temple University, where he also served as linebacker for the school’s football team.

brodbecke1@lasalle.edu