After a tumultuous few months in the Seton LaSalle football program, interim head coach Chris Siegle is ready to get to work.

Siegle joined former head coach Mauro Monz’s staff shortly after Monz was hired in November and was tagged as the interim coach after Monz stepped down in June. Monz’s resignation came on the heels of a one-year suspension handed down by the WPIAL board of directors in March, as a result of allegedly recruiting players to the school. Jason Pinkston, one of Monz’s assistant coaches, was suspended for a year as well, and Seton LaSalle was put on a two-year probation.

“The school had asked me if I would step up and keep the program on track and keep the program in the direction that we were heading,” Siegle said. “When this transition happened, it really hasn't changed our mindset, and it hasn't changed our goals, and it hasn't changed the way we go about things.”

Siegle’s coaching past includes stints at Shaler High School, Hampton University and Florida International University. He said his college experience has primed him to help his players at Seton LaSalle with college football aspirations to succeed at the next level.

“Our atmosphere at practice and our atmosphere in the weight room is a college atmosphere,” Siegle said. “If they want to go and they want to compete at that level, they need to understand the requirements, and they need to understand the demand of their time and what that entails.”

But Siegle added that cultivating a college-like atmosphere will also help his players now, as well as contribute to the Rebels’ efforts to turn around last year’s 1-6 season.

Siegle’s first senior class at Seton LaSalle contains quarterback Emmett Harris Jr. and receiver Asahn Bey, as well as linemen William Hess, Justin Ranft, Nathan Trainer and Liam Halligan. While they have impressed Siegle, he knows there will be an initial learning curve as they adjust to a new coach.

“It's hard to have leadership because it's new to everybody right now,” the first-year head coach said. “Our freshmen that are coming in, they've played the same amount of games under me that our seniors have.”

But Siegle described the group as “a good senior class,” and he said the whole team has “bought in to being one group,” which makes for a bright future.

Now, he wants them to embrace the mindset that the best football teams play strong defense.

“Having our assignments covered is something we pride ourselves on,” he said. “You don't have to be talented to line up.”

On the other side of the ball, Siegle wants his players to hone their ground game. “We're going to be able to line up and run the football,” Siegle said. “That's our mentality.”

Last year, the Rebels finished at the bottom of the Three Rivers Conference with a 1-4 conference record. Looking ahead, Siegle thinks the key to a successful season begins with understanding “what our task in the end is” — both in the sense of big-picture goals and smaller ones such as attention to specific blocks or catches in practice.

Siegle knows for some players, individual goals include playing college football. Junior Liam Halligan announced that he received his first Division I offer, from Marshall, in June. Siegle is glad his players can return to a normal recruiting cycle following the coronavirus-related disruptions, but in the meantime, he’s also excited to see what players like Halligan will bring to Seton LaSalle’s program.

It’s all part of the “growing process” of learning more about his team.

“We're looking long term down the road at what's best for our players, and whatever that picture looks like, it looks different for each kid,” Siegle said.

Coach: Chris Siegle

Years at school: 1

2020 record: 1-6

Returning starters: Offense 9, Defense 9

Key returners: Emmett Harris Jr. (6-1, 200, Sr., QB), Asahn Bey (6-0, 175, Sr., WR)

Keys to success: Embrace defensive assignments under new head coach. Continue to improve run game.

Schedule

*Non-conference game

First Published: August 17, 2021, 11:00 a.m.