West Greene hires Coss

John Coss knows West Greene football can be great.
He worked as an assistant coach for Larry Piper during the early 1990s, highlighted by an appearance in the 1993 WPIAL Class A championship game at Three Rivers Stadium.
That game happens to be the last playoff game West Greene has played and now it’s up to Coss to get the Pioneers back after the school board unanimously hired him Thursday as varsity football coach.
“Hard work gets it done,” said Coss, who went 7-13 during a two-year stint as West Greene’s head coach in 2000 and 2001. “They have to put the time in.”
Coss, a technical education teacher at West Greene, replaces Charles Harris, who spent the past three years as head coach. The Pioneers went 0-9 last year and 3-24 the past three seasons.
They carry a 23-game losing streak into 2010.
“The kids are used to losing. It’s going to take time to turn it around,” said Coss, who also worked as an assistant coach at Mapletown and Waynesburg high schools. “That’s why I’m glad I got a five-year contract. The last time, I only had year-to-year.”
West Greene athletic director Bill Simms is glad to have Coss on board for the next five years as well.
“Number one, he’s a teacher in the district. Number two, he’s a quality, quality man,” Simms said. “He’s been well-accomplished wherever he went. Plus, he’s a stickler for discipline.”