McKeesport (Pa.) High School football coach Matt Miller has resigned following public outrage over his recent testimony as a character witness for a former student-athlete and NFL player sentenced to life in prison for murder.
According to WTAE, former McKeesport football player Isaac Smith was accused of murdering a pregnant woman in 2021, claiming he worried his long term girlfriend would discover the other woman’s pregnancy. Smith was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the crime, but Miller testified as a character witness for Smith throughout the trial. Smith was sentenced at the beginning of June. The coach’s lapse in judgment had school board members and local families concerned about his leadership role with the Tigers.
"No statement of condolence. No effort to separate the program from what these two men said on that stand. When the head coach doesn't speak, the silence gets filled. And right now, it reads like the program stood with my daughter's killer instead of with her," said Brandon Short, father of the victim.
McKeesport School Board member Matt Holtzman has called for Miller’s resignation several times and described the football program’s association with the murder trial inappropriate.
“We had two people from our coaching staff testify in a murder trial against one of our most illustrious alumni," Holtzman said.
As Miller submitted his resignation, the board appointed Tom Smith — brother of a two-time championship-winning McKeesport coach — as the new leader of Tiger football. The school board also assigned new assistant coaches to the program that currently boasts a University of Georgia commit on the roster.
“Tom Smith's been with him probably over 30 years. I think the stability that he will bring to the program, like he always has, I think is very advantageous," Holtzman said.
