Friday, October 17, 2003

By Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Mt. Lebanon had just won a big game against North Allegheny, and the jubilant players gathered in the locker room for a postgame cheer. Their little chant contained a few cuss words, and Coach Chris Haering overheard from the coaches' office next to the locker room.

Mt. Lebanon coach Chris Haering watches his players scrimmage during a recent practice. (Martha Rial, Post-Gazette) WINNER'S CIRCLE Here is how Mt. Lebanon coach Chris Haering stacks up against some top WPIAL Class AAAA coaches over the past seven seasons. Coach, school -- Rec. George Novak, Woodland Hills -- 73-12 Chris Haering, Mt. Lebanon -- 54-21 Art Tragesser, Penn-Trafford -- 53-19 Jim Render, Upper St. Clair -- 51-20 Jack McCurry, North Hills -- 49-23 Jim Rankin, North Allegheny -- 49-27 Neil Gordon, Penn Hills -- 48-24-1 George Smith, McKeesport -- 47-26 Jeff Metheny, Bethel Park -- 45-26 Art Walker Jr. Central Catholic -- 42-28

Haering stormed into the locker room, visibly upset.

"I better never, ever hear anything like that again," he yelled at his players. "Swearing doesn't make you tough. What you do out on the field makes you tough."

Haering's reaction to the incident earlier this season epitomized him. He is a straight forward, no-nonsense, 36-year-old who believes there is an appropriate way to act, play and coach. And at Mt. Lebanon, it's a winning way.

From 1997 through the first seven weeks of this season, Haering has a 54-21 record, including a 5-2 mark this year. The Blue Devils have won five games in a row and are in first place in the Quad North Conference. Woodland Hills' George Novak is the only coach in WPIAL Class AAAA with more wins than Haering in the past seven seasons.

During that time, Haering has more wins than Upper St. Clair's Jim Render, North Hills' Jack McCurry, North Allegheny's Jim Rankin, Penn Hills' Neil Gordon and Penn-Trafford's Art Tragesser. Those are veteran coaches who usually come up in the discussions about who are the best coaches in the WPIAL's largest classification.

Maybe it's time Haering gets mentioned in the elite group. Just don't try to convince him of that.

"I don't feel like I deserve to be mentioned with those people," Haering said. "I'll tell you why. They've done it over the long haul."

A husband, father, civics teacher and former standout linebacker at West Virginia University, Haering doesn't like to talk about his success at Mt. Lebanon. He'd rather talk about his players.

Haering also doesn't particularly like to talk about his glory days at West Virginia, when he seemingly had a detector for the guy with the ball. His 185 tackles during the 1989 season is second-best all-time at West Virginia. He was a defensive standout on the 1988 team that played Notre Dame for the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl. His 416 career tackles is sixth-best all-time at West Virginia.

"It doesn't surprise me a bit that he's doing so well," former West Virginia coach Don Nehlen said. "From the day I recruited him, to the day he left West Virginia I thought he was as special a young guy who has ever walked through these doors. In fact, I wanted him on my staff at one point, but things just didn't work out."

Haering will talk about some of his West Virginia teammates and some of the players he faced ("[WVU quarterback] Major Harris is definitely the best athlete I've ever seen"), but he would prefer it end there.

"That's just not who I am any more. I'm a teacher and coach in Mt. Lebanon. I'm no better or worse than anyone else who comes to work every day. That stuff [at West Virginia] was fun at the time, but it's time to move on."

Moving on to coaching is something Haering always wanted to do.

"I'd say ever since I was a senior in high school I wanted to be a coach," Haering said.

It was in his blood. His father, Chuck, grew up in Pittsburgh, played for the Morningside Bulldogs sandlot teams and coached Division II college football for years. His uncle, Joe, coached the old Pittsburgh Gladiators of Arena Football. His younger brother, Mark, is the coach at Pueblo South High (Colo.), which is Chris' alma mater.

Chris' father is an assistant coach at Mt. Lebanon. Every year, the elder Haering, 67, alternates coaching with his two sons. Next year, it will be back to Pueblo South.

"One of the things I learned from my father is to pay attention to details," Haering said."I learned that if you did that and worked hard, rewards will come. Growing up, he actually had me doing drills in our back yard. He would have my mom and my sister out there as pulling guards, and I would have to read them as the linebacker."

Haering spent the 1990 preseason with the Miami Dolphins but didn't make the team. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Hampton and was the Talbots' head coach for one season.

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