3 generations of Wileys experience joys, pitfalls of sharing sideline at Knoch

By: Charles Curti
Saturday, August 16, 2025 | 12:01 AM

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John Wiley makes no attempt to hide it: The Wiley men are loud.

That should make the Knoch sideline interesting this fall as three generations of Wileys try to lead the Knights to the WPIAL football playoffs.

T.J. Wiley is the head coach. His father, 74-year-old John, a Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame member, is an assistant. Max, T.J.’s son, is the frontrunner to be the Knights’ quarterback.

Each called the opportunity a dream come true. But each knows there are inherent pitfalls.

When John coached at Titusville Area High School, T.J. was his quarterback. That naturally led some folks to talk.

“Even with all my success, all I ever heard was, ‘You only play because you’re the coach’s kid,’ ” said T.J., who remains Titusville’s all-time leading passer. “There’s a fine line being a coach’s kid. There’s a lot of great things that come with it, but you’re in the spotlight, too.”

Now, T.J. is on the other end, facing the inevitable fallout of having his son at quarterback.

Max, a junior, has been studying his father’s offense since junior high. That alone gives him an edge over others vying for the job.

But T.J. made it clear that Max is getting no special treatment. He went so far as to say he is “mean” to Max.

“I’m not going to have people out there be like, ‘Oh, he was just given the keys to the kingdom,’ ” T.J. said. “I told him from Day 1: If there’s somebody better than you, I’m playing him.”

Max takes it in stride. He said he understands why his father is harder on him than the other players.

“He wants me to be the best version of myself on and off the field,” said Max, who was 17 of 38 for 186 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions in limited action at Shaler last season. “He also doesn’t want people to think he’s gifting me the job.

“I’ve had friends joke with me about it, but they know how hard I work and how much time I put in for it.”

John Wiley had simple advice about how to deal with any outside noise: ignore it.

“I told T.J., I never thought about being under a microscope,” John said. “My job is to coach. Teachers can talk. Parents can talk. But my job is to coach, and I’m going to do the best job for the kids I can.”

For T.J and Max, the chance to play for their fathers far outweighed any adversity. As Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is fond of saying, they didn’t run away from it. They ran toward it.

Heading into his freshman season with John’s team at Danville Area High School, T.J. broke the pinkie finger on his throwing hand. That took him out of the team’s QB competition and spared his father any potential blowback.

Before T.J.’s sophomore year — coincidentally or not — John Wiley was fired. He knew T.J.’s class had a chance to be successful and encouraged him to stay the course at Danville.

“But,” John said he told T.J., “if you want me to coach you, we’ve got to (move). And without hesitation, he said, ‘We gotta go.’ ”

Added T.J.: “Playing for my dad was the highlight of my life. He was Superman to me.”

Similarly, after T.J. left Shaler’s staff, Max told his father if he didn’t get a coaching job, he wasn’t going to play this season. He would play only if his father was going to be his coach.

“When he finally got the (Knoch) job, I was like, ‘This is what I wanted my whole life,’ ” Max said. “Growing up as the ball boy for all the teams he has coached … now it’s a reality, and I couldn’t be happier.”

The only thing that might make this season better is a playoff berth for the Knights. But whatever happens, the Wileys will be able to do it as a family. Loud and proud.

“Dad is still very sharp and knows what he’s talking about,” T.J. said. “And he has a great eye for the game. The fact that not only did he get to coach me, he’s getting a chance to coach his grandson, too, not many coaches can say they had that opportunity.”

Tags: Knoch