New football coach T.J. Wiley believes he has found perfect fit at Knoch

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, April 3, 2025 | 9:55 PM

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Knoch ended last football season with fewer than 30 players, an issue new coach T.J. Wiley wants to tackle right away.

He‘ll start when he meets the team next week.

“The very first thing I’m going say is, ‘I want you to look around and think about people that should be here that aren’t,’ ” said Wiley, who was hired Wednesday as Knoch’s coach.

Wiley previously was coach at five WPIAL schools, including Northgate for six seasons.

There are plenty of athletes playing other sports at Knoch, said Wiley, who is eager to delve into what might be keeping some kids away from the football team.

“Look at what their basketball team did this year, and they’ve always had a good baseball program,” Wiley said. “I want to figure that out.”

Wiley, 45, replaces Tim Burchett, who resigned in February after three seasons. The Knights went 12-18 under Burchett, including 3-6 last season.

For Wiley, this is his first head coaching job in six years. His resume includes stops at Penn-Trafford (2009), Northgate (2011-12, 2014-17), Deer Lakes (2013), Vincentian Academy (2018) and Bishop Canevin (2019).

His best season was 2016, when Northgate went 10-2 and reached the WPIAL Class A semifinals. His career record is 37-58.

Knoch athletic director Josh Shoop said the school district considered six applicants for the position, and Wiley’s personality and preparation earned him the job.

“He’s a highly energetic guy, and he seems very organized,” Shoop said. “Pretty much every question we asked him he said, ‘I have a binder for that.’ He was very well prepared, and I think the kids will love him.”

Wiley is the son of a successful high school football coach.

His father, John, was inducted into the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018 in recognition of a 24-year career at Titusville, Danville and Clearfield.

But Wiley worried his coaching career hit a roadblock in 2019 after a 1-9 season at Bishop Canevin. That was his sixth job in 11 years. He applied for a couple of others without success after his untimely exit.

“It made me doubt myself,” Wiley said. “I thought, maybe I lost it.”

So, he started coaching his son’s middle school team at Shaler, an experience he credits for re-igniting his passion. He later helped coach Shaler’s varsity team. When the Knoch job became available, he applied.

Looking back, Wiley said he believes he just needed to wait for the right job where he would be the right coach.

A Titusville native, Wiley said the Saxonburg community reminds him of home. Wiley and his wife, Lisa, now live in Shaler, with children, Max, 16, and Lillian, 12.

“I’m from rural Pennsylvania up in the sticks of Crawford County,” he said. “Saxonburg is a very rural area. I get a lot of Titusville vibe in that community, and I like that.

“In my one interview, I said I felt like kids here ride four-wheelers and go to campfires and hang out in the woods. That was me. … It all aligned for me perfectly, and I’m thrilled to be the head coach.”

Wiley’s father will join him as an assistant at Knoch.

Shoop said he was optimistic Wiley’s enthusiasm can draw athletes out for football, adding that he’s “definitely the right guy for the job.” But Shoop also emphasized that the previous coaching staff wasn’t to blame for low numbers.

“For whatever reason, we just couldn’t get the kids out,” Shoop said. “I think last year we finished up with maybe 27 players. I don’t want to say that’s the fault of Tim. I think that’s the fault of the pressure of year-round sports.”

Wiley said he is prepared to encourage Knoch athletes to play multiple sports. A former high school football, baseball and basketball player, Wiley was later a quarterback at Thiel and played several seasons of indoor football.

“I’m not going to be that coach who says you can only play football,” Wiley said. “I want to work with the other coaches out there. Kids feel they have to specialize when they really don’t.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Knoch