Dec 8, 2014 4 min read

Mike Evans joined the coaching staffs at Saginaw Valley State and California University when the programs fell on tough times. He mentored numerous all-conference linemen at both schools and was an integral part of the teams rediscovering success.

Evans’ next reclamation project is closer to home for the Canonsburg resident and McMurray native.

The longtime assistant coach was approved by Canon-McMillan’s School Board as the high school’s new head football coach and associate athletic director at Monday night’s meeting.

He replaces Terry George, who was named the interim head coach Sept. 24 after Ron Coder resigned following 14 games as head coach. The Big Macs are 6-49 over the past six seasons.

“Getting the program going is important,” Evans said. “It’s something I look forward to. I’ve been through this a couple times. At Saginaw Valley State, we were not winners when we first arrived, and certainly at Cal, we weren’t winners when we first arrived. But we developed a winning tradition. That’s important.”

For the past 12 seasons, Evans has been an offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Cal where he mentored 10 All-Americans, 16 All-Region selections and 29 All-Conference selections.

A graduate of Peters Township High School, Evans always wanted to become a high school football coach. But without an education degree, he knew the opportunity had to be unique. That happened at Canon-McMillan when the head coaching position was accompanied with the tag of associate athletic director.

Evans found out about the opening the night before the deadline to apply arrived. He spoke with his wife, Jennifer, and decided to apply. After two interviews, Canon-McMillan athletic director Frank Vulcano offered him the job.

“We are very excited to hire Mike Evans as our head football coach,” Vulcano said. “Mike brings a lot of energy and football knowledge that we feel will get our football program moving in the right direction.”

While at Cal, Evans coached two linemen who are currently in the NFL – Eric Kush and Rishaw Johnson. Prior to his time with the Vulcans, Evans spent four seasons as offensive line coach and one season as the tight ends coach at Saginaw Valley State, where he coached Todd Herremans, who has played for the Philadelphia Eagles since 2005.

As a college assistant coach, Evans often wondered what sort of impact he could have as a coach. Molding men in their early 20s could be difficult, and he believed coaching high school students would make a difference.

“I’ve spent 15 years in college getting kids at the end of the assembly line,” Evans said. “Some of them I can change. We’ve had an outstanding record at California changing kids, but you can’t change them all. I plan on working with this program from top to bottom to pull this thing together. I wanted to make it matter more.”

During his time as an assistant coach, Evans worked with former head coach John Luckhardt, former Pitt head coach and Cal offensive coordinator Walt Harris, current Cal head coach Mike Keller and longtime West Virginia offensive coordinator Mike Jacobs Sr.

“I have to thank California for the people I learned from and the philosophies I built,” Evans said. “That’s something I owe to John Luckhardt and Mike Keller. The amount of people they brought into the program to coach and to learn from is unbelievable. I’m a mutt of all those people.”

Evans played collegiately at Akron and Mercyhurst before spending time with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints.

Evans’ first coaching job came in 1998 as an assistant with Berskshire High School in Burton, Ohio.

The next 16 years were filled with accolades – eight trips to the NCAA Division II playoffs and three semifinal appearances. He’s hoping to carry that success to Canon-McMillan, which hasn’t made a postseason appearance since 2008.

“The more the process went on, the more and more I didn’t know if I’d survive if I didn’t get it,” Evans joked. “It was time for a change. I’m excited about it. Some people are afraid of change. When I was younger, I might have been, but now I’m very, very excited.”