Apr 16, 2025 4 min read

By John Sacco

For the Observer-Reporter

newsrooom@observer-reporter.com

Scott Bryer thought enough time might have passed to have closed the door on him becoming a head football coach.

The fact is, the time was just right.

Bryer, 53, was approved unanimously, 8-0, by the Belle Vernon Area School District board of directors Tuesday to become the Leopards’ new football coach.

Ironically, he held the job for a few weeks in 2009. After being hired to lead the Leopards’ program, he received an opportunity to become a principal in the Mount Pleasant School District.

Bryer accepted the principal’s position and walked away from the football job.

This time, he is running full steam into his new position with the Leopards.

And the time seems just right.

“I was interested in the job,” Bryer said. “To be honest with you, I thought that my time had passed. I didn’t think that this opportunity would ever present itself again. I just didn’t see a lot of guys getting their first head coaching jobs at 53. But when it was open, I had some people encourage me to pursue it. After I gave it some thought, I realized maybe the timing is right. I talked to my family and to people that I work with.

“Obviously, I talked to the people who were encouraging me and I just felt it was right.”

Bryer has been an assistant at Belle Vernon since 2015.

He is an elementary principal in the Mount Pleasant School District and succeeds Matt Humbert, who led the Leopards to consecutive PIAA and WPIAL Class 3A championships in 2022 and 2023.

Humbert, Belle Vernon’s athletic director, resigned as football coach in February.

Prior to being a Belle Vernon assistant, Bryer was assistant head coach/defensive coordinator at Mount Pleasant from 2001-2008. He is a South Allegheny graduate and earned his teaching degree from Robert Morris and a master’s degree from PennWest California.

Bryer and his wife, Tina, reside in Rostraver. The couple have four sons, Max, a tight end and special teams coach at Edinboro; Jack, a junior tight end/fullback at Case Western Reserve; Luke, a freshman defensive end at Case Western; and Heinz, a 7th grader at BVA Middle School. Max Bryer played at Kenyon.

The elder Bryer previously coached at Belle Vernon under former head coach Aaron Krepps.

Clearly, the Bryers are a football family.

“We like being part of the program,” Bryer said. “I think the impact that this football program has had on my family made me interested in pursuing the job. We’ve had a lot of great moments from my oldest son, Max, going through that in 2019, when we we beat South Fayette at Peters Township to go to Heinz Field for first time and making the trip with my son.

“Two years later, Jack gets to go and then we go to state championships with my son Luke. This program has been a huge part of our family history and because of that I wanted to be part of it as head coach. For the last six years, we’ve been juggling between going from high school football games to college football games to youth football games.”

Humbert, Belle Vernon’s athletic director, said in a district news release that “Scott is a perfect fit to carry on the tradition and customs of our football program. It’s incredibly rewarding to pass the torch to someone who truly bleeds gold and white. His commitment to our student-athletes, our school, and our community is unmatched.”

Bryer said he has a full coaching staff and it will be heavily manned by former and sitting assistant coaches.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Bryer said. “I’ve done this for a long time so I’ve coached most of them since they were in fourth or fifth grade. I am familiar with a lot of them. They know me and I’m just looking forward to continuing to work with them and to get the season started.”