MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — It’s been over 30 years since the last time an outsider took over as the head football coach at Morgantown High.
That man was Glen McNew, who followed his son, Glen, to Morgantown when he joined the WVU football team. McNew was the coach at Mullens High in Wyoming County and had no prior connection to MHS before getting the job with the Mohigans in 1987.
Following McNew’s retirement in 2002, the Mohigans started a trend of familiar faces, hiring John Bowers to be the next head coach. Bowers was an assistant under McNew for six years, so he was an established staffer at MHS.
Bowers stepped down in 2015 after 13 years and replaced by Matt Lacy, who worked under McNew and Bowers for 17 years as an assistant.
After four years at the helm, Lacy decided to resign last November following a 3-7 seasons.
On Wednesday, Sean Biser was introduced as the 16th head coach in program history, but he’s the first one since McNew 33 years ago who had no prior connection to the Mohigans.
Biser comes from Keyser, his alma mater, after spending 16 years as the head coach of the Golden Tornado. While he has a history of winning at his prior stops, Biser knows he has to establish his own culture at MHS.
“You have to lead by example, No. 1,” Biser said. “I don’t expect these guys to do anything I’m not willing to do or haven’t done. We’re going to go into this together, we’re going to work together — not me just telling them what to do. They have to understand I’m invested in them and I’m going to be. They have to understand that I’ll always be there for them, whether they like that I say or don’t like what I have to say.
“They’ll have to trust me. They don’t know me from Adam right now. But they’re going to have to learn to trust me and I’m going to have to learn to trust them.”
Biser served as the strength and conditioning coach at all of his previous stops, getting his start at Potomac State College in Keyser. He understands the importance of the weight room during offseason workouts, and that’s where he hopes he can build a relationship with his players.
“The No. 1 place to make that happen is in the weight room,” Biser said. “You’re going to build some toughness, some work ethic and a commodore in there that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Family matters
Part of the deal for Biser to even interview for the MHS job was a willingness from his family to move from Keyser to Morgantown, and it all started with his youngest son, Caden.
“Without their support, this would have never happened,” Biser said of his family. “When I was in the interview, the No. 1 person I asked was my son Caden because it affected him the most. Uproot him, bring him here as a senior … that was No. 1.”
Biser’s middle son, Jackson, is currently a senior at Keyser, while Caden is a junior who will have a new school for his final year. However, he will add his 6-foot-1, 197-pound frame at running back and linebacker for he Mohigans next season.
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