Penn State football has reportedly gone into Pittsburgh and the WPIAL to hire its newest director of high school relations, tabbing longtime West Allegheny and Mt. Lebanon coach Bob Palko. The news was first reported by Dorin Dickerson of The Fan Morning Show. Penn State coach James Franklin is set to speak to the media on Thursday for a previously scheduled appearance and will likely confirm the move then.
Palko won eight WPIAL titles at West Allegheny over a two decade-plus stint at the school. Following his time at West Allegheny, Palko would eventually go on to lead Mt Lebanon to a WPIAL and PIAA Class 6A title in 2019.
“People will talk about the wins and all that stuff, but it’s not that,” Palko told The Pittsburgh Union Progress when asked about the most rewarding part of his coaching career to date. LI think raising my family around athletics and watching my children grow and watching, like I tell you, the staff and the families, their children. To watch them come through the program — like I told you, it’s 12 months. So I’m around coaches year-round.
“You get to know their families and their wives and their children. And you cherish the relationships with the players and the families. You spend all this time with them, and you can’t help but to have relationships with them. And those are the things that you cherish. Just the people you meet on a daily basis and the parents and the families. It’s like a huge family.”
The role at Penn State is an expansive one, spanning responsibilities related to 7on7 camps to relationships with high school coaches in the state. The job listing on Penn State’s job board originally stated that the role required contacting five high school coaches or junior college coaches a day.
