VIRGINIA BEACH (WAVY) — What high school kid wouldn’t want to play for a Pro Football Hall of Fame player?
It appears Cox Principal Dr. Michael Kelly has lured Steelers great and Super Bowl champion Alan Faneca to replace Bill Stachelski as the Falcons’ head football coach.
Faneca played left guard for the Steelers from 1998-2007 after being selected by the team in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft out of LSU. He was one of the most dominant offensive linemen of the era, played in nine Pro Bowls and was voted All-Pro eight times. He is a member of the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade Team and helped the Steelers to victory in Super Bowl XL.
In February, the Great Neck resident was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021. The honor came in his sixth year of eligibility. Faneca spent most of his 13-year career in Pittsburgh as the top protector of the Steelers’ quarterbacks during that time.
He was also mobile enough to pull in either direction and lead running backs around the end. In the Steelers’ Super Bowl win, he threw the lead block that sprung Willie Parker into the secondary on a 75-yard touchdown run that remains a Super Bowl record to this day.
Faneca, who worked as an assistant coach on last year’s Cox staff, replaces Bill Stachelski, who stepped down last month after 21 years of coaching, including 13 as head coach. Stachelski will take over as the Falcons’ golf coach. Stachelski leaves the gridiron with 66 wins while leading Cox to 11 playoff appearances. He wrapped up his head coaching career with a 5-1 record and a spot in the Class 5 Region A semifinals.