After 24 seasons as head coach and 40 total seasons at Easton, Steve Shiffert will not be re-hired on Tuesday when the School Board announces their approval of the fall coaches for the 2017-18 school year. At this time, it’s unclear whether Shiffert has resigned or if the Board and Athletic Department are terminating his tenure with the Red Rovers, though it is being reported that Shiffert has not offered a formal resignation. Easton is coming off of a 7-6 season and is 16-10 in the last two years after a 69-15 stretch with 2 D11 titles and 5 D11 finals appearances from 2009-2014. Easton also lost 10 players to transfers out of the program before last season.
Shiffert leaves his post as the winningest coach in Easton history, passing Bob Rute (131 wins from 1947-1967) in the 2009 season opener and finishing with a career record of 216-89-1. His 71.3% winning percentage trails only James Reilly (80.6% from 1919-1930) in Easton history. His win total is fifth in District 11 history, trailing Bob Stem, Ed Christian, Fred Ross, and Jim Morgans.
Along the way, Shiffert won District 11 championships in 1993, 2003, 2004, 2009, and 2010 and played for the D11 title 12 times, most recently in 2014. Only Stem and Morgans have won more D11 titles. His teams advanced to the Eastern Final in 1993, 2003, and 2004 and he earned the first state playoff win in school history with a 34-23 win over Cumberland Valley in 2003. Shiffert’s teams won conference championships in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2012, and 2014. Easton finished with undefeated regular seasons in 2001, 2004, and 2014. Shiffert was inducted into the PSFCA Hall of Fame at the Big 33 game in 2011.
Shiffert spent the first three years of his coaching career at Notre Dame (GP) before joining the Easton staff as the JV coach in 1976. He was promoted to offensive line coach when Bob Shriver took over the program in 1980, a position he held from 1980 through 1992. When Shriver was promoted to Athletic Director at the end of the 1992 school year, Shiffert was chosen as Shriver’s successor. Despite losing two-time All State running back Juan Gaddy and a slew of major contributors, Easton surprised everybody in Shiffert’s first year, going 11-2-1 and winning a District 11 title, before losing a 6-3 heartbreaker to CB West in the Eastern Final at Goodman Stadium. Shiffert’s only losses in his first season were to the Bucks and 3A State Champion Allentown Central Catholic, plus a dramatic 7-7 tie with Phillipsburg, which was famously “re-played” in the 2009 Gatorade Replay Game.
Shiffert led Easton to three straight D11 finals in 1999, 2000, and 2001 before breaking through with a 23-15 win over Parkland in 2003. They would follow that up with a state quarterfinal win over Cumberland Valley in Hershey Park Stadium, setting up the first “3 in 8” week in Shiffert’s career. The 2003 Red Rovers lost on Thanksgiving to Phillipsburg 26-23, then bowed out with a 34-21 loss to North Penn in the Eastern Final.
The next season, despite losing 18 starter to graduation and having only one starter weigh more than 200 pounds, Easton went 13-1, winning a D11 title over Dan Persa and Liberty, beating undefeated and NJ Sectional Champion Phillipsburg in a 31-0 thrashing on Thanksgiving, then beating George Washington in the state quarterfinal to complete the “3 in 8” trifecta for the first time in school history. Shiffert’s most successful campaign would end a week later in a 21-14 loss to Neshaminy.
Shiffert’s would lead the Red Rovers through a minefield in 2006, a season highlighted by the 100th meeting between Easton and Phillipsburg, which was nationally televised on ESPN on Thanksgiving morning. In spring of 2006, Easton starting quarterback Mike Cummings was killed in a car accident, injecting incredible tragedy into what was set to be a celebratory year. Playing with heavy hearts after the loss of their quarterback and leader, Easton started the season with 6 consecutive shutouts and yielded less than 6 points per game during the regular season. The Red Rovers beat Phillipsburg 21-7 in front of a national television audience and finished the year 12-2, with their only losses coming to state runner up Liberty, to whom they lost in the regular season and D11 final.
Easton would win two more D11 titles in the Shiffert era, having to play in the championship game two days after their Thanksgiving clash with P’Burg. In 2009, the Red Rovers knocked of P’Burg 21-8 on Thanksgiving morning, then shut down future Heisman Trophy finalist Andre Williams in a slugfest, 21-14 win over Parkland in the subregional final. Easton lost an instant classic the following week, a 17-14 war in the snow against state champion LaSalle in what was likely Shiffert’s closest sniff at a state title. The following season, Easton lost a 3-0 heartbreaker in the snow to P’Burg in overtime, then picked themselves off the canvas two days later for a 13-10 win over Whitehall in the D11 title game. For this writer’s money, that was the most impressive and toughest performance by an Easton team in Shiffert’s tenure. That team too would see their season ended by LaSalle, who advanced to the state finals.
Easton would advance to the D11 championship game three more times in the Shiffert era, but could never get over the hump. His final great team was the 2014 squad, which set a program record for points per game, as they ripped off 12 straight wins heading into the D11 finals at a top 3 ranking in the state, but fell 13-10 in overtime to Parkland to end their season.
Any recap of Shiffert’s career (or the career of any Easton coach) would be remiss to leave out his career against archrival Phillipsburg. On Thanksgiving Day, Shiffert led the Red Rovers to a 17-6-1 record. His biggest triumphs include the 31-0 win in 2004 when both teams came into the game undefeated for just the second time in rivalry history, and the 21-7 win in 2006 in the 100th Game, televised nationally on ESPN. And when Easton was still alive in state competition, Shiffert’s Easton teams went 3-3 playing two days after Thanksgiving. Shiffert’s final game as head coach at Easton was a 24-14 victory this past Thanksgiving.
As a head coach, Shiffert coached 32 All State selections, had seven players selected for the Big 33 game, and he was selected as the Big 33 head coach in 2014. He’s sent players to West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Temple, UConn, Ohio U., Kansas, West Point, Lafayette, Lehigh, Towson, Maine, St. Francis, Central Connecticut, and countless Division II and III programs.
The end of Shiffert’s tenure also marks the end of the careers of two of the most highly admired and successful assistants in the Valley. Doug Powell has been Shiffert’s defensive coordinator since the beginning and has been on the Easton staff since the Shriver regime. Powell is regarded as the best DC in the Valley and is the architect of some of the best defenses in school history (2004 and 2006 come to mind immediately). Also riding off into the sunset is offensive line coach Scott Byrd. Byrd has coached 13 all state linemen in his tenure at Easton and is one of the best teachers of blocking technique in the state. Both are retired teachers and will surely be missed in the program.
Despite his unpopularity amongst a vocal minority of the Easton fanbase and family, Steve Shiffert left Easton football better than he found it. His contributions to the program, the community, and his players are immeasurable and I certainly hope he had some say in the decision to end his career. By any measure, his tenure at Easton was a massive success and continued the proud tradition of one of the state’s most storied programs. If this is truly the end, those who really care about the program thank Coach Shiffert and wish him well.
I'll have other posts regarding speculation about who may be candidates for replacement.
