With a lifetime devoted to the sport as a player and an assistant coach, John Vaughan is ready to bring his wealth of experience to Carlynton High School as its new head football coach.

He replaces Ryan Gevaudan, who had coached the team from 2004 through last season.

Though never a head coach on the varsity level, Vaughan said he is ready for his new job at the Rosslyn Farms-based school that serves Carnegie, Rosslyn Farms, Pennsbury Village and Crafton.

"I've worked for some very good programs and with very good head coaches," he said, citing the time he spent on staffs at North Allegheny, Shady Side Academy, Seneca Valley and Central Catholic, working with well-respected coaches such as Jim Rankin, Art Walker Sr., Art Walker Jr. and Terry Totten.

"I've had good on-the-job training, and I bring a lot of experience to the job," Vaughan said.

Carlynton athletic director Dave Oddi is enthused about the Cougars' coaching choice.

"We hit the lottery with John Vaughan," he said. "What John brought to us is what we needed. He has served in every capacity except as a head coach. He's ready to take on that next challenge, and we're happy to be the program that gives him a chance to be a head coach."

Oddi believes Vaughan and Carlynton are a good fit, and he is looking forward to a long-term relationship.

"He has an infectious personality, who's a family guy and a good football coach," he said. "I know that when John Vaughan is done at Carlynton, it will be a better place."

A 1970 Bethel Park High School graduate, Vaughan worked for a few years after graduation before he resumed his education at Slippery Rock, playing football there and earning a degree in December 1979 in health and physical education.

As a player, Vaughan said, he played nearly every position except quarterback and wide receiver.

"It was a lot less specialized in those days," he said. "A lot of players played both ways, and I think that helps because I have learned a lot of positions."

Unable to find a teaching job, Vaughan sold insurance for a while and now works as a financial consultant, specializing in retirement planning.

But he always had an interest in coaching football, and he shared his knowledge with teams and coaches across Western Pennsylvania.

He hopes the Cougars will display offenses and defenses featured most recently by North Allegheny and Central Catholic.

"We'll have a multiple approach on offense, but you won't see very much shotgun from us -- at least not in the beginning," he said. "I'm going to design something around the players that we have with a system that's worked in the past."

Defensively, Vaughan is a fan of the 4-4 with a cover three in the secondary.

"We'll go with two tackles, two ends, two inside linebackers, two outside linebackers, and two corners and a free safety," he said. "It's a defense that worked very well for Terry Totten at Central Catholic."

Coaches from the previous Carlynton staff would be encouraged to stay, Vaughan said, but he would have no trouble filling any vacancies.

"We'll be putting a staff together under [Oddi's] guidance," he said. "We'll find out who wants to stay, and then I'll get my friends to help out."

Vaughan is counting on his sons, Andy and Dan, to assist. Both played at Central Catholic when he coached there. Andy, a junior, is wrestling at Pitt, and Dan played in 12 games last season as a sophomore linebacker at Syracuse.

"Andy will be around a lot, and Dan will help out when he can," Vaughan said. "I know that a lot of players who played for me will be calling in the next few weeks. I don't have a zillion coaching positions to fill, so I'm not worried about [putting together] a good staff."

Oddi said interest in football at Carlynton has taken off.

"We had a meeting [just days after he was hired], and there were 93 kids at the meeting, with 72 of them interested in varsity football," he said.

"These kids are starved to win, and he's bringing that enthusiasm. When he was talking, their eyes were stuck on him. The kids are excited, and so is the community. We don't know if we'll win now, but we're excited to have him and we're excited for football."

A large squad would be just fine, Vaughan said.

"The more the merrier," he said. "If I could get every boy in the school to come out for football, that would be great. I'll never turn a kid down who wants to play football."

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