JOHN KOVACH | Colleges Klein climbs the coaching ladder

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- After 17 years of climbing the coaching ladder in football, Youngstown native John Klein finds himself getting closer to the top of his profession with a collegiate team that has a long winning tradition.
From serving as an assistant coach at six Youngstown area and Northeast Ohio high schools -- Cardinal Mooney, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Brookfield, Girard, Ravenna and Akron Coventry -- and then at Hiram and Westminster colleges, Klein begins his first season as defensive coordinator at Washington & amp; Jefferson.
"I went from being a defensive line coach at Westminster to being a coordinator at W & amp;J. That was the main reason -- it is a step up responsibility-wise," said Klein, 39, a graduate of Mooney and Youngstown State, and the son of Ed Klein, a former area high school football coach and teacher now retired.
Opportunity
John Klein is getting the opportunity to work for a college that has a storied history. W & amp;J ranks No. 3 in NCAA Division III history with 596 all-time wins. The Presidents have won 17 of the last 18 Presidents Athletic Conference championships.
Klein also gets the chance to work with first-year coach Mike Sirianni, who was part of three national championships at Mount Union, first as a player in 1993, then as an assistant coach in 1996 and 1997 -- all under coach Larry Kehres.
Sirianni was W & amp;J's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the previous four seasons before succeeding John Banaszak as coach. Banaszak, a former Pittsburgh Steelers' player, guided the Presidents to a 9-3 record last year.
Banaszak coached four years at W & amp;J before shifting to Robert Morris College as an assistant coach under Joe Walton.
In the Mooney tradition
Klein is one of a growing number of Mooney graduates now in the coaching field. He became more aware of this steeped tradition this summer when he helped out at the Mooney football camp.
"There are a lot of guys that played at Mooney that are in coaching right now. I knew there was, but until you have them all together [like at the camp] you don't realize how many there are. They put a list in the [Mooney] program last fall and it's a pretty long list," said Klein, who was Hiram's offensive coordinator in 1998 and Westminster's defensive line coach from 1999-2002.
Klein got to know Sirianni through Todd Young, who is in his fourth season on the W & amp;J staff. Klein and Young coached together at Hiram.
"Mike and our recruiting areas overlapped and I would run into him a lot."
Youngstown-area recruiting
Klein plans to do a lot of recruiting in the Youngstown area, and in fact already has started.
"We have five new recruits from the Mahoning Valley: George McNabb [Poland], Gabe McKee [Hubbard], Mike Babyak [Mooney], J.J. Rousher [Canfield] and Robert Hill [Fitch]. I had a role in recruiting all five directly or indirectly," Klein said.
The only returning Youngstown area player is Rocco Nori, a junior defensive tackle from Niles McKinley who has played in every game since he was a freshman. He was a starter last year.
Klein is married to the former Wendy Gallagher, a Girard High graduate. John and Wendy have a daughter, Kali, and they live in Washington, Pa.
kovach@vindy.com