In Memoriam: Frank Miriello, Former Head Football Coach Miriello spent 26 years coaching football at Washington and Lee and remains the program’s all-time wins leader.
Washington and Lee University’s former head football coach and faculty member Frank Miriello died Friday, Oct. 25. He was 79.
Miriello was born in Kulpmont, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 7, 1945, to parents Ralph and Jasmaine Miriello. He attended East Stroudsburg University and graduated in 1967 where he was a three-year starter on the football team and team captain and MVP in 1966.
Miriello spent 26 years coaching at Washington and Lee, arriving in Lexington in 1978 as an assistant coach on the late Gary Fallon’s first football team at W&L. From 1982 through the 1989 season, Miriello pursued other coaching opportunities before returning to Lexington in 1990 as an assistant football and lacrosse coach. He was named the defensive coordinator in 1991 and took over as head coach following Fallon’s unexpected passing in 1995.
Miriello remains the program’s all-time wins leader, with an overall record of 91-78-1 (.538) during his time in Lexington. His teams posted a .500 or better record in 12 of his 17 seasons, earning two Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championships and two NCAA tournament appearances.
During his 17 seasons as head coach of the Generals’ football team, Miriello coached players to 61 first-team All-ODAC citations and 11 All-America honors. Robert Hull ‘96 and Chris Sullivan ‘02 were also recognized nationally as finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, awarded to the Division III National Player of the Year.
Miriello was named ODAC Coach of the Year five times (1996, 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2010) and was recognized as the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) South Region Coach of the Year and SportExe Division III Coach of the Year in 2006. That season, he led the Blue and White to a 7-4 record, securing the program’s first conference championship since 1985 and its first postseason appearance since the 1951 Gator Bowl.
After retiring in 2012 following 17 years as the head football coach at Washington and Lee, Miriello served as the senior defensive quality control coach at Coastal Carolina University for two seasons. He also held coaching positions at Hampden-Sydney (1982) and VMI (1983-84) before becoming the head football and lacrosse coach at Mercersburg Academy from 1986-89.
Miriello is survived by his wife, Dedre; son, Thadeus David; and many other family members.
A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, at Harrison’s Funeral Home in Lexington.
A Mass of Resurrection will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Church of Holy Angels, in Kulpmont, Pennsylvania, followed by burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Kulpmont.
In his final years, Miriello battled both ALS and dementia. In his memory, the family requests that donations be made to the ALS Association.
Read Miriello’s full obituary.
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