Interboro recently hired Pat Fisher as its next head football coach. Fisher, a Strath Haven and University of Pittsburgh graduate, was the defensive coordinator at Imhotep Charter, where he spent five seasons on staff and helped the team win back-to-back PIAA Class 5A championships in 2023 and 2023 (submitted photo) .
Pat Fisher never thought much about one day becoming a head coach. His mindset changed early in the offseason, when some of his coaching buddies convinced the 32-year-old Strath Haven graduate that he could be a great head coach.
So Fisher applied for a vacant position at Interboro over the winter. On March 21, the Interboro School District officially announced his hiring in an Instagram post.
“I was encouraged by Imhotep's old head coach, David Johnson, and a few other guys who are coaches to try head coaching. For a long time, I didn't know if I wanted to fully commit to it or not. I didn't know. When I sat down and talked to them in the offseason, I realized I really wanted to do it,” Fisher said. “I saw Interboro as a great opportunity in a great area with strong footballing boys. It was a great opportunity for me to leave my own legacy and for the kids to build on their own, especially in this football-loving area. It was also an opportunity to help leave that behind. So I was really excited.”
Fisher, a former walk-on from the University of Pittsburgh, replaces Dennis Lux, who resigned after three seasons. Lux, a 2005 Interboro graduate, led the Bucs to the 2022 District 1 Class 4A championship. The Bucks endured a difficult season last season, finishing with a record of 4-7 (0-4 in the Del Val League).
Fisher believes it won't be long before the Bucks can compete again.
“Obviously, you know the history here with (Steve) Lennox and Dennis Lux coming in and having immediate success. You look at specific job opportunities and think about what's already in place there. '' Fisher said. “It's the history of Interboro, the blue-collar nature of this whole area, all the kids here. That's a big part of it. No matter what kind of football game you play, the puncher's chances. I know there will always be kids with that.”
Fisher played his high school ball for Kevin Clancy, the winningest coach in Delaware County history. He earned All-Delco Defensive Mention honor in 2009. He went on to Pitt in 2011, where he became teammates with eight-time All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Cardinal O'Hara player Tom Savage.
After his playing career ended, Fisher briefly coached at Widener and Archbishop Carroll. In 2021 and 2023, he led Imhotep to victories over his alma mater in the PIAA Class 5A semifinals.
Fisher, a history teacher at Academy Park, has spent the past five seasons understanding how non-barrier schools like Imhotep work to attract players from across the region. Now it's his job to make sure kids don't leave Interboro for private or parochial schools.
Among the recruits that Fisher highlighted for Interboro is Abu Kamara, who appeared in eight games in his freshman season at Yale and was named the 2022 Daily Times Player of the Year.
“We want to make sure the (Prospect Park) Termite kids are coming to our school,” Fisher said of local youth soccer programs. “And I've worked hard through Glenolden and Prospect Park to make sure all of these kids come to our games and that when they get offers, they get picked up by some of the local private schools and Catholic schools. I'm going to make serious efforts to make sure that doesn't happen.” That's one of the things I said when I started working.
“In Imhotep, we were a team that had to make sure kids could come to school. And I understand how that's done. Doing it from our perspective now. The question is, these kids can be welcomed here and be a part of our program…and as soon as they arrive at Interboro, instead of going somewhere else. I want everyone to come here together. This is my idea to build the program and I know the pipeline is there. I want Interboro to play football. We want kids to know that it's a great place to be.”
