Aliquippa football coach Mike Warfield tapped as feds' new law enforcement coordinator

The leader of Aliquippa High’s storied football program has a new day job.

Mike Warfield recently completed his second year as the Quips head coach.

On Monday, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady tapped Warfield, 50, of Center, to be the law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

“He’s a five-tool player. He’s fantastic,” Brady said of Warfield. “We were excited that Mike was interested.”

The position has been vacant since 2004 in the Western District, when former Allegheny County Police Officer Bill Coe left, Brady said.

Filling it was one of his top priorities after Brady became U.S. Attorney in December 2018, he said, calling it a “mission critical” position.

Warfield was the perfect fit for the job, Brady said.

The law enforcement coordinator works with local and state law enforcement to provide guidance, Brady said.

Warfield also will work to train law enforcement in the 25 Pennsylvania counties that make up the Western District.

“I’m excited about the new position,” Warfield said. “I know it’s going to be a challenge, but it’s a great opportunity.”

An Aliquippa native, Warfield is a 1987 graduate of the school and was a star quarterback for the Quips. He went on to play for Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., where he earned a bachelor’s degree and began a career in law enforcement.

He was a Beaver County sheriff’s deputy and then spent 25 years as a state trooper, including more than a decade as a Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer.

Warfield’s experience makes him one of the most respected law enforcement officers in the region and his work with the DEA means he’s an experienced narcotics investigator who knows the area and where its problems are, Brady said.

Warfield said he is looking forward to the new job and said he hasn’t decided if he’ll continue his coaching career.

“When you commit to something, you’ve got to be committed,” Warfield said of both jobs.

If he can’t devote enough time to coaching, he said he will have to give it up. Others on the Quips’ staff could do a good job as coach, he said.

Warfield took the reins as coach from Mike Zmijanac, who led the Quips for 21 seasons until the school board decided not to renew his contract.

As coach, Warfield led the Quips to the 2018 PIAA Class AAA championship. In this year’s WPIAL finals, the Quips lost to Central Valley, where Warfield served as an assistant before taking the job at Aliquippa.

To Warfield, coaching is more than an on-the-field job, he said.

“My main goal is wins and losses off the field,” Warfield said. “The impact we have on these kids.”