SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University head football coach Shawn Lutz has announced staffing changes for the 2024 season.
 
Lutz announced that former wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator Joe Marella will move into the role of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, former defensive backs coach Cedric Whitaker will take on the role of special teams coordinator and former West Virginia wide receiver Chris Parry has been added to the staff as wide receivers coach.
 
The changes are a result of former SRU offensive coordinator Drew Moulton accepting the tight ends assistant coaching position at Division I Western Michigan. Mouton spent two years as the offensive coordinator at SRU and becomes the fifth straight offensive coordinator to move up to a Division I position. Slippery Rock's last five offensive coordinators are Wisconsin OC Phil Longo, Hampton OC Zack Patterson, Furman OC Justin Roper, McNeese State OC Adam Neugebauer and now Western Michigan tight ends coach Drew Moulton.
 
"It says a lot about our program that our younger coaches have had the opportunity to jump into high level positions at the Division I level right away," said head coach Shawn Lutz. "We have had a tremendous amount of success on the offensive side of the ball and I have full confidence that Joe Marella is the right person to continue that success. He knows our offense and gives us a great chance to be successful right away next fall. We loved working with Drew and wish him and his family nothing but the best as they move on in his career."
 
The 2024 season will mark the fourth season for Marella as a member of the SRU coaching staff. He joined the program in 2021 as wide receivers coach, added pass game coordinator to his role in 2022 and added special teams coordinator to his role in 2023.
 
Over the last three seasons, Slippery Rock has boasted some of the most impressive wide receivers in Division II, including consensus All-Americans Henry Litwin (2021) and Kyle Sheets (2023). Last fall, The Rock were the only program in Division II with two players over 1,100 receiving yards with Sheets and Cohen Russell both ranking in the top eight in Division II in receiving yards.
 
Marella is a 2018 graduate from Benedictine, where he played quarterback and tight end and was a team captain. He began his coaching career in strength and conditioning at the University of Central Florida in 2018 and also had stints at Cincinnati, Benedictine and Ohio Dominican before coming to SRU in 2021.
 
Whitaker, a 2015 Texas Lutheran alumnus that came to SRU after spending three seasons in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, will continue to coach the defensive backs in 2024 and will take on the role of specials teams coordinator.
 
In his first season on staff last fall, Whitaker helped coach two Slippery Rock players to All-America honors with cornerback Josh Stokes and safety Eddie Faulkner IV being recognized.
 
Whitaker was an assistant special teams coach with the Carolina Panthers from 2020-22 while also coaching the defensive backs.
 
The lone addition to the coaching staff is Youngstown State alumnus Chris Parry, who played three years at West Virginia University before graduating from YSU. Parry will move into the wide receivers role vacated by Marella.
 
He comes to Slippery Rock after spending the 2023 season at Thiel College, where he coached receivers and served as recruiting coordinator. Prior to that, Parry spent the 2022 season at the University of Pittsburgh as a defensive analyst working with the defensive backs. With his help, Pitt had four defensive backs recognized on the All-ACC team in 2022.
 
Prior to his time at Pitt, Parry spent five seasons as an offensive quality control coach at Youngstown State from 2017-21, where he also worked as an assistant recruiting coordinator and special teams coordinator.
 
Slippery Rock is coming off a 12-2 season in 2023 that included a fifth straight PSAC West title and fifth straight trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs, marking the second-longest active streak in the country. The Rock were ranked in every national poll in 2023 and finished the year ranked No. 10 in Division II.
 
SRU will open spring practices in the coming weeks and will host the annual Green vs. White Spring Game April 19 at 6 p.m.
 
 


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