Samford University has named John Grass as the university’s new head football coach.
Upon being introduced as the university’s 37th head football coach on Thursday (Dec. 4), Grass vowed to construct championship-caliber teams that are tough and locally sourced.
For more stories at your doorstep, subscribe to The Baptist Paper.
SIGN UP for our weekly Highlights emails.
‘Sky is the limit’
“I think the sky is a limit,” said Grass, 57, who has served the past four seasons as an offensive analyst at Clemson University. “If I didn’t think you can win and play for championships at Samford, I wouldn’t be here. I think you can do that and win the right way and have fun doing it.”
A native of Ashville, Alabama, Grass joked about growing up on a dirt road 40 miles from campus and the frequent mispronunciation of his last name — which rhymes with moss. In addition to his work with Clemson, Grass has more than three decades of college and high school coaching experience.
That followed eight years as head coach at his alma mater, Jacksonville State University, where Grass compiled a 72-26 record, won six Ohio Valley Conference titles, earned six NCAA playoff berths and reached the 2015 FCS national championship game.
Grass discussed faith drawing him to Samford, which he described as “one of the few Christian universities across the country that still has Jesus at the front door.” Viewing coaching as a ministry, Grass said aspirations of building a Kingdom-centered championship program piqued his interest in the Bulldogs job. “I just thank our Lord and Savior for giving me the opportunity. God opened this door.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by G. Allan Taylor and originally published by Samford University.
Share with others: