Garinger High taps former college assistant as its 11th head football coach since 2000
Garinger High athletic director Tony Huggins said he hired Greg Fowler to be the school’s new football coach for one reason.
“He seemed like the perfect fit for what we needed at Garinger,” Huggins said. “He was somebody that was more open to whatever he needed to do to fit in at Garinger versus trying to make Garinger fit what he wanted to do.”
Fowler, 39, comes to Garinger from UNC-Pembroke, where he was an assistant. Before that, he was offensive coordinator at North Moore High in Robbins. He replaces Jeff Caldwell, who was 5-28 in three seasons. Before Caldwell arrived, Garinger had gone through five straight winless seasons.
Huggins said there were 42 applicants for the job and he interviewed five of them.
Garinger has had 10 coaches in the past 20 years and the Wildcats have not had a winning season since 2010, when they were 7-5 under Lin Fisher. They’ve had just two winning seasons since 1995.
In Caldwell’s first season, 2017, the Wildcats beat Monroe’s Central Academy 42-0 to end a 55-game losing streak.
Fowler, who has five children, said he wanted to be at Garinger for a long time and that he wanted to get out of college coaching to spend more time at home.
“I’m trying to bring some positive energy,” he said. “It’s up to the kids to turn it around. I’ll bring in some new ideas and maybe a couple of things they can buy into. I know I can guide them to be college athletes because I understand what it takes to get them there.”
Fowler’s first day on the job was Monday. He said the COVID-19 pandemic, which has schools closed, makes it hard to meet new players or hire staff, but he’s ready to get started.
“It’s a big challenge,” he said. “That will make it interesting. But I’m looking for a place where I can stay and make my own and build for the long term. I really don’t want to keep moving.”
AREA COACHING CHANGES
| School | Old Coach | New Coach |
| Ashbrook | Brian Andrews | Darius James |
| Bandys | Tom Eanes | Jason Barnes |
| Cannon School | Brad Hoover | TBD |
| Central Academy | Drew Hackett | TBD |
| Central Cabarrus | Kenneth McClamrock | Zach Bevilacqua |
| Chase | Cort Radford | Chris Cogdill |
| East Burke | Mark Buffamoyer | Derrick Minor |
| East Gaston | Jason Lippard | JT Postell |
| East Rutherford | Clint Bland | Brint Russell |
| Forest Hills | Cory Smith | Jammie Deese |
| Freedom | Luke Little | Justin Hawn |
| Garinger | Jeff Caldwell | Greg Fowler |
| Hunter Huss | Jamar McKoy | TBD |
| JM Robinson | Rich Williams | Darius Robinson |
| Mallard Creek | Mike Palmieri | Kennedy Tinsley |
| North Gaston | Mike Patton | Justin Clark |
| North Mecklenburg | Eric Morman | TBD |
| North Rowan | Ben Hampton | TBD |
| Northwest Cabarrus | Brandon Gentry | Eric Morman |
| Parkwood | Tim Speakman | TBD |
| Providence Day | Adam Hastings | Chad Grier |
| Sun Valley | Tad Baucom | Drew Hackett |
| West Cabarrus | (new school) | Brandon Gentry |
| West Mecklenburg | Nick Mata | Beady Waddell |
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 5:53 PM.
