West Charlotte hires former Mecklenburg County state champion as its new football coach
Former Harding High state championship coach Sam Greiner is coming back to Mecklenburg County.
Greiner will become the new head football coach at West Charlotte High School, Lions athletics director Josh Harris told the Observer.
“It just felt right,” Greiner said. “Every aspect of the process just felt right and the principal, the athletic director made it feel like a perfect environment for me to be successful and help get West Charlotte back to its old standard.”
Harris said Greiner was chosen after more than 50 people applied for the job.
“The two interviews he had just kind of set himself above the pack,” Harris said. “It was close with one candidate, but the experience he brings to the game and he’s pretty much still a hot commodity in the city with winning a state championship at Harding very recently. He has a wealth of knowledge and we feel good about what we can bring to West Charlotte, helping with our culture and athletic program.”
At West Charlotte, Greiner will replace Harris, who stepped down last month to become athletic director.
Harris was named West Charlotte football coach in January 2017 after coaching six games on an interim basis in the 2016 season. He took over a team that was 0-5 under coach Daren Hart and led the Lions to a 2-4 finish. That was a major turnaround for West Charlotte, which was outscored 178-37 in its first five games in the 2016 season.
From 1972-99, West Charlotte had three head coaches — Rudy Abrams, Bruce Hardin and Tom Knotts — and plenty of success. The Lions had 21 winning seasons, six N.C. 4A state championship appearances and a 1995 state title under Knotts.
Mike Helms coached the team in 2000, going 6-5. He was followed by Pete Gilchrist, whose 2006 team reached the state finals. Gilchrist had just one losing season in six years.
Since Gilchrist left, however, West Charlotte has had hit hard times.
From 2007-19, the Lions have registered just three winning seasons and have had eight different coaches.
Harris, however, appeared to have West Charlotte turning around. His 2018 team went 7-6, West Charlotte’s first winning record since 2010. His team last season finished 4-7, but returns the bulk of a young roster this fall.
And that’s where Greiner will begin.
Greiner, a Butler High graduate, became head coach at Harding in 2015, succeeding Walt Aikens. He took over a team that had seven straight losing seasons and had won just 17 games in that time. Greiner’s third team went 14-1 and won Harding’s first state championship since the 1950s.
Greiner left for Hickory Ridge after winning the state championship and coached one season, going 5-6.
Harris said Greiner’s first day will be June 10 and he will teach physical education at West Charlotte.
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 5:27 PM.
