Former Panther Captain Munnerlyn on his new job at Chambers High: ‘Bring the swagger back.’
Former Carolina Panthers cornerback Captain Munnerlyn was named head coach at Chambers High School on Friday afternoon during a news conference in the school’s auditorium.
Munnerlyn said his job was simple. He wants to “bring the swagger” back to what was recently viewed as perhaps the top football program in North Carolina.
And Munnerlyn spoke directly, as he said it, to some of his future players at the news conference.
“I came here to win now and win early, point blank, period,” he said. “So we’re going to start by doing that. I can’t wait. I’m excited and just to see some of you guys and to start to work with y’all. And let’s be the standard. Let’s go.”
Munnerlyn, 36, played high school football in Mobile, Alabama, and became an All-SEC player at South Carolina. He was drafted by the Panthers in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Munnerlyn played for the Panthers and Vikings from 2009-18.
Munnerlyn, 36, will be the ninth coach at Chambers, which opened in 1997. He will replace Brandon Wiggins, who was 22-12 in three seasons.
The former NFL starter is not new to high school coaching. Munnerlyn coached defensive backs at Myers Park, also in Charlotte, during the past two seasons.
“I have had a chance to coach with a couple guys who played in the NFL,” Myers Park head coach Chris James said, “and out of all of those guys I’ve been around, Captain has been the most disciplined. And if there’s a model of what it’s like to be a high school coach, I think he followed it.”
James met Munnerlyn when the former Panthers player was training Charlotte-area high school and middle school kids. He said he thought Munnerlyn took the job at Myers Park to see if he would really like coaching full-time.
And James said he thinks Munnerlyn will do a great job at Chambers.
“He’ll be great in building relationships with kids,” James said. “Obviously, he knows the Xs and Os part. People are going to pay attention to the fact that he played for the Panthers and he’s a former Gamecock, but I don’t think people realize how close he is to the Charlotte community.”
Even before he landed at Myers Park, Munnerlyn showed interest in high school coaching.
In 2011, during the NFL lockout, Munnerlyn spent time at his alma mater in Alabama, Murphy High, working as a volunteer assistant in spring practice coaching defensive backs. Munnerlyn also was the featured speaker at his school’s baccalaureate service and was believed to be the youngest person to do that at the time.
“It was fun,” Munnerlyn told the Alabama Media Group about his coaching stint. “(Head coach Ronn) Lee gave (me) the opportunity to coach the (defensive backs) and give them some of the knowledge I have from the past, from high school, college and the NFL.”
Now at Chambers, Munnerlyn will take over a program that has been recognized as perhaps the best public school in the state.
Chambers made four straight state championship appearances, under head coaches Aaron Brand and Glenwood Ferebee, from 2018-21, winning two titles. Brand eventually left for a job at Irmo (SC) near Columbia. Ferebee took a position at Virginia Tech, but has since returned to high school, coaching at Butler High School in Matthews.
At Chambers, Munnerlyn will join a wealth of former NFL players to coach or have coached in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, including former South Mecklenburg head coach and Panthers linebacker Carlton Bailey, former Panthers QB and current Vikings assistant Josh McCown and former Panthers wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad.
Among active former pros, West Charlotte assistant Chris Coleman, the Lions’ offensive coordinator and an in-school teacher, played for the Titans. Myers Park wide receivers coach Maurice Harris played for the Commanders. Former Panthers fan favorite Brad Hoover once was the head coach at Concord’s Cannon School and now teaches physical education and is on staff at Charlotte Latin. And three former Panthers legends — Greg Olsen, Luke Kuechly and Jonathan Stewart — are coaching at Charlotte Christian, mostly with the middle school.
Almost all of the current former pros are assistant coaches. Munnerlyn, though, will be the head man.
“Being a head coach is difficult,” James said. “He’s going to have to learn. We’ve had some conversations and he’s got some coaches in Charlotte that will do as much as they can to help him out. But I know he’ll bring some of that excitement back to Chambers, like when Brand and Ferebee were there. Chambers used to be a staple in Charlotte and with him there, and getting the right staff around, he’s got the ability to bring that back for sure.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
