CMS finishes investigation into ex-football coach Sam Greiner. Here’s the outcome
After a nearly two-month long investigation, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has reinstated football coach Sam Greiner.
CMS suspended Greiner with pay on Dec. 5. The district said he was reinstated on Jan. 26 and is now working at Cochrane Middle School.
The district did not provide details surrounding its investigation.
Greiner, 44, the former head football coach at West Charlotte, led the Lions to the 2024 N.C. 3A state championship, the school’s second NCHSAA title and its first since 1995. Reached by The Observer Tuesday afternoon, Greiner said he couldn’t comment at this time.
Last season, Greiner, a longtime regular on The Observer’s streaming Talking Preps show, led the Lions to the NCHSAA 8A Western Regional championship game, or state semifinal, before losing to Hough. The nationally ranked Lions ended the season Nov. 28, with a 10-3 record.
Before Greiner was hired at West Charlotte in 2020, the Lions went through nine coaches in 13 years from 2007-19 with just three winning seasons.
Two weeks ago, West Charlotte announced that former Independence High quarterback and head football coach DJ McFadden would be its new football coach.
A separate suspension in 2022
In 2022, the district also suspended Greiner, around allegations of recruiting and improper practice activities, which led to an outpouring of community support for the coach. He was reinstated after several weeks, the Charlotte Observer previously reported.
CMS’ current employee record for Greiner says he has a four-year contract from 2024-28. It does not reflect the 2022 suspension, but does show the most recent one.
Greiner was named Charlotte Observer football coach of the year after the 2024 season and was also its 2024-25 school year male coach of the year. In 2017, he was football coach of the year after leading Harding to its first state championship in more than 50 years.
That year, Greiner adopted quarterback Braheam Murphy, who was experiencing homelessness and was MVP of the state final. The story attracted national attention,, and Greiner ultimately landed on CBS’ “The Amazing Race” with his wife, Connie.
Braheam Murphy, now 26, graduated from Army and is now working as a project engineer for Clark Construction in Charlotte.
This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 3:23 PM.
