The John Grass Era Begins Now
The newest era of Samford football has officially commenced as new Samford head football coach John Grass was formally introduced. Just like Lennie Acuff eight months ago, Grass was introduced to the Samford fans in the middle of Harry’s Coffeehouse on Samford’s campus.
Samford got one of their top targets to Homewood just 25 days after the dismissal of Chris Hatcher. Samford Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Martin Newton, Samford President Beck Taylor, and Samford Executive Associate AD for External Affairs Corey Green led the coaching search.
Even though Samford was in the midst of their worst season in decades, Newton expressed the surprise to him of the interest in this job that spanned around the country and in every level of football.
“When we started this process, we really had no idea what to expect,” said Newton. “The interest in this job, not just from a local regional standpoint but from a national standpoint, was unbelievable. We heard from NFL coaches, from Power Four coaches, from Group of Five coaches, FCS coaches, high school coaches, all over the country that had interest in this job. As I reflected on why that is, I really think it has to do with the alignment of this university.”
Alignment from the board of trustees to the President, down to the athletic director is extremely important if you want a successful football program or any sport for that matter. Samford has exactly that. Just look to the school just 3.8 miles away from Samford’s campus that wears green and gold for the complete opposite.
Many candidates interviewed like Vestavia Hills High School head coach Robert Evans and West Florida head coach Kaleb Nobles. Both are good coaches, however, John Grass is the perfect fit for Samford.
Martin Newton wanted a coach “with head coaching experience, had deep roots in the state of Alabama, but most importantly, we want somebody that understood, believed, and embraced the Christian mission of this university.”
Grass checks all three of those boxes. He has plenty of years of experience coaching high school and college football in this state. While Grass went 72-26 over his career at Jacksonville State, he pointed to the last four years at Clemson that have prepared him for this Samford job.
“I think I was a pretty good coach before I went to Clemson,” said Grass. “I think I’ve won a few games, been a part of winning some games but I’m even better now. I’m ready for this job. God has been preparing me for my whole career for this job. Just having that alignment there is going to be great.”
Much like his former boss Dabo Swinney, yes winning games is a priority but it is also about building a program and caring for your players.
“I’m just excited and passionate about just sharing Jesus, this will be the forefront of what we do”, Grass continued. I love people. You can ask anybody that I’ve ever been around, I love people. I’m a people person, I’m a player’s coach. I’m going to be invested in their lives and growing them. I’m excited about being able to love on the players, love on this campus and just develop young men. It’s just my calling.”
Grass mentioned that he had spoken multiple times to former Samford head coach Chris Hatcher and had nothing but great things to say about his long friendship with Hatcher.
“I can’t say enough about Chris Hatcher. He is a lifelong friend to me. Our relationship goes back 27 years probably. We’ve known each other a long time, talked a lot of ball, discussed a lot of ball. He is a special person and he did a great job here. We’re going to look to further that. He wants to help this program move forward and that’s just the type of person he is.”
You can draw a line from John Grass to Lennie Acuff who want to win games and who care about the right things. Both have different tasks of their own as Samford football looks to rebound from the dismal 2025 season.
Samford has their proven winner and the right person for the job who looks to get Samford back to winning consistently. The Samford grass got even greener with the introduction of John Grass, here we go.
