Grimsley HS has opened up all football coaching positions:Another new coach coming soon and readers react

Friday the Grimsley Whirlies announced that have let head coach Pat Neal and his entire staff go, the entire staff, head coach and all assistants are out at Grimsley and Grimsley HS has “decided to open all football coaching positions at Grimsley for the upcoming 2016-17 season.”

Coach Neal and his entire out and a new crew will be coming in at Grimsley High School for football 2016….

Busy day for Joe Sirera at the News and Record and read more from him when you CLICK HERE….

Coach Neal (9-25/4-11) in his three seasons as head football coach at Grimsley…A stand-up man, a good leader, a good teacher and a good dad, we wish Coach Pat Neal the best as he heads on down the coaching road…

Coach Neal graduated from Smith back in the day if I’m mistaken and the Smith head football job is OPEN……..

38 thoughts on “Grimsley HS has opened up all football coaching positions:Another new coach coming soon and readers react

  1. Extremely frustrating. At what point will the County step in? Surprising that the Booster funding is still happening.

  2. I say this in a constructive way, if you have a problem with something or someone up at Grimsley you need to go up there and see them…That might be the best approach…

    Go to the source and make your voice be heard/known…

    That is about the only way you will be able to get direct results…

  3. Andy I love what you do here and I know you try to keep it positive but your comment shows you dont understand the real problem at Grimsley. There is no denying it has been a turnstile of coaches (all sports) over the last decade. The last 2 football hires were both great guys but the truth is neither had head coaching experience. To my knowledge there were very few, if any, assistant coaches who were teachers at the school. The weight training class was a joke. How does the NCHSAA become aware of funny business with ticket sales but the leadership is blind to it? Want to blame the principal? 3 different ones in the last 6 years. Want to know why you don’t just go to the school and “talk to someone”? Ask any parent who’s done that and how they and their kid were treated afterwards. I have personally witnessed parent volunteers yelled at and criticized in a public forum for simply asking a funding question. It’s time for a change in athletic leadership and this time enough of people are joined together to see it through. I’ve been told Grimsley parents have unrealistic expectations. I don’t think expecting it to be the best it can be is unrealistic

  4. i happen to know of a very experienced coach with Grimsley ties who volunteered to assist in several sports—–the “powers that be” told him to send a resume—–LOL—-A RESUME!!!!—-Now, we are not talking about college athletic programs who pay their coaches, we are talking about HS sports—-We are asking for resumes from volunteer coaches to help a struggling program!!! Grimsley is no longer the school it once was——academically or athletically!!!

  5. What once was thought to be one of the best coaching jobs to have in the state a few years ago, is now one of the least desirable because of the “Athletic Leadership” at the school. Its already forced one head coach to leave the program (2 years ago with Coiro), which you would of thought opened the door for a former high school Head Coach already on the staff, Scott Loosemore to become the next coach, but NOPE! “Athletic Leadership” strikes again, and Loosemore packed his bags too! There needs to be more people involved in the selection process of the next coach, Grimsley simply can’t afford to let this leadership set them back again.

    First Shuping fired after an undefeated regular season, then we finally get a good coach in place and the “Athletic leadership” scares him out of town.

    The Grimsley student athletes deserves so much more than what they are getting from their leadership. What a shame how one of the best schools overall in the entire country is forced to endure such Athletic mediocrity.

    GO WHIRLIES!

  6. Why have a forum where you can voice your thoughts if you don’t want people to voice their thoughts?

  7. Just keep these thoughts in mind….

    Personal attacks on players, coaches, parents or school officials will not be tolerated.

  8. No personal attacks have been made Andy. Everything is fact. Previous statements are facts not opinion or rumor. People have been to talk to the principal but they don’t stay long enough to do anything.

  9. We have to refrain from calling out names and blasting them in frustration…That does not help at all because the bottom line with what happens at Grimsley comes from the Guilford Schools’ offices…

    From an outsider looking in, it looks/appears to me that the county pushed for Grimsley to start de-emphasizing athletics/sports nearly 10 years ago…

    My feeling is that the county/Guilford County Schools felt there was academic negligence at Grimsley and the county wanted a balance between the athletics and academics at Grimsley and GCS felt like Grimsley athletics had pulled way out in front of their academic efforts…

    It is very hard to reach an academic and athletic balance within any school system today and Grimsley was suffering on the academic front when it comes to their athletes…

    Those same struggles may still be going on today and so far GCS has not been able to find anyone who can successfully develop that academic/athletic culture that is necessary to allow for athletics to thrive at Grimsley…

    Therefore all of the change that has occurred….The County/GCS is making most of the calls in the end and they will not allow Grimsley to move back on top or even allow them to have a fair chance to try and get back on top until the county/GCS sees the academic success that are looking for at Grimsley….

    Grimsley has had several good coaches and people working with the kids, but it is my opinion that most of these coaches were called in/hired to keep the programs operating/afloat and not to win titles and if for some reason you won a title, then was a feather in your cap or a cherry on top…

    Bottom line always came back to the books/academics and that is why you would see a number of Grimsley athletes knocked off for grades during the school year or not able to participate in football at the start of the season….

    Not much you can do over there at Grimsley when your hands are tied by the county and the county/GCS will not cut you any slack…

    All you can do is continue to fail and continue to start all over again every 2-3 years…

    Does not seem to be too much hope here until the county/GCS steps in and gives Grimsley the chance to be successful again and that may well require changes at the top of the athletic department at Grimsley, but that is the county/GCS call….

    I think Grimsley could be successful again, but the County must show and give them some support…

    If I am the AD at Grimsley and no matter I do, the county does not back me up, effectively all I am doing is keeping the doors open for my athletic department and I have no chance for success whatsoever….

    I will have to keep hiring new coaches, I will continue to see new principals leading my school and I will be lucky to keep my job, because no matter who I hire to lead my athletic teams, if they win, it will be investigated and the questions of academic inequality will be flung my way again and if we fail and the academics are OK, then it will be just a matter of time and GCS will step in and say we need to win some games again to quiet the boosters and now I am in the process of hiring a whole new coaching staff for football, because the coaches I had in place were not winning and if our academics were working, for the time being that issue has been placed on the back burner, but that academic issue will be what has my entire department turned upside down again in just a matter of months, come Spring and time to check the grades for the end of the year…

    I am trying to make it work, but the job as the AD at Grimsley in reality is to just keep the doors and gates open on game days and to make sure we field the adequate number of athletic teams as required by the county…

    Looks like a no-win situation and all I can say is good luck and things would run smoother if you had more full-time teachers coaching but in the current high school academic and athletic climate, that seems to be a stretch…

    But you need more coaches who also want to be teachers and work hard all day in the classroom and then hit the field and work hard there too….

    I must be living in a dream world, but if you were ready in the classroom, it used to seem like you would be ready on the practice field too…

    Maybe these are some isolated situations, but look at Page assistant coach Norman Weeks teaching AP history and doing a very good job coaching and also look toward Denorris Best, an assistant coach and a very strong influence in the classroom over at Ferndale Middle in High Point….Plus Coach Bill Chambers at Northern has been putting out strong academics in the classroom for over 30 years and has very good athletic teams…

    Just a few examples, and I am sure there are many more.

    A hard balance to attain when you try and balance out athletics and academics, but when you know what your options/requirements are, I feel the athletes, teachers and coaches can get it done with a little help from the county/GCS…

    Some teachers want to teach more, some coaches want to coach more and there are still many students/athletes out there that want to learn more…

    Take a look at a kid like Quentin Goods from over at Smith…A former basketball player that came back and now is coaching and helping out on the HS level at Smith, after working on the Middle School level for a few years out of college…

    I am not sure what the academic standing is for all of our head coaches and their assistants, but we need to push them to get their degrees and make academics mean something and then make the athletic opportunities worth something in our local schools, including Grimsley High School up on Westover Terrace…

    Need less turnover and a renewed emphasis for lifers in our public schools…

    Just a few of my thoughts on a very frustrating subject that most of us have no control over and until the schools and athletic departments get more support from the county/GCS, we will all continue to struggle…

    I just get the feeling the county/GCS does not want some of our schools to succeed…

    Way too much said, but maybe some good ideas in here somewhere and whoever said a sports blog read by a select group of Guilford County citizens should go about trying to rectify and solve the county’s athletic and academic problems…..

    I’m out for now……

    Maybe a few good points raised here and we will know in time….

  10. Andy ask the coaches that have been there ask Todd Shuping Ask Mime Springston ask Coach Saunders Ask Martin Samek Damion Coiro and Pat Neal and I bet one name comes up as a problem Do some investigation and I bet one name comes up

  11. Andy ask the coaches that have been there ask Todd Shuping Ask Mike Springston ask Coach Saunders Ask Martin Samek Damion Coiro and Pat Neal and I bet one name comes up as a problem Do some investigation and I bet one name comes up

  12. Interesting you mention Bill Chambers. Isn’t he an experienced local guy with ties to Grimsley? Didn’t he apply for basketball job a few years ago? Didn’t they hire another guy with no head coaching experience Andy you make it sound like AD is a glorified custodian. Why are they paid.same as administrators? “We don’t judge our teams by the score” “We’re about academics” really. 2 years removed from having almost 25 football players ineligible. Andy the AD is the face of the program. They set the tone. When your athletes themselves think you do not want them to succeed it’s time to move on.

  13. Who knows, from what I am reading here from Coach Neal talking to Joe Sirera at the News and Record, Andy might be right again:

    “The kids are great and they work hard, but the administration has to make a couple of changes,” Neal said of Grimsley. He said it would help to have more coaches on campus as teachers, and he also would like a strength training program to be part of the curriculum.

    *****More coaches who are teachers on campus and work from the administration and that comes from GCS….*****
    +++++That’s what I was saying.+++++

    And from one of our earlier comments, sometimes the AD’s do end up becoming glorified custodians, based upon what the county/GCS will allow them to do….

    Just some feedback….

  14. As was stated earlier Andy we love what you do here but it’s a bit presumptive to think you know more about what’s going on on Westover Terrace than people who experience it for years. Let the Grimsley community vent.

  15. They are venting and who knows, I have background in education and athletics and they might want to bring me on as a consultant…Just kidding there, but you never know…

    Grimsley might be ready to get serious about sports again, if the county will let them/allow them…

    Sometimes a school(including the fan base) reaches a stage where they have been losing for so long and that state of losing becomes the accepted standard…

    Again, I’m the outsider looking in, but I do have a decent view….

  16. I’m going to keep it positive:

    1. I’m positive Andy doesn’t understand the hiring process.

    2. I’m positive as a Grimsley mom I’m tired of hearing about “tradition” the tradition is you are mediocre at best.

    3. When the Athletic leadership says “we don’t do things like Page” I’m positive nobody would accuse you of that.

  17. Andy why do you keep saying the county is to blame? The same county that oversees Dudley, Page, Northern athletics? They don’t seem to be holding them back. Please stop making excuses! I challenge you talk to people from other schools and ask them what the problem is at Grimsley. I also challenge you to do some investigative journalism and find out more about the ticket issue.

  18. After being a very big part of the Grimsley community for a few years, I can te you that the comments on here are quite accurate. The kids are losing out, and that is the real problem. The admin at the school are the ones drinking the kool aid. They are drinking the kool aid from athletics and must believe that all is ok. This is the furthest from the truth. The “leadership”, if you can call it that, IS the problem. The only thing done better by this “leadership” is telling the community exactly what they want to hear, when it is no more than lies. There is no follow- through, no true communication, many stones are left unturned. To be successful in the job you must have the trust of the community, and as soon as the community figures out you are lazy and a chameleon that changes colors based upon whom is around, it is time to get out of the way. There is no vision, no tradition and without a calculated plan to change, it will stay the same. We can all talk about the coaches run off by deceitful leadership in not only football, but more importantly discuss a community of volunteers and parents whom have been run off because they are tired of being disrespected, tired of lies and most of all tored of their own children losing out.

  19. All is not bleak, the Carolina Panthers just went up 14-7, and that’s a good thing….They seem to be better since GM Dave Gettleman came on board and Marty Hurney was let go..

    On the local scene, I don’t control the dice…The county does….

    Grimsley has been unstable, Smith unstable, Western Guilford unstable, Northeast Guilford unstable…This is not just a Grimsley issue, but right now Grimsley is at the top of the Christmas list….

    Football carries the schools and the above schools have been unstable in football….

    Hopefully things will turn around soon, but all of the jobs on the athletic side of business are controlled by the county….

    More moves may be on the way, now that the Fall sports are complete…

    We are keeping the forum open and we hope this can help, we are here to help, if not, we would not join in on the lines of communication….

  20. Another TD for the Panthers and Cam Newton, now up 21-7 over the NY Giants…..Fun team to watch right now…

  21. Andy like I said ask anyone who has been there one name will surface time and time again. Right now Grimsley would be lucky to get a coach maybe Dee Bell a Grimsley alum

  22. Why not grab Jimmy Teague this time???Looks like they are trying to run him out of Reidsville and he was up for the job at Grimsley a few years back and maybe it would be the right fit for him now and he could get Reidsville on his non-conference schedule in the Fall of 2017 and let them know how he feels…

    Also if you are looking young, why not look toward Brad Hoover…He is from nearby Ledford High School and he played at Western Carolina and for the Carolina Panthers and last I heard he was coaching at either Marvin Ridge or at Porter Ridge down near Charlotte…

    You have to get a proven name or a proven coach, that is what it would take to turn this thing around….

    Thinking outside the box, inside this comment box…

    Would like to see an older coach come in and bring one of his up and coming young assistant coaches with him and that young assistant could learn the program and be ready to take over when the older coach decides to step down or when other consequences take over….

    Just a few more thoughts here on this afternoon and at least we are tying to help out here and what about those Carolina Panthers????

    Those guys don’t know how to lose any more and they can’t find a way to lose and all of that winning, (14-0), that is a real good thing here at Christmas or any time of the year for that matter….The winning always feels good…

  23. The one elephant in the room that no one is addressing are the student athletes. We like to sit here and blame everyone except the athletes themselves. To be honest those guys really dont work hard. The reason they dont work hard is because they are allowed to. Grimsley is a place where the kids are entitled and if they dont wanna work they simply dont. Thats a very difficult situation to be in as a coach. Thats why the turn over rate is so high there. And when the coach addresses these issues with the students they run home and tell their parents. If you dont believe me ask me how many football players at GHS can bench over 300. I find it sickning that your RB is the strongest player on the team. So in order for Grimsley to be successful they will have to find guys that want to play and not just wear a uniform no matter the coach. Coach Pat was an awesome coach. He was definitely making strides. He was definitely on top of the academic piece. There was only one ineligible player last season. How many schools can say that? Whoever takes that job is at least 4 years away just because of the culture. They better bring some good hard working players who are ready to work and leave their “snow plow” parents at home. Good luck coach Pat you will land some where and thanks for all your hard work and dedication to the students. You cant change that culture over there but you did have a lasting impact on a few players and that you can be proud of. We won’t forget.

  24. How many times are we going to hear the same old song and dance. With Grimsley ? I mean Shuping is let go you bring in Saunders who was a good coach was there 2 years last year was 3-8 he is let go and no one knew why Then Samek who was there – year went 3-8 and was smart enough to get out because he saw the writing on the wall. ThenCoiro was hired who the AD wanted and by year three they were fighting and Coiro left now Neal who was an assistant at Grimsley for what 10 years finally became a HC and now he is gone So all I can say is what a joke big joke

  25. Andy, as A former player for Grimsley with the AD at the realm, I can assure you that he is the problem, not the county. For instance, when Coach Pat submitted the non-conference opponents he wanted to play for the next few years, the AD denied his request to play a smaller school before the brutal conference schedule, because he was “buddies” with the AD at
    East Forsyth. This guy is in it for himself and he proves it every year. Ridiculous! This isn’t the county’s doing, if they really cared about academics then they should go after the “elementary school curriculum” at Page…Grimsley has the grades down…now its time for the athletics.

  26. The most recent example of the AD self-interested scheduling is the 2014 season when Grimsley went to the playoffs. The team had the toughest rated schedule in the state that year and played 2 State champions (along with contenders Page, Northwest, East Forsyth, and Mount Tabor) that regular season. You don’t see Northern playing 5 heavy weights before non-conference….???? That year they were 5-5….if they don’t play the toughest schedule in the state that year we may be talking about a 8-9 win Grimsley football season that year. Why make it so hard on ourselves?? Schedule a 2A school just once maybe instead of a powerhouse lol

  27. It seemed like there was very solid footing between the Athletic Department and Coach Pat when he was hired…Don’t understand how things could spiral down this much….If things are as bad as many have said they are why doesn’t the county step up, or step in and make a major change…County seems pleased with overall direction and that I know is their call there…

    Hal Capps would be a very good choice/selection as the new head coach for Grimsley…..

  28. Ron so it’s your opinion that the decade long collapse of athletics at Grimsley is because of the kids and parents? Where have we heard that before? Oh yeah I remember.

  29. This was in the N&R right from the mouth of coach Neal

    “The kids are great and they work hard, but the administration has to make a couple of changes,” Neal said of Grimsley. He said it would help to have more coaches on campus as teachers, and he also would like a strength training program to be part of the curriculum.

    There are a TON of teams in this state that are full of off-campus coaches and there are a TON of teams that don’t have weightlifting as a part of the curriculum and still win. You MUST bring the kids in during the evening or in the mornings to lift if that’s the case. Trust me if they add weightlifting and more coaches in the building that wouldn’t made Grimsley win more games. Most teams only have 4 or so coaches that work in the building the rest have full time jobs and come coach after work. The fact is the coaches over there were just like Pop Warner coaches. They ran basic schemes and were out coached in every game. On top of that their kids were not prepared well enough in the off season or during the week to win games. Say what you want but the last 2 or 3 coaches were all very Green and had no business being Head Coaches. Anyone who’s watched a Grimsley game would tell you their schemes were horrible and basic. I don’t care how much weight you lift that wouldn’t helped that.

    Take some responsibility for the state of the Program Coach!…you went 9-25 as a Head Coach can’t blame the AD or Principal for that. Would it be easier if the had a couple coaches in house?….sure but thats not the answer either.

  30. What huh? I think your missing the point. People at Grimsley aren’t mad about coach Neal tenure alone. It’s the last 7-8 years. 6 different coaches last 2 had no head coaching experience. Coach Neal is the only person to be there throughout as an assistant and head coach. If the former head coach and parents of current and former players are saying the same thing isn’t it possible they could be right? And believe me it’s not just football. Soccer parents had to paint the field, baseball won the conference a few years ago with a very young head coach and guess what, he didn’t come back the next year. Please if you don’t know what’s really going on refrain from guessing

  31. Cow Bell I know for a fact what it is. Those kids are not like the rest in the city. For example how many kids from that program have gone on to the next level in the past 10 years? And some of the parents are at best deplorable. Coming to the games tipsy and trashing coaches and players. At any rate I’m done talking about Grimsley. You guys can have it. I will say there are a few guys off the JV team that works hard.

  32. Ok like I said I do not think you need to do anything but look at Grimsley football from the Todd Shuping era on. From Shupings last year to now what has happened who has been there who has left and what they have to say. I will bet my eye teeth that Shuping, Saunders, Spingston, Samek, Coiro, and Neal all say the same thing. So will the past couple of Baseball , Volleyball, wrestling, coaches what is the one thing that has been a constant at Grimsley since 2007? Is it the principals, no, is it the parents, no, is it the coaches no. You say the school district needs to get involved, in reality they could care less, they are worried about test scores and graduation rates not some person who has wrecked an athletic program at one school. Now on to the one comment about unqualified coaches, Shuping was very Qualified , Saunders was Qualified he was an assistant under Shuping, Samek was a coordinator at Tabor who was a perennial power, Coiro had college experience, Neal was an assistant for years. I think if you leave any of these guys alone and let them run the program without the “outside” meddling Grimsley football is better off than it is now.

  33. Well said Antispin. Would like to add that I agree with you and Kool Aid. It’s not just the football program that has suffered. I find it interesting that the people who seem to be on the other side of this discussion have no facts to defend the leadership they just attack the kids. That’s so Grimsley

  34. I read a few comments and for those you think you can win without a weight program and coaches in the building, you are kidding yourself. Yes if you have about 4, but if it is only 1 or 2 and you are hiring Lay coaches ever year, you will get pop warner guys. Not many qualified assistants walking the streets.

  35. There is a reason Grimsley continue to get beginning coaches. The word is out and always have been on the Administration. Coaches talk and you are going to get someone looking for their first head job or someone near retirement trying to boost their retirement. You think they hired Pat Neal without others sending in resumes. That was the best fit a the time. And I for one knows how it is without backing. You will be lucky for a season veteran to come in and they say that they do not put their kids in weight room. Southern Guildford gets all their kids in weight class during the spring semester.

    Can it be done, yes. But why work your HC harder than some of the others that he is competing with. If they are not in weight class, then you must try to get them before or after school. This is without pay and with other kids playing other sports and jobs that conflict.

    I do know of a couple of good coaches that have applied over the years, but were not selected. Great assistant coaches, not sure how they would have faired as HC. Let us see what HC puts in for this job.

    Maybe you want to go look at Johnny Roscoe practice schedule and commitment them kids had to make. Film and practice together is close to 4 hours each day. And the summer is even more.

    Commitment is what it takes to achieve anything. More so in football than any other sport. This sport has become 365 days a year in high school.

Comments are closed.