John Grass Has Been Hired as the New Head Football Coach at Samford
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - December 4, 2025
Samford announced on Wednesday that John Grass will become the school’s head football coach. Grass, who had a successful eight-season tenure as Jacksonville State’s head coach, will be officially announced in a press conference on Thursday morning.
Samford has been without a full-time head coach since Chris Hatcher was told on Nov. 9 that he would not return for his 12th season with Bulldogs. Defensive coordinator Scot Sloan served as the interim head coach the final two games as the Bulldogs finished a 1-11 season.
The search eventually landed on Grass, who has served on Clemson’s staff the past four seasons.
“When we started the process for hiring our next head football coach, we were very specific with what we were looking for as our next leader,” Samford Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Martin Newton said in a school release. “We wanted someone with head coaching experience and a proven track record of winning. Someone with strong roots and relationships in Alabama and our local community. Someone that understands and embraces the Christian mission of our institution. John Grass is that someone.”
Grass joined the Jacksonville State staff in 2013, serving as the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator under Bill Clark for a team that advanced to the NCAA FCS playoff quarterfinals before losing to Eastern Washington. The Gamecocks beat Samford, 55-14, in a first round playoff game that season. Clark left to take over at UAB the following January and Grass became the program’s head coach.
Over the next eight seasons, Grass led Jax State to a 72-26 record with six Ohio Valley Conference titles, including an OVC-record five-straight championships from 2014-2018. Grass was named the OVC’s Coach of the Year in each of his first three seasons with the Gamecocks. He was named the AFCA National Coach of the Year in 2015 after leading the Gamecocks to 13-2 record and a spot in the FCS National Championship game. In his final season with the Gamecocks, the team recorded one of the biggest upsets of the 2021 season, earning a dramatic 20-17 win at Florida State.
Grass stepped down at the Gamecocks head coach following the 2021 season.
“My time has come and gone here," Grass told the media following his final game. "It's been a great ride. It's been unbelievable. You can't put into words what has happened here. This will always be my home. We've raised our kids here for nine years. Me and my wife are both alumni. This place has done so much for me that I can't ever repay it.”
Grass moved on to Clemson, where he spent four seasons as an offensive senior assistant coach under Dabo Swinney with most of his work coming with the quarterbacks. Now Grass, who spent 22 seasons in high school football before Jacksonville State, returns to a head coaching role.
“I’m extremely grateful to Dr. Beck Taylor and Martin Newton for the opportunity to lead the Samford Bulldog football program,” Grass said. “I’ve always fostered a great respect for the Samford community and I’m excited to get boots on the ground and get to work. I’m grateful to Coach Swinney for the last four years at Clemson, but I am excited to join the Bulldog family.”
Earlier in the day, several hours before Grass was announced as the porgram’s 37th head coach, six high school prospects signed with the Bulldogs. Samford’s early signing class consisted of wide receiver Cayden Aukerman of Page High in Franklin, Tenn., offensive lineman Beau Ball of Carrollton (Ga.) High, defensive backs Corrion Tyson of Minor High and Lawson Estes of Milton (Ga.) High, linebacker Walker Turner of Enterprise High and tight end Maddox Waller of Sequoyah High in Canton, Ga.