Sam Greiner will not return as the high school football coach at West Charlotte in North Carolina. He was fired just days after the Lions lost in the state semifinal game and one year after winning a state championship.
The circumstances of his sudden dismissal are suspicious.
To fire a high school football coach who went 23-5 just a few days after he led his team to the state semifinal is not normal. Something must be up… but what? It remains a mystery for now.
Who is Sam Greiner?
Greiner is a graduate of Butler High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. He went on to graduate from Catawba College with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education Teaching and Coaching.
Harding High School gave him his first opportunity as a head football coach in 2015. The Rams won only one game in year one and five games in year two. They won the Class 4A state championship in year three.
Greiner left Harding after the 2017 season to take the same job at Hickory Ridge. The Ragin’ Bulls went 5-6 during his lone season at the helm. Their head coach stepped down after just one season.
With plenty of time on his hands, Greiner and his wife Connie joined Season 33 of The Amazing Race in late February 2020. Although they were not eliminated, they completed only three legs of the race before production shut down due to the pandemic. Connie and Sam had their son, Elijah Rock, in Dec. 2021 so they were not able to return to the race when filming continued in Sept. of that year.
In addition to the birth of his son, Sam Greiner could not return to the race because he accepted a job at West Charlotte High School. He was hired as the head football coach and a physical education teacher.
The 43-year-old is also known for his large presence on social media with more than 70,000 followers on Instagram.
Greiner looks just a little bit different today than he did on The Amazing Race!
West Charlotte High School fired its head football coach.
West Charlotte won a defensive battle against Seventy First 14-7 to claim the Class 3A football championship in the state of North Carolina last season. It was only the second state title in school history and the first since 1995.
The Lions were just as good in 2025 as they were in 2024. They lost only two games during the regular season, by a combined four points, and dominated all of their other opponents to earn the No. 2-seed in the Class 8A playoffs.
- Week 1 — L, 28-27
- Week 2 — W, 47-0
- Week 3 — L, 10-7 (OT)
- Week 4 — W, 42-7
- Week 5 — W, 55-0
- Week 6 — W, 32-9
- Week 7 — W, 31-7
- Week 8 — W, 21-0
- Week 9 — W, 37-0
- Week 10 — W, 43-0
- Playoff First Round — BYE
- Playoff Second Round — W, 41-0
- Playoff Quarterfinals — W, 34-21
Unfortunately, West Charlotte fell one game short of a second-straight state championship game appearance with a loss to No. 1-seed Hough on Black Friday. It was a great run.
However, Sam Greiner’s tenure with the program did not come without controversy. He was suspended with pay during an investigation in 2022 but later reinstated after about three weeks. The Lions were also forced to retroactively forfeit its entire 2021 season for playing an ineligible student-athlete.
And now Greiner is out. The reason for his dismissal as the head football coach has not been released.
Hello, West Charlotte High School Football Families:
I want to share with you that Coach Greiner will no longer serve as the head football coach at West Charlotte High School. We appreciate his service to our student-athletes and to the WCHS community over the years.
As we begin the search for our next head football coach, we remain committed to finding a leader who will uphold the values of West Charlotte High School and provide an exceptional experience for our student-athletes. We are dedicated to selecting a coach who will help our students thrive on and off the field.
Thank you for your continued support of West Charlotte High School. We wish you the very best this holiday season.
— West Charlotte principal Paula Cook
According to The Charlotte Observer, Sam Greiner is also suspended with pay as a teacher amid another investigation by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. He is not currently able to comment.
West Blvd Ministry offered a statement in support of Greiner.
The ministry is not yet able to discuss the situation. No further details have been provided.