Carolina High School announces Chris Glover as new head football coach
When the opportunity arrived on Chris Glover's doorstep, he realized that it was not one he would be able to soundly pass up.
That's the thought process that led him back to where his coaching career began.
Tuesday afternoon, Glover was named head football coach at Carolina High School. It's his first head football coaching gig, but not his first head coaching gig – he's been a head track coach at Carolina and Greenwood previously. He's spent the last year out of coaching, just working as a teacher at Woodmont but did coach football at Woodmont as an assistant under Jet Turner in 2019.
Now he's back to his roots – Glover spent time as an assistant on both sides of the ball across 11 seasons at Carolina. During that time he rose to the role of defensive coordinator under Mark Hodge and then also as an offensive coordinator as well.
"It's time, it’s time to go there," Glover told The Greenville News when asked about taking the job. "Lets see if we can get this thing rolling back and back to competing. Get the kids excited, gets the community excited about Carolina football."
Glover said he has seen the program be successful. He was an assistant in 2011 when the Trojans went 8-5 and fell just a game shy of the Upper State Championship.
"That’s always been a desire of mine, to become a head coach," Glover said. "Not when I first started coaching, but as I got in it more, (it’s an) opportunity to mentor and work with kids."
Glover will become the program's fifth head coach since Hodge left in 2011 to coach at Chapman.
"He has the same stature that coach Shaw had when he came in, the same that coach Wright has ... and Hodge," Carolina athletic director Thomas Fair said Tuesday. "He saw how those individuals operated. Then he actually saw how top programs are -- at Greenwood and Woodmont. He's bringing all that back to us."
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But he said that once he and his wife discussed the opening, the 45-year old decided it was time to jump at the chance of being a head football coach.
"It’s a place that I always had my heart in, spending the time that I did there," Glover said. "I just looked at it, my wife and I talked about it, she said, 'that’s a place that you’ve been … you’ve also been a part of some staffs where (we went to the playoffs).'
"I’ve been able to also see it be successful ... (My time there) gave me an opportunity to see some things and learn some things, that there is an opportunity there (to be successful)."
The announcement that Glover will be the new football coach comes just under a month after The News learned the now-former head coach Kyle Bishop had been relieved of his coaching duties.
Bishop had not won a game as head football coach. During his time as head coach the Trojans went 0-16 across two seasons.
Bishop was placed on administrative leave in March, The News learned, and shortly after was relieved of his role as football coach after being taken off of administrative leave.
At the time, both GCS spokesman Tim Waller and Fair declined to comment on why he was placed on leave and relieved of his coaching duties. The News has filed a FOIA request regarding the decision, which is being processed by the school district.
What Glover hopes to bring to table
Glover said he understands that there has been many changes regarding the football coach position at Carolina High.
"(Consistency), That’s going to be my motto, that’s going to be my word to the kids: Consistency.
"I want to provide some consistency not just for year one, year two, year three … The kids that are seniors, who I’m gonna be the third coach, I want to see them off and have a place they can come back to (and feel welcomed).
"That’s the way I kind of want to build my program, that way."
Joe Dandron covers high school athletics for The Greenville News. Contact him at jdandron@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @JoeMDandron.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Carolina High School announces Chris Glover as new football coach
