Another Buckeye has entered the ranks as a high school football head coach.
After former Ohio State quarterback Stanley Jackson took over as head coach at Westerville North and Chase Farris was named head coach at Elyria Catholic this past spring, Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary announced Thursday that it will hire alumnus Doran Grant as the school’s next head football coach.
NEW HIRE St. Vincent-St. Mary HS is pleased to announce the hiring of Doran Grant VM11 as the next Head Varsity Football Coach! Please welcome him back home!#GoIrish
— STVM Athletics (@STVMAthletics) December 14, 2023
Visit our website to learn more about Coach Grant! https://t.co/wr3PufUFeB pic.twitter.com/avra3OVlE0
In an interview with Brad Bournival of the Akron Beacon Journal, STVM athletic director Kyle Sasala told Bournival that Grant was the perfect hire for the position, which became vacant when former head coach Terry Cistone retired after 42 seasons as the head coach.
“He has a wealth of experience,” Sasala said of Grant. “Through his playing time here at St. Vincent-St. Mary, the college realm and being in a few different schools leading up to his time here, we’re super excited about him coming back here. He’s coming back home, as I like to say. ... Even though he left, he’s still a part of the St. V community. We still think of him as part of the family. I think it’s going to be a splash hire. He’ll help us bring in some talent on the field and with the coaches.
“He’s a St. V guy. He understands our traditions. He understands the St. V way. Even though he graduated (from) St. V, he’s stayed connected ever since he left.”
St. Vincent-St. Mary's Doran Grant scores a first-quarter touchdown in the Irish's regular-season matchup with Walsh Jesuit (Photo: Phil Masturzo/Akron Beacon Journal).
Sasala added that Grant’s experience at Ohio State and in the NFL, AAF, XFL and CFL will also benefit the STVM program now and in the future.
From 2011-14, Grant appeared in 54 games and made 30 starts for the Buckeyes, collecting 140 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, 19 pass breakups and nine interceptions. He was also one of five captains on Ohio State’s most recent national championship team, which defeated Alabama and Oregon en route to winning the inaugural College Football Playoff in 2014.
After Grant’s college career ended, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him with the No. 121 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft. Over the next four years, Grant played for the Steelers, Buffalo Bills, New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars, primarily as a member of those team’s practice squads. Grant’s final three years as a professional included stints with the Atlanta Legends (AAF), DC Defenders (XFL) and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL).
Grant served as the defensive coordinator on Farris’ staff at Elyria Catholic this past season and was previously the defensive backs coach at Pickerington North High School in 2022.
Those experiences, in addition to his strong ties to STVM and the Akron area, make Grant believe he can bring the Irish back to prominence in Ohio's talented high school football landscape.
“Pressure is like saying hype,” Grant told Bournival. “I don’t think it’s real unless you make it real. I understand where St. Vincent-St. Mary has been these last several years. I get it. I’m not going to say it’s pressure, but it’s responsibility. Who better to do it than myself? I’ll be honest, it’s more responsibility than it is pressure.”
