Shaker Heights Alum Andre Griffin Appointed Head Football Coach

Shaker Heights High School is proud to announce Andre Griffin as its next Head Football Coach. The Board of Education approved his contract at the Tuesday, January 13, meeting. He will take over for Alex Nicholson, who resigned as Head Football Coach in November. 

Coach Griffin is a 1997 graduate of SHHS, where he excelled as a three-sport student-athlete in football, basketball and track & field. He continued his academic and athletic careers at The Ohio State University as a member of the Buckeye football program, graduating in 2002 with a bachelor of arts in sociology. 

Coach Griffin returns to Raider Nation with more than 20 years of coaching experience at the high school and collegiate levels, most recently serving as the head coach at Notre Dame Cathedral Latin High School in Chardon, Ohio. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Lima Senior High School and an assistant coach at Ohio Northern University, Wittenberg University, Saginaw Valley State University, Capital University, and St. Charles Preparatory School. He maintains strong relationships at the NFL, NCAA, and high school levels that support student-athlete development and advancement in their academic, athletic, and professional careers.

Coach Griffin also leads the “A Griffin Legacy Foundation,” which he started in 2019 as a “non-profit organization whose purpose is exclusively educational and charitable [with a] charge to generate and distribute resources for the benefit of students, families, activities, events, and other community agencies or organizations.”

Coach Griffin shared his excitement to return to Raider Nation: “Thank you to Athletic Director Mike Babinec, Principal Isaiah Wyatt, Middle School Athletics Manager Mike Summers and the entire hiring committee for the in-depth search for the Head Football Coach at Shaker Heights. As an alum of Shaker Heights High School, I always believed that the city of Shaker Heights shaped who I am today. For the current and future student-athletes, I want them to have that same feeling and experience amongst all that Shaker has to offer. To the alumni and community, this is a unique opportunity to pull the community together and build on the Raider pride. I’m ready to go to work. I’m home!"

According to Mike Babinec, SHHS Athletic Director, “Coach Griffin is a man of high character and integrity with a proven track record of student-athlete development, servant leadership, disciplined program management, and strong communication with stakeholders. His impact will extend beyond the Football program into our entire school and community. We are thrilled for Coach Griffin to return home to Raider Nation and serve as the next leader of the Shaker Heights High School Football program.”