By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
David Grimm didn’t have time to allow the frustration of his sudden firing as the Cummings football coach to fester.
Less than two weeks later, he had another job when his hiring as an assistant coach at Orange was approved Monday.
“I still love to coach,” Grimm said. “I still feel I have some coaching left in the tank. Definitely helps me turn the corner with everything that went down.”
He joins coach Fritz Hessenthaler’s Orange staff. Hessenthaler’s hiring was announced Monday night.
Grimm was informed May 29 that he was terminated as the Cummings coach because the school wanted to go in a different direction. He guided the Cavaliers for five seasons, churning out a 38-15-1 record and a pair of conference championships.
It didn’t take long for other opportunities to surface.
“By the next day, I had four coaching offers, two with teaching positions,” he said. “I’m ready to get started at Orange.”
So Grimm’s focus suddenly changed from figuring out how to beat Williams on August 22 to learning about different players with a new team – and an opening game vs. Southeast Alamance.
Grimm, who turns 53 later this month, will coach on the offensive side for Orange.
In anticipation that he would become Orange’s next coach, Hessenthaler reached out to Grimm almost immediately after learning of the change at Cummings.
“I’ve always been a fan of Fritz and what he did,” Grimm said. “He called the next day. I said, ‘Let’s do this.’ ”
In the only game between Cummings and Southern with Grimm and Hessenthaler as head coaches, Southern won 58-28 in a 2022 non-conference meeting at Cummings
For Grimm, the disappointment from the Cummings coaching situation came after the completion of what was described as a strong spring practice period.
“The kids were excited and I was excited,” Grimm said, noting that Cummings’ decision to go in a different direction “happens in the world of sports.”
He declined to discuss further what might have factored into the decision at Cummings. Now, it’s on to the next thing.
“It has been a whirlwind,” Grimm said. “It happened real fast.”
There’s lots to do in the coming weeks at Orange.
“We’ve got to hit the ground running. We’re a little bit behind,” Grimm said. “I’m ready to get to work.”
Grimm will teach business at Orange.
Read also the reaction of Cummings’ players to Grimm’s firing: https://alamancenews.com/cummings-players-perplexed-by-coachs-firing-ready-to-move-forward/
