The Raider football team has a new head coach, but he’s not new to Shaker Heights. Andre Griffin (’97) has returned to his alma mater to fill the head coach position vacated by Alex Nicholson, who resigned in November.
Griffin has more than 20 years of high school and college coaching experience. Most recently, he coached at Notre Dame Cathedral Latin High School, where the Lions posted an 8-4 record in 2025. Griffin taught sociology at during his first year there, then transitioned into a support staff position his second year.
At a Jan. 29 meet-the-coach event for the community, Griffin talked about his expectations going into next season, such as being ma-ture and owning up to mistakes. “I say, keep it a hundred,” he said. “Stand on your two feet. Stand on your own. Be a man.”
As a high school athlete, Griffin excelled in track and field, basketball and football. In his sophomore year, the Raider football team went 6-4. His junior year, the Raiders were undefeated in the regular season, and as a senior, he was part of an 8-2 team. He played running back at The Ohio State University and
graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology.
Athletic Director Michael Babinec said that he wanted to find a coach who understands what it means to be involved in Shaker Heights athletics. “It’s not just about finding the right person. It’s about finding the right fit for this community,” he said.
Junior wide receiver Andy Berglund said that Griffin made a positive first impression. “He seems to be excited and determined to bring back Shaker football to where it was when he was playing here,” he said.
Junior Jonah Lynch-Pitrof, a tight end, said that he is confident in Griffin’s coaching abilities. “I believe Coach Griffin can bring a new culture into the program that can lead us to win games,” he said. “Coach Griffin knows a whole lot about football and what it takes to win and to elevate to the next level. I believe he can pull the best out of this senior class.”
Sophomore Daelin Thomas, an offensive lineman, said that he hopes the new coach can inspire players. “I’m hoping he can bring life to our team and help us win games. I think our team was missing a lot of hearts —I feel like there weren’t many people on the team that wanted to win,” he said.
After college, Griffin started his first career at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus. “It felt like 24 hours sitting at a desk. That’s not the way I wanted to do life, so I got into coaching,” Griffin said.
He said he plans to work in the high school next year in some capacity in addition to coaching.
Babinec said that as an alumnus, Griffin brings a valuable perspective to the role. “To welcome home an alum, an individual who passionately speaks about how Shaker helped shape him as a person and a professional is an absolute home run of a fit,” he said. “When Coach Griffin speaks about the impact of Shaker and its ability to create a foundation for lifelong success, he is doing so with a firsthand knowledge of it having done that for him. That carries significant weight when that message is shared on the field, in the locker room, in the classroom and in the community when speaking with players, coaches, families and stakeholders.”
“It’s about restoring the glory of the football program, and so many people talked about finding somebody who understands what this place is about,” he said. “We knocked it out of the park with Coach Griffin.”
Outside of coaching, Griffin founded A Griffin Legacy Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides academic and athletic scholarships. Its Facebook bio reads, “Paying forward and helping youth experience life beyond the few blocks that they grew up on.”
Griffin said that his father, who values giving back to the community, inspired him to start the foundation. He said that the community he grew up in also motivated him. “When I was in Lima, Ohio, kids didn’t have a lot of money. So a way to give back, for me, is getting them in camps, giving them scholarships, things of that nature,” Griffin said.
Each year, Griffin selects two student athletes — one boy and one girl — to receive an athletic and academic scholarship, which includes a book stipend and $500.
Griffin called the organization “A Griffin Legacy Foundation” because his brothers and father all have names that start with the letter A. “It was named after my dad, Archie. Anthony was my older brother, Andre, me, [and] my younger brother, Adam,” Griffin said.
Griffin’s father, Archie Griffin, is a former NFL running back and OSU alumnus. He is the only player to have won the Heisman Memorial Trophy two times. He played for the Cincinnati Bengals and retired from his professional career after seven years in the NFL.
The Heisman Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding U.S. college football player; it recognizes exceptional performance, ability, diligence and integrity.
Griffin said that he doesn’t see his dad through a lens of accomplishments. “It’s great just to have a great dad. I don’t look at him any other way than he’s my dad. He supported us in whatever we wanted to do,” he said.
As coach, Griffin plans to focus on “playing smart” and building trust between team members, he said. “You know, one game at a time, one play at a time and then, things will take care of themselves at the end of the day,” he said. “When you trust each other — trust your brothers, who’s on the sideline with you— you’ll be able to get them to the next level.”
A version of this article appears in print on page 9 of Volume 96, Issue 4, published Feb. 28, 2026.
