It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to a great coach, teacher, mentor and friend to so many, coach George J. Glenn.

I had the fortunate opportunity to play for him for three years at Salesianum High School, and later to coach and work with him at Salesianum for nine years and at Cape Henlopen High School for eight years. Like so many other former players, coaches and teachers, I was fortunate to know Coach in several different roles throughout life. We will always be grateful for the lessons, guidance, encouragement and friendship he gave us.

Below is a brief summary of Glenn’s incredible coaching and teaching career as I know it. His teaching and coaching career spanned more than 50 years, from 1966 through 2018. Growing up in Wilmington and Claymont, Coach was proud of his blue-collar heritage. I believe that background allowed him to see and cultivate the diamonds buried inside the rough lumps of coal that many of us represented. He had a special ability to see the positive potential in young people and help bring out the best in them with a motivational story, a memorable phrase, a vote of confidence and a sense of humor.

Some of the phrases and sayings we will always remember include “the man in the arena,” “tough times don’t last … tough people do,” “the man who thinks he can,” “playing mash mouth football in a quagmire,” “stop lallygagging,” and “stop sashaying around blocks.” 

Coach graduated from East Tennessee State University in 1967 with a bachelor of science degree in physical education. He played four years of college football, beginning his career at Ferrum Junior College in Virginia, where he served as a tri-captain and earned all-conference honors. Coach also proudly served four years in the U.S. Army.

While in Tennessee, he began his football coaching career in 1966 as an assistant coach at Boones Creek High School in Johnson City. From 1969 to 1971, he was the head football coach at Staunton River High School in Moneta, Va. In 1972, Coach returned to his alma mater, Salesianum High School, where he served as offensive coordinator 1972-75 under head coach Tom Olivadotti. Together, they won the 1972 state championship while playing a challenging schedule that included many highly ranked out-of-state teams.

Coach Olivadotti would go on to win an NCAA National Championship as the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami and later served as a defensive coordinator in the NFL for many years.

Coach Glenn took over as head football coach at Salesianum in 1976 and remained there through 1992. During his 17 years, he became the winningest coach in Salesianum football history at that time, compiling 119 victories while continuing to schedule many highly ranked teams from outside Delaware. Salesianum won the Division I state championship in 1986, when Coach was named Delaware Football Coach of the Year. He also led the Sals to state championship appearances in 1980, 1987, 1988 and 1992, along with semifinal appearances in 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1990.

In 1992, coach Glenn took over a 1-9 football program at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes. With some hungry young men, Coach quickly turned the program around, leading Cape to 25 wins over the next four seasons. In more recent years, he would often say that we had great times coaching some great players and people at Sallies and Cape.

By the time Coach completed his 21-year career as a Delaware high school head coach, he had established himself as one of the winningest high school football coaches in state history at that time. He coached more than 100 all-state and college football players. Just as impressive, many of his former players followed his example and went on to become head and assistant coaches in Pop Warner, CYO, middle schools, high schools and colleges throughout the tri-state area.

From 1996 to 2010, coach Glenn taught and served as athletic director at Cape Henlopen High School while continuing to oversee one of his successful business ventures in Sussex County. In 2011, he became chief of staff for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League.

In 2012, coach Glenn joined Coastal Carolina University as chief of staff and director of football operations, working alongside his good friend and head coach Joe Moglia from 2012 to 2018.

During his first five years at Coastal Carolina, the Chanticleers finished each season ranked in the top 25 nationally and reached as high as No. 1 in the country in both 2014 and 2015. Coastal won the program’s first postseason game in 2012, won a league-record 12 games and reached the NCAA quarterfinals in 2013, and matched those accomplishments again in 2014. The Chants were ranked No. 1 in the FCS for eight straight weeks in 2015 and went 10-2 in 2016 during their transition to the FBS level.

When coach Glenn retired from Coastal Carolina in 2018, Athletic Director Matt Hogue said: “George has made tremendous contributions to CCU athletics and left an indelible legacy on the football program. He has dedicated his life to leading and transforming young people, and we are fortunate that part of his illustrious career as a coach and educator touched CCU. We wish George all the best in his retirement, and we will miss his love and passion for Teal Nation.”

Moglia, who knew Coach for more than 40 years, may have summed it up best for many of us when he said, “I have had the great privilege of knowing George Glenn for 40 years, and I have not met a man more dedicated to the welfare of our players, while at the same time having such a passionate commitment to doing his job in an excellent way. No one has had a more significant positive impact on our football program at Coastal. I am proud to have worked with him side-by-side for the last eight years and even more proud to call him my friend.”

Throughout those five decades, coaches, players, teachers and friends came to know coach Glenn’s philosophy as helping young student-athletes become responsible adults by teaching them to stand on their own two feet and accept responsibility for their actions.

At Cape Henlopen, his players and the football community adapted his philosophy as “Boys II Men.” For so many of us, coach Glenn was much more than a coach; he was a teacher, mentor, leader, role model and friend. He believed in young people, challenged them to be better and expected them to become responsible men.

Coach Glenn touched countless lives over the course of his remarkable career. His influence was not measured only by wins and championships, but also by the young men he helped shape, the coaches he inspired and the friendships he built along the way.

Rest in peace, Coach. Job well done. Thank you for everything you taught us. You will be deeply missed, but your lessons, your influence and your legacy will live on in many.