Former Los Lunas coach Henington lands at Cleveland

RIO RANCHO — Whether or not Greg Henington will one day become a head coach again remains an open-ended thing, but he has found a new job.

The former Los Lunas High football coach, unexpectedly fired in mid-December, has landed a coaching position at defending Class 6A state champion Cleveland.

It isn’t yet known exactly what role Henington will fill on Robert Garza’s coaching staff, but the Storm most definitely have added a proven winner with an excellent pedigree.

“To be honest, I’m not too concerned about that,” Henington said about his thoughts of perhaps being a head coach once more down the road. “I’m just happy to be part of the best staff in the state. That’s what I’m excited about.”

Henington, 46, was wildly successful in his five seasons at Los Lunas, including leading the Tigers to a Class 5A state title in 2021. He was 43-16 in his five seasons, making his dismissal one of the more surprising in recent memory.

The school is actively searching for a new coach; Athletic Director William Hays said he expected interviews to be scheduled in the coming weeks. Los Lunas starting next season is rejoining the 5A ranks after four years as a Class 6A program. Los Lunas was beaten in the 6A quarterfinals last season by Las Cruces.

Henington said he reached out to Garza “pretty quickly” after what happened at Los Lunas.

“I really was asking if they had a teaching position available first … and they had both,” Henington said. He also is a former head coach at Belen.

“The whole thing with Los Lunas was pretty devastating, so I’m just looking to get back into coaching and heal a little bit,” Henington said. He’ll be a language arts teacher at Cleveland.