A native son has returned home to lead the Greencastle football team.

At Monday night's school board meeting, David Stephens was hired as the new football coach of the Tiger Cubs. 

Photo - Greencastle HS athletic Twitter, David Stephens with Greencastle AD Doug Greenlee

Stephens inherits a team that went 4-6 under Mike Meyer last fall. 

The former Owen Valley offensive coordinator is very familiar with Greencastle, as he is a 1997 alum and coached at Greencastle from 2011 to 2013. 

"There is a lot of money being invested in facilities right now. More than anything, just an opportunity to go back home and help revitalize a program that means so much to me," Stephens said as to what stood out to him about the job.

Stephens said he has to pinch himself when he thinks about coaching the program where it all started for him.

"I grew up in the poorest part of Greencastle. Educators were invested in me and believed in me gave me an opportunity to see that I had a future if I was willing to work for it. It is exciting and surreal," Stephens admitted.

The new head coach admitted the facilities at Greencastle were a huge draw, as well as the players. 

"I am excited about the core group of players that are there now. I am excited that every single person that I have talked to from the youth level all the way to the rising senior class are bought in and excited about the change we are going to bring," Stephens said. 

The last two years, Stephens has played a vital role in the success at Owen Valley, as he served as the offensive coordinator. Owen Valley knocked off Greencastle 48-7 during the regular season last year. In two seasons with the Patriots, Owen Valley won back-to-back sectional titles and went a combined 22-3. 

"We have had some phenomenal success at Owen Valley the last two seasons. I called the offense at Owen Valley and have a track record as an offensive coordinator over the years. I believe that is what helped me land this job. I intend to keep doing what got me to this point," said Stephens, confirming he will be the head coach and call the offense for the Tiger Cubs. 

With less than 200 days until the season opener, Stephens is ready to lay his foundation with the Tiger Cubs. 

"My immediate goals are to go in and change the culture at Greencastle High School. We will never talk about wins. We will focus on traits and characteristics of being a winner. Once we have everyone bought into the tenets of self sacrifice, self discipline, and enthusiasm, the wins will take care of themselves. That is the approach that we took at Owen Valley and I see a lot of parallels from when we came into Owen Valley to coming into Greencastle," he said.