CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — There’s a new but familiar face at the helm for the Carmel Greyhounds. Legendary football coach Kevin Wright joins the program for the second time.

“I don’t know if I thought I would ever be back here,” Wright said. “But you know sometimes you can’t predict your future.”

After 11 years away, Wright is back in blue and gold. The Indiana Football Hall of Fame coach returns to Carmel — the same place where he led the Greyhounds to three state championship games in four years, taking the title in 2011.

“When they called and said, ‘Would you be interested?’ it didn’t take long to say (yes),” Wright said. “There’s a lot of resources and a lot of opportunity, and again, you just turn the page, and you never know what the next chapter brings, and here we are getting ready to go again.”

Wright returns to a Carmel that’s under construction. I’m not just talking about the new press box that’s going in in the stadium, but also the product on the field. The Greyhounds haven’t won a sectional in four years, and Wright’s ready to bring this program back in to prominence.

“I’ve heard people say ‘rebuilding year.’ I don’t know if they’re talking about the stadium, the press box, but I just know this – at some point this place is going to be really special again, and that’s kind of what the goal is,” Wright said.

Wright brings a renewed spirit back to Carmel, and the players are all in.

“Coach Wright coming back, he’s truly just changed the culture and brought back the standard that I watched growing up,” senior quarterback Anthony Coellner said.

“When I heard he got hired, I was like, ‘You know, that’s perfect!’ and it made us all more excited for this season,” senior defensive back Isaac Nelson said. “He’s already been here. He’s already had success, and we all know that, so that’s the expectation now for us.”

The energy Wright brings is infectious — even down to the coaching staff. Senior defensive end Kaiden Bower pointed that out as one of the assistant coaches ran by him yelling excitedly.

“How many coaches are running out here screaming and running around? That guy, I don’t know how old he is. He’s 35, 40 years old. He’s running around here shouting so it’s like, we’re bringing energy. It’s the most fun place to be right now,” Bower said.

Even more fun if it leads to a 10th state championship for the Greyhounds.

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