Little Miami names Arryn Chenault as head football coach pending board approval

MORROW, Ohio — Little Miami High School announced Arryn Chenault as its new head football coach Wednesday afternoon, pending board of education approval Dec. 19.

Chenault, a former Winton Woods assistant coach, was selected from more than 60 applicants for the position, according to Little Miami. Chenault will be the 19th head football coach in the program’s 67-year history.

Chenault succeeds former Little Miami coach Caleb Jones, who stepped down in October after five seasons. Little Miami had a 1-9 record, including 1-8 in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference in 2023.

“During the interview process, Coach Chenault truly exemplified exceptional character and an unwavering work ethic,” Little Miami High School principal Dr. Kevin Harleman said in a statement. “His dedication to the sport and commitment to developing our players is unmatched.”

Chenault, 31, said he is grateful for the opportunity to grow the program’s tradition and to embrace the school community. Chenault wants the football student-athletes to grow into young men while being leaders in the community.

“I am thrilled about the opportunity to lead the Little Miami football program,” Chenault said. “I intend to start building relationships with the young men in our program, the teachers, staff members, and community immediately. Culturally, we will create a family-like environment where we will transform the boys into men. On the field, we will strive to build a physical team that is relentless, hardworking, smart, and disciplined.”

The family theme is evident this week. Former Lakota East associate head coach Darryn Chanult, Arryn’s nephew, will join the Little Miami staff as the associate head coach. Arryn said he’s grateful for his uncle’s assistance in the program.

The two men are forever linked after Darryn received a kidney from Arryn this past summer. Little Miami will host Lakota East in a scrimmage Aug. 15, 2024 before opening the season Aug. 23 at Springboro.

Arryn Chenault, a two-time captain at the University of Cincinnati in 2013 and 2014, is a former Fairfield High School star.

Chenault graduated from UC in May 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and creative writing and obtained a Master of Education in education with a special education license from Xavier University in 2019.

Additionally, he has been a special education teacher for the past six years and is married with two young children.

Chenault has several years of coaching experience. He spent the 2016 season as the defensive backs coach at Walnut Hills. He coached at Sycamore as a varsity assistant and junior varsity defensive coordinator for the Aviators in 2018 and 2019.

He became a full-time varsity assistant coach as the defensive coordinator at Norwood from 2019-2021. In 2022, he was an assistant at Lakota East and during the 2023 season he was elevated into the special teams coordinator role under head coach Chad Murphy at Winton Woods.

“We gave this (coaching) search maximum effort, while keeping our student-athletes as our focus when navigating this process with compliance and integrity,” Little Miami athletic director Matt Louis said in a statement. “As we remained steadfast to those principles, the result is that we found an incredible father, man, and educator-coach in Arryn Chenault. The students of Little Miami deserve a leader such as him.”

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