Rams' new head football coach Connell Maynor
The university has named Connell Maynor, a college football veteran with more than 20 years of experience as a player and coach, as its ninth head football coach.
Maynor has been part of 10 championship teams, six as a player and four as a coach. Most recently Maynor was the offensive architect of the 2009 CIAA Champion Fayetteville State University Broncos, serving as both offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Maynor, a former standout football student-athlete at both Winston-Salem State University and North Carolina A&T State University, was introduced as the Rams’ head coach at a press conference in the Richardson Hospitality Room of the WSSU Bowman Gray Fieldhouse Dec 15, 2009.
“I am extremely pleased that Connell Maynor has accepted our offer to become Winston-Salem State’s head football coach,” said Chancellor Donald J. Reaves. “I am also delighted that we were able to move the selection process so quickly because time is, of course, of the essence for our recruiting and planning for the 2010 season. Now, we will be able to start the new year with Bill Hayes as our athletic director and Connell Maynor heading up our football program,” Reaves added.
An eight-person search committee led by search committee chair, Dr. Dennis Felder, was charged with the responsibility of filling WSSU’s football coaching vacancy from a pool of more than 75 applicants representing 17 states.
“Undertaking this process of being chair of the search committee for our head football coach search, and having been given the directive of needing to have a coach in place by January 1, was a challenge,” Felder said. “However, with the outstanding search committee we assembled, the goal was accomplished. As the head of the search committee I can unequivocally say that we are welcoming the most qualified candidate for our head coaching vacancy and the person who is certainly the best fit to represent our university and lead our football program.”
Maynor spent the last 10 seasons as a member of the Broncos’ award-winning football staff. He helped to lead Fayetteville to four CIAA title game appearances and three CIAA championships (2002, 2003 and 2009). His offensive unit produced two All-CIAA quarterback selections (2002 and 2003) and ranked first in the CIAA in rushing offense, total offense and scoring in 2008 en route to a 13th-place national ranking in scoring offense and a 39th-place national ranking in total offense in Division II in 2008.
In addition to his collegiate coaching responsibilities, Maynor served as offensive coordinator for the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul from 2006-2008 and helped lead the Soul to the 2008 Arena Bowl World Championship. Under his leadership the Soul ranked first in scoring offense (62 ppg), touchdowns (132), touchdown passes (102) and red zone efficiency (85 percent) in 2008 en route to an Arena Bowl title.
As a player, Maynor has earned six championships. He was the starting quarterback for the Rams’ 1987 CIAA championship football team under then-head coach and incoming WSSU Director of Athletics William “Bill” Hayes; he was named to the All-CIAA team as a freshman.
After following Hayes to North Carolina A&T State University, Maynor was named First-Team All-MEAC in both 1990 and 1991. He was also named the MEAC Offensive Player of the Year, was honored as the 100% Wrong Club Player of the Year in both 1990 and 1991, and help lead the Aggies to the 1991 MEAC Championship.
