Sam Chaney has quite a job to do and he has grabbed that job with both hands.
Named as Adrian College's Men's Head Coach last spring, Chaney is tasked with helping the school's rugby team recover.
The fall of 2025 was very tough for Adrian as friction between players, coaches, and administration boiled over. The details don't really matter anymore; the upshot is that players left, the Head Coach was replaced, and the administration relationship changed ... for ... the ... better.
"It's not just a new coach," Chaney told GRR. "It's a renewal. The relationship with the Administration is very good.
The support we're getting is unbelievable; they're behind us and keep saying 'what can we do to help you?'"
That has opened up time and space for Chaney to explore ways to build the program. He has been recruiting. He uses NextPhaseRugby, and that will help massively in recruiting players for the fall of 2027. Currently, for this season, Chaney has recruited players on campus to grow the roster, and freshman Cayden Kowalec has arrived with the skillset of a player who has played a long time.
Chaney runs touch rugby sessions open to the student body, and that has attracted some players.
At the same time, as he is building the roster, he is building the culture.
