Danville, Va. — Matt Quinn never thought rebuilding a football program would come down to something as simple as relationships, but as he is preparing for his first collegiate season as a head coach at Averett University, he believes connection will define the Cougars’ future.
Quinn was hired to lead a struggling Averett team coming off a 1-8 season and a late suspension that left many questions about the direction of the program moving forward. While most were expecting talk about new schemes and strategies, Quinn’s message is centered on culture.
“My core philosophy is based on relationships,” Quinn said. “It’s not schematic. It’s not about the Xs and Os. It’s nothing football related. It’s developing relationships with the players, with recruits, with our coaches, and trust.”
For Quinn, trust between the players and coaches will always affect more games than any formation ever could. He believes that when players feel valued and connected, performance follows naturally.
“We trust the players, the players trust us,” Quinn said. “That affects more games than a scheme does.”
That mindset has been the core to his coaching philosophy long before coming to Averett, and it is resonating with his incoming recruits.
“Coach Quinn made me feel recognized, and it felt like he knows who I truly am,” said Jackson Poole, incoming freshman outside linebacker commit. “No other coach I talked to made me feel this way, which is really meaningful to me. He is a big reason I decided to commit to this school.”
One of Quinn’s biggest challenges came at Westside High School in Anderson, South Carolina. The team had won just two games in three years, until he took over the program.
In his first year, he led Westside to 10 wins. In the second year, the team won a conference championship. Quinn credits that turnaround to bringing the excitement and accountability within the locker room back up, not a new offensive or defensive system.
“We needed to make kids interested in football again,” Quinn said. “We had to develop and create some energy around our program.”
He plans to do the same at Averett following that same blueprint.
Practice under Quinn is structured and fast-paced. A typical practice lasts 90 minutes, and players are expected to move with urgency. Corrections and deeper teachings happen in film sessions, not on the field. The goal is to have efficiency and intensity while having enjoyment.
“Curt Cignetti has used a similar blueprint,” Quinn said. “He’s done it at multiple colleges and has been successful doing it that way.” Coach Cignetti brought the Indiana Hoosiers Football Team from a 3-9 record to an undefeated 16-0 season with a national championship in only two years.
Josh Linares, former four-year player at Averett and current strength and conditioning intern, has noticed Quinn’s influence already.
“There is more attention to detail and urgency in the weightroom,” Linares said. “In the past we have had to tell people to get to lifting and we have only done that once so far.”
Although this is Quinn’s first season leading Averett, he is confident progress will be noticeable quickly. He believes this will happen with the pillars of his program, the acronym “V.I.L.L.E.”
“V.I.L.L.E. stands for vision, integrity, leadership, legacy and effort,” Quinn said. “Our goal is to uphold the standards of the V.I.L.L.E.. If we can do that, the byproduct of that is the wins.”
Griffin Dills, a rising junior offensive lineman, believes the V.I.L.L.E. “gives a good building block on what our program stands for and needs.” Dills has been at Averett these past two years and is looking forward to a change.
Accountability is an important word Quinn is pushing to his players following the suspension that ended last season a game early. Quinn wants them to think about how they walk, talk, and represent the university and not just how they perform on Saturdays.
For Quinn, the path forward at Averett is not about predicting the win total. It is about building trust, restoring pride and creating a culture the players want to be a part of.
“I may be optimistic,” Quinn said, “but I think the turnaround can happen a lot faster than people think just based off the relationship aspect.”
As spring workouts begin and a new season approaches, Quinn’s message remains simple. Relationships first, wins second. If his track record is any indication, Averett’s rebuild may already be underway.
Averett is going into Year 27 of the football program and has had four previous head coaches. The best record in program history is 8-2 in 2018.
Quinn and the Cougars start the season off against North Carolina Wesleyan University on Sept. 5, 2026, at Daly Field in Danville, Virginia.
