Plymouth football coach Greg Souldourian told his players on Monday, July 20, that he is stepping down after six seasons leading the program.
Defensive coordinator Matt Penn was named interim head coach by athletic director Chaka Johnson.
Souldourian spent more than 20 years as a physical education and health teacher for Plymouth-Canton Community Schools. He was on staff for all but one of Plymouth’s 23 seasons since starting its football program in 2004.
He served under the program’s first three coaches before being promoted to the top job ahead of the 2020 season.
His abrupt decision to leave three weeks before the 2026 season came after he accepted a teaching job in another school district.
“I never thought in a million years I’d be leaving Plymouth, and it feels a little crazy,” Souldourian said via a phone interview. “Being here has been the best experience, and I’ve spent a lot of time making phone calls and thanking people for everything they’d done for me over the last 20-plus years. I just want to thank the community, administration, my former players and all the families for simply the best experience I could’ve asked for here.”
Souldourian went 14-38, leading the Wildcats to one playoff appearance (2020). His best season came in 2023, when Plymouth went 4-5 and scored 292 points.
That team featured a pair of three-star offensive linemen – Idrys Cotton, who signed with Northwestern, and Lucas Barnes, who committed to Miami (Ohio). Two-star running back Jaxon McCaig, who set the school single-game rushing record with 327 yards, went on to be a walk-on at Michigan State.
The Wildcats will retain Souldourian’s entire staff, avoiding a late scramble just a month before their season opener against Monroe.
“We appreciate Coach Greg Souldourian’s years of dedication and service to Plymouth football and the impact he has made on our student-athletes and program,” Johnson said in a release. “As we move through this transition, we believe Matt Penn is the right person to lead the program on an interim basis. His familiarity with the program, commitment to our student-athletes and previous coaching experience will provide important continuity as we prepare for the upcoming season. We appreciate Matt’s willingness to step forward and serve our program during this transition.”
“This opportunity opened up for me last Monday, and, oh my, it’s been like a hurricane with everything,” Penn said. “Fortunately, everything was set when Greg left. He did a great job of getting everything ready before passing it on to me, so everything will be business as usual so that the kids will have to adapt to it as minimally as possible and we’ll be able to maintain stability going forward. So far, the staff is on board with me taking over, and we don’t plan on making any drastic changes as far as schemes go before the season starts.”
Who is Plymouth interim coach Matt Penn?
Johnson couldn’t have picked a more familiar face around campus to replace Souldourian.
Penn is Plymouth’s head of maintenance, doing everything from making classroom repairs to working on the HVAC system, maintaining the swimming pool and fixing broken lockers in the locker room.
But he has also been around the football program for nearly a decade.
After wrapping up his playing career at Adrian College in 2002, Penn began coaching at Garden City in 2003. He coached multiple levels and positions before working his way up to varsity defensive coordinator in 2015. After 12 seasons there, he joined Mike Sawchuk’s staff at Plymouth in 2016. He has remained with the Wildcats since, serving under Sawchuk, Brian Lewis and Souldourian.
Penn was promoted to junior varsity coach in 2017 and joined the varsity staff in 2018. He shared defensive coordinator duties with Souldourian in 2020 before taking over the role full time in 2021.
He has coached every position on defense.
“I’ve known Matt since 2016 when he joined our staff, and I call him my brother from another mother because he’s the best,” Souldourian said. “He’s been my right hand and truly a great man and leader the kids have come to love. My own kids love him and treat him like he’s an uncle. When I was talking about resigning, I knew we needed stability and somebody who has done this before, and he definitely fits the part.”
Penn certainly does.
He also served on Plymouth’s baseball coaching staff and took over as interim coach when Scott McGregor was fired less than a month before the 2021 playoffs.
The Wildcats responded by beating rival Canton in the Division 1 district opener and edging Belleville to win the district title and advance to the regional semifinals.
“You’re going to get the same focus from me that you’ve come to expect Plymouth football to always have,” Penn said. “You can’t do anything past 100%, but I have the mentality that you have to give that 110. When it comes to giving kids life lessons they can carry on past football, I’m prepared to make sure all of my guys are ready. We’re going to attack everything with everything that we have.”
What to expect from the Matt Penn-led Wildcats
Replacing Souldourian required only a minor shuffle on the coaching staff, allowing Plymouth to keep most of its continuity.
Penn will continue calling the defense, while Nick Troher remains offensive coordinator. The only difference is Penn will now make the big decisions on fourth down.
“We’re pumped about that,” offensive line coach Derek Hoffman said.
Outside of Friday nights, Hoffman has seen firsthand what Penn can do with a defense.
Hoffman and Canton football coach Eric Newton, who co-coach Plymouth-Canton’s girls flag football team, hired Penn to run their defense during the program’s inaugural season this spring. It was Penn’s first spring away from baseball.
Before the season, Penn noted the average team gives up 18 points per game. His goal was to allow only 12.
His defense averaged just 3.5 points allowed.
The Prowlers won the All Grit League championship and qualified for the state tournament at Ford Field.
That included a 19-6 win in the regular-season finale. Plymouth-Canton couldn’t allow more than six points, or it would’ve lost a tiebreaker with Northville and Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard for the division title and playoff berth.
“This guy dialed up the perfect defense, and we had one of the top defenses in the state in our first year,” Hoffman said. “Our offense was our weaker point, so a lot of the points we gave up were on us [offensive coaches], and that has been the same over the years on the boys side. Numerous wins we’ve had over the years have all been on Penn coming up big on defense.”
Penn was recognized for his work when the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association named him one of its 20 Special Assistant of the Year honorees in 2025.
During his time under Souldourian, Plymouth went 8-2 against Plymouth-Canton Educational Park rivals Canton and Salem. Four of the Wildcats’ five shutouts during that span came against the Chiefs and Rocks.
“If I hadn’t done flag football this spring, I don’t know if I would have taken over for Greg,” Penn said. “Flag took me back to the purity of football, teaching the girls who were hungry and had a desire to learn, and that really fired me up to come back and lead the boys. Getting that experience reenergized me, kept me from burnout and made me excited for this football season when we got to seven-on-seven season.”
Who does Plymouth face in 2026?
Plymouth opens the season Aug. 28 against Monroe before beginning its final season in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association. The Wildcats will join the Southeastern Conference in 2027.
The KLAA also looks different this fall. The league is eliminating its East and West divisions, placing Plymouth in the Black with Belleville, Dearborn Fordson and Dearborn Heights Crestwood. The Wildcats will also keep rivalry games against Canton, Northville, Novi and Salem.
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life and the Detroit Free Press. Follow him on X at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Plymouth football coach Greg Souldourian quits, Matt Penn is interim
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com / Detroit Free Press
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By Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com | USA TODAY Network
