Former NCAA national champion and North Carolina high school football head coach suspended over incident involving a felony strangulation charge

These are interesting times in the North Carolina high school football scene. An alleged incident involving felony assault by strangulation has led to the suspension of a head coach and the arrest and charging of his assistant.

DeAngelo Lloyd, head coach of Garinger High School football, was handed a suspension with pay last week. Lloyd was suspended over an incident where his assistant, Jermaine Parmes, reportedly “punched, slapped and strangled” someone. Parmes also issued a verbal threat, saying: “I'm going to kill you.”

Consequently, Lloyd did not coach Garinger in the school's 63-7 loss to Butler last Friday. The loss brought the Wildcats’ losing streak to 31 games, dating back to Sept. 2021.

The former NCAA national champion became the fifth coach in charge of Garinger since 2019 when he replaced Josh Williams ahead of the 2024 season. Jeff Caldwell, Chris Price and Shon Galloway have all coached the team within the period.

Who is North Carolina high school football coach DeAngelo Lloyd?

DeAngelo Lloyd may not be the most successful coach in North Carolina high school football, but he had a successful playing career. Lloyd attended Independence High School where he was an All-American football star. A two-sport athlete, he also won a state basketball championship in high school.

Lloyd enrolled at the University of Tennessee and was a defensive back for the Volunteers from 1997 to 2001. He was a part of the Volunteers team that won the national championship in 1998, also winning two SEC championships during his time. He ended his college career with 55 tackles, nine tackles for a loss, three sacks, a fumble recovery and a defensive touchdown.

Before his Garinger tenure, Lloyd served as the head coach at Eastway Middle School. He posted a 2-5 record in his first year there before going 0-7 in his second year. He then finished with a 4-3 record in his third year.

Coaching Garinger may be one of the toughest jobs in North Carolina high school football, but Lloyd knew what he was getting into. Before its current 31-game losing streak, the school went through a 51-game losing streak between 2011 and 2017.

The Wildcats have not won a state championship since 1959 and were last in the state playoffs in 2008. Lloyd, despite the ongoing controversy, reportedly still has the support of the Garinger community, with an online petition for his reinstatement receiving over 140 signatures.