Home Again: Richmond's return as D-line coach brings him back to family

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Greg Richmond couldn’t help but pick up the phone and call his wife at two or three o’clock in the morning.

The former Oklahoma State defensive end spent the past two seasons on the coaching staffs at Sam Houston State and North Texas, but his wife and three children remained in Stillwater, often going 30 days apart.

It was tough on Richmond. He’s a ‘hands-on’ parent who hated missing out, wishing he could walk through the door after a day at work and come home to his family. Those late-night phone calls were the next best thing for him.

“I know she hated it when that phone started ringing (late at night), but I needed it,” Richmond said. “I needed to talk to her. There was nights where she hung up in my face. I had to be tough.”

But then, home came calling again.

Richmond was hired by Eric Morris in December to coach the Cowboys’ defensive line and help kickstart another football turnaround. The job brought him back to his alma mater and back to his family, making it a perfect homecoming for the former OSU standout.

When Richmond got the news, the first thing he did was call his wife, just like all those late nights when he was in Denton and Huntsville. He had to let her know he was coming back for good to be with her and their three sons, Jaylen, Jacoby and Jamar.

“The football gods,” Richmond,” said. “... I always told my wife, ‘Coaching would get us back together.’ I didn’t know back together would be back here at my alma mater. I’m thankful for it.”

This is Richmond’s third coaching stint with the Cowboys. He was on staff as an assistant strength and conditioning coach from 2007-08 and then brought back as defensive line coach from 2018-22 by Mike Gundy.

His road back to Stillwater started in 2024 when he worked for new OSU defensive Skyler Cassity at SHSU and both Morris and Cassity at North Texas in 2025. Now, they’re all together in the place Richmond loves.

And so far, Richmond’s defensive line has turned heads through the Cowboys’ first seven spring practices. Morris said Wednesday the edge rushers have been ‘pleasantly surprising’ and could be one of the team’s deepest position groups.

“It’s been tough for us to block them on the edge at tackle at times,” Morris said. “It’s a sign of good things. Coach Richmond has done a phenomenal job with that group.”

Returning to OSU has also allowed Richmond to rekindle previous player relationships. He recruited Cowboys DeSean Brown and Jaleel Johnson out of high school, and since they’ve stuck with the program, Richmond gets to coach them again.

Richmond has also seen his old office and remembers pulling into the parking lot again for the first time — the first ‘pinch-me’ moment, he said.

And having not known if he would get another opportunity to return, Richmond is thrilled to be back home, back with his family and back to coaching the sport he loves at his alma mater.

Everything has fallen back into place.

“The lord had it all laid out for us,” Richmond said.