Nashua South Elevates Josh Porter to Head Football Coach

Josh Porter said he knew he wanted to be the varsity football coach at Nashua South, in New Hampshire, early in his four-year tenure as an assistant coach with the program. He reached that goal Tuesday, when he emerged from the interview process as the replacement for former South head coach Scott Knight.
Porter is a 32-year-old Merrimack resident who previously served as an assistant coach at Dracut (Mass.) High School, his alma mater, and Lowell (Mass.) Catholic. He also spent the 2021 season as the interim head coach at Dracut, but was not retained as the school’s head coach after that season.
He works as the regional manager for Jenne D’Arc Credit Union, which has branches inside Nashua South, Dracut and Lowell High School. His office is inside Nashua South.
“Having played at Dracut, being the head coach there was sort of a dream come true,” Porter said. “Then it was over before it really began. Later that year I remember bumping into Scott in the building and asking him if he needed any help. That’s when I found a new home.
“As the years progressed my role increased. It’s been a couple years in the making that I knew (being South’s head coach) was going to be an ultimate goal of mine. It fits what I do perfectly. It’s really such a lucky landing spot for me. Everything just kind of seemed to come together.”
Knight retired in December after 22 seasons as South’s head coach. He guided the Panthers to an 8-3 record last fall. In terms of victories, South was the most improved team in the state from 2023 to 2024.
Porter, who began coaching youth football in Dracut while he was in high school, said much of last season’s coaching staff will remain in place.
“It’s going to be a smooth transition,” he said. “It’s not broken. We’re coming off an 8-3 season making it to the quarterfinals with a junior-heavy team. There’s a lot of talent coming back. These guys really work hard. It’s a really fortunate situation, so I think it would be silly to go in and change the whole terminology and all that. That being said I will have my own wrinkles and touches. Everyone has their own preferences.
“As for long-term success, that’s going to come with bridging the gap with the youth programs in town here. That seems to be an ever-changing landscape. How can we get more kids out at the youth levels? And then also recruit in the building. Walking the school there are a lot of athletes in there who are either playing one sport or no sports.
“We have a strong freshman class. We need to keep that momentum going.”