Los Lunas High School hires new football coach

Stephen Johnston leaves Manzano Monarchs to take over Tigers program

Published on Feb. 26, 2026

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After nearly 2.5 months, Los Lunas High School has hired Stephen Johnston as its new head football coach. Johnston, who coached the Manzano Monarchs for the past five seasons, is leaving Albuquerque to take over the Tigers program, which is dropping down to Class 5A in the latest realignment.

Why it matters

The hiring of Johnston is a significant move for Los Lunas, which has a storied football tradition and high expectations for success. Johnston's experience at the 4A and 5A levels should help the Tigers as they transition to the new class.

The details

Johnston went 14-38 in five seasons with the Manzano Monarchs, though the last two years were more successful with identical 5-6 records after the team dropped down to Class 4A. He replaces Greg Henington, who was unexpectedly fired in mid-December and has since landed an offensive assistant coach position at Class 6A defending state champion Cleveland.

  • Los Lunas High School hired Stephen Johnston as its new head football coach on Wednesday, February 26, 2026.
  • Johnston coached the Manzano Monarchs for the past five seasons.

The players

Stephen Johnston

The new head football coach for Los Lunas High School, who previously coached the Manzano Monarchs for five seasons.

Greg Henington

The former head football coach of Los Lunas High School, who was unexpectedly fired in mid-December 2025 and has since taken an offensive assistant coach position at Class 6A defending state champion Cleveland.

Matt Espinosa

The athletic director of Manzano High School, who did not return a message seeking clarification on how the Monarchs will proceed with a new head coach.

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What they’re saying

“I'm really proud of the progress we've made since I've been here at Manzano, but when you look at the grand scheme of things … Los Lunas is a powerful tradition and they have high expectations of success.”

— Stephen Johnston, New head football coach, Los Lunas High School (Yahoo Sports)

“(Los Lunas) has the environment, the infrastructure, the tools, that any coach would want to take advantage of.”

— Stephen Johnston, New head football coach, Los Lunas High School (Yahoo Sports)

What’s next

Johnston will spend some time at Manzano tying up academic loose ends before making the move to Los Lunas to take over the Tigers program.

The takeaway

The hiring of Stephen Johnston as the new head football coach at Los Lunas High School is a significant move for the program, as they look to build on their storied tradition and high expectations for success. Johnston's experience at the 4A and 5A levels should help the Tigers as they transition to the new class.