Bluestein named new head coach for Saugus High football

By Dom Nicastro

Saugus High School football assistant coach Greg Bluestein has been named the new head coach, taking over following the departure of Steve Cummings after seven seasons. Athletic Director Matthew Serino announced the hire this past week, turning to a familiar face within the program. Bluestein, a Saugus High School graduate (Class of 2008), served as the Sachems’ defensive coordinator before being elevated to associate head coach during the 2025 season.

“We are excited to welcome Coach Bluestein into this role where his experience, passion, and commitment to excellence will help guide our football program forward,” Serino said.

For Bluestein, the appointment represents a full-circle moment. “For me, this has been the goal since I decided I wanted to pursue coaching as a freshman at Saugus High School,” Bluestein said. “This is the only job I’ve ever really wanted.”

Bluestein, 35, brings 14 years of high school coaching experience, including a decade at Everett High School, where he rose to defensive coordinator in 2018. He joined the Saugus staff in 2022 under Cummings and became associate head coach three years later.

His roots in the town run deep: from Saugus Pop Warner through his playing days at Saugus High. “This is the school that I met my wife, Stephanie, when we were 16 and the school our three daughters will attend as well,” said Bluestein, who added that his assistant staff is TBD outside of former Everett player DJ MacDonald.

Bluestein said his approach will emphasize fundamentals, discipline and consistency. “We are going to be fundamentally sound and incredibly disciplined,” he said.

The transition follows Cummings’ decision to step down after the 2025 season, a choice he said was driven by family priorities. His son will be a junior on the Wakefield High School team this coming fall. Cummings took over the Sachems in 2019. “I just couldn’t wrap my head around not being able to be at his games because of my games,” Cummings said.

Before arriving in Saugus, Cummings built a long coaching resume that included assistant stints at Framingham State (where he played), Canton, Sharon, Salem and Haverhill and head coach at Wakefield.

Despite the demands of the Northeastern Conference with Saugus, Cummings said, his greatest satisfaction came from watching players grow beyond football. “The wins and losses are great,” he said. “But at the end of the day…did you help them figure it out in life?”

Cummings expressed confidence in the program’s future under Bluestein. “I was a firm believer that you already had your next head coach in the building already,” he said. “Greg’s been an outstanding assistant coach.”

Added Bluestein, “Coach Cummings is a man of great integrity who would constantly check on the well-being of these kids, both in football and in life, and would make sure they knew they could come to him with any problem. I admire that and hope to continue building positive relationships with our student-athletes the same way he did.”

Saugus football under Steve Cummings (2019–2025)

• 2019: 3–8.
• 2020: no season (COVID-19).
• 2021: 2–5.
• 2022: 2–11.
• 2023: 5–6.
• 2024: 3–8.
• 2025: 2–9.

Greg Bluestein: coaching and background

• Began coaching as a volunteer at Everett High School in 2012
• Named defensive coordinator at Everett High School in 2018
• Joined the Saugus High School staff as defensive coordinator in 2022
• Promoted to associate head coach at Saugus in 2025
• Named head coach at Saugus High School in 2026
• Played Saugus Pop Warner beginning at age seven
• Four-year varsity football player at Saugus High School under Mike Broderick
• President of Saugus Youth Football & Cheer last three years

• Lifelong member of the Saugus community