The purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative study that examined secondary level literacy coaches' and secondary teachers' relationships in one educational region of a U.S. northeast state. This study employed a phenomenological approach. Data was collected in two phases. In Phase 1, the researcher interviewed five literacy coaches about their role as a coach. In Phase II, the researcher interviewed nine teachers to understand their perceptions of the coaching experience. Findings from the study show three interconnected themes. First, literacy coaching in the secondary setting is notably more complex than the elementary school level. Second, role ambiguity complicates the teacher-coach relationship. Third, lack of job clarification requires the literacy coach to define their position through relationship building. Implications for school administrators concern the importance of clarification and collaboration with teachers and coaches in implementing a coaching model. This study contributes to the current lack of evidencebased research on the secondary teacher-literacy coach relationship and how school administrators can better support the literacy coaching model.