Thanks for the information. We used  autoGenerateColumns:true to generate the columns. Can we keep the keys of the columns and just change the headerTexts of the columns using autogenerateColumns:true? Basically, we use database table fileds to generate the columns of the grid,but want to display the column in different texts.

No, there isn't. Could you provide example of configuration.

Is there a more direct way to modify the header? 

When I tried your code, I  had 31 spans, but I only had 11 visible columns and 1 hidden one so I'm not sure why I had all the extras if the code should work.  Looking at the innerHTML of the spans, the first column started with the first span (at 0) but the next was at the 2 index (3rd actual)