After winning five state championships and 309 games to become the winningest coach in Arizona high school state football history, Jesse Parker enters spring football practice in search of a place to hang his hat.
Parker spent 10 seasons at Gilbert High School, where he amassed a 65-48 record, but recently submitted his resignation.
"I hope to be coaching this coming season. My style is old-school with discipline, and that doesn't always sit well with others. I am currently looking into being the defensive coordinator for a school in Mesa, but we will see," Parker said.
Humble beginnings
The son of a Texas sharecropper, life was tough growing up for Parker.
"I came from a poor family and nobody had graduated from high school in my family," said Parker, who added his parents instilled in him the importance of toughness.
The sixth of eight children, Parker made a name for himself as a high school and college football player. While he enjoyed playing, the idea of coaching never crossed his mind until he applied for a position at an Amarillo, Texas high school.
"It was kind of an accidental thing. I never said this would be a vocation for me, but I have been lucky, blessed and all those things. It is a great blessing to do what I have did coming from a poor family. I feel lucky that things have turned out so well," Parker said.
The "luck" would include being able to coach after having two knee replacements and a kidney transplant from his wife so he could continue coaching.
Teacher on and off the field
Parker spent approximately 40 years as a head coach in Arizona, getting his first head coaching job at Phoenix Camelback in 1969. However, he was initially hired as an American history teacher rather than a coach.
With that said, it took Parker little time to make his mark on the gridiron, leading Phoenix Camelback to a state championship game appearance in 1973. In 1974, Parker would again lead Phoenix Camelback to the state championship tilt, this time coming out successful with a win over Phoenix St. Mary's, 22-20.
"I was the first AP history teacher in the area. It has always been my job to get the best out of kids, whether it was in football or in the classroom. I always pushed students and players to give me their best," Parker said.
From there, it was on to Mesa Mountain View, where he averaged 10 wins a season for 19 years. Parker guided Mesa Mountain View to four state championships and three runner-up appearances. While at Mountain View, Parker collected milestone wins 100 and 200.
In 1995, Parker left Mountain View to become the head football coach and athletic director at Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas, where he would remain for three seasons. In 1999, after spending one season away from the game, Parker returned to Arizona, inheriting the Gilbert High School football program.
"The hard work and dedication of the kids, coaches and community to success make Gilbert special," Parker said.
Prior to his arrival at Gilbert, the Tigers had not won a playoff game in 15 seasons, but all that changed when Parker took over. In just his second season at the helm, Parker led the Tigers to the playoffs, something that would happen in seven of Parker's 10 seasons at the helm.
"We accomplished quite a bit at Gilbert. We went to the state semifinals twice. I thought I could lead Gilbert to a state championship, and I came up just short," said Parker, who only had just one losing record in all his stops as a coach.
Not typical players’ coach
Parker's "old-school" style may not have always won him fans, but it won him the respect of those who played for and coached against him.
Parker admitted that he is not a player's coach when it comes to being their buddy, but rather he views himself as a coach who tries to instill certain life lessons in his players.
"It has always been important to me to try and influence those I coached and see what they accomplish,“ Parker said. “I enjoy helping kids in life. The skills of running, catching and passing a football are not important at all. What is important is the life lessons you learn in football.
“If you don't gain character and virtues while playing, the game doesn't have any value. If I've helped a kid get to where they believe in themselves and make a good life for themselves and their families, then I have done my job.”
Paul Gable is the Senior Prep Writer for football.com.
