It begins with Antonio King.  

King, a former collegiate coach at East Carolina University and North Carolina Central University, serving as an assistant coach at both schools, has seen what it takes to be successful at the high school ranks.  

During the 2010 season, when he was the head coach for Hillside High School in Durham, North Carolina, King led the team to an undefeated record of 16-0. To make that record even sweeter, the Hornets capped it off with a 4A state championship in the end, beating Davie County by a score of 40-0.  

A proven coach, taking his talents and experience to another Durham County program.  

For Jordan High School, the football program has had its ups and downs, but it has transformed into a competitor that could win the state title. Just ask current assistant athletic director Eric Hofheinz, who has been around at the school for quite some time. 

“In my time here, definitely,” Hofheinz said. 

Multiple coaches have been spotted along the sideline for Jordan, but up until the 2023 season, not too long ago, it began to find success unlike anything it’s used to. In King’s first season at the school, the Falcons finished with an 8-4 record, followed by a 10-3 record in 2024, and as of last fall, Jordan went undefeated in the regular season, 11-0, before eventually losing to Millbrook in the third round of the 8A state playoff, 27-10. Those 27 points were the most Jordan allowed in a game all season.  

King, with over 20 years of coaching experience, has always watched Jordan football from a distance, but whenever he arrived and officially began his new job, there was one thing he believed the program needed.

“The first and foremost thing that the guys needed was just a dedicated, reliable person,” said King. “That wanted it just as much as they did.”  

Given what King has accomplished so far, that message certainly holds true.  

With the help of an open-door policy, something he has always had throughout his coaching career, King can connect with his players beyond the football field. It is an outlet that spills out the behind-the-scenes lives of high schoolers in this day and age. King sees his players for more than just players. He uses his collegiate experience to fuel the environment he’s creating at Jordan, whether it be NFL coaches or former Duke University head coach David Cutcliffe.  

“Attention to details, the smallest things matter,” King said, when recalling advice he received from Cutcliffe.  

Those details receive much attention, as King shared that the goal is for Jordan to reach past the third round of the state playoffs, inching closer toward that desired destination of the state title contest.  

But it’s not just him; the coaching staff deserves credit too. It’s a collective effort, one that he makes sure doesn’t go unnoticed.  

“I do a lot of work with a lot of great people who make the job look easy on the outside,” King said. “So, my assistants are very valuable to me.”  

Take Raymond Wilson as an example. Wilson, who led Northern High School’s football program as a head coach, has helped make his mark at Jordan on the sidelines and in the classroom as a P.E. teacher. It was a phone call from King, thanks to a change with the athletic director position at Northern, that created what would eventually become Wilson’s new home at Jordan. Despite King offering Wilson a spot on his coaching staff, he still encouraged him to navigate the process to see what was available.  

 “He said, ‘Do those interviews, but just know I got a spot for you,’” Wilson said.  

But beyond the impacts of King and the rest of his coaching staff, there are a few other valuable members to the transformation of Jordan’s football program.  

Hofheinz, Wilson, as mentioned already, but Aiesha Truesdale, Brett Treco and Principal Susan Taylor.  

“She’s been outstanding,” King said. “With her willingness to learn, her willingness to listen.”  

King credits Taylor’s ability to understand the athlete’s development within the weight room, the 

workflow amongst the chaos that high school athletics is today. It has made the job for him much easier. Especially when King works as the athletic director as well.  

Truesdale, a Durham native and first-year cheerleading coach at Jordan, has seen firsthand the kind of exposure that comes along with the football program succeeding — on all facets of the school — athletics and academics combined. It helps the players behave better — going to class, following directions, being present.  

“I’ve never had an issue with a football player,” Truesdale said. “I teach several. And the way they carry themselves, and the amount of respect they have for their educators, that comes from football. That comes from the discipline of being at practice on time. That comes from knowing the expectation being on the team, what that looks like.”  

Treco, the first-year athletic trainer of Jordan and previously at Brewster High School in New York, someone new to the South, entered his first year and helped play a role in a highly accomplished football season. He and King had originally crossed paths many years ago, when the two were sharing the same sideline at ECU — King as the running backs coach and Treco a student athletic trainer. Treco watched the players respect him, listen to what he had to say, similar things that are happening today. He acknowledged that King is still the same “even-keel” person. Nothing able to shake him, but rather remain calm in the moment. 

But in his own right, Treco also uses his role to learn more about the players he attends to.  

“You find out that a lot of people come from a lot of different backgrounds when it comes to Durham especially,” Treco said. “And, you know, just being there and just telling them, ‘I’m an open ear.’ You can come through the door, and you can talk to me about just anything you want. If school’s having a bad day, mom’s mad at you, girlfriend’s mad at you, whatever you need. The training room is a safe space.”  

As far as Hofheinz is concerned, he helps alongside King within all things athletics, particularly during the football season when King doesn’t have as much time and is instead trying to figure out the best play to run or which defense to switch to keep the opponent from scoring touchdowns. He helps keep the engine running while King and the Falcons chase victories.  

Taylor, has seen different eras of the Jordan football program. She made note of the success former head coach Anthony Barbour achieved. However, spoke about how King has changed the program into what it is known for in 2026.  

“I want to recognize everything coach Barbour did as a football coach, we had a very strong program,” Taylor said. “And we had a transition period, and then we were able to bring Antonio King, and he revolutionized, I would say, the football program at Jordan.”  

That revolutionization has created an atmosphere filled with supportive parents and a student section that pulls up for its team. There is a sense of pride. It is something that Taylor believes to be an outlier compared to her previous years in the educational system. She appreciates watching the students be joyful.

All thanks to the football program.  

“It’s the best,” Taylor said, about the atmosphere. “I would say it’s the best because I haven’t had the experience with a program that’s gone as far as our football program.”  

For now, that atmosphere is put to rest, and will come back around when the time presents itself. 

A culmination of a new head coach, plus the work of many helping hands, to make it all possible.