Durham returns as JHS coach

He's back!

Principal Susie Kinder and athletic director Ron Holtsford announced Tuesday afternoon that Ray Durham has agreed to a second stint as head football coach at Jacksonville High.

Durham succeeds Travis Conner, who resigned after a stay of two seasons, and assumes direction of a program that has registered just seven victories the last three seasons as a member of the split-classification Mideastern 3-A/4-A Conference.

Durham, a Jacksonville resident, last coached the Cardinals in 1987 and has been retired for the last six years. He is age 63.

"Age is just a number," Durham laughingly said during an informal media session later Tuesday afternoon. "I feel like I have the same enthusiasm, same determination."

In coaching the Cardinals from 1978 through 1987, Durham compiled a 105-19-1 record, captured an NCHSAA championship in 1982 and played for a state championship in 1980.

His 31-year prep football coaching career started at now-defunct West Yadkin and includes stops at Bertie, Raleigh Broughton, Wilmington Hoggard and White Oak. He retired and returned to Jacksonville to reside after his second stint at Rocky Mount.

Holtsford listed Durham among 30-plus applicants from several states, including Florida. Jacksonville's AD said approximately 15 candidates were interviewed since Conner's resignation at the outset of 2004.

"It was such a jam as to how things transpired," Holtsford said, "because of getting all the information from everybody under the sun. But I worked with him for 10 years and (Durham returning as the head football coach) is a good feel."

Holtsford said Durham will also teach a couple of physical education classes, noting: "He wants to get involved with the kids."

Durham jokes about the age factor, but Kinder and Holtsford contend that bringing back Durham is not a "quick-fix" measure.

"If he's not afraid of his age, I'm not," Kinder said. "This is going to work out for all the students and staff in a great way. Excitement is in the air."

Holtsford is convinced the Cardinals will benefit from Durham's legendary reputation and old-school approach.

"Not everything done in the old days was bad," he said. "Tradition is a very important thing. It surely helped me win a lot of games (during a lengthy tenure as the head boys soccer coach). Ray wants to provide the kids every possible means to achieve success."

Perhaps, a recent National Football League trend has trickled to the prep ranks. The last few years in the NFL have seen a handful of coaches abandon retirement and return to the sideline.

"Joe Gibbs is older than I am," Durham quipped. "Of course, he's making about $2.5 million a year; that's a little more than I'll be getting - and Ms. Kinder says I don't go on the payroll until August."

But, in a serious tone, Durham added: "I have a certain amount of loyalty to the school, fan base, Ms. Kinder and Coach Holtsford. I'm obviously not what they want 10 years down the road.

"But what I hope to offer is structure. I don't take this job under any illusions. It's not the same as when I came here in 1978; the school is different and times are different. It will never be what it once was but, hopefully, it will be better than it was. At this stage in my life, I hope I can help get it back on that road."

Durham inherits a program that includes a varsity with a nine-game losing streak and a J.V. squad that shared the conference championship. Durham was introduced to prospective players earlier Tuesday, and that session attracted more than 200 student-athletes.

"Goals are a little different now," Durham emphasized. "But the first thing I want to do is to get competitive. I would like for Jacksonville (football) to be back to the point where fans want to see us play and appreciate the efforts of the kids on Friday night. What that will mean in terms of Ws and Ls, I don't know."

Durham noted he saw the 2003 team play a few games and noticed athletes with good size during Tuesday's introductory session.

"I told them," Durham said, "that we would run a conventional offense based on available talent. You have to modify your thinking a little bit to what's there, but I would like for us to catch it and throw it some.

"Defensively, I will ask them to play at an entirely different speed. We are looking for people that can run."

In regards to assembling a coaching staff, Durham said current assistants will be interviewed and he will proceed from there.

Durham, who refers to himself as a native of Eastern N.C., graduated from high school in Siler City and earned his degree from Guilford College. He is married to the former Sarah Walker of Windsor and they are the parents of two children and the grandparents of five.

During his first Jacksonville stay, the Cardinals qualified for the playoffs every year after his first and advanced into at least the second round. His championship team of 1982 compiled a 14-0 record.

Durham believes he has changed along with the times.

"Coaching techniques have changed drastically the last 50 years," he said. "But I'm not going to ask them (players) to do anything I haven't asked a thousand other kids to do. I'm going to ask to do the same things. And I'll have just two demands - be at practice on time every day and do it (football and life) right.

"It has been my experience that kids don't mind if you get on them if they mess up as long as you praise them when they do something right."

Durham does not officially begin his duties until July, but assured he will be on the job as early as today.

"We are already four months behind in getting started," he said. "I am way behind in getting to know them (athletes). I've got to get to know them and get involved in their lives."

Durham, Kinder and Holtsford don't speak of a timetable.

"I feel like a boxer that retires and comes back all the time," Durham said with a laugh. "How long I will coach, I don't know. It depends on how it goes, my health and if they want me.

"It might just work out."