By JERRY BYRD JR., Journal Sports
Welcome back, Carter…again! And for the Bulldogs on the Red River High School football team’s defense, that’s Coach Carter as in longtime, hall of fame coach Alan Carter, who will — once again — be on the sidelines (or in press boxes) this fall as the new defensive coordinator in Coushatta.
“He was the first call I made when I was hired,” Red River head coach Jeff Harper said.
The two had become friends working on the Loyola staff in 2015 and had stayed in touch ever since, even after Carter retired in 2017. Harper took over at Red River about this time last year.
“When I talked to him the first time he said he had too many plans for the summer and spending time with the grandkids,” Harper said.
But Harper didn’t take ‘no’ for a final answer. He wanted his friend, who is in the C.E. Byrd High School Hall of Fame for his successful tenure (51-33 from 1990-97) as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, coaching alongside him in Coushatta.
“I talked to him again in December,” Harper said. “He is so humble. He said, ‘The first thing I want to tell you is there are better people out there.’ I told him our schedule, and told him to give me a (salary) number.”
It is the first time Carter, who started his coaching career at Jesuit as an assistant to Anthony Catanese in 1977, is back in the game since he was the defensive coordinator for Loyola College Prep.
“I didn’t do good with retirement,” Carter admitted. “I’ve been blessed with good health, and I knew that if I was ever going to do it again that now is the time. You never know when you’re going to get another opportunity.”
Carter didn’t have to meet with Harper. They had spent enough time together during two years in the press box coaching for LCP. He did meet with Red River superintendent Alison Hughes and Red River principal J.C. Dickey.
“The administration cares about athletics,” Carter said. “That makes a huge difference. The facilities are incredible.”
But the biggest draw for Carter wasn’t his coaching buddy, the administration, or the facilities.
“All that other stuff is great, but the kids are the main reason,” Carter said. “I had the opportunity to meet a few of them. They love to play the game.”
“I told Alan when he came that our kids are faster than any defense he has ever coached, they play violently, and they’re coachable,” Harper said.
After eight practices and a spring game against Cedar Creek, Carter has gone from retired to revitalized.
With the speed Red River has, Carter installed the 3-4 defense. Carter called Scott Abernathy, who retired in January from his defensive coordinator position at Huntington High School.
“He really helped me a lot,” Carter said.
Carter, who was then the head coach at Byrd, gave Abernathy his first coaching job in the summer of 1993. Carter retired from Byrd, then was drawn back to coaching several years later.
He’s 92-75 overall as a head coach at Loyola (11-9, 1982-83), Parkway (20-13, 1987-89), Byrd and Loyola again (10-20, 2013-15, then two more years as the Flyers’ DC). He’s also been influential in the careers of many coaching colleagues, not to overlook those of kids he’s coached.
While he learned a new defense this spring, he said not much has changed since he last coached in 2017.
“When I came out of retirement the first time, I remember the spread offense – and playing fast – had really become commonplace across the board,” Carter said. “That was a big change, but not much has changed in the last five years.”
Another thing that hasn’t changed is the support Carter has received from his wife, Cindy.
“She has always been a great coach’s wife,” Carter said. “She told me if this is what I wanted to do, she supported me. I think she was more excited than I was.”
Nobody has been more excited to have Carter in Coushatta than his new boss.
“The first thing he asked me for was more individual time with his players,” Harper said. “We usually have one – maybe two – periods for that. Coach Carter wanted three, so I gave him three. Seeing him teach our guys about keys and reads and the importance of their eyes, it’s been great to see the players soaking up the knowledge. We value his attention to detail.”
With the spring honeymoon period in the books, it’s now time for the real work of contending for district championships to begin for the Bulldogs — as well as for their new defensive coordinator.