Football is just the vehicle, character is the destination
Story by Joycelyne Fadojutimi, Photos by Michael Cavazos
Stripped of the game. A battle beyond the Gridiron
For twenty-six years, John King’s voice has been the thunder on the Longview sidelines. He stands as a pillar of strength—a legendary coach who stacked a sparkling 240-52 won-lost record like bricks and pulled down fifteen district championships.
In fact, his journey began when he arrived at Longview ISD the spring of 2000 as the offensive coordinator. This year marks his 26th year with the district, including 22 deeply impactful years serving as head coach and athletic director.
However, last winter, the vibrant stadium lights suddenly faded into the harsh, sterile white of a hospital room. The man who spent his life teaching young boys how to hit back when life got tough suddenly faced a monster that didn’t play by the rules: oral cancer.
The diagnosis was a devastating blow.
For the first time in three decades, the game was ripped away from him.
Watchful. Distant. He had to endure from afar.
To make matters worse, the ultimate heartbreak struck during this exact trial. While fighting for his own breath, he lost his father. This brought a crushing wave of grief layered over an already brutal physical battle.
Yet, it was precisely this hardship that tested every ounce of the resilience and determination instilled in him by his parents, both dedicated teachers, during his upbringing in Spring Hill, Louisiana. Since he was born to educators and had transformational football coaches with impeccable records; the value of instruction, dedication, and discipline ran directly through his veins.
Even as a youth, growing up in Spring Hill, Louisiana, he was a standout offensive lineman whose unwavering drive to succeed meant letting no obstacles deflect him from his true love of teaching and coaching. Early on, he followed the invaluable example of his own legendary high school head football coach and a community stalwart, Travis Farrar. Later, he stayed close to home to play at the next level for the Demons at Northwestern State University. His time in Natchitoches was defined by sheer versatility and grit, becoming a four-year starter, who bagged:
*All-American Honors in 1990 and famously executing the rare feat of playing all five offensive line positions (left tackle, left guard, center, right guard, and right tackle) in a single game.
*Conference Champion
* All-State Honors (twice)
* Scholar Athlete of the Year
*Academic All-District
* Top 100 Player
* Hall of Fame Inductee, to name just a few of King’s collegiate accomplishments.
Under the subsequent direction of college coaches Sam Goodwin and Norman Joseph, his inherited love of football and teaching was refined and encouraged. Ultimately, this lifelong preparation culminated in his long, fruitful tenure at Longview High School (LHS).
Of course, in those dark, quiet hours in the hospital, stripped of his whistle and clipboard, the fear was real. But so was his fierce, unyielding grit. King later admitted, his voice thick with raw emotion:
“Hell, you don’t know if you’re gonna live or die. I wanted to live, and was gonna do whatever it took.”
Fortunately, he didn’t fight alone. The prayers and sundry support from the Longview community lifted him up, thereby carrying him through extensive, grueling cancer surgery straight back to a grateful, emotional return to the sidelines.
Coach King’s secret sauce: The blueprint of his legacy
Nearly eleven months later, Coach King stood before the crowded assembly at Tyler’s W.T. Brookshire Conference Center for SPORTTyler’s 20th Annual East Texas Kick-Off Luncheon. He was the prime character and keynote speaker celebrating the upcoming high school football season.
As a result of his impact, he was recently inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor in recognition of his sterling 26 years on the sideline—while also serving as the Association’s former president. He stood there as a survivor directing his young charges to victories amassed in bunches. As he looked out at the crowd, his words carried the beautiful weight of a man who looked into the abyss and chose to fight, pausing the room with an undeniable truth:
“Character is going to outlast championships. Trophies are going to gather dust. Records are going to be broken, but the values you learn from the game of football will last a lifetime.”
Importantly, this belief is Coach King’s “secret sauce,” which is not limited to football. His Lobo teams have pulled down an unbelievable fifteen district championships, including an incredible 16-0 perfect season in 2018. Meanwhile, his son, Haynes, masterfully quarterbacked that perfect 2018 championship squad, embodying the exact standard of toughness his father demanded.
According to King, this massive success stems directly from a rigid, non-negotiable core curriculum designed to build men:
- Character Development: Instilling the moral foundation to make the right choices when no one is watching.
- Relentless Work Ethic: Demanding maximum effort to build unwavering, iron-clad self-confidence.
- Team-First Approach: Erasing individual ego to prioritize the common, singular goal of the collective.
- Adversity Management: Training young minds to aggressively overcome obstacles like sudden injuries and severe illness.
- Adaptable Coaching: Developing kids “from start to finish” through a college-like training program that instills core football principles: toughness, technique, alignment, and assignment while actively modifying schemes to leverage the specific strengths of his athletes.
Furthermore, King stresses positive community involvement and strong support of young athletes, who are encouraged and impressed by their elders’ positive examples. This keeps his players firmly grounded in the face of modern distractions like social media and aggressive college recruiters who may incite young men to prematurely reach for opportunities.
To reinforce this, King leverages a powerful network of alumni engagement. Former Lobo footballers frequently return home from the NFL to host instructional camps and speak directly to the team. Crucially, their consistent message to the young athletes is to “never forget where you come from and who you represent,” cementing a profound legacy of community pride.
In addition, King provides vital Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) guidance to protect his players in the modern sports landscape. He advises them to focus on creating value for themselves through strong on-field performance, regardless of their initial college destination. Specifically, he warns against making life-altering choices based solely on immediate NIL money, encouraging players to look at the bigger picture by considering critical factors like team fit, coaching staff stability, and overall playing style.
Through these same methods, King carefully manages parental expectations. He openly acknowledges parents’ deep desire for their children to excel to national level. However, he firmly reminds them that football is a “means to an end,” a gateway to a free higher education; and that NFL aspirations are far too premature in high school. Nonetheless, King pushes his players to focus on being the best nationwide, rather than just locally, because uncovering true NFL talent requires a rare, elite combination of physical measurables, athleticism, and mental toughness.
Developing complete athletes: A pipeline to the pros
Naturally, nowhere is the power of the Lobos program more evident than in the long line of legends sent to the National Football League, a standard of excellence perfectly exemplified by historical standouts like Trent Williams. After all, the NFL expects, and keeps an eye open for that exact rare mixture of athletic traits and mental grit.
Because of this focus, Longview has built a fierce, undeniable track record of producing elite NFL talent, sending approximately 25 to 26 players to the league over the years.
That blazing pipeline first turned heads in 2006. Specifically, the ground was prepared years earlier when King stepped onto the Longview campus in 2000. He spent four phenomenally successful seasons masterfully pulling the strings as the team’s offensive coordinator before stepping up to the head coaching role. During that initial tenure, he engineered an explosive, innovative offensive system built entirely around maximizing the raw talent and breathtaking athletic ability of defensive back Willie Andrews. This custom scheme put Andrews in the spotlight, paving his way to a full athletic scholarship at Baylor University. Retrospectively, King looks at the journalist, a knowing grin breaking across his face as he recalls how those early play designs helped mold Andrews into a true Sunday caliber weapon.
Ultimately, Andrews shattered the ceiling when he earned his math degree at Baylor and broke through to land with the New Orleans Saints. That single spark proved that King’s players possess both the mental and physical acumen required for the highest level, subsequently igniting a pathway from Longview to Sunday afternoons.
Over the years, his athletes worked hard and well, putting everything on the line to transition from the high school and college gridirons to the ultimate stage: the National Football League, NFL.
- Willie Andrews (Baylor, Math Degree — New Orleans Saints)
- Malcolm Kelly
- Robert Henson
- JaMycal Hasty
- Travyn Howard
- Broderick Washington Jr.
- Chris Ivory
- Trent Williams (NFL Hall of Fame candidate)
In the end, these men left their marks across legendary franchises, including the Washington Redskins/Commanders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Ravens.
The Lobos Head Coach and Athletic Director John King explicitly reflects on his tenure with fierce gratitude, calling his:
“…the best job in the state of Texas.”
Unsurprisingly, bigger national opportunities have repeatedly been offered to King throughout his celebrated career. Despite these lucrative opportunities, he consistently chose to stay right here with the Longview Lobos because of the unbreakable community support that has always anchored his life and the Lobo teams.
Currently, while he has largely turned away from prior hobbies like golf and fishing, he still indulges his deep love for Cajun food and taking good care of his cows. More importantly, he now has precious time to follow his family’s adventures. Alongside his son Haynes’ continuing football path, he pours his heart into supporting his loved ones, including his wife, Jodie, and offering total guidance to his daughter, Steelie, a splendid and highly decorated gymnast.
Ultimately, King has defeated opponents on the field. He has conquered the cancer in his body. Above all, he remains the beating, triumphant heart of East Texas football.