California high school football team hires former NFL player as head coach

A California high school football team is hoping that a former NFL player can help turn their fortunes around. As announced on the Valhalla High School Sports’ Instagram account, the Norsemen will have Jason Carter as head coach starting in the 2026 season.

Carter has an impressive coaching resume that he built over 15 years. He was an assistant head coach at Lincoln High School, where the team went 80-19 during his tenure. He also helped the Hornets win two CIF Open Division championships, three regional titles, and two state championships. Carter was also the head coach at La Jolla from 2013 to 2015.

Before coaching California high school football, Carter was a versatile athlete who played quarterback and wide receiver for Texas A&M. He finished his career with 6 receiving and 5 rushing touchdowns.

After college, he went undrafted in the 2006 NFL draft but signed with the Minnesota Vikings. Carter also played for the Carolina Panthers before finishing his playing career with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts.

Coming out of high school, he was one of Texas’ highly rated quarterbacks. During his senior year at Caldwell High School, Carter threw for 1,087 yards and rushed for 599.

Carter will be taking over a California high school football team that finished its 2025 campaign with a 3-8 record. Their three wins were against San Jacinto Valley Academy, El Cajon Valley, and Santana. Worse yet, Valhalla has a 20-71 record since its last winning season in 2016. Since then, the Norsemen have had two winless seasons (2018 and 2020) and went 1-9 in 2022. This futility led to the hiring of Carter, Valhalla’s fifth head coach in the last ten years.

Likewise, he will join other CIF San Diego Section coaches with NFL playing experience, like David Dunn (Lincoln), Stefan McClure (El Camino), Nick Barnett (Del Norte), and Eric Weddle (Rancho Bernardo), among others.