Interim coach in place, Charles Henderson football prepares for busy summer

Charles Henderson’s Rodney Jordan said Tuesday was a whirlwind. In a span of just a few hours, he went from relaxing in his hometown of Mobile to being in charge of the day-to-day operations of a 5A football team.

Jordan will serve as the interim head coach of the Trojans until a replacement for former head coach Jamey Dubose is hired.

The job is not new to Jordan, as he served in the same capacity over the winter as the Trojans transitioned from Mike Dean to Dubose.

Jordan said the Trojans would continue the summer workout plan laid out following spring practice.

“The machine will keep rolling,” Jordan said. “This system was put in place over two years ago. Coach Dean put in some things that has done and Coach (Chuck) Dunn brought in stuff from his time a Prattville. We were doing things before Coach Dubose got here and we will keep doing them until a new person is hired. We aren’t going to sit around and wait.”

Jordan’s plan is to have every Charles Henderson athlete, not just football players, involved in a summer workout program.

“The way we have it structured now, all female athletes will come in a 7 a.m., Middle school kids will come in a eight, football kids at nine and baseball and basketball kids at 10,” Jordan said. “Every athlete in the school will have their workout completed by 12. I think it is vital for all our athletes to work out four days a week and always working to get better.”

The football team will work out in the indoor facility, which houses the weight room, for one hour, before heading to Veterans Memorial Stadium for an hour of football dills.

Jordan said there is a method to the madness.

“We want to keep building on things throughout the entire summer,” Jordan said. “We want an hour in the weight room and an hour on the field. Let’s have our passing game installed in the first week and we want all of our special teams installed by the fourth of July. We want to get a base defense coverage put in to be ready for our first 7-on-7 right before the fourth of July. We want to carry everything over to our second 7-on-7 before August. That is how the top teams do it and that is how we do it, because we are a top team.”

Dubose’s resignation puts the Trojans in somewhat of a tight spot. The first game of the season is less than 90 days away.

However, Troy City Schools superintendent Dr. Lee Hicks and Charles Henderson High School principal Dr. Boyd English both feel Jordan is the perfect man to help lead Charles Henderson until a full-time head coach is hired.

“The first thing we asked ourselves was ‘What is best for the kids?” English said. “Rodney called us because he truly cares about the kids. It is extremely beneficial for us to have a guy like him ready and willing to take over things.

Hicks agreed.

“It is extremely important to have assistants to keep things going right now,” Hicks said. “Coach Jordan, along with Coach (Adam) Helms and Coach (Phillip) Jones will do a great job with summer conditioning and the weight room. We won’t miss a beat.”

Jordan also said his plan for the summer program is a continuation of the football team’s 2013 motto.

“We want to “win today” every day,” said Jordan. “We are going to put in the work to get better.”