Christopher Zevallos is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chandler High School for AZPreps365.com.

Since 2013, Chandler High School’s football program has been a powerhouse winning five state championships, with four coming from five-year stretch from 2016-2020.

The program has developed an influx of talent that has had success in college and the NFL. Dion Jordan played at Chandler before having success at Oregon, where he became the third overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Jordan was recently added to the Chandler coaching staff and he's been welcomed back with open arms. The Wolves also added James Jones, a former Super Bowl winning wide receiver as its new receivers coach.

These two additions have added more experience to the program and along with other key additions, Chandler looks to maintain its success.

With the level of competition rising, Chandler has had to adapt and add coaches that are willing to help the program and prepare players for their next steps under coach Rick Garretson who is ecstatic for additions to his staff. 

“He’s a Chandler guy, he’s family. There’s not too many guys that come into the weight room whose jersey’s up on the board,” said Garretson of Jordan. 

“It’s everything, it’s family there. I know they was going to welcome me with open arms as far as being able to find a way to use the talent I’ve always had. It being home at Chandler it don’t get better for sure,” said Jordan.

Chandler’s freshman teams have been a quiet success for quite some time and despite a tough season last year, Brett Boyd has used his bright offensive mind to develop players for the next level during six-year tenure. Boyd was promoted to varsity’s quarterback coach, a move that adds a bright offensive mind to varsity’s offense.

“It’s something I’ve been doing for a long time, coaching six years and a lot of what I do translates well to varsity. One of my strengths, if you will, is helping simplify things for the quarterbacks,” said Boyd.

Jones is a major addition to Chandler’s staff as he won a Super Bowl with Green Bay in the 2010 season and he brings a plethora of experience and knowledge. Jones admires Chandler’s culture the most. 

“This was the best place for me to be able to change lives. I had a chance to meet with coach Garretson. He’s all about family. How can we make this better for the kids? That has been my motto since I started coaching,” said Jones.

Ethan Swope served as the freshman team’s defensive coordinator last season and won two state titles with Chandler in 2017-2018 as a player. This season Swope was promoted to varsity’s defensive staff as the “falcon” position coach, which is the high safety position in Chandler’s defense. Swope brings heavy enthusiasm and knowledge and views his role as a big brother position beyond a coach. 

“Coaching the freshman, I got to coach a lot of the kids who are now up on varsity. I already have a good connection and a good understanding on how each one of them learns,” said Swope.

Chandler has made huge additions to get back to the mountain top of Arizona’s high school football scene, a mountain that has gotten higher each year. Despite a small four-year-drought, it has been too long for this program and they have an all-star staff to get back to their expected success.