It’s not always easy to look inward when it comes assessing a football program, especially as the head coach.

It’s much easier to look at outside influences and pinpoint some issues or trends that keeps the program stagnant and performing at a level under the expectation.

Jetson Lotts had to do just that about five years into his head coaching career at Parker. The program was sort of stuck in neutral. The Broncs weren’t bad (24-27 from 2012-2016), but they weren’t perennial playoff participants, either.

So, he took the difficult route.

Look inward.

He thought about the coaching staff, the techniques, strategies, and style of their ways. It wasn’t easy. No one wants to look in the mirror hanging in the coach’s office and see the issue looking back at him.

But that’s exactly what the 43-year-old coach did.

Five years later – Parker is the number one ranked team in the Arizona Varsity poll and the AIA power rankings with a 6-0 record heading into Friday’s game at Kingman Academy.

“We had a really down year (3-7 in 2016), and it took the life out of me,” Lotts said. “I sat down and evaluated some things. I had a good talk with my father (Jim who taught and coached at Parker), and he gave me some good advice. It lit a fire in me.

“I got together with the coaching staff and said things have to change; change the way we do things. We must be a tough, hardnose team. Get back to getting after it in practice. We wanted to be a tough team. That’s how we are going to get to the next level.”

Since that difficult season and change in approach Parker has gone 33-12 and won its first regional title last year in 19 years. The Broncs have progressed and made the playoffs a few times, losing in the first round the first time and the quarterfinals the following two appearances.

With the way the season has started, and the expectations have grown, the next major step is to make a run toward a state championship, something the program has down twice (1970 and 1971) in its history. The program has not made a championship game since 2000 and has finished runner-up two other times (1988 and 1967).

If all goes well the championship drought of 50 years just might end.

“To win a state title would be amazing,” Lott said. “We won our first region title. Even when I was just teaching, I’ve always wanted to give back to the community that gave me so much when I was a kid. Bringing a state title to Parker would be amazing for these kids and community.”

Not bad for a former Parker quarterback who initially returned to his hometown with no inclination to coach when he graduated from Arizona State and was an elementary teacher.

“Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to move back and be a teacher,” he said. “I never really thought about coaching, and they asked me when I first took the job but said no. I was happy teaching and working with the elementary kids.”

The coaching staff had some changes and eventually he gave in to the requests to coach for the 2008 season. Soon enough Lott, a 1997 graduate of Parker, was the defensive coordinator and was given a book on running the 4-3. After 0-10 season, he sought some outside help and switched to the 5-3.

The program, then under Jeff Spiwak, started to make some strides and even went on the road and beat Winslow in the first round of the playoffs in 2011.

Two years later, Lott took over the program. The first five years aged him a bit, but it helps having a supporting family of seven, he and his wife Susan have four daughters and a son, to get through it.

“It was rough at times,” he said. “You put some much into it and then you look at those seniors at the end of the year and you hope you did everything you could for them. All I want is for the (players) to come back to the school and talk to me like kids talked about my dad. How he helped mold them and teach them about life more than football.”

But teaching winning football isn’t so bad either. Parker uses the true Wing-T offense to take advantage of the smaller athletic line the Broncs usually have to work with.

This year the line is athletic but also big and bruising. The big boys give the running backs have plenty of room to run as Parker averages 378 yards on the ground and has scored 22 touchdowns.

It just might culminate into an unforgettable season by the time the last tick of the 2021 season reaches zero.

“This has been a five year go at it,” said Lott, who is a counselor after getting his Masters. “These seniors were at the start of that, and our families have bought in, and we’ve been blessed with great coaches, most of them played at Parker. It’s been a great run, but we have a long way to go.

“More than anything I want our kids to know, even at the height of the success, they are so much better than they think they are. We want to give that to all our students here at Parker, and our players should feel the same way.

“No matter how good we are playing we can be even better.”

Reach Jason Skoda at jason@arizonavarsity.com or DM at @JasonPSkoda with story ideas.