Northside’s Coach Won the School’s First Playoff Game in 15 Years. Was He Fired for Speaking Up?

LAFAYETTE, La. (103.3 The GOAT) — Jacarde Carter did what no Northside Viking football coach had done in 15 years: He won a playoff game.

Two months later, he was out of a job.

According to The Acadiana Advocate, Northside High School informed Carter on Wednesday that he was being relieved of his duties as head football coach. Carter confirmed he was removed as head coach and said he was also fired from his teaching position at the school, a claim the Lafayette Parish School System disputes.

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He said he was told the reason for his dismissal was recent social media posts in which he publicly called attention to the state of Northside's facilities.

LPSS confirmed to KPEL News on Wednesday that Carter had been relieved of his coaching duties but remained employed by the school system as of that morning. Carter's account differs. He told The Advocate he was fired from his teaching position as well, saying both terminations were tied to his social media posts about the school's facilities.

Carter Called Out Decaying Facilities — Then Lost His Job

Carter, a 2009 Northside graduate, had been vocal about what he described as a glaring inequity between Northside and other Lafayette-area schools. In a Facebook post, he shared photos comparing Northside's campus to those of David Thibodaux STEM Academy, Teurlings Catholic High School, and Lafayette Renaissance Charter High School — all schools with newer buildings and more modern resources.

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"Dear LPSS, we are fighting for kids against these facilities," Carter wrote. "Where would you send your kid if you were a parent? We are going to war with butter knives while everyone else that we're competing with to get kids have fully loaded guns! Can we get a little help over here?"

A Program Carter Helped Rebuild

Carter returned to his alma mater four years ago, initially serving as an assistant before taking over as head coach. In three seasons running the program, he compiled a 14-20 overall record and guided the Vikings to the postseason in each of those years.

This past season was his best. The Vikings finished 6-6 and claimed a first-round playoff victory over L.B. Landry — the program's first postseason win since 2010. They were eliminated in the second round, falling 56-7 to St. Charles, which went on to win the Division II select state championship.

Before coming back to Northside, Carter built a remarkable résumé at Lafayette Christian Academy. He was part of four straight state championship staffs with the Knights — serving as an assistant for the first two titles before taking over as head coach and winning two more.

Carter's Former Coach Backed Him

Vincent DeRouen, the former Northside head coach who Carter played under — and who served as an assistant on Carter's staff this past season — praised his former player as recently as September.

"Jacarde is no different than when he played for me," DeRouen said. "He was hardworking then and he is hardworking now. If there is one kid that wants to work out, it can be 5 a.m., Jacarde is going to come here and open the gym. You can see the product of his hard work on the field."

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Carter himself had spoken to his connection to the program when he was promoted to head coach in 2023.

"It isn't necessarily the job I dreamed of," he said at the time, "but it is a job I envisioned myself doing. I saw the way coach Vince did things. He was such a stand-up guy. He was a winner, and he had that swagger, so I could see myself in his role when I was in high school."

Where Things Stand With Northside's Facilities

Carter’s frustration didn’t come out of nowhere — it came after years of watching promises stall, money get redirected, and other Lafayette Parish schools get rebuilt while Northside waited.

The story starts in 2020, when the Lafayette Parish School Board approved roughly $5.9 million toward a future Northside High rebuild, which was the first formal commitment to overhauling the then-60-year-old campus. It was described as a first step. It would turn out to be closer to the only step for quite a while.

A year later, in 2021, the board voted 6-2 to pull money directly from that Northside rebuild fund to purchase 37.7 acres of land on the northside for $2.65 million, intended as a potential sports complex or future school site. The Northside rebuild fund was being drawn down before construction ever began.

Around the same time, LPSS established a dedicated Expansion & Development Department, but it was created specifically to manage three other construction projects: the new Lafayette High School, Prairie Elementary, and Carencro Heights Elementary. Northside High wasn’t on the list. Those three projects carried a combined price tag of roughly $150 million. The new Lafayette High alone cost $120 million and opened recently.

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In 2024, LPSS hired a consulting firm. Civic Solutions Group, led by former Louisiana Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek, recommended building brand-new 6th-through-8th and 9th-through-12th grade campuses on the current Northside High site as part of a broader district overhaul. The recommendation exists. The funding commitment does not.

The closest thing to action came in September 2025, when the school board unanimously approved a $50 million K-8 school to be built on land behind J.W. Faulk Elementary, merging Faulk Elementary, Baranco Elementary, and Paul Breaux Middle School into one new campus, with a target opening date of the 2027-28 school year. That is the project our article’s original version referenced.

It benefits North Lafayette families, but it does nothing for Northside High’s campus.

As of today, there is no funded, approved construction project specifically for Northside High School. The buildings Carter posted photos of on Facebook are still the buildings his players practice and compete out of.

In a notable piece of timing, LPSS is scheduled to hold an event Thursday evening — the day after Carter’s firing — at J.W. Faulk Elementary to announce the proposed name of the new K-8 school. Board Member Amy Trahan and Superintendent Francis Touchet are expected to attend.