Kelly King Jr. has resigned his position as the head football coach at Leland High School, he told the Bay Area News Group on Friday.

The move comes after a season where the Chargers won the Central Coast Section Division V championship, the school’s first section title since it won the Division II crown in 1999.

“A lot of it’s to do with the travel distance,” King Jr. told BANG. “I have three kids at home. I live in Milpitas, so going down to Almaden Valley almost year-round, it takes a lot of time. And especially this year, we implemented flag football, which is awesome for the school and the girls but moved our practices to a little later.”

With three young children in the house, returning home late at night most of the week was a challenge.

“Three days a week with game days. On Friday, I was getting home 9:30, 10 o’clock,” King Jr. said. “Two of my kids are three and one, and my oldest daughter, 10, is playing travel softball now. Just trying to be a little bit closer to home, so I made the decision to step down. I really enjoy coaching. I’ve done it for a long time. Still want to do it. Probably gonna look for something a little closer.”

King Jr. noted he may return to Milpitas as an assistant, where he coached under his father Kelly King Sr. and won three CCS titles together.

“We haven’t had those discussions,” King Jr. said. “He knows that I stepped down, but we haven’t really talked about that. That is an opportunity. I am kind of seeing what’s out there close. Again, I want to kind of be probably somewhere within the 20-minute range, which obviously limits my opportunities to coach somewhere. It’s trying to be closer to family, especially at the ages my kids are at right now.” 

King Jr.’s move to Leland was an opportunity to create his own legacy. After one year as Leland’s offensive coordinator in 2018, King Jr. got the head job with the Chargers.

During his six seasons in charge, he compiled a record of 34-32 and made CCS championship games in 2019 and 2024. King Jr.’s final season was one of his best, as the Chargers went 10-4 overall and 4-1 in league play.

“Part of the reason I went to Leland was I was with my dad for a long time, and I wanted to see if I could kind of do things on my own,” King Jr. “Had two trips to CCS title games, and was fortunate enough to win one this year. Didn’t win a state title. That’s not always the goal. 

“Built fabulous relationships with the admin and the parents down there, and had some great kids go through the program and keep it competitive. And hopefully, I left my mark a little bit there, and they’re in a better place.”

Leland started the 2024 season 2-2 and had to rally to qualify for a spot in the CCS playoffs. The Chargers then won eight of their next nine games before losing to Moreau Catholic in the NorCal 7-AA title game.

“We didn’t come out the gates strong,” King Jr. said. “We were 2-2 at one point, and one of those wins was a forfeit win. So realistically, on the field, we were 1-2. Lost a close game to Lincoln. They came together and worked hard. 

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“We went into the bye week, and then had Silver Creek and after that went on a roll. We didn’t play very well (against Willow Glen in a 23-0 loss). But for them to refocus and a lot of them be leaders and get this team going, I knew with the senior class we had, we’d do well in the playoffs. But for them to finish it and get a ring was awesome.”

He expressed optimism for next year’s Leland team as well.

“There’s a great group of kids coming back,” King Jr. said. “I’m expecting them to do well. They’re staying in the B league, so they should be super competitive and hopefully be able to go back to back.”