Bryan Moore is back home.

The Valley native was introduced this week as the new head football coach of the Opelika Bulldogs.

Moore spent the first eight years of his career as an assistant at Opelika and now has returned after a consistent tenure of success as a head coach at other places, most recently at Hartselle.

AL.com chatted with Moore late last week about his thoughts on his new job and what’s next.

Why Opelika?

“It’s home first. It’s about family and about being back closer. That matters to me. I loved it there. I spent eight years there and just absolutely loved working at Opelika. I did a lot of different stuff – coached basketball and baseball and tennis and golf and taught history. Coach (Spence) McCracken and Coach (Brian) Blackmon are really my mentors. I respect the heck out of them and wanted to be back at the place that taught me everything. I couldn’t pass it up. I think Opelika is a sleeping giant. I think the things are still in place to be extremely successful. Players are there to win at a high level, and I’m excited to see what we can do about it.”

What did you take from your time working on coach McCracken and coach Blackmon?

“Both were extremely good at building relationships with kids, coaches and the community. They were invested completely. They raised their families there, went to church there, ate at restaurants in Opelika. It’s important to understand football and the Xs and Os, but the social intelligence is important – the people. Also, the discipline they instilled in the players and the team, the toughness and tradition rich way they approached it. I took it with me everywhere I went, and I’m anxious to restart that process.”

Was it tough to leave Hartselle?

“Oh my gosh. Quality of life. Opportunity to win. Academic excellence of the school. The support from the community. It was incredibly difficult to leave because of the football staff there. The principal was incredible. It’s a top tier job in the state of Alabama. At the same time, this opportunity is like that as well with all the positives Opelika has to offer.”

When do you start?

“I’m in the office over the break. I can’t wait until Jan. 3 to get started. I have to go to work. My first official day is Jan. 3, but I want to have a plan in place when the coaches and players and teachers get back to school. I likely will have a lot of long hours over the break. But I’m also going to enjoy some time with my family. I’m just getting an early start.”

Where do you start when you take over a program?

“Players are first. The first thing is to build relationships with them and introduce myself to them and have a plan for them. Young people want people to guide them and tell them how we get back to being successful. Same thing with staff. Coaches want to know how they fit into the long-term plan. That is not immediate. A lot of conversations will take place. Also building relationships with our teachers and administrators will be important. In the first few months, I’ll also be pouring into Opelika City as a whole and getting people involved that maybe aren’t involved right now. The Xs and Os will be there. It’s never been missed. How are we treating people and valuating people and our plan for success is a priority. Then it’s about strength and conditioning. Weight room, nutrition — making kids bigger, stronger, faster as quick as possible. That cannot wait.”

How do you feel about competing in Class 7A, Region 2 along with reigning state champ Central-Phenix City, rival Auburn and others?

“It’s a challenging region. But that is what makes it fun. It’s a blessing is to compete at the highest level. We want that competition. That’s all I knew in Opelika. I only experienced Class 7A in 2014 when I was here. All I had ever known was the old 6A class, but those were the same teams. It seems like a new way of life but, in reality it’s just getting back to the roots. So, yes, it’s challenging but to me that is what makes it fun.”

Do you think this is a destination job for you?

“I think it is a dream. It’s a cool story to spend eight years at a school, go off for nine years and technically only have eight left (before retirement). Of course, it will be more than eight because we have children, but it’s a cool story to write. My family is 20 minutes from there. I was born and raised in Valley. For me, I don’t know what job in high school football is better than the Opelika Bulldogs. For me, it’s a top 2-3 job and maybe the best job over time.”

“It’s as good as it gets.”