Former high school football coach and current Oxford High principal Heath Harmon was named the next executive director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association at a news conference Thursday in Montgomery.

Harmon will succeed Alvin Briggs, who announced his retirement this spring. He is expected to start in July. Briggs’ retirement is effective Sept. 2.

AL.com met with Harmon for several minutes following his introductory press conference. Here are some of his thoughts about his new job.

Q: What made this the right job for you at this time?

HH: “The opportunity to have the impact in this position. Athletics was such a big deal for me. It gave me so many opportunities before playing. I think when I saw this job I was intrigued by that. I worked with coach (Larry) Davidson (Oxford athletic director) for about eight years, and he is always talking about the importance of understanding that things don’t happen by accident. It takes leadership. When the job came open, I said I thought I had the skills to do this. The only thing that would keep me from doing it is how do I felt about the challenges. If people don’t step up to those challenges, we can’t protect the things we have. Here just seeing the former directors and understanding how important the legacy is that is very special.”

Editor’s note: Briggs was in attendance at Thursday’s press conference as were former executive directors Steve Savarese and Dan Washburn.

Q: There are some challenges obviously. The high school environment is changing all the time. How do you attack that?

HH: “The evolution of leadership integrity. Leadership starts with traits. What kind of leadership traits do you have? But as you lead and you get experience, really the evolution is integrity. Integrity and leadership is really focusing on what the core purpose of the organization is and consistently making decisions that are in line with that. It won’t be easy, but you’ve got to make decisions that are day-to-day. You can’t get tired of doing the right thing. I think that’s the key. You have to have integrity in this position and maintain and protect what we have.”

Q: What is your personal philosophy about NIL, especially on the high school level?

HH: “What I’m wanting to do is find out where we are as an organization on everything but especially where we are with that. I need to determine the current reality of the entire organization, but specifically where are we on that. Where are we wanting to go and how do we get there? For me, that will be a process to work through conversations and make sure we come up with a solid plan.”

Q: Do you feel like it (NIL) is harmful, or do you feel like it is inevitable?

HH: “I think we can’t do anything that is going to harm our core purpose. I think you have to look at it through that lens. It’s the whole idea of making sure we protect what we have and making sure we have an eye to the future. We never want to move so quickly we are being reckless, but we never want to drag our feet on things either. I think that is one of the big things we will look at right out of the gate.”

Q: One of the big topics of conversations right now has been transfers between high schools. Do you see that is an issue and, if so, what’s the key to getting a handle on it?

HH: “That is one of the things that goes back to the rules we have. We have to make sure we are enforcing the rules that we have. If people want to change rules, there is a procedure for that. If we have a rule on the book, we have to make sure we have the ability to continually enforce it.”

Q: Will you lean on the former executive directors for advice?

HH: “I can’t wait to get with them. You cannot put a value on the wise counsel of the experienced and they have great experience. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me to see them here today. You really get an idea of what this organization means. Even though I already thought that to actually see that was very special.”

Q: You’ve been a little bit all over the state? Does that help?

HH: “I think so. I think having an idea of the different things across the state will help me in this role. It’s helped me in this role as a principal. Not everybody does everything the same way. That is where you look at, ‘What is your goal? What are you trying to achieve?’ There may be a little different way to get it done. Those experiences – not only that but the people – we have great people in Alabama, and I have just been blessed with working with great people at every stop. I’ve taken/stolen ideas from some very talented people.”

Q: You are only the sixth full-time director of the AHSAA. How does that make you feel?

HH: “That is something that I’ve been thinking about the last couple of days with this opportunity. There has only been six. It’s a big deal. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m ready to step up to the challenge.”

Q: With your age (49), you are likely to be in this position for a while and see things we probably can’t imagine right now. Have you thought about that and all the things you might see?

HH: “For me, I’ve had opportunities to have great jobs. When this one came open and I was prayerfully considering it, my thought process was you don’t take this job to take another job. If I’m able to be effective, which I believe I will be, I have a lot of gas left in the tank. This is something you aspire to. You don’t take this job looking for another.”