After a successful six-year run as Fairhope High’s boys basketball coach, Solomon Johnson announced today he was stepping down from the position.

He told AL.com the move was family based.

“I’ve been doing this for about 10 years, and I’ve been head coach for the last six years,” he said. “I want to be the best father I can be in all honesty and, as competitive as I am, I don’t know that I can successfully balance that with being a coach. It’s a tough decision, one I’ve been battling for a couple of months now.”

Johnson said he is finishing his administrative degree and would like to become a principal in Baldwin County. He has two sons – ages 1 and 2.

“My goal when I came back and got into coaching was to turn a school that largely cared about football into a school that also cared that much about basketball,” he said. “We’ve been very competitive. We’ve had multiple kids sign college scholarships. It’s been a blessing to be the head coach at Fairhope as long as I have been, and I know I’m leaving the program in a way better place than when I found it.”

The Pirates went 139-30 during Johnson’s tenure and reached the Class 7A final four in 2020. That team featured current Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard and sharpshooter Hunter Ivy. This year’s team went 21-6 and lost to Central-Phenix City in the regional semifinals.

Fairhope also reached the regional championship three times in six years under Johnson, who finished his high school career at Daphne. He played one year of college basketball at Valdosta State before transitioning to coaching there, first as a student-assistant and then as a graduate assistant.

Will he coach again?

“Honestly, if my boys get into basketball as they get older, I will definitely coach again,” he said. “But for now, I’m going to pursue a different road while I can and while they are younger.”