Ralph Watson has a message for the Fairhope basketball community.

“I’m coming back.”

The veteran coach, who served as the Pirates’ varsity boys basketball coach from 1994 to 2006, has been named head coach again.

He follows Solomon Johnson, who announced earlier this week he was stepping away from the position.

“It’s a blessing,” Watson told AL.com. “This is where I would love to finish up my career. I’m excited. I’ve been comfortable for two years. Now, it’s time to get a little uncomfortable again.”

Watson left Fairhope in 2006 to become boys basketball coach at Bayside Academy in nearby Daphne. He spent 12 years there before deciding to step away from the sport.

“I needed a break,” he said. “I had coached either as an assistant or a head coach for 34 years. I was burned out and needed to get away. I knew the door would open again if it was in the Lord’s will, and it has.”

Watson returned to Fairhope as a teacher when he left Bayside. He also coached the freshman football team each of the last two years and, this past season, helped with the girls basketball team.

“I had a ball doing that,” he said. “It was neat to move 18 inches down from the head coach and just see the game from a different angle. The itch sort of came back again in December for me and, when Solomon decided to do something else, Mr. (Jon) Cardwell (principal) and our athletic director, Josh Howell, reached out to see if I was interested.”

Howell said promoting Watson was an easy choice for the school’s administration.

“We knew his history,” Howell said. “We know his character, and we know he will focus on developing young athletes and not just on wins and losses. He’s a quality human being who will be around the program and will bring in quality help as well. We are excited about him coming in and continuing the tradition Solomon set forth and maybe if elevating the program higher if that is possible.”

Watson takes over a program that went 139-30 in six years under Johnson and reached the Class 7A final four in 2020. The 2023-2024 team finished 21-6, losing to Central-Phenix City in the regional semifinals.