By: J. Daniel Pearson
Harmony has a new football coach.
Well sort of new.
Late Thursday, Harmony Principal James Hickey announced that Don Simon would return as Head Football Coach of the Longhorns. He replaced Nick Lippert, who stepped down earlier in the week. Simon served as head football coach of the Longhorns for six seasons, before resigning in the spring of 2023 to become Athletics Director at Tohopekaliga.
Lippert, who came to Harmony with Simon in 1997 as his defensive coordinator, was elevated to head coach when Simon left.
In his two seasons, Lippert was 5-20 –including a 3-7 mark this year. Although his defenses continued to play with the same grit and determination they displayed when he was defensive coordinator, his offenses struggled to score points – averaging just 10 per game over the last two seasons.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce Coach Don Simon is moving back to Harmony and will take over the head football coach responsibilities,” Harmony Principal James Hickey said. “Coach Simon is excited to move back to the Ranch to continue building on the success he had prior to becoming an athletic director. Coach Simon will return as a teacher here after the winter break and will assume our off-season conditioning program immediately.”
In his six previous seasons as head coach at Harmony, Simon compiled a 34-27 record and took the Longhorns to the state playoffs twice. The totals include just one sub .500 season (3-7 in 2019) and a 9-2 record in 2018.
Simon said his return to coaching was made without hesitation. “It’s been a crazy couple of days for me and my family,” Simon said. “The last 18 months in athletic administration has been a great experience, but during that time, I came to the realization that I am a football coach and it’s what I want to be.”
In making the announcement, Hickey took time to recognize the contributions of Lippert. “As we welcome Coach Simon back, I want to send my gratitude and appreciation to Coach Lippert, who has given so much of his time and effort to our football athletes. He has chosen to step back into the assistant football coaching position. We are looking forward to new leadership and success as we prepare for the 2025-26 season.”
It was not the only athletic shakeup for Harmony, as Athletics Director Dan Kerr stepped down earlier this month to accept a position with the United States Tennis Association. The Longhorn’s Athletic Director since 2019, Harmony has won the last four Orange Belt Conference All-Sports trophies under his leadership. Hickey elevated Kerr’s assistant Randy Schafer to the position earlier this week.
