Southern Lee AD and football coach Don Simon steps down

Southern Lee athletic director and football coach Don Simon is leaving after four seasons for Harmony High School in Harmony, Fla. He informed his team last week and will likely leave by the end of February.

Simon came to Southern Lee from Florida as a matter of happenstance four years ago.

“We just kind of found each other,” Simon said. “There’s a lot of things that I hate to leave, and that’s a sign that we did some good things.”

Prior to Simon, Southern Lee had not had the same football coach or athletic director for four years. He went 25-23 in four seasons (22-15 over the last three) including a second-round playoff appearance in 2014.

In football, the Cavaliers went to the playoffs in each of the last three years and defeated rival Lee County in each game.

“It’s been a lot of fun and we’ve had a lot of great kids come through here,” he said. “We’ve been able to establish a winning program here.”

There are 11 area openings remaining in high school football: Goldsboro, Southern Vance, Northern Vance, Western Harnett, Southern Lee, Smithfield-Selma, Union Pines, Harnett Central, Orange, Wakefield and Enloe.

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 1:42 AM with the headline "Southern Lee AD and football coach Don Simon steps down."