Morgan Academy promoted one of its own to fill the football coaching vacancy when Brian King was introduced at the school’s old basketball gym on Monday.

“I’m looking forward to serving my old school,” said King. “It’s good to be part of that program now. It’s something I’ve been wanting to get back to.”

Morgan Headmaster Randy Skipper said King impressed him more because he didn’t solely emphasize his wins and game planning.

“Most of the coaches talked about their Xs and Os, and he talked about his vision for Morgan,” said Skipper. “[King] talked to me about their vision for Morgan Academy and what he was going to do for the students at Morgan and how he wanted to make Morgan the elite school and elite athletic program in the state of Alabama.”

King inherits a program that has fallen on hard times in recent years. Since winning the 2005 Class AAA state title, the Senators have gone 12-19.

King believes Morgan returns a good crop of athletes and experience, but is missing one key ingredient.

“Too much emphasis is placed on the championships and the games we win,” said King. “We’ve lost the focus that sports are what builds leaders. These kids need to be inspired to do something great.”

King kept his philosophies close to the vest on Monday, but he has a vision of what he wants from his team.

“I have everything game-planned on what we’re going to do,” said King. “We will change the offense up a little bit. We’re just going to utilize the players we have. We’re not going to try to fit them into a certain system.”

Defensively, King plans to use the system the Senators used under Mike Sexton, an assistant when King was at Morgan,

“Defensively, we’re going to be completely unstoppable,” said King. “Any system run the right way can get huge results. We have good athletes, and we have to play beyond our size.“

King graduated from Morgan in 2001, the same year his predecessor, Robert Gartman, returned.

“I owe everything to him,” said King. “He brought me into coaching. He built this school. Those are huge shoes to fill. I can’t thank him enough for helping me out.”

After playing football at Millsaps College for the next four years, King returned to Selma with a coaching ambition sparked by Millsaps defensive coordinator — and former Alabama head coach — Mike Dubose.

“He’s an unbelievable man and one of the reasons I got into coaching,” said King.

He returned to Morgan in 2006 as a varsity offensive line coach. He coached defensive line and defensive backs the next two seasons, in addition to leading the junior varsity team.