NORTH ATTLEBORO - After 26 years as an assistant coach in the North Attleboro High School football program, Don Johnson is stepping up to the big chair.

Johnson, 47, a 1979 NAHS graduate, has been named head football coach of the Rocketeers.

"I just felt that at this point in the program, to continue it the way it started, the easiest way was for me to step up," said Johnson. He succeeds Kurt Kummer, who resigned the position in December after he was named athletic director.

Kummer and Principal Robert Gay announced the appointment Friday, saying that Johnson has been one of the most highly regarded assistant coaches in the area.

"Don is clearly prepared for this opportunity. I wish him the best of success and I know he will do a great job," Kummer said. Johnson was an outstanding defensive back and wide receiver for the Rocketeers in the late 1970s, and both he and fellow Rocketeer Mike Redding went on to play at Holy Cross. Redding is the long-time head coach at Mansfield High School, while Johnson returned to North Attleboro as a volunteer assistant after graduating from Holy Cross in 1983 and stayed at his alma mater.

North Attleboro's tradition is based in a large part upon the participation of former Rocketeers in the program, Johnson said.

"It's the quality of the people involved," he said. "They're people who really care about the kids. They're good teachers and educators. And it's because of them that I was drawn back to North Attleboro ... I've felt a responsibility to pass it along to the next generation."

Johnson began his coaching career under former head coach Ray Beaupre, eventually becoming the team's defensive coordinator. He kept that position under coaches Paul Sullivan and Kummer, and is highly regarded for his defensive strategies.

As the head of the history and social studies department at North Attleboro High, Johnson also undertook many of the clerical responsibilities of the head coach because he was stationed in the high school building during school hours.

"This is not going to change my life a lot," he said. "But I understand that once you earn the title of head coach, now you're in the center of the target."

This won't be Johnson's first turn as a head coach at North Attleboro. He guided the fortunes of the boys' basketball team from 1993 to 1998, posting a record of 69-40 during the playing days of the Babul brothers, Mike (who played at UMass-Amherst) and Jon (Georgia Tech).

But he expects the commitment of time and energy needed to be a successful head coach to be more easily managed at this stage of his life.

"Winter season is just brutal," Johnson said, "and I had a much younger family at the time with two young kids and another one on the way, and my wife (Patti) wanted to keep the (cheerleading coaching) job. It was pretty tough with the whole family getting home at 12 o'clock after those late trips from Stoughton.

"Now I have a son involved in the program, my daughter is in college and my youngest son is in fifth grade," he said. Kummer held the head football position for five seasons, posting a 38-11-1 record.

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Staff writer Amy DeMelia also contributed to this report.