Jim Huff grew up at Watchung Hills, literally and figuratively. A former student-athlete at the Somerset County high school, Huff has been a special-education physics teacher and coach there for the past decade.
But Huff recently made the difficult decision to move on.
Starting in mid-March he will be the new athletic director at Parsippany Hills High School. A three-season coach at Watchung Hills, Huff will not start at the Morris County school until after the current wrestling season ends.
Huff has been the Warriors’ wrestling coach for seven seasons, after five with the middle-school program. Huff took over from his own coach, Dan Smith, who retired with more than 300 wins following the 2018-19 season and remained as an assistant. Huff is also special teams coordinator for Watchung Hills football and the head golf coach in the spring.
Huff was approved by the Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education on Dec. 19. He told his wrestlers over winter break, wanting to make sure they heard the news from him.
“It’s not going to affect anything this wrestling season,” said Huff, an in-class support teacher. “I’m still all in. Nothing’s going to change. … This is a big part of my life. I don’t think I’ll ever fully give it up. I tried to relay that message to them. I’m not getting up and leaving you guys.”
Former Butler and Kinnelon AD Dave Doty was expected to be approved as Parsippany Hills’ interim AD at Tuesday night’s school board meeting. Claire Herman, who had been at the helm for two years, took over at Morris Hills after that school’s longtime AD, Rob Haraka, retired effective Dec. 31.
Parsippany Hills interview process
Parsippany Hills principal Matthew Thompson said 16 people were invited for screening interviews. Huff was one of four finalists who faced a panel that included a teacher, a coach, a parent and a student, as well as the usual administrators.
“Everything I heard about Jim’s ability to build programs as a coach, his interpersonal skills with his student-athletes and assistant coaches, the colleagues he works with, I never heard a bad thing,” Thompson said. “Between (former AD and current assistant superintendent for human resources) Todd Ricker and myself reaching out to people to get background information on him, it all came back consistent. … His skill set is a great fit.”
Huff had applied for the open AD job at Watchung Hills in 2023, but was passed over for Dan Root, who had held the position until June 2021.
Huff graduated from East Stroudsburg University in 2013. He went back to school for his master’s in educational leadership and administration in the mid-2010s. Most recently, he earned a Teacher of Students with Disabilities certification from Rutgers.
“It’s bittersweet for us, but I’m very happy for him as a colleague and a person,” said Bill Librera, who went from Chatham AD to Watchung Hills principal in January 2020. “I’m upset to see him go, but happy to see him continue his career arc. I always root for Watchung Hills, but now I have another reason to root for Parsippany Hills as well.”
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Jim Huff and his wife, Susan, a Watchung Hills art teacher, live in the school district with their two children, 3-year-old Peyton and newborn Carson. Jim Huff insists his wife is prepared for the long hours he’ll be putting in as a new AD. After all, she joked with him, “You’re not home until 7 or 8 o’clock as it is now. What’s going to change?”
“I’m excited to fully dive in and get ready for the challenge,” said Huff, who has the wrestling team 5-0 heading into the Somerset County Tournament on Saturday.
“Watchung Hills is a phenomenal school district. It’s very bittersweet. I’m going to miss it. The challenge is something I’m looking forward to. I’m a lifelong learner, so I’m going to continue to grow as a person, as an educator, and as a leader.”
