Montgomery County Gets a Pair of New Head Football Coaches

Quinn Backus takes over at Rockville, while Walt Whitman names Patrick Galloway to lead its football program.

Rockville will take the field behind new head coach Quinn Backus in 2026. / Elijah Goodman

There’s a new Sheriff in town at Rockville High School in Maryland. 

Quinn Backus Takes Charge at Rockville

The Montgomery County Public School has hired Quinn Backus to lead the varsity football program. 

Backus, a former college linebacker, has spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Colonel Zadok Magruder High School in Rockville. 

“We’re very excited to have him,” said Rockville High School Athletic Director Farron Riggs. “I think the kids are going to love him and the community as well.” 

Backus played college football at Coastal Carolina University where he was a three-time All-American. The South Carolina native was also a three-time Big South Defensive Player of the Year. 

After Serving as an Assistant in SC and Georgia, Backus Is a Head Coach for The First Time

Backus has also coached high school football in South Carolina and Georgia but this will mark his first time as a head coach. 

“I’m excited,” said the 34-year-old. “I worked three years at Magruder and learned a lot from Coach [Ray] Fowle.” 

Backus inherits a Rockville High School football program that finished 2-7 last year. He said the Rams have a tough schedule in 2026 and will play against some of Montgomery County’s finest programs including Sherwood, Damascus, Richard Montgomery and Seneca Valley. 

“They definitely have some athletes,” said Backus. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play against them the past three years being at Magruder so I’m familiar with the type of talent that they have.” 

The name Brian Howard is synonymous with athletic excellence at Rockville High School. 

Back in the early 1980’s, Howard, a native of Montgomery County, Maryland’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, was a three-sport star at Rockville High School where he played football, basketball and baseball. 

On the gridiron, Howard was a talented quarterback who passed for more than 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns during his high school career and guided the Rams to a 9-1 record as a senior. 

“I got offers in all three sports,” recalled Howard, who graduated from Rockville High School in 1981. “I could have gone to anywhere I pretty much wanted to.” 

Howard was named All-Met in all three sports and played college basketball in the Atlantic Coast Conference for legendary Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins. 

In 2018, Howard was inducted into the Rockville High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Lincoln Park Athletic Hall of Fame. 

Backus will seek to lead the Rockville High School football program back to their glory days. 

“I just want our guys to realize that,” explained Backus, “don’t be intimidated by the name on the jersey. We all have something within and when there’s an opportunity to compete we’re going to embrace that opportunity. We’re not backing down from anybody.” 

Whitman Hired Patrick Galloway to Lead Its Football Program

Meanwhile, Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland has named Patrick Galloway as their new head coach. 

Galloway was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Walter Johnson High School (Bethesda, Maryland) last year. 

Prior to his coaching stint at Walter Johnson High School, Galloway spent four seasons on the coaching staff at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. 

“Coach Galloway understands the “Viking Standard” of gratitude, discipline, and resilience where our student athletes succeed in the classroom and on the field,” the Walt Whitman High School Athletic Department posted on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. “Go Vikes!”