Steve Howes Departs as Good Counsel Athletic Director; Montgomery County Leadership Changes Continue

Good Counsel is accepting applications for athletic director while Watkins Mill and Albert Einstein announce new football coaches.

Steve Howes, a 1991 graduate of Our Lady of Good Counsel, will not return as the school's Athletic Director, a role he has held since 2019. | Our Lady of Good Counsel

One of Maryland’s premier high school athletic programs is preparing for a leadership transition. 

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, which competes in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), is searching for a new Athletic Director. 

High School On SI has learned that Steve Howes is no longer the Athletic Director at the Olney, Maryland private school. 

“Our Lady of Good Counsel High School is accepting applications for the position of Athletic Director starting July 1, 2026,” according to a job posting on the school’s website. 

Good Counsel Opens Athletic Director Search

Howes, a 1991 Good Counsel graduate, was named Athletic Director at his alma mater in 2019. Prior to his stint as Good Counsel’s Athletic Director, Howes spent fifteen years as the men’s head basketball coach at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. 

“Good Counsel gave me the foundation for the success I enjoyed as a head coach and I’m sincerely grateful for the opportunity to give back,” Howes said after accepting the Falcons’ Athletic Director position in 2019. “I believe deeply in the Good Counsel mission of helping young men and women achieve success beyond their perceived limits, and athletics can play an important role in that journey.” 

A Program With National Reach

Over the years, the Good Counsel athletic program has produced nationally ranked teams in various sports including football, boys and girls basketball and girls soccer.  

Good Counsel has produced dozens of athletes who have competed on the major college and professional levels, including: 

• Zach Hilton (NFL)
• Chas Gessner (NFL)
• Bez Mbeng (NBA)
• Roger Mason Jr. (NBA)
• Jelani Jenkins (NFL)
• Lou Young (NFL)
• Blake Countess (NFL)
• Stefon Diggs (NFL)
• Kendall Fuller (NFL)
• Dorian O’Daniel (NFL)
• Sam Mustipher (NFL)
• Keandre Jones (NFL)
• Josh Paschal (NFL)
• Cam Hart (NFL)
• Kris Jenkins (NFL)

In fact, Midge Purce, a former Good Counsel girls soccer standout who was named Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year in 2012, helped lead Gotham FC to a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) championship in 2025. 

Kyle Snyder, who played football and wrestled at Good Counsel, became the youngest wrestler to win world, NCAA and Olympic titles in the same year. He accomplished that feat in 2016. 

Elsewhere in Montgomery County, the public school football programs have hired new head coaches for the 2026 campaign. 

Watkins Mill Turns to Garcia

Watkins Mill High School in Montgomery Village, Maryland has named Angel Garcia as the new head coach of the Wolverines football program. 

Garcia replaces Chad Wilson who stepped down after four seasons leading the program to serve on the Board of Education for Frederick County Public Schools.  

Garcia, a Washington, D.C. native, brings more than a decade of coaching experience across both Maryland and Virginia at both private and public-school levels. His experience includes serving as the head football coach at Central High School during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, where he helped build disciplined, competitive programs, centered on accountability and character. 

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to bring my passion, experience, and drive to Watkins Mill,” said Garcia. “I look forward to working with our student-athletes, coaches, and community to build a program that represents the pride and tradition of Wolverine football.” 

Einstein Adds Familiar Face

Albert Einstein High School in Kensington, Maryland has named Blair Webb as its new head coach.  

Blair Webb, a 1993 Good Counsel graduate, has also coached high school football at his alma mater and at various Montgomery County Public Schools including Churchill, Northwood, Walter Johnson and Blake. Webb also held a coaching stint at St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel, Maryland. 

Blair Webb and Angel Garcia are among several new MCPS football hires entering 2026, after the hiring of Jacquis McCray (Walter Johnson), Sean Pierce Jr. (Springbrook), Sean W. Pierce (Kennedy), Quinn Backus (Rockville) and Patrick Galloway (Whitman).