Football programs brace for change

Eleanor Roosevelt, Potomac looking to replace veteran head coaches

Roosevelt and Potomac join Laurel, Bowie, Crossland and Bladensburg as county schools looking for new head football coaches.

Knight, who continues to teach history and also is the athletic director at Potomac, said he was told in late December that he had been relieved of his coaching and athletic director duties, but added that he was reinstated as athletic director on Jan 9. Knight declined to comment on whether he would be a candidate for a coaching job at another school.

Knight has 30 years of coaching experience in the county, including the past 15 seasons at Potomac. His teams at Potomac went 125-42 and reached the state championship game four times, winning Class 2A titles in 2004 and 2005. He has a 175-78 career coaching record.

‘‘I’ve had lots of enjoyment working with the student-athletes at Potomac High School,” said Knight, who is one of three nominees for the Maryland High School Football Association Hall of Fame that will make the selections next month. ‘‘I’ve enjoyed my time at Potomac with the students and with the people and the community of Potomac High School.”

Houchens was suspended for the 2007 season on Sept. 14 after the county athletic rules infraction committee determined that a former Roosevelt player had been provided with a false address in order to enroll at the Greenbelt school. Houchens, who accepted the position at Carroll on Jan. 7, said he was eligible to reapply for the Roosevelt job, but never did so. Houchens’ teams went 88-24 in his first 10 seasons and were 5-5 in 2007 while he served his suspension. Four of the five losses last fall came via forfeit. Under Houchens, the Raiders made seven postseason appearances, won a state Class 4A title in 1999 and lost in the title game in 2001.

At Carroll, he takes over a team that lost its last eight games last season and has won only four of its last 24 games over the past three seasons in the tough Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.

‘‘I would consider [the WCAC] the SEC of high school competition because the talent here is among some of the best in the Washington Metro area,” said Houchens. ‘‘Prince George’s is one of the toughest conferences in the state. I was able to develop a powerhouse there. Coming here was an opportunity that I wanted to take.”

The Prince George’s Schools Web site lists 13 schools accepting applications for head football coaches. But some of those schools will be retaining their coaches from last year. County Athletic Director Earl Hawkins said county regulations require each coaching job not held by a teacher to be opened to applicants each year, so that teachers on staff may apply. He added that no vacancy could be filled until after the application deadline, which is today.

Applications are sent to the Board of Education’s human resources department, which screens each applicant. Once that process is complete, a list of the approved applicants is sent to each school, so they can proceed with interviews. Once a school’s athletic director and principal select a coach, the application is sent back to the human resources department for final approval. The first round of interviews could take place as early as a week after the application deadline closes.

Laurel’s Corey Harris, Bowie’s Jae Jackson and Crossland’s Keith Howard announced their plans to step down at the end of the football season. Bladensburg’s Ken Roberts said he also would not be back.

Roberts guided the Mustangs to an 8-22 mark in three seasons. He said he did not plan on stepping down, but with all the uncertainty surrounding the county’s off-the-field issues last season, he felt he needed a change. Seven teams in three sports were assessed a combined 29 forfeits for residential eligibility violations during the fall season.

‘‘I made my decision to leave with three games left in the season,” said Roberts, a special education teacher at Bladensburg. ‘‘I didn’t want to remain here after what happened in the county. It was hard to make that decision, but I have to consider my health and my well-being.”

Roberts said 15 of his seniors are college-bound. Roberts added that he is exploring at least four employment opportunities, but he will remain at Bladensburg through the current school year.

E-mail Adam Rubenstein at arubenstein@gazette.net.