The Commanders' Week 5 Tackle Coach of the Week is Wheaton's Jermaine Howell. Coach Howell brings nearly 30 years of experience as an educator and coach in Maryland, the majority spent serving Montgomery County Public Schools. After more than two decades in Kensington, he joined Wheaton High School to help reinvigorate its football program and inspire a new era of success. Dedicated to developing student-athletes on and off the field, he's built a strong coaching staff, fostered family and community bonds, and created meaningful opportunities for his players. Even though he is only in his second season with the program, Coach Howell's passion for connecting with students has already led him to create a meaningful impact on the Wheaton community.
Commanders.com sat down for an exclusive with Coach Howell following his Coach of the Week win.
Q: Congratulations on being named the Commanders' Week 5 Tackle Coach of the Week! How does it feel to receive an honor like this?
A: "I really appreciate it. It signals to me that people recognize that it's not only what we do in between the lines. What's even more important to me is what we do behind-the-scenes with our kids in our community. It's a great grind, 12 months out of the year, and it's just so good to see that the work is paying off for our coaching staff and our players."
Q: What's one of the biggest life lessons football has taught you and how do you look to pass that on to your players?
A: "We always talk about life lessons and mainly adversity. How do bounce back from adversity in football and in life? How do you make things better once you have some type of failure or you're challenged? Some things you just have to do and you have to get back up and you have to go at it again. Meet adversity in its face and continue to just push forward."
Q: Do you have a motto or mantra that anchors you in your work?
A: "There's one that came this year, it came out of the blue: grind to greatness. People ask, 'What have you done to turn the program around?' and the one word I have is 'work.' It's just work. You have to put it in. I say 'grind to greatness' quite often and the players repeat it now, because they're seeing the successes of the work they put in in the offseason. It has been the motto we've been living by this year, and our underclassmen are starting to live by that. So when we go into the offseason, they know that if the work is put in, you can have the success."
Q: What inspired you to want to be a part of the Wheaton program?
A: "In 2002, my very first year coaching in Montgomery County was with Wheaton as a JV offensive coordinator. I took the job for one year before moving to a new school in Kensington as the P.E. resource teacher and became a coach at nearby Einstein High School.
After coaching at Einstein for many years, I was the athletic director for the last four years, and I just didn't feel that I was as impactful with students in that AD position as I was with football. God spoke to me, and the opportunity was available with Down County Consortium. I talked to my wife. She gave me the thumbs up. That was two years ago, and it's been one of the greatest changes. I loved being the AD at Einstein but I had definitely missed being back with the kids and having the opportunity influence them and hopefully change some lives."
