Big Changes Coming to South Jersey High School Football Coaching

This has been a wild offseason for high school football – in terms of coaching changes.

While there are usually several South Jersey football coaching changes each offseason, this year, they have involved some of the biggest names in history.

None were bigger than at Paulsboro were one of the best players in South Jersey history is replacing one of the top coaches in South Jersey history.

Shortly after the season, Paulsboro coaching legend Glenn Howard announced his resignation. Once a professional player as a linebacker for the Philadelphia-Baltimore Stars of the USFL, Howard was head coach at his alma mater for 35 years.

He compiled a 316-70 record and guided the Red Raiders to 14 South Jersey Group 1 championship.

Howard, a 1977 graduate of Paulsboro, will also be retiring as a middle school science teacher in June.

“I felt it was just time,” Howard said.

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Replacing Howard is Kevin Harvey, arguably among the best players in South Jersey history.

“He is the best I have ever seen, still to this day,” Howard said.
Harvey was Howard’s starting quarterback at Paulsboro and was part of the longest winning streak in South Jersey history.

According to local historian Chuck Langerman, Paulsboro won 63 consecutive games, ending the streak in 1998.

During that streak, Paulsboro went undefeated in five consecutive seasons. The Red Raiders were 11-0 from 1993 through 1997.

Paulsboro also compiled a 37-game win streak under Howard that ended in 2003. Included in that streak were three unbeaten seasons – 11-0 in 2000, 12-0 in 2001, and 12-0 in 2002.

No public school in South Jersey history has won more sectional titles than Paulsboro, which has captured 19 since the advent of the NJSIAA playoffs in 1976.

Harvey will now look to continue the incredible success of Paulsboro’s football program that has lasted for most of the past four and a half decades.

A 1996 graduate, Harvey still holds the South Jersey career scoring record of 656 points according to Langerman. His 101 career touchdowns are second to Jada Byers of St. Joseph, a 2020 graduate who had 102.
More impressively, Paulsboro was 43-1 during Harvey’s career.

It’s hard to see Howard staying away from the field in the fall. He admitted that he would be attending football games throughout the area.
Harvey certainly paid his dues, serving as an assistant on Howard’s staff for 14 seasons.

He couldn’t ask for a better mentor than Howard. Over the years, Paulsboro’s program has had plenty of outstanding athletes, but the work ethic under Howard was second to none.

Long practices were the norm and Howard had his team prepared each and every week.

“We worked the kids hard, but I think they respected that and knew that is what they signed up for and they knew that we had high expectations,” Howard said. “We always would tell them we would not be outworked.”

And in most instances, they would not be outplayed.
Now it is Harvey’s chance to carry the torch in hopes of keeping the winning tradition going at one of South Jersey’s all-time best programs.

Author: Marc Narducci