Coach and Coordinator Podcast

Ken Niumatalolo is today’s guest of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Niumatalolo has been on the Navy staff since 2002 and has been the program’s head coach since 2002, posting a record of 77-42 during that stretch. He sits down with Keith Grabowski to discuss program culture at Navy, staff accountability and the advantages to running the triple option in Division I football. Show notes 0:52 Start as a football coach 1:59 Key points in coaching development 4:41 Why the Triple Option works for Navy 6:08 Building culture at the Naval Academy 9:40 Having a "Why" as a program, and holding the staff accountable 12:56 Onboarding freshmen 15:01 Working in the RPO 17:07 Evolution of blocking in triple option 18:45 The advantages of running the triple option at the Division I level 22:06 Coaches need to have answers. In real time. 23:38 Best coaching advice received (and advice to young coaches) 25:44 Coaching in the Army-Navy Game 27:20 Creating balance 30:06 The winning edge

Trick play extraordinaire Bruce Eien is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Currently the quarterbacks coach at Harrisburg High School (Ore.), Eien is known in the coaching community for his innovative trick plays and gimmick formations, which he’s run with great success. Eien breaks down the Stupid Sweep, the Fat Formation and how these types of plays can enhance a program’s culture. Show notes :32 Start as a football coach 3:15 The creation of unusual formations 5:31 Stupid Sweep 9:57 The Fat Formation 15:50 The Swinging Gate 22:01 Working gimmick plays into a regular offense 26:48 How offensive coordinators can sometimes outthink themselves 27:56 How Eien's players devised a play (and how he finds time to practice gimmick plays) 31:33 "Waste Downs" 36:28 Mistake made as a young coach 40:24 Book recommendation 45:00 Creating balance 48:54 The winning edge

Dave McFarland, head coach of Lorain High School (Ohio), is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. McFarland, the 2016 Cleveland Browns Coach of the Year, discusses why changing a program’s culture begins off the field, how his Cover 3 defense remains effective and why coaches should not be so concerned with teaching schemes—at the expense of fundamentals. Show notes :28 Start as a football coach (and coaching basketball and track as well) 2:35 Coaching philosophy and keeping things simple 3:27 Changing culture starts off the field 5:13 Teaching players the basics 6:46 Breaking up the season-long grind 9:26 Defending the RPO 10:38 Rebounding from an 0-2 start to state quarterfinals 12:14 Mistakes made as a young coach 13:08 Surround yourself with good people 17:02 Advice to a young football coach 19:00 Two-minute drill

Former NFL receiver Craig Yeast is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Yeast is currently the offensive coordinator at Franklin College (Ind.) and also oversees the school’s intramural program. He discusses the five F’s of his offense, the importance of tempo and building off inside zone. Show notes 0:45 Football start and the Yeast family name 3:30 Importance of teaching fundamentals to young players 5:00 The influence of Alvis Johnson  7:00 The 5 F’s of Yeast’s offense 10:00 Teaching players the system 12:00 Offensive philosophy 14:00 Inside zone (plus bubble screen) 18:30 Looking at numbers, rather than tendencies, when calling plays 20:00 Play calling near the goal line 24:00 Mistakes made as a young coach 26:00 Be yourself—nobody knows you better than yourself 29:00 Book recommendation 31:00 Creating balance  33:30 Two-minute drill 40:45: The winning edge

Today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Grant Caserta. Caserta is the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Husson University (Maine). He was a finalist for Football Scoop’s Division III Coordinator of the Year following a 2016 season in which his defense held opponents to under 200 yards per game. He dives into his defense, his philosophy of bringing pressure and the value of players with defensive instinct. Show notes 0:30 Start as a football coach and coaching philosophy 4:42 Building culture through accountability 6:05 The value of knowing how to deal with players with different personalities 7:14 A defensive identity focused on stopping the run 8:50 Caserta’s 4-2-5 defense 10:45 Cover 1 11:28 Game planning 13:28 Does a player have defensive instinct? 14:58 Utilizing playmakers at Rover 17:14 “If they beat us when we blitz, they deserve it.” 18:18 Mistakes as a young coach 19:54 Best coaching advice received 22:12 Book recommendation 23:30 Learning from coaching clinics 27:51 Creating balance 31:42 Two-minute drill

Boyden Hull/Rock Valley (Iowa) head coach Cory Brandt is today's guest of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Brandt discusses what it's like coaching a "shared program," which combines players from two different schools. He also shares his approach to maintaining a successful football program in an area more well-known for its basketball.  Show Notes 1:02 Start as a football coach 2:34 Developing as a coach in a football family 4:24 Coach philosophy: Developing young men and focus on team 6:15 Developing culture in a shared program 8:24 "Fast-Break Offense: Attracting football players in a basketball mecca 10:30 Teaching players to understand the system (and the influence of Hal Mumme) 14:04 Building from Jet motion 18:14 Communication between coaches and taking advantage of what the defense gives 23:48 The highs should never be too high; the lows, never too low 27:13 Book recommendation 29:13 Try to take away one small thing from each coaching clinic 31:14 On the value of playground football 36:55 Two-minute drill

Nate Sanderson is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. He currently serves as the girls varsity basketball coach at Springville High School (Iowa). He also works to develop educational materials with Breakthrough Basketball. He discusses how to interact with parents, how to avoid coach-parent conflicts and what he does during his Mental Health Wednesdays. Show notes 1:21 Current job 3:00 How to deal with parents 6:28 Creating culture with parents 9:20 Honoring players 12:30 Series of questions for parents 18:07 How to be a better coach for the parents 19:28 Recognizing all players 21:09 Parents can support each other 22:50 Coaching more effectively (communication) 25:40 Approaching difficult parents 26:41 Applying these lessons to a football team 28:31 How to include parents if they don’t attend meetings 29:10 Building culture 32:00 Practice failure 33:45 Mental health/culture training 36:14 Activities for building mental health

Scotty Walden sits down with host Keith Grabowski in today’s episode of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Walden was the youngest head coach in the NCAA last year when he led Division III East Texas Baptist University at the age of 26. This offseason, he accepted a job coaching tight ends and receivers at Southern Miss. He discusses the simple drills he likes to teach accountability and responsibility and why young coaches should seek out non-prestigious jobs. Show notes :30 Coaching philosophy 1:39 Start as a football coach 3:36 On being the youngest college head coach in America last season 5:45 Key learning moments early in career 8:33 Building culture 13:35 The 5 core values of Walden's program 16:45 Pat-and-Go and run-throughs, not walk-throughs 22:43 The versatility of Inside Zone 24:15 Maintaining tempo while using motion and changing personnel 27:15 Breaking down Walden's Y Cross 30:55 Approaching situational offense during the week 33:25 Keeping things simple (K.I.S.S.) 35:30 Advice to a young coach 39:15 Coaching technology 42:45 Two-minute drill 44:15 The winning edge

Trevor Stellman is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Stellman is the offensive coordinator at St. Thomas More College (Crestview Hills, Ky.). In 2015, he oversaw an offense that tallied 583 points and 6,019 total yards. He discusses his RPO scheme, how to attack man defenses and how he builds culture and identity in an offensive unit. Show notes :29: What made you want to be a football coach and transition from player to coach 3:33 Coaching philosophy and expertise 6:21 How do you develop culture (and identity) within an offense 9:34 Zone read from the pistol 11:13 Working on the timing of RPOs and encountering man coverage 13:20 How do you deal with man coverage to take care of RPOs 14:41 No huddle play call capabilities 19:35 Remembering that football is a game 23:42 Tweaking his outside zone play 24:32 Maintaining a run-first mentality in a pass-happy landscape 30:55 Advice for young coach 31:44 Creating balance 32:58 Two-minute drill 36:20 The winning edge

Aaron Chantler is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Chantler spent the past five seasons as head coach at Washington’s Gig Harbor High School, where he won two league titles and made the playoffs four times. He recently joined the coaching staff at Auburn High School, where he’ll coach under his father-in-law, Gordy EIlliott. Chantler dissects his jet action package as well as how he integrates jet sweep and mesh. Show notes :33 Start as a football coach 2:58 Key points in development and coaching philosophy 4:30 Key points in coaching philosophy 5:47 Building culture through community outreach 7:12 Spread (2x2, 3x1) pistol option offense 8:57 Helping players learn the system 10:25 Chantler's "jet package" and running inverted veer 16:06 Drills to time the jet sweep/mesh 18:37 "Game-winners" and "Two-point conversion" package 23:50 Mistakes made as a young coach 25:04 Best coaching advice received 26:30 The Energy Bus 29:11 Two-minute drill Subscribe to the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast on iTunes.

Today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Mark Bruns. Bruns is the defensive coordinator at Coldwater (Ohio), one of the top small-school programs in Ohio. In 2015, Coldwater finished 15-0, winning a state title and allowing just 99 points the entire season. Bruns discusses his base 4-4 defense, how success breeds more success and how young coaches can make themselves indispensable by mastering technology: Show notes 1:17 Start as a football coach 2:42 Key lessons in development 4:10 Expectation of playing 15 games per season 5:53 Dealing with expectations as a coaching staff 7:36 How deep playoff runs can develop players (more games, more reps) 9:00 Keeping things fun during a 15-week season 10:42 A typical practice at Coldwater 14:58 Inside Coldwater's defense 17:11 Creating a defensive "system" and the need to make adjustments quickly 19:25 The value in scheduling a variety of teams in non-conference play 21:25 Technology (and how young coaches can embrace it) 23:21 Mistakes made as a young coach 24:20 Best coaching advice received 25:11 Advice to a young coach 26:13 Creating balance 29:35 Two-minute drill 31:04 The winning edge

Washington University in St. Louis head coach Larry Kindbom is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Kindbom is entering his 29th season as the school’s head coach, and he remains an influential voice in the coaching community. He sits down with Keith to discuss the new NCAA practice regulations and why coaches should be a part of the conversation. Show notes :53 Coach Kindbom's letter regarding new NCAA practice regulations 4:22 Coaches have evolved and responded 6:16 Confronting reality of less practice time 8:24 The professionalism of coaches needs to be respected 11:22 Coaches have been reducing contact in practice (and teaching players how to *be* tackled) 13:20 Planning and preparing is an enormous part of practice 15:15 Most coaches already take an Ivy League approach 16:40 Defining question: How many opportunities does a young man need to prepare himself for a ball game? 20:40 Collaboration between coaches, trainers, doctors, equipment professionals and others

Mike Rowe is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. A college football assistant-turned high school head coach, Rowe currently serves as the head coach at ROCORI High School in Minnesota, where he’s earned a berth to the state playoffs each of the last three seasons. Rowe opens up about integrating zone and gap schemes, his midline concept and how he’s shifted away from mirrored sides in the passing game. Show notes 1:03 Start as football coach and lessons learned early on 3:17 Helping coaches learn (and how culture has shifted in the coaching community) 4:25 Character education 5:38 Character as part of team culture 13:20 Making practice fun for players through competition 14:49 Rowe's Pro-Style spread offense 15:39 Integrating zone and gap schemes (and Rowe’s midline concept) 17:38 The passing game and shifting away from mirrored sides 21:05 Player development pathway 25:40 Mistake made as a young coach 26:33 Best coaching advice received and advice to a young coach 27:50 Book recommendation 28:54 Creating balance 30:05 Two-minute drill 31:57 The winning edge

Joining Keith today on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Michigan high school football coach Mike Carr. Carr, a state title-winning coach at Chippewa Valley, discusses the transition of going from a Pro Style offense to the spread, why “Run on Bags” can be even more valuable than team drills and how he runs his Stick RPO scheme. 1:02 Start as a football coach 4:16 Lessons learned as a young coach 5:25 Transition from Pro Style to RPO 6:22 QB coaching in spread option offense vs. QB coaching in Power I 7:35 Key to being an offensive coordinator is showing restraint with the playbook 8:45 Overall coaching philosophy 10:03 Culture building with players and coaching staff 11:50 Why "Run on Bags" can be more valuable than full team drills 14:13 Shifting practice strategy with player wellness in mind 15:22 Favorite RPO play 18:23 Common defenses of RPO 21:13 Repping RPO 23:21 It's not what you know, it's what the kids know 27:15 Choosing family over football, but what Carr tells other coaches who are feeling burned out 29:22 Starting players too soon on tackle football and choosing a developmental approach to young players learning the game 31:55 Young kids becoming "has-beens" before they hit puberty 32:30 Two-minute drill 34:32 The Winning Edge

Eric Vaughn sits down with host Keith Grabowski in today’s episode of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Vaughn is the CEO of APTUS, a company that combines advancements in behavioral science, leadership development and tablet technology to offer valuable insight into personal development. It’s a tool that coaches use to help improve their mental game. Show Notes :36 APTUS: What it is and how coaches can use it 6:47 Bridging the gap between being capable of being a good player and actually being a good player 12:15 The quality of the coach will play a huge role in the future of youth sports 15:39 APTUS helping coaches develop 20:13 APTUS in the classroom