Coach and Coordinator Podcast

Brent Dearmon is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Dearmon is the offense coordinator at Arkansas Tech, by way of Auburn, where he coached under Gus Malzahn. Prior to coaching at Auburn, Dearmon was a high school football coach in Alabama. He discusses the transition to college football and all things RPO. Show notes :33 Start as a football coach and the jump to the college ranks 2:02 Job at Auburn 3:01 Prepared yourself for opportunity to coach college 4:31 Transition to Arkansas Tech 6:21 Getting players to buy in 8:54 Building one message on top of the other 9:59 Inspiration from Urban Meyer 11:29 Approach to practice 13:20 Teaching at a fast pace 16:51 Nuts and bolts of Dearmon’s offense 18:45 Go-to RPO play 21:21 What to do to win third-and-long 23:27 Preparing players for RPO 25:37 Mistake as young coach 29:19 Work-life balance 30:46 Two-minute drill 32:50 Winning edge

Today’s guest is retired Iowa high school football coach John Rose. Rose, whose expertise lies in offensive line play, breaks down his approach to coaching the offensive line, including building from your established scheme, creating drills that benefit your team’s specific approach on game day and why true player confidence comes from preparation, not pregame speeches. Show notes :32 Start as a coach 2:58 The fun (and unique challenges) of coaching the offensive line 4:59 Building confident players through preparation 7:11 Start with the blocking scheme, and build plays and drills from there 10:44 Building your own drills 14:42 Drilling gap scheme 17:18 Yelling too much as a young coach 18:28 Best coaching advice received 20:08 Advice to a young coach 22:03 Rose's book 25:31 The winning edge Coach Grabowski's 3 key takeaways 1) The confident player—the importance of building confidence in your players 2) Having an agreed upon run game that you stick with throughout the season 3) Creating drills that replicate what's happening for your team on game day

Today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Chris Paulson, the head coach at Kentlake (Kent, Wash.). Paulson is a well-respected authority on the triple option offense. He discusses integrating RPOs into the triple option, overcoming below average linemen and a triple option staple—the rocket toss. Show notes 1:02 Start as a football coach and lessons learned early on 2:20 Success at Curtis 3:08 Culture: Creating an environment where athletes feel safe, appreciated and loved 5:17 How to teach systems effectively 7:38 What makes an effective play on offense? 9:40 Playing with below average linemen 11:11 Integrating RPOs into triple option offense 12:32 Evolution of how teams defend the RPO 14:02 Offensive menu on gameday 15:23 Rocket toss as part of the triple option 16:34 Blocking on perimeter 20:26 Mistake made as a young coach 21:55 Figure out why you’re really coaching (What is your happiness tied to?) 23:47 Book recommendation 26:14 Creating balance 28:35 Two-minute drill 30:47 Winning edge

USA Football’s own, Joe Eisenmann, sits down with Keith on today’s episode of the Coach and Coordinator podcast. Eisenmann, USA Football’s director of high performance and education, discusses performance as part of team culture, the need for high school coaches in different sports to communicate and the value of dynamic warmups. Show notes :58 Eisenmann background 3:15 Becoming a high performance coach 4:12 An integrated, holistic approach to sports performance 5:37 Evolution of "the strength coach" 8:33 The high performance coach as part of the team culture 10:08 Building mental toughness 11:03 Keeping things fun 13:00 The need for communication between high school coaches of different sports 15:35 The role of Athletic Directors in sage-guarding athlete wellness 17:10 Dynamic warmups 20:47 Agility 23:27 How coaches can develop an eye for high performance

Joining the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast today is Kirk Fridrich, head coach of Tulsa's Union High School (Okla.). Fridrich has guided Union to five state titles during his tenure as head coach, including a 57-43 win over Norman North in the 2016 state championship game. Fridrich, who still calls the team's defensive plays, dives into the value of involving the whole community in the football program, how he defends the RPO and why the situation is never more important than the relationship. Show notes 1:01 Start as a football coach 2:07 Lessons learned as a young coach 3:22 Maintaining a winning culture at Union 7:28 Establishing culture in a large school/district 9:20 Determining a yearly theme 11:07 The "gamechanger" in Fridrich's program 14:28 Creating fundamentals lists by position 16:07 When the head coach should consider calling plays on offense or defense 18:51 Defending the RPO 20:49 Weekly defensive gameplanning 22:46 Communicating the game plan to players 24:22 Advantage of drone view 25:24 Mistakes made as young coach 27:11 Best advice received 28:22 Creating balance 30:14 The development pathway 32:25 Importance of training youth coaches 34:57 The winning edge Coach Grabowski’s 3 takeaways 1) Creating culture throughout the community 2) Stop RPO by changing up looks vs the QB 3) As a young coach, working not to be the weak link

Today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Tony Legando. Legando retired following the 2015 season after spending nearly 50 years with the Huron (Mich.) football program. Over the last 28 years of his tenure, he guided Huron to 211 wins. He discusses the importance of simplicity in schemes, integrating alumni within the program and principles of the Run and Shoot. Show notes 1:09 Why did Legando become a football coach 1:51 Key points in Legando's development and philosophy 3:47 Culture-building and old school values 7:30 The football team's role in the community and brining alumni back 10:37 Teaching players and creating excitement with the Run and Shoot 14:07 Principles of Run and Shoot and continuity in pass protection 17:26 Breaking down the pass protection scheme 20:05 Hot reads and training WRs 22:55 Why HS coaches need to be careful trying to emulate college schemes 25:25 Draw a great play on a napkin? Great. But can your offensive line block it? 27:52 Mistake made as a young coach 30:35 Give as much as you ask for from your athletes 32:45 Player pathway and the importance of coaching young players with respect 36:50 Developing leadership and team-building during the season 39:12 The winning edge Coach Grabowski’s 3 key takeaways: 1) If you're proud of what you're doing, bring people in for it (alumni etc.) 2) Continuity: how it feeds each year 3) Be relentless

Josh Herring is the offensive coordinator at Georgia's Lassiter High School, which competes in Georgia's largest classification. Herring is well-respected for his offensive expertise. In this episode, he breaks down his Y Cross play, the importance of a quarterback scanning the field, and developing a system that doesn't start from ground zero each season. Show notes :58 Start as a football coach 2:12 What he learned as intern 5:43 Key points in coaching philosophy 8:12 Building culture across seasons 10:00 The cyclical nature of football trends, and why teams are moving to traditional offenses 14:38 Quarterback school 16:25 Inside Herring’s Y-Cross 19:32 Scan read for the QB 22:26 Front cross—and drills to master it 27:56 Best advice ever received 28:48 Advice to young coaches

Today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Caleb Ross. Ross is the new head coach at Alabama’s Opelika High School. He previously served as head coach at McGill-Toolen, where he captured a 2015 state title and guided the team to a 22-game winning streak. He also guided McGill-Toolen to the USA Football 7on7 national championship in 2016.
 Show Notes 0:59  Developing team leadership 3:10  Taking over a program and empowering your assistants 05:58 Upholding standards at practice 8:37 Game-planning throughout the week 11:39 Narrowing down the playbook for Friday 14:31 Breaking down staff responsibilities 15:40 Mistakes made as a young coach 18:01 Best coaching advice received 20:19 How 7on7 in the summer can unite a team 22:54 Creating balance 25:17 Player development and how 7on7 can help with football skills 28:34 Two-minute drill 30:40 The winning edge

Lansing Catholic (Mich.) head coach Jim Ahern joins the show today. A coaching veteran, Ahern has coached high school football since 1967. A member of the Michigan High School Coaches Hall of Fame, Ahern has utilized the Single Wing offense to achieve great success at different coaching stops. Over the last three seasons, he's posted a combined record of 33-5. Show notes 1:31 Coaching start 3:59 Key learning points as a young coach and the importance of delegating 6:23 3 phases of turning around a program 8:12 Maintaining consistency 12:40 Managing the coaching staff on game day 15:05 Getting kids to buy into the grind 24:26 How to assemble your coaching staff (and the value of in-building coaches) 27:05 Importance of the QB reading defenses 28:46 How the football coach fraternity is unlike any other 31:28 Learning more about RPOs 32:41 Book recommendation 36:30 Advice to a young coach 38:52 Creating balance 46:58 3 traits shared by all of Ahern’s winning teams

Today’s episode of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast features Mark Zito, an assistant coach at Plaquemine (La.) and the originator of what is believed to be the first “Hudl class”—a high school course dedicated to teaching students the nuts and bolts of the popular video-editing software utilized by most high schools around the country. Zito sits down with Keith Grabowski to dive into how the class works, how other coaches can sell the idea to their administration and why the class benefits more than just the football team. Show notes 1:01 Coaching start 1:43 The idea for a Hudl class 2:45 Getting students to buy in and help 4:30 How do you teach (and grade) a Hudl class? 7:10 But are the students accurate? 9:10 Utilizing the students in other ways 11:25 The "Marketing" department 13:29 Film crew 16:20 Working in football = learning to problem solve 17:06 Culture 19:10 Freeing up coaches to focus on game planning 20:35 Hudl class helping other sports 23:30 Taking a college football-like approach to fan interaction 24:19 The positive school-wide effect of Zito's Hudl class 25:28 Getting started with a Hudl class (pitching your administration) 27:19 The winning edge Subscribe to the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast on iTunes.

On today's episode of the Coach and Coordinator podcast, Mike Emendorfer joins the show. Emendorfer is the interim athletic director and head coach at Wisconsin-Platteville, where he's coached for the past 18 years, breaking numerous offensive records in the process. Emendorfer's teams at Wisconsin-Platteville routinely appear in national rankings and he's taken home Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors twice. Show notes 1:04 Start as a FB coach 2:28 Lessons learned early on 3:18 Coaching philosophy and culture: building through humor 6:01 Way back when...when RPOs were just called the "Choice Game" 7:55 Advantages of trips into the boundary 10:56 Blade concept and slicing the defense in half 12:18 "Circus" play 16:17 Playcalling in a big spot 18:05 Approaching situational football in practice 24:25 Practice is important for coaches, too 25:54 Mistake as a young coach 26:56 Best coaching advice received 27:54 Advice to a young coach 29:57 Inspiration from Jim McNally's passion for fundamentals 32:35 Influences in passing game 35:00 Be careful trying to do too much 38:40 Creating balance 41:48 Concerns for future of the game

Merril Hoge discusses the late Dan Rooney by USA Football

Today's guest is Phil Longo, offensive coordinator at Ole Miss. Longo talks about the difference between playing enthusiastically versus emotionally, how he evaluates players on instinctiveness and how he tweaks 7on7 time to make them even more effective for his team. He also discusses how he turns weaknesses into strengths by always optimizing his playbook. Show notes 1:53 Start as a football coach 2:52 Lessons learned as a young coach 4:33 Building culture within an offense 6:30 Establishing relationships with players 8:28 Emphasizing instinct with players 9:57 Longo's grading system for evaluating instinctiveness 12:30 How Ole Miss breaks down its spring practice schedule 14:09 How Longo turns weak links in the playbook into strengths 16:39 Tweaking plays for red zone and goal line situations 18:04 Special Teams and trick plays 19:35 Don't install RPOs just to say you run RPOs 20:59 Play repetition 22:23 Coach technology 24:45 Keys to running an effective walkthrough 26:17 Role of assistant coaches on game day 27:28 Getting the most from 7on7s 29:25 The winning edge Coach Grabowski’s 3 key takeaways 1) Playing enthusiastically not emotionally 2) Having 26 plays and sticking with it 3) Get your players to play instinctively

Colby Jubenville (Middle Tennessee State) and Jim Hensel (Tennessee Tech) by USA Football

Kevin Rose, the head coach at Bob Jones, is today's guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. He discusses the importance of evaluating every single rep, why his team has a near-flawless record in overtime and the keys to his Sluggo concept that has been instrumental in helping Bob Jones High School be so successful. Show notes 1:02 Starting as a coach 2:49 Key points in coaching development 3:32 Coach philosophy and building culture 5:38 Keeping practice fun, so players want to be there 7:16 Why Rose always takes the ball if he wins the coin toss 9:26 The importance of having practices planned out in great detail 10:38 Film your practice, so you can evaluate every single rep 11:40 Get your best players the ball in your best plays, regardless of where they line up 13:19 Refining your game plan and planning for overtime 16:09 Rose’s Sluggo/Slant concept and the importance of timing 18:47 Mistakes made as a young coach 19:44 "Don't ever look surprised." 22:05 The significance of universal football language 23:55 Batman's super power 25:06 Utilizing technology 26:11 Creating balance 27:17 Concerns for future of the game 29:40 Y Delay 36:17 The importance of having the mental edge