Coach and Coordinator Podcast

On today’s podcast, host Keith Grabowski is joined by Rice Offensive Line Coach, Sanders Davis. Coach took over the Rice offensive line in 2020, having previously spent time on staff as a GA. Prior to his time at Rice, Davis spent 5 years at Catholic High School, where he served as the run game coordinator and offensive line coach. Davis joins the podcast for the second part of this interview to talk about his power run game. 1:32 Key Coaching Points on his version of power 17:08 Winning Edge

On today’s podcast, host Keith Grabowski is joined by Rice Offensive Line Coach, Sanders Davis. Coach took over the Rice offensive line in 2020, having previously spent time on staff as a GA. Prior to his time at Rice, Davis spent 5 years at Catholic High School, where he served as the run game coordinator and offensive line coach. Davis has had a unique journey through the coaching world and joins the podcast to talk about that journey. 1:30 Coach’s journey 14:15 Developing relationships to progress in the coaching world 18:30 Trying to show coaches that you’re trying to learn and be interactive as opposed to trying to get something out of the relationship 22:52 What aspects of teaching does coach bring over to football

From the Archives: Brian Kight and Keith Grabowski team up for this special Leadership Journey edition of the Coach and Coordinator Podcast. This podcast will occur weekly throughout the season, focusing on issues that teams face during the season. Keith and Brian discusses culture and alignment in today’s podcast. Show notes 2:01 Trying to create alignment within the coaching staff 4:21 The definition of a coach 8:28 How coaches benefit from self-assessments 12:51 Keep systems simple but detailed 15:16 Alignment happens with clarity, support, and accountability 19:46 The reason teams struggle with alignment 23:07 “Embrace the uniqueness of you, but align with us” 26:18 Tips to get players to align 28:01 A foundation of beliefs 31:47 Encouragement for coaches

On October 16, 2010 at MetLife stadium, Eric LeGrand ran down on a kick off for Rutgers and didn’t walk off the field. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe, and Coach Schiano came out on the field knelt and looked down at Eric and said, “Pray.” Becoming paralyzed playing the game he loved didn’t change his passion for the game or the lessons he had taken from it. It provided him the courage and inspiration to go out into the world and do more. Eric has shown the world that obstacles can be transformed into opportunities, and he will continue to drive his mission forward until he delivers on Christopher Reeve’s dream of a world with empty wheelchairs. To Eric, it is not matter of if he walks again, but rather when. To help Eric on his mission, Coach Schiano, the Rutgers staff, and the New Jersey Football Coaches Association have launched the virtual “Believe” Clinic with all proceeds to benefit "The Christopher Reeves Foundation" on behalf of Eric LeGrand. Please help this cause while expanding your football knowledge April 22-24 with 31 speakers from high school, college, and the NFL. Live and replay available to all attendees. Only $29. Here is a run down of some notable speakers: Greg Schiano, HC, Rutgers - Q&A Sean Gleeson, OC, Rutgers - Rutgers Offense in the Pandemic and Beyond Robb Smith, DC, Rutgers - Scarlet Knight Defensive Concepts Brandon Streeter, PGC/QB, Clemson - Clemson Tigers QB Development Kevin Higgins, WR Coach, Wake Forest - Developing Wide Receivers Skills and Drills Ed Foley, ST Coach, Carolina Panthers - Building an Effective Kick Return Mike Judge, Asst. TE Coach, Miami Dolphins - Drills and Skills, Getting TE’s Ready to Compete Steve Verbit, Co DC, Princeton - Dynamic Pass Rush Technique Development Jared Backus, DC, Cornell - 6 Man Pressure Out Of The 3-4 With Technique Emphasis Satyen Bhatka, DL, Cornell - It's What's Up Front That Counts - Defensive Line Technique vs The Run The line-up also includes the entire Rutgers staff and top high school coaches talking on offense, defense, special teams, and program development! Do not miss this opportunity to develop as a coach and help Eric LeGrand’s mission! REGISTER HERE: https://njfca.coachesclinic.com

On today’s episode of the Coach and Coordinator podcast, host Keith Grabowski is joined by Matt Troxel, former AAF and Division 1 College Coach. Troxel most recently coached for the San Antonio Commanders of the AAF, but previously spent time at Oregon State, Idaho State and Idaho. Toxel has coached a wide variety of positions, which has helped him grow as a coach. He joins the podcast today to talk about his time in the AAF as well as how his RPO’s fit into his run game. 1:42 What Coach learned early in his career that helped guide him 7:17 Stepping outside of your comfort zone 11:01 What coach learned at Oregon State 15:23 How Coaching in the AAF helped look at football in a different perspective 18:49 What AAF rule did he like that the NCAA/NFL doesn’t implement 21:10 Importance of developmental leagues 23:46 How the RPO’s fit into his run game 28:04 Tools he used to help develop his QB’s mental game 30:24 Vertical Raise 32:50 The Winning Edge

From the archives: Today's guest on the Coach and Coordinator Podcast is Gabe Fertitta, former head football coach at Catholic High School of Baton Rouge (Louisiana). Fertitta led Catholic to its 2nd state championship under his leadership in 2020. This led to an opportunity at the FBS level with Louisville. On today’s episode Coach Fertitta and host Keith Grabowski talk about program alignment and the cur dog culture at Catholic High School. Show Notes 1:51 Coach Fertitta’s time at Catholic 3:04 Culture at Catholic High School 4:42 Making the switch to head coach 7:30 Aligning with the culture 11:30 Cur Dog culture 15:25 Offense and defense at Catholic 18:42 G-scheme concept 24:54 Continuing to perform at a high level Coach Fertitta’s twitter: @Fertitta_Gabe

From the Archives: Brian Kight and Keith Grabowski team up for this special Leadership Journey edition of the Coach and Coordinator podcast. Brian and Keith discuss accountability in today’s podcast. Show notes 1:51 How much a team’s attitude can change from week to week 3:35 Leading men in battle and how it applies to football 5:45 How leadership skills are developed 7:30 How to create your own energy 10:20 Accountability never works in isolation 16:00 Why the right thing to do isn’t always clear 18:05 What accountability is 22:30 Why coaches should redefine accountability for their teams 25:00 Reward alignment and create discomfort for misalignment 29:15 How to utilize accountability properly 35:30 Reward based on what players like, not what you like 40:05 Social discomfort is the most effective form of discomfort

On today’s episode of the Coach and Coordinator podcast, Host Keith Grabowski is joined by Ben Albert, Co-Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach at Duke. Albert has been with the Blue Devils since the 2016 season, where he has had various different roles. Prior to his time at Duke, he spent 3 seasons as the Defensive Line Coach at Boston College and has also been a Linebackers Coach at Temple. Coach joined the podcast today to talk about how he defends the RPO game. 1:01 Coach’s journey 4:23 The “55” 8:23 How they work to be efficient 11:32 How coaching is like being a good parent 13:55 What trends Coach sees to stopping the RPO’s 17:44 What techniques his defensive linemen use vs the RPO game 19:50 Favorite alignments vs the RPO 23:16 Advice to young coaches looking to level up their careers 27:35 Winning Edge

Coach Grabowski’s Notebook: Coaching Points for Developing a Strong Player-Coach Relationship Host Keith Grabowski shares a page from his notebook, specifically his coaching staff manual, that details the coaching points to develop a strong player coach relationship. He shares examples from his own experiences and recent FBS spring ball visits. 00:42 Where this information comes from 01:25 Relationships are important even at the highest levels 01:14 Tom Izzo example of “tough coaching” 02:19 Can’t find validation anywhere for treating players poorly 03:01 Introduction – trust, respect, caring, and honesty 05:24 Eye contact is important to communicating honesty 05:58 Be sure of yourself 06:31 Be careful with humor 07:00 Be yourself 07:41 Be honest 08:48 Talk to your players as people not just athletes; U. Buffalo example 10:06 When yelling is appropriate 13:37 Be patient; their success is your responsibility 15:54 Using physical discipline (running, sprints, etc.); is it appropriate? 16:00 Physical performance error 16:11 Mental mistakes 16:46 Lack of effort 17:30 University of Akron tempo example 18:32 Be flexible 19:55 Communicate positively and specifically 20:55 Make sure the have a role and an opportunity to contribute 23:05 Bench is a motivator 24:00 Set them up for success 24:59 No excuses mentailty Twitter: @CoachKGrabowski

On today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, Host Keith Grabowski is joined by Akron Outside Linebackers Coach, Deonte Gibson. Coach Gibson was a formerly and elite player in the Big Ten for Northwestern, where he was a 3rd team All-Big Ten selection as well as a 3 time Academic All-Big Ten player. Gibson also found himself in the NFL, where he played for Tampa Bay and Detroit. Coach has been at Northwestern since 2020 and was formerly the defensive line coach at Eastern Illinois. He joined the podcast today to talk about what it’s like coaching and relating to players in today’s game. 1:18 Coach’s journey 4:24 Shift to the new age of coaching as compared to how he was coached 7:40 Addressing the “Why” and how his experiences helped him do that 10:18 How he relates to players initially 12:17 How his youth has helped him coach 13:35 How he tries to be a mentor 15:42 Balancing scheme and technique 18:36 Fine tuning your tools and changing things when needed 20:23 Favorite piece that he’s read and learned 21:30 His favorite defensive call 23:46 What things help Coach stay focused 25:20 Winning Edge

In all the activity of what goes into the process of getting a job and then getting started there, Coach Fisch heard about Lauren's First and Goal Clinic. He had worked the LFG Camp before and wanted to be a part of the clinic even though his schedule was full with getting things going in Arizona. His topic was marrying the run and pass in which he showed film from his time with the rams and how they make outside zone and play action look the same to create explosive plays. Today’s podcast is a Q&A moderated by John Loose, AHC at Army and Coach Fisch. He answers a variety of question from running back footwork in OZ, to effectiveness from gun or pistol, his best advice, how to handle a zero technique and more. There is plenty of insight packed into this quickcast. Entire clinic talk on CoachTube: https://bit.ly/3uzm9be All courses developed from LFG Clinic: Check out all the courses from Lauren's First and Goal Clinic here: bit.ly/3tgTrLB coachandcoordinator.com/

Today's Quickcast is form a clinic talk which Keith moderated at Lauren's First and Goal Clinic. Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Justin Hamilton talks about a changing landscape of college football and how coaches must adapt or die. To do this, he sees that it's necessary to rethink how players fit within a system and find them roles which suit their skill set. He talks about the coaches' roles in teaching and evaluating across all positions. In addition, he shares practical ides on how they will accomplish this as a defensive unit. The entire talk is available here: https://bit.ly/3s2wM4p Check out all the courses from Lauren's First and Goal Clinic here: bit.ly/3tgTrLB http://coachandcoordinator.com/

Today on the Coach and Coordinator podcast, host Keith Grabowski welcomes the new Tight Ends Coach at the University of Massachusetts, Kyle Segler. Coach Segler has had multiple stops on his 12 year coaching career including at Marshall, Louisiana Monroe, Sam Houston State and Lon Morris College. Segler has mostly coached the tight ends and offensive lines on his stops but has also had stints as a special teams coordinator. Segler joined the podcast today to share what it was like getting let go and how his search process went. 2:12 Coach’s journey 5:52 Advice he would give to a coach who has been let go 10:57 Putting together a course of action to find your next gig 15:54 Getting different resources together to avoid pigeonholing yourself 20:32 How Coach manages making sure he personally has film 26:30 Advice he would give to a coach transitioning 31:00 What coach talks about in his clinic at the LFG Clinic

From Season 1 of the Leadership Journey: Brian Kight and Keith Grabowski team up for this special Leadership Journey edition of the Coach and Coordinator podcast. Keith and Brian Kight discuss building connections in today’s podcast. 1:17 Breaking down the word “connection” 4:32 Relationships are built around 3 things 7:50 Players want to know if coaches care about them 9:34 Difference between foundation and function 13:33 Surface level concerns coaches need to understand 14:52 Acknowledging players for who they are 17:22 Learn how to use SnapChat 19:41 When authority exceeds influence, problems occur 24:05 4 things that make the connection 29:09 Invest a week into caring and listening 32:17 Taking ownership of your attitude Follow all Brian is doing now at https://www.tbriankight.com/ Playlists from the Leadership Journey: Season 1: https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/sets/the-leadership-journey-with Season 2: https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/sets/the-leadership-journey-with-1 Season 3: https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/sets/the-leadership-journey-season

Today's episode is a session from Lauren's First and Goal Clinic which Keith moderated. Brian Hess, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at UNC, shares the Tarheels' approach to making gains year round, including during competition periods. He talks about how they look at the year and understand the demands of practice so their players are peaking every week. The entire talk is available here: https://bit.ly/3uhoEik The entire talk is available here: bit.ly/3m4Wa8y Check out all the courses from Lauren's First and Goal Clinic here: bit.ly/3tgTrLB Playlist of Strength & Conditioning Coaches: https://bit.ly/3wj4MwR