We are fortunate to have long time offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone join us weekly this season to discuss games from the week and what we can learn from them.

The week we get Coach Mazzone’s insight on :

Offenses blending tempo
-How to do it
-Leverage or numbers
-Minnesota use of personnel and formation
-Adjusting splits on RPO
-Manipulating leverage of secondary with alignment  
-Using clock and going slow then hitting with one word call
-Putting more thought into using tempo
-Creating “counters” to your tempo
-2 and 3 man route combinations instead of 4-5 out
-Keeping protection simple and protection in compressed formatiopn 
-Mike Leach and repetitions to create understanding and “answers to the test”
-Handling drop 8  
-A change from NFL trickle down to influence of college ball up to NFL
-“12 Mighty Orphans” - equaling the field with tempo 
-How offenses have benefited from access to information
-Nothing comes back the same  

Join us every week throughout the season for more with Coach Mazzone.

Week 2 - In The NZone with Noel Mazzone

On today’s episode of the Coach and Coordinator podcast, host Keith Grabowski shares one of the key concepts stressed by Mike Shanahan at the QB Collective camp this past week: how to protect the team. Grabowski shares different ways in which coaches can help to protect the team during training camp and which situations coaches and players need think about.

Show Notes:

-QB Collective
-Mike Shanahan’s talk about install
-Meaning of “protect the team”
-Ways to protect team in practice – not finishing easy hits in practice
-Holding receivers in practice
-Interior players and defining clear systems
-Pass rush
-Defensive linemen
-Separating aggression into specific drills
-Banned drills
-Team run vs. inside Run

Related Content:

User-804678956 – Best-of-deliberate-practice-offensive-edition
User-804678956 – Best-of-deliberate-practice-defensive-edition
User-804678956 – From-coaching-in-the-nfl-to-training-quarterbacks-richmond-flowers-iii-ceofounder-qb-collective

Protect The Team

Hopefully your team is finding success in the Red Zone.  It can make a huge difference in any game.

The red zone requires some thoughts and adjustments on both sides of the ball.  For the offense, vertical space is decreasing and causes them to adjust their route concepts.  They look for formations and routes that help them get free of tight coverage. In the run game they look to add hats especially as a defense commits more to the run.  

The defense must adjust and stay out of situations where the offense is picking off defenders and getting a receiver wide open.  The defense needs to be able to react quickly and commit to stopping the run.

Both sides of the call must have a plan and execute if they want to win on this part of the field.  Today we share adjustments for each side of the ball in the Red Zone.

Offense:
-QB run with Swing Screen
-Swing Screen action adjustment vs OLB causing issues
-Empty with multiple quicks/hots
-Using Zone run/pass pro vs. pressure
-Play action

Defense:
-Alignment to not get picked
-Adjusting coverage in the red zone
-Using bracket vs. condensed splits

Resources from this episode on CoachTube:
Tim Zetts - Red Zone Perimeter Concepts:

Joe Conlin - Attacking the Blitz with Inside Zone:
https://bit.ly/2XenbOg

Joe Moorehead - Red Zone RPOs:
https://bit.ly/2WIjUXu

Marvin Clecidor - Red Zone Coverage Variations:
https://bit.ly/3A7o2Pn

Chris Partridge - 3rd Down and Red Zone Bracket:
https://bit.ly/3iTitgl

Adjustment Series Week 3 - The Red Zone

-t’s another week of In the NZone with Coach Noel Mazzone, and we discuss some of the big games from the last week and what we can learn from them as coaches.  This week we discuss:

-Ohio State vs. Oregon
-Stretch Play
-Same Side RPO
-When to use same side RPO
-Joe Moorhead play calling
-Iowa vs. Iowa State
-12% rule
-Explosive play impact on a series
-Planning for P10 and explosives
-Stanford USC
-Intellectual brutality of Stanford offense 
-Browns vs. Chiefs
-Creativity of Andy Reid and Kevin Stefanski
-Distributing the ball to playmakers
-Using the run to set up shots 
-QB situational end of half/game execution
-What separates good QB from great QB
-Understanding why - player ownership
-My schemes won’t win football games, my players will
-Philip Rivers and the “Why” meeting
-Having the what and why discussions everyday
-A Quarterback vs. a play runner

In The Nzone - Week 3 - Same Side RPO, Big Plays, QB Play

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins. Today’s focus will be “next man up,”

1:15 How to get quarterbacks ready to step-in
4:46 Ideas for how many plays the backup quarterbacks need to know
7:07 Regularly inserting the backup QB into games
8:52 The evolution of the “wildcat”
12:02 Rotating players to let them rest
13:43 Increasing practice reps
16:12 Using virtual reality and simulations to get mental reps
18:14 Practice 2-minute drills with backups
20:19 Coaching staff needs to help raise team morale and confidence

Next Man Up - Terry Shea, NFL Draft Consultant, Retired NFL/College Coach

In this episode Keith Grabowski shares the importance of having a clock management specialist.

Have you assigned this position on your staff? You should.  Keith details how the clock management specialist can make a difference in winning and losing.

Get someone going on that this weekend.

More notes and updates to follow later this weekend.

The Importance Of Having A Clock Managemet Specialist

It’s another week of looking at some possible adjustments, tweaks, and wrinkles to keep your offense and defense rolling.

Offense
We are hitting mid-season and teams have gotten a chance to see what you do. They are studying you on film and trying to hone in on your tendencies. The last thing you want is your offense to bog down. 

Finding a way to pick up a chunk of yardage or even a touchdown at a critical time can help propel your team towards its goals.

Adding a screen to what you already do can be a great way to get an explosive play and break a tendency. If you already run screens, you can make your screen game more multiple or add a screen to some of your best runs, passes, or even add to a wrinkle that you have already added.

Defensively, it's not necessarily about adding another blitz or stunt but refining the ones you have.  This involves identifying techniques which can be improved and focusing on how you can work those in practice.

On special teams it is also about refinement by identifying a phase of each special teams unit which can be working in individual or group periods in practice.

Resources recommended in this podcast:
Joe Davis "All Position Screen Game"
https://bit.ly/3f4CMGc
Josh Herring "Attitude Passes"
https://bit.ly/3zpLhD6
Dave Cohen "Defensive Line Movement"
https://bit.ly/39nINuo
Scott Fountain "4 Phases of Punt Return"
https://bit.ly/3tWSr0Q

Adjustments Week 4 - Screens, Blitz and Stunt Technique, Phases of Special Teams

On this week's "In the NZone" Keith and Noel discuss game planning formation into the boundary plays including Noel's favorites and the use of tempo with FIB, Ole Miss explosives and how they make the opponent defend the whole field, Wake Forest's slow mesh rpo game and how they've mixed traditional read game/rpo, as well as a discussion on how the way defenses and offenses have evolved.

The Wake Forest RPO Clinic is available here:
https://bit.ly/2XC4F2N

In The NZone With Coach Noel Mazzone - Formation Into Boundary, Explosives, Slow Mesh RPO

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins.

-What to look for in the self scout

-When it’s OK to break your tendencies

-Looking at your game schedule to decide when to add a wrinkle

-Focusing on what you do best when adding personnel

-Adding screen concepts

-Making sure the QB understands the wrinkle

-Don’t add a wrinkle if safeties can’t adjust

-Using movement to add a wrinkle

-How to game plan movement

-Main things to look at when adding a wrinkle midseason

The Game Plan With Terry Shea - Adding A Wrinkle

Today we focus on how we can do little things to take care of ourselves and our players in-season.  With the grind of the season, stress and physical requirements of our job can wear us down.

The 2007 and 2011 New York Giants under Coach Tom Coughlin made yoga a part of their routine, as did the 2015 Seattle Seahawks under Coach Pete Carroll. ESPN The Magazine wrote an article about it. At the time that was outside the box thinking.

And since then just about every NFL team and most FBS programs have jumped on board in making yoga a part of their in-season routine.  It’s even made its way to the high school level.


Gwen Lawrence has two Super Bowl rings as the yoga instructor for the Giants for 16 seasons.  Now she works in certifying instructors across the country to work with athletes. 

She joins us to discuss simple things we can do to keep ourselves performing optimally.

-Working with Tom Coughlin
-Start and introduction to the Giants by Frank Gifford
-Players response to being introduced to yoga
-Simple breathing exercises to relieve stress
-Simple ways to be more mindful
-Taking care of aches and pains
-Better sleep
-Yoga as an after game day routine
-Position specific moves for your players
-"No Sweat" practices

Coach Wellness Kit on CoachTube:
https://bit.ly/3i6EJn6
Power Yoga fo Sport - Full Football Edition
https://coachtube.com/course/football/power-yoga-for-sports-training
https://bit.ly/3i7ovu2
Bundle both and save:
https://bit.ly/3COVBXk

Taking Care Of Ourselves In-Season - Gwen Lawrence, Former Yoga Instructor For The NY Giants

On this week's episode in our Adjustment Series we focus on the goal line and short yardage.  This is an important area because either points are being scored, chains are moving, or the ball is being turned over on downs.

On the offensive side we focus on:
-An alternative short yardage strategy
https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/alternative-short-yardage-strategy/
-49er's creative QB sneak
-The pin and pull or "truck" play
-Rice's unique strategy and technique for Goal Line
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/all-in-on-offense-short-yardagegoal-line-heavy-sets-sanders-davis-rice

On the Defensive side we focus on:
-gapping out the offensive line
-short yardage techniques
-defeating the "dive" on the perimeter strategy
-avoiding picks

On Special Teams we focus on:
-short yardage fakes to up-backs
-adjustments to do it from shield
-being prepared for it on defense

Adjustments - Short Yardage And Goal Line

On this episode of "In the NZone" Coach Mazzone comes to us from Hamburg, Germany where he is coaching an all star game.  

We discuss the trend of the nub tight end, why it is being utilized more and some advantages that it gives.  We delve into speed option and its re-emergence as a way to attack modern defenses, and discuss Steve Sarkisian's use of a reverse out from the QB in the pistol.

Then Coach Mazzone hands off to former LSU, NFL QB and MLB player Josh Booty to discuss the best way to handle the quarterback.  he discusses playing for Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher and how he liked to be dealt with.  We talk about getting a young QB to settle down and get opportunities to work different things in game situations.

In The NZone-Noel Mazzone & Special Guest Josh Booty, Nub TE, Speed Option, Handling QBs

On today's episode of the Coach and Coordinator podcast, Mike Emendorfer joins the show. Emendorfer is the head coach at Wisconsin-Platteville, where he's coached for the past 19 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

-How Emendorfer adds wrinkles to the game-plan

-Creativity sparked by opponents’ film

- Weighing pros and cons when adding concepts to playbook

- Method for beginning a game

-Breaking down game-day communication

-Keeping simple concepts

-Changes made in practice throughout the season

-How to mentally prepare players

-The winning edge

Crazy Formations, Adding Wrinkle, Game Day Comms - Mike Emendorfer, Head Coach, UW - Platteville

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins. Today’s focus will be on how to handle distractions that occur during the season. 

-Dealing with the media
-Setting media rules for players
-Initiating contact with the media
-Handling Homecoming week events
-Rivalry games
-What to do when a key player gets injured

Handling Distraction - Terry Shea - NFL Draft Consultant, Former NFL & College Coach

On this week's edition of our Adjustments Series we focus on how to stress an opponent in multiple ways.

The strategy discussed will be explained from both an offensive and defensive perspective.

Offense:
-Stressing a single defender
-Expand and contract formation philosophy
-Unusual fomartions

Defense:
-Stressing a line 
-Bringing pressure from unexpected places
-Stemming the front

Special teams:
-Adding reverse at teams that place the ball consistently on their kicks

Adjustments - Stressing Your Opponent in Multiple Ways

Ohio high school football coaching veteran Mark Solis is today’s guest on the Coach and Coordinator podcast. Now the head coach at Olentangy High School in Lewis Center, Ohio, Solis sits down with host Keith Grabowski to discuss maintaining a work-life balance for his coaching staff. He also breaks down his philosophy behind building a Football Operations team.

Show notes

- Weight room philosophy during the season
- Giving the coaching staff weekends off
- Continuity is important in building a successful program
- Building a football operations team
- The winning edge

In - Season Lifting, Creating An Ops Team, Weekends - Mark Solis, HC Olentangy HS (OH)

Coach DJ Eliot joins us on the first episode of our Defensive Series.  Coach Eliot has 20+ years of coaching experience in the collegiate rankings.

Coach Eliot’s pedigree includes coaching stops at Kansas, Florida State, Miami, Colorado and Kentucky, as well as time with proven winners and program builders Jimbo Fisher and Mark Stoops. Additionally, Coach Eliot is among a select group of defensive thought-leaders that regularly clinic around the principles of the 3-4 defense.

Today we talk about:
-The Evolution of Georgia and Alabama Defenses
-The Dave Aranda/Vic Fangio tree
-Stems, how to do them , calling them, practicing them
-Creepers and common offensive answers
-Suggestions for offenses on how to best handle creepers
-RPO and how a defensive coordinator looks at them
-Complimentary football between offense and defense

Evolution Of Bama & UGA Defenses, Stems, Creepers, Complimentary Ball - DJ Eliot, Def. Coordinator

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins. Today’s focus will be on how to approach the last part of the season.

Show notes

-How to approach the last quarter of the season
-Going back to old material
-Maintaining focus
-Determining when to practice without gear
-Tony Dungy's Practice Smart course
-Keeping the mental edge
-Changing the coaching staff routine
-Discuss film with the whole staff
-How to boost team morale

Adjustments To Routine - Terry Shea, HC Aviators (Spring League), Former NFL/FBS Coach

On this week's installment of our Adjustment Series we focus on creating and taking away big plays in all phases of the game and ways to practice in that regard.

Offense:
Isolating receivers plus creating field space
Carrying out fakes
Find work to spring someone for a touchdown.

Defense:
5 yard fence technique for counter, reverse, naked
Changing angles of pursuit in a play
Taking away space in the secondary

Special teams:
-3 whistle kick return drill
-2 whistle kick off drill

Related:
5 yard fence:
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/woody-hayes-5-yard-fence-rule-for-better-run-fits?si=9ed5a2036e9e48d4a17d24dbf527401a

Adjustments - Creating and Taking Away Big Plays

On this episode of our in season series "In the NZone" with Coach Noel Mazzone we discuss some of the big games from that past week and what we can take away from them.

Today we focus on:
-Creating space for shot plays
-Using motion and building a game plan
-Defensive stems and movement
-Plays protecting plays
-Two point decisions and installing and planning two point plays

In the NZone with Noel Mazzone - Shot Plays, Motion, Plays Protect Plays, 2 Pointers

This week we talk with longtime FBS defensive coordinator DJ Eliot about the defenses of Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Iowa and Penn State.  We share what those defenses do well and how to incorporate some of their concepts and strategies from game planning to practice to in-game adjustments.

Kentucky: 
-Cloud to a receiver
-Star vs top receiver
-What are you looking for in game plan
-What can hurt cloud

Texas A&M:
-Brackets coverage
-Playing the run with a “light” box
-Games for run and pass
-Jab and Go and Deep and Slow
 -Using Line stunts to push everything to safety
 -Calling a run or pass stunt and training DL to redirect
-Structuring the terminology for  games calls for run or pass
-Teaching games in practice
-Using special teams time with the offensive line to work games 
-Every pass game has to look like a rush
 
Penn State vs. Iowa
A game of adjustments and clock management

Iowa defense:
-Over-quarters
-The balance of enough vs too much
-Getting doubles on vertical when #2 eliminates himself
-OLB grab #2 to flat and safety double #1
-How to adjust when key player is out of the game
-Stoppers” on the call sheet
-QB change - how does their game plan and calls change
-Rush mentality and games and pressures change vs running QB
-Game planning - identifying and knowing how #2 QB is different
-Example - facing Lamar Jackson

Penn State:
-3 Buzz
-Under 1
-Making front looks and pressure looks look the same  
-Responding to sudden change
-Installing sudden change in practice
-Sudden change is a critical situation
-Philosophy staring 11 in regardless of where a rotation is
-Message of optimism
-Sudden change in practice
-The emotions of sudden change

Related:
Week 1 of Defense with DJ:
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/evolution-of-bama-uga-defenses-stems-creepers-complimentary-ball-dj-eliot-defensive-coordinator
Interview with DJ Eliot - Part 1:
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/player-development-and-the-race-against-time-dj-eliot-defensive-coordinator-kansas
Part 2:
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/player-development-and-the-race-against-time-part-2-dj-eliot-defensive-coordinator-kansas

Defense With DJ - Kentucky, Texas A&M, Penn State And Iowa - DJ Eliot, FBS Defensive Coordinator

Today’s guest on the Coach and Coordinator podcast is Grant Caserta. Caserta is the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Illinois Wesleyan. 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 designing game plans, prepping scout teams and game day communication.

Show notes
-Assigning the coaching staff tasks for game-day
-Using film throughout the season
-Designing practice to look like the game plan
-Preparing the scout team to mimic the opponent
-How freshmen and JV teams work into the program
-Rotating between offense and defense in practice
-Staying close to base
-How Caserta responds to scripted plays
-Procedure for in-game communication
-How players communicate during the game
-Husson’s favorite defensive call
-The winning edge

Learn Defense: coachtube.com/courses/football/team-defense

Preparing Game Plans, In-Game Communication - Grant Caserta, DC, Illinois Wesleyan

The Game Plan- Traditions

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. Shea was offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins. Today’s focus is program traditions.


Show notes

1:34  Traditions are more than winning
5:40  Including alumni into traditions
7:02  Getting boosters involved
10:48  Creating a closing ceremony for seniors
14:18  “The Senior Tackle”
19:15  Comparing conditioning from August to the end of the season
24:39  Shea’s quarterback manual, Eyes Up

Traditions - Terry Shea, Former NFL and FBS Coach

On this episode of "In the NZone," Coach Noel Mazzone discusses the details to his approach to making half-time adjustments.

-What really matters
-P&10
-How much do we talk about drive starters?
-Taking the ball first
-Game Planning Drive Starters/P&10
-Gathering info and planning at half
-Negative plays
Holding onto calls for 2nd half
-Make their sideline work
-Explosives
-Getting on track
-Addressing mindset
-Final words before taking field
-Don't chase ghosts
-Simple approach to half time adjustments

In The NZone With Noel Mazzone - Half Time Adjustments

Coach DJ Eliot joins us on the third episode of our Defensive Series. Coach Eliot has 20+ years of coaching experience in the collegiate rankings.

Coach Eliot’s pedigree includes coaching stops at Kansas, Florida State, Miami, Colorado and Kentucky, as well as time with proven winners and program builders Jimbo Fisher and Mark Stoops. Additionally, Coach Eliot is among a select group of defensive thought-leaders that regularly clinic around the principles of the 3-4 defense.

Oklahoma State Defense:
-Clouding to the RB
-Adjustment with fly or orbit motion
-With motion it becomes 3 cloud on the run
-Red zone Free Player
-Disguise and responsibility
-Red Zone Adjustments to Unbalanced
-Brackets concept
-Adjustments for X Over vs Tackle Over
-“NOC” call
-“Play it” vs Unbalanced 
-Adjustments or checks vs shifts into X-Over
-Rules for unbalanced adjustments
-Recognizing eligibles
-The key to being multiple
-Flex Backer Defense
-Getting a double on the QB
-Assigning responsibility to the free underneath player
-Game planning or tagging the responsibility of the free player
-Oklahoma St stop on a critical down with sticks
-Coaching and calling sticks coverages

UCLA Defense:
-Multiple line stems
-Line stunts 
-Inverted halves
-Utilizing the Safety
-Taking away gift throws
-Corner blitzes
-Pushing the run for width with line stunts
-Fall back fits for LB
-Getting a double on the QB
-Zero coverage complemented by showing it in Quarters
-Corner blitz from boundary with man/quarters
-Keys to effective corner blitz
-Safety blitz keys in quarters look

Clinic from Jim Knowles - DC, Oklahoma State
https://bit.ly/3lZhcHi
Clinic from Jerry Azzinaro - DC, UCLA
https://bit.ly/3E2SsUO

Defense With DJ Eliot- Oklahoma State And UCLA Defenses

In this episode from the archives, host Keith Grabowski was joined by in-season guest host Brian Kight to discuss performing under pressure and succeeding in high pressure situations.

Performing Under Pressure - Brian Kight

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins. Today’s focus will be on finishing the season strong.

Show notes

1:22 Maintaining consistency
2:45 Addressing dual-sport athletes
5:31 Not losing track of the seniors
7:07 The importance of looking ahead for underclassmen
10:12 Helping the seniors with leaving a legacy
14:01 Tips for teams heading into the playoffs
17:24 Boosting the team confidence

The Game Plan - Finishing Strong with Terry Shea, Head Coach, Spring League Aviators

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. Shea was offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins. Today’s discussion will be focused on tips for teams in the playoffs and run game analysis.

Show notes

1:50 Advice for teams with long road trips
9:32 Playing in a bigger venue
12:21 The differences in turf vs. grass
14:05 Scripting a game plan for overtime
19:48 Deciding on going for two points or the kick
26:40 Analyzing the run game
31:06 Running explosive plays
36:22 Quarterbacks who can run

Tips For The Playoffs And Run Game Analysis - Terry Shea, Former NFL/FBS Coach

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. Today the co-hosts discuss the importance of humility for a leader.

Show notes

-Humility is important for leaders
-The power of culture change
-Adults struggling with instant gratification
-Why humility is a core principle in football
-Conceptual vs. functional humility
-5 things required for humility
-Be open to having hard conversations
-Everyone has different experiences
-Ego vs. confidence

Humility - The Leadership Journey With Brian Kight

This was Brennan Marion's first interview on Coach and Coordinator.  At the time he was at Howard University as the offensive coordinator.  He moved on to William and Mary and then Hawaii and is now the receivers coach at Pitt.

Pitt is one of the top performing offenses in 2021 in total offense, scoring offense, and passing offense.

Coach Marion discusses his philosophy, strategy, concepts and more in his first interview on Coach and Coordinator.

More of Coach Marion on Coach and Coordinator:
Building a Position Room:
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/brennan-marion-wr-coach-university-of-hawaii-building-your-position-room
NCAA Leaders - The Go-Go Offense:
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/ncaa-leaders-brennan-marion-howard-university-offensive-coordinator

Creator Of The Go - Go Offense - Brennan Marion, WR Coach, Pitt

In this episode of in the NZone, Noel and Keith discuss how to install and teach players to think and problem solve on their own and different methods of accomplishing this.

Shownotes to follow

In The NZone - Install Thinking With Noel Mazzone

Coach DJ Eliot joins us on the fifth episode of our Defensive Series to discuss the #1 ranked defense in the FBS, the Wisconsin Badgers. Coach Eliot has 20+ years of coaching experience in the collegiate rankings.

Coach Eliot’s pedigree includes coaching stops at Kansas, Florida State, Miami, Colorado and Kentucky, as well as time with proven winners and program builders Jimbo Fisher and Mark Stoops. Additionally, Coach Eliot is among a select group of defensive thought-leaders that regularly clinic around the principles of the 3-4 defense.

Today we break down the #6 ranked Houston Cougar defense under defensive coordinator Doug Belk.

Shownotes:
-Division 3 football
-Bracket and run fits
-Adjustments to fly
-How to play halves with a hook defender
-Level, Look and Listen
-"In" Calls
-Handling motion in Man Fee and Match 3
-Determining how to adjust
-Handling Y motion with Bump in the box
-Alerts pre snap for Y motion
-Simulated Man Free pressure
-Bear on 3rd down to get protection you want
-Nick Saban vs. Vic Fangio Match 3 and how to tell which is being played
-Mixing Match 3 and Rat 1 to avoid the O picking on a weakness
-Fishtail to hold 2 shell
-Going from 2 high to 1 high off snap indicator
-Study of snap indicator - using the play clock
-Crash Quarters - running CB/Safety blitzes from boundary with a 2 speed
-Red Zone

Follow Coach on twitter @CoachEliot

Listen to the Home Visit podcast

Defense With DJ Eliot - Houston's #6 Ranked Defense

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. Shea was offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins. Today’s discussion will be focused a look back at a season after it’s complete.

Show notes

2:20 Looking back at memorable seasons
5:37 How to build loyalty within a staff
8:52 Taking accountability
9:39 What makes a team special?
13:07 Players’ definition of roles 
20:16 Developing the passing game
25:03 Play action mechanics

Win the trip for two (flight, hotel and rental car) and the clinics staff pass: https://www.glazierclinics.com/win

Looking Back At The Season With Terry Shea, Retired NFL And College Coach

On today's podcast Keith discusses the importance of digging through the data of the just ended season to better understand strengths and weaknesses as well as a plan for the future.

Keith discusses how evaluation is a key component of a strong culture, shares an example of what evaluation can do for a team, and gives suggestions on where to start the process.

Win the sweepstakes for a trip for two plus a Glazier Clinic pass:
glazierclinics.com/win

The Season Is Over - Do An Autopsy On It

Today’s  Coach and Coordinator podcast, part of the High Performance Series, features Shawn Myszka, the pro performance director of Explosive Edge Athletics in Minneapolis, where he consults several NFL athletes. Myszka and USA Football’s Dr. Joe Eisenmann discuss movement and agility in football with host Keith Grabowski.

1:49   How Myszka got his start in studying football player movement

7:26  How you teach agility and reaction on the field

12:38  How to teach agility concepts to high school players

20:33  How to teach fundamental agility drills to youth players

24:51  Myszka’s views on “The Agility Ladder”

31:20  Tips that will improve player agility drills

Register to win the staff pass, flight for two, hotel and rental car (awarded 12/12/21):
glazierclinics.com/win

Playlist with Shawn Myszka:
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/sets/the-movement-miyagi-playlist?si=2c4195372f1d469d95b2e87183dda660

Training Athlete Movement With Shawn Myszka And Dr. Joe Eisenmann

On this season wrap-up episode with Noel Mazzone we talk about the approach taken when a season ends in order to get your offense ready for the next season.  We talk about emphasizing strengths, solving problems, understanding what answers you will need in the future.  We talk about gathering information and making decisions for the next season as well as methods of improving in practice, in meeting rooms, and as an individual.

Enter to win the flight for 2, hotel, rental car and Glazier Season Staff Pass: glazinerclinics.com/win

Season Wrap - Up With Noel Mazzone - Where Do You Go From Here?

Today’s guest on the Coach and Coordinator podcast is Angus Reid. Reid is a former CFL offensive lineman whose 13-year career brought championships and multiple awards of accomplishment. Keith Grabowski brings Reid on to discuss his TED talk on why kids need high school football and his book “Thank You Coach: Learning How to Live, by Being Taught How to Play”. In this podcast Reid highlights what the game of football does for young people, and the everlasting impact he received from his coach in the CFL which Keith believes should be a coach’s ultimate goal.

01:53 Reid’s TED Talk
08:35 Reid’s relationship with Dan Dorazio
11:39 Football is a people business
14:56 Are you impacting players beyond the game?
16:12 Coach Dorazio’s player to coach relationship
18:50 You must know people and treat them individually
22:05 Coaches must maximize what’s in front them
25:19 You’re not going to rise to the occasion, you’re going to sink to your training
28:28 Coach Dorazio’s use of humor
33:20 Excelling at the game with skill and technique
34:45 Practice: focus and frequency
36:15 If something matters you do it every single day
37:45 Make your standard crystal clear
41:25 How Dorazio looked at film
45:45 Dorazio’s personal letters
49:20 Trust
54:47 The “Thank you”
55:48 Keith’s thank you from a former player
57:35 Where to get “Thank You Coach”

Win flight, hotel, rental car and Glazier staff pass:
glazierclinics.com/win

Reid's Ted Talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go1-okBq3LU

Episode with Coach D'Orazio:
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/ask-coach-dan-dorazio-longtime-collegiate-and-cfl-offensive-line-coach

Thank You Coach - Angus Reid

On today's episode. Keith is joined by the three state champion head coaches from Alaska, Mathias Weinberger from Redington HS, Luke Balash from Lathrop HS, and Jeff Trotter from East Anchorage HS.

The share the challenges of coaching in Alaska, what went into winning a state championship, and their approach moving forward.

Shownotes:
-Mathias - coming to Alaska
-Luke & Jeff growing up in Alaska
-Exposure and recruiting for Alaska
-Systems utilized
-Developing the system to fit players
-Getting speed on defense
-Take away what they do best
-Basing from a 3-4
-Lessons learned from 2021 and how it’s changed the coach
-Covid forcing to learn how to adjust better
-Changing practice style
-Keeping the kids up
-Tightest team because they leaned on each other
-Season end - starting connected
-Social/emotional development
-Did it to keep kids healthy
-The need to keep it simple
-Season rewarded simplicity
-Consistency in staff as a component of success
-Mantra - “Stay in the game”
-Commonalities and things that led to a state championship
-What makes a season special
-It’s ok to do it for yourself - enjoy the experience and the ride
-Handling 40% turnover
-Next steps to move forward after a championship
-Code & the Keys: EMAL - Every Man a Leader
-Winning Edge - Coach Win - Don’t force a system on your players; they have to buy in
-Coach Balash - Focus on the state of your heart
-Coach Trotter - keep learning

Rehgister to win the Coach and Coordinator 5 Year Anniversary Sweepstakes:
glazierclinics.com/win

For The Kids, Flexibility, Simplicity - 3 State Champs From Alaska Share What They Learned In 2021

On today’s podcast, host Keith Grabowski is joined again by Tony Holler, creator of the Feed the Cats speed workout program. Holler has over 40 years of experience coaching football, basketball and track in the state of Illinois. Holler joined the podcast today to talk about the pursuit of speed and power and how coaches can set up their off seasons now to create "apex predators."

Shownotes:
-The current situation
-Changing the Mindset
-Working for 90 seconds of an hour (work to rest ration)
-The need for speed in all positions
-Data on top 10 NFL tackles
-Slow does not age well and it doesn’t play well
-The average measurables of the sack leaders in the NFL
-Issue with the “let’s grind” mentality
-Asking the right questions
-Record, rank, and publish
-Seeking fatigue instead of seeing fatigue as the enemy
-Getting buy-in from players and coaches and parents
-Joey Garuacio
-You can’t argue with the numbers
-Measuring what matters
-Creating apex predators
-Baseline measurements
-When is more strength detrimental?
-Brian Kula - Christian McCaffery’s trainer
-No single lift translates to being fast
-What to measure and how
-Calculating MPH
-You have to run fast to get fast
-Testing is training and training is testing Measuring jumps twice per week
-How to record, rank and publish
-The numbers tell you so much
-Treating entire team as athletes
-Speed workouts and X-Factor workouts
-Become like fast people and do what fast people do
-Recovery is pronounced
-Don’t crush them on Monday
-Track and Field Consortium
-Change comes from the fringe
-The Feed the Cats network of coaches

Twitter @pntrack

Feed the Cats Football Bundle:
https://bit.ly/32F6RZD

Track Football Consortium
https://bit.ly/3cZMiJz

Creating Apex Predators - Tony Holler, Feed The Cats

On today's podcast Keith is joined by Rich Massaro, a former player who is now the Assistant Personnel Director for the Hamilton Tigercats.  Rich talks about the mindset that allowed him to break into the industry and the skill set that he has developed to continue growing as a professional.

Personnel Evaluation, Organization And Loyalty - Rich Massaro - Hamilton Tigercats

The guest on today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast is Erik Chinander, defensive coordinator at the University of Nebraska. This is Chinander’s first season at Nebraska after spending the last two seasons at the University of Central Florida. Chinander moved to Nebraska when Scott Frost moved from being the head coach at UCF to the same position at Nebraska. UCF’s defense forced an increased number of turnovers, ranking second in the nation in takeaways in 2017. And Chinander helped the UCF team to a 13-0 season and ranking top three in the American Athletic Conference in defensive touchdowns, scoring defense and pass efficiency defense. 

Before coaching at UCF, Chinander spent two seasons at the University of Oregon. Chinander coached the outside linebackers in his second stint at Oregon. He coached one year in the NFL in 2013, working as an assistant defensive line coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. Chinander first came to Oregon in 2010, working as an intern for a year and a defensive graduate assistant from 2011-12. His other coaching experience includes time at the University of Northern Iowa from 2004-09 and one season in 2003 at Ellsworth Community College (Iowa). Chinander played as an offensive lineman at the University of Iowa from 1998 to 2002.
On today’s show, Chinander and host Keith Grabowski talk about the “black shirts” at Nebraska, running an up-tempo practice and using specific language in the game plan.

Show Notes

0:49     Learning coaching strategies from big-time coaches
2:27     Making the decision to get into coaching after playing
4:33     Transition when a coaching staff moves to a new program
7:25      Learning from Chip Kelly in being the best at practice
10:52   Balancing between practicing up-tempo and teaching players
14:15    A language to make players understand the coaches better
17:04   Spending time coordinating between offensive and defensive staff
19:03    Installing up-tempo style in the meeting room
22:48   Using brief, concise language to communicate to players
24:49   Teaching effectively in postgame evaluation
28:52   Being efficient with practice time during the week
31:40   Splitting up different parts of the game across the coaching staff
33:25   The set work flow in practice throughout the week
36:05   Getting many reps of the game plan before the game
39:12    Utilizing the outside linebackers in the odd front
40:59   Working with the defensive line in an odd front
43:06   Understanding the traditions at Nebraska
44:56   The meaning of the “black shirts” with the Nebraska defense
46:37   The Winning Edge

Learn Defense: https://coachtube.com/courses/football/team-defense

Erik Chinander - DC, Nebraska: Game planning, Practicing and Communicating in an Up-tempo culture

Keith Grabowski interviews the most knowledgeable head coaches, coordinators, and position coaches from professional, college, and high school football. Keith and his guests discuss the philosophy, concepts, schemes, and strategies that they have learned throughout their careers. Each show includes a specific idea that can be applied to help coaches at every level find the winning edge.

Keith Grabowski

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