Usa Football Coach And Coordinator Podcast

Today’s podcast is from the 2nd Annual Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic in which Ron Roberts, now the defensive coordinator at Auburn, talked about multiple defenses and the different pressures they utilize. He started the presentation by talking about the three things required to play great defense, his philosophy, defensive goals, determining what you need to develop in each position, the analytics of scoring, and dealing with difficult formations. This segment encapsulates what any defense should focus on to excel on the field. In an era where we have become inundated with information, Coach Roberts cuts right to the core of leading a top-performing defense. It’s something that he’s been able to pass on to other coaches. He has an impressive coaching tree, including Dave Aranda, Patrick Toney, who made the jump from being co-DC at Florida to the NFL as secondary coach with the Arizona Cardinals, Austin Armstrong, who at 29 is the youngest Power 5 coordinator at Florida replacing Toney, and Pete Golding, who

On today’s episode, we give support to youth football across the country, and especially in California, where the state legislature will soon vote on a bill that, if passed, would ban youth football. The answer should not be to remove youth tackle football and focus on flag. While flag football is a precursor to tackle, it is not the same as tackle football. Tackle football embraces all body types. Nothing can replace the vehicle of tackle football. To see flag football as an answer is short-sighted. The answer is to create a better, safer game. The game is under attack, and coaches from every level must continue to support football from youth, to high school, to college and pro.  Today, we share insights from three coaches who are creating a methodology to create a better, safer game, especially as it relates to blocking and defeating blocks. To do so, we pulled segments from archived episodes with Scott Peters, Mike Pollak, and Bob Wylie. On May 2nd, listeners of Coach and Coordinator Podcast will be eligi

I met Coach DiGaetano in 2017, and I talk about the game and coaching with him often. He’s been a repeat guest on the podcast (see links below). And currently, he is an assistant coach at Fordham University. He has an intense passion for tackling and studies it better than anyone I know. I feel comfortable calling him the foremost expert on tackling. However, Coach DiGaetano also has incredible ideas outside of the tackling realm, and in this episode from the archives, he share the ideas he implemented as the head coach of SUNY Maritime when he took over the program just five days before fall camp opened. His work, his staff, and his players resulted in Maritime having a successful season in spite of the extreme circumstances of a last-minute coaching change. I want to point out that Coach DiGaetano accomplished this result while also holding down his day job of being a principal of multiple schools in the Bronx. Coach DiGaetano was forced to take a coach-on-the-fly approach, but the extreme situation led him

Lee Rose is now a defensive analyst for the University of North Carolina. But Coach Rose got his start in Poland. He learned very quickly how to work with limited resources and to make his teaching and coaching clear and concise because his players spoke English as a second language. Since that experience, he has been on a quest for best practices in teaching and coaching, especially as they relate to the classroom portion of coaching. Today, Coach Rose shares what he puts together in a tip sheet for players to have information boiled down to the essentials, as well as how he would do it if he were back in Poland or at a lower level. In addition, we dive into a discussion of how different technology can be integrated into a smooth workflow. Show Notes: Start in coaching in Poland with a laptop, PowerPoint, and Hudl Being concise in teaching Benefits of the experience as a teacher of the game Move to the FBS Power 5 level to learn best practices Example of creating a tip sheet at UNC How he would apply

Today’s episode is from the 3rd Annual Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic to benefit pediatric brain tumor research and cancer services. In his talk, Lew Caralla, Director of Strength and Conditioning at Charlotte, delivered 39 ideas on coaching. All are straight to the point and cover ideas directed to both players and coaches. We pulled out 11 of those ideas more focused on the coach, and how a coach can network, lead, and positively impact players and others through this incredible platform we have as coaches. While this episode is short, its messages paint a picture of what an elite coach must do to excel in this profession. Show Notes: Coaching experience provides the platform The message Absent during the struggle Intelligence creates followers The coaching ego You are not allowed to give up I didn’t know how close I was Coached by you Your platform Be an example through your journey The secret Follow Lew Caralla on Twitter @LewisCaralla. Coach Caralla’s Entire Presentation: Leadership Perspe

Today’s episode is from our archives. It was recorded with Dub Maddox five years ago, pre-pandemic and at the start of what proved to be a rapid evolution of today’s defenses. Interestingly, the concepts Coach Maddox talks about may be more relevant now than when he shared those ideas originally on the podcast. Dub is one of the great thinkers and great football minds in the game. I have picked up a ton from him over the years. A trip I took to sit down and talk ball with him for a couple of days in 2010 stands out as highly productive. That visit helped me solidify how I thought about the passing game and how we could bring our receivers and protections together with our quarterback progressions to improve our passing game. In this episode, Coach Maddox shares insights from studying the U.S. Military that he applies to football. If you listened to this episode five years ago, you will want to sit down and listen again, and bring a pen and notebook. Be sure to listen to our winning edge takeaways and ideas fo

We reached out to today’s guest after we confirmed some eye-popping stats from his 2022 season. 62 touchdowns, 3,204 passing yards, and 1,805 rushing yards, in sum producing an average of 500.9 yards per game and 48 points per game. All at the high school level with 12-minute quarters and a running clock after a 30-point differential. Those numbers screamed “high-level execution”, and we wanted to dig into the what, how, and why behind it. Meet Mike Peck, offensive coordinator at Burley High School in Burley, ID. Show Notes: Spread the field and attack horizontally and vertically Based out of 10 personnel and empty, but highlight personnel year-to-year Hang your hat on runs and passes for the base offense Two factors that create execution: installation and practice The players understanding of why Install as a year-round activity leading up to the season Front loading for better learning Quarterback school The quarterback should be out on the field teaching it with you  Tools used to teach in the c

Ben Kotwica has 17 years of coaching experience, including 15 seasons in the NFL. Most recently, Kotwica served as the assistant special teams coach for Minnesota in 2022 and was part of a coaching staff that helped the team to the NFC North Division title. A graduate of Army West Point, where he was a linebacker and team captain, he went on to serve as a helicopter pilot, reaching the rank of Captain and serving in the Iraq War, as well as in Bosnia and Korea. He began his coaching career at the US Military Academy Prep School as a defensive coordinator before jumping to the NFL as a special teams coach or coordinator for the New York Jets, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, and now the Denver Broncos under head coach Sean Payton. On today’s episode, he shares his influences and the importance of our roles as coaches, developing a leadership style, innovation, and the use of technology in teaching and developing players. Show Notes: Early influences Coaches saw ability that translate

Football is in Lance Zierlein’s blood. He is the son of retired NFL Coach Larry Zierlein and an analyst for NFL.com since 2015. His opinions on the best players in the game are highly respected across the industry. Today, he joins us to share his involvement in the Joe Moore Award, shed light on the process for determining the award's winning unit, and reveal the characteristics of the highest-performing offensive line units in the country. Through the conversation, both the physical and mental aspects of elite offensive line play show through, and he shares the common characteristics displayed by the coaches leading these top units. Show Notes: How he became involved with JMA The process is a funnel Our watchlist is everybody Duke Manyweather - LSU five-man protections in 2019 Three phases of the block Learning about how OL play evolves from his dad - NFL Coach Larry Zierlein Evaluating pass protection of the unit The true sign of teamwork in pass pro Run schemes that lend themselves to teamwork A

Adam Cushing is the run game coordinator at Duke and also coaches the offensive line. Prior to serving on the Blue Devils staff, he spent three years as the head coach at Eastern Illinois University. Coach Cushing spent 15 seasons in a variety of roles at Northwestern University, including ten seasons as the offensive line coach. He also coached the super backs, tight ends, and H-backs, after starting as a graduate assistant working with the offensive line. Cushing had recruiting coordinator responsibilities as well, twice earning national recognition as one of the Big Ten’s top recruiters. Coach Cushing got his start in coaching as an assistant coach at the University of La Verne. In this segment from the 3rd Annual Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic, Coach Cushing focuses on what it takes to create a consistent player. While he gives examples with the offensive line, what he describes applies to all position groups, units, and the team. He establishes that consistency is the hallmark of greatness. His discussio

Today’s episode is from our archives and features Brent Dearmon from when he was the offensive coordinator at Arkansas Tech. Since that time, he’s gone on to do big things. Coach Dearmon is currently the head coach at the University of North Alabama. Prior to his current role, he served as the offensive coordinator for Florida Atlantic in 2022 after spending the 2021 season as OC at Middle Tennessee. His previous experience also includes serving as head coach at Bethel University. In his one season at Bethel in 2018, Dearmon guided the team to an undefeated regular season mark. Bethel earned a number-three ranking while averaging 540.3 yards and the second-highest scoring average in the country at 55.0 points per game. He was named Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year. Dearmon then made the rare jump from NAIA to FBS when he joined Les Miles' staff at Kansas in 2019 as a senior offensive consultant. Midway through the 2019 season, Dearmon took over as the program's offensive coordinator and led the team to

Billy Riebock is the offensive coordinator at Midwestern State in Wichita Falls, Texas. He’s coached at all levels of college football, gaining valuable experience from the coaches he’s worked with all along the way. On today's episode, Coach Riebock shares how he utilizes data in the offseason to help determine what the offense will look like for the coming season. He also goes into detail about how Midwestern State utilizes technology to create a better workflow and better teaching tools for their players. Show Notes: A framework for preparing every position How a coach’s workflow and process evolve Find people that will mentor you Using data and analytics to come up with a simple plan Understanding how much you need in a game plan A system must handle all situations, or it’s not complete Using numbers to dictate what you can do Preparing and adjusting in spring Identifying and dealing with trends Using free technology to prepare players in the classroom Using interactive quizzes Using Go Army

On today’s episode, Amanda Ruller joins the podcast to share a different perspective on networking in this profession, finding a way to the top, and then dig into ideas and drills for training running backs. Coach Ruller is currently the running backs coach at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She recently served as the assistant running backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks through the Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship program. Her unique background in strength and conditioning, data and analytics, and sports media, as well as her experience as an elite multi-sport athlete, is something she leverages to advance in the profession. There are plenty of takeaways from this episode, including insight and advice to become known to the people who can help elevate you, as well as ideas for creating purposeful drills. Show Notes: Finding a way into the coaching profession Her start in strength and conditioning Creating something to give  Marketing yourself Sports broadcasting as an avenue to build

On today’s episode, we sit down with Aaron Taylor to learn more about the Joe Moore Award, the only college football award that honors a group instead of an individual. Aaron Taylor played for Joe Moore at the University of Notre Dame. Taylor was a two-time All-American and a first round pick in the 1994 NFL Draft. He played professionally for the Green Bay Packers and the San Diego Chargers. Taylor currently works as a college football analyst, television sportscaster, and he is the founder of the Joe Moore Award. He shares all the details behind this award, and through hearing about Joe Moore and his methods, we learn of the impact that elite coaching makes. Whether you are an offensive line coach or not, there is plenty to take away for what it takes to be an impactful coach. Show Notes:  Who was Joe Moore? The Joe Moore O-Line Camp Kirk Ferentz's first attempt at the award The impact of a coach It started with belief and strict adherence to the fundamentals The detail that goes into finding the bes

Mike Waufle most recently served as the defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills. Coach Waufle served as defensive line coach for the Oakland Raiders from 1998 to 2003 and coached in Super Bowl XXXVII. Waufle coached primarily single-gap four-man defensive lines in 4-3 Defenses. He was the defensive line coach for the New York Giants from 2004 to 2009. He won Super Bowl XLII in 2007. He returned to the Raiders in 2010. From 2012 to 2016, he was the defensive line coach for St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams under head coach Jeff Fisher. He coached the Buffalo Bills defensive line in 2017 and retired after the 2017 season. In the segment from the 2022 C.O.O.L. Clinic, he shares how his classroom is unique and then goes into the six components of get-off, which he repped every single day. While he focuses his presentation on defensive line play, there’s a lot to learn here about teaching your players, regardless of the position, to master their technique. The entire talk is available on CoachTube and the link in the

This episode from our archives, recorded in 2019, features Chris Kappas who was recently named the 2022 AFCA FCS Assistant Coach of the Year. Demonstrated in this episode, Coach Kappas has shown his ability as a coach on both sides of the ball. He has been recognized as the Football Scoop D3 Coordinator of the Year in 2015, while he was the defensive coordinator for National Champion Mount Union. The following year, he led a top offense in the country, switching sides of the ball for Mount Union in another championship run. He then moved on to be the defensive coordinator for Austin Peay in 2021, finishing his stint there with the 2022 FCS Assistant COY honors. In this episode, Coach Kappas talks about how his year of coaching offense helped his defense and how attention to detail is so important in everything his units do. Show Notes: Coach’s experience on both sides of the ball How coaching offense helped him see the game differently What Coach changed on his defense after being on offense, specifically

Matt Tschetter is the defensive coordinator for Wartburg College who led Division 3 in rushing defense, while also recording the most interceptions. They ranked in the top 25 in most defensive categories. Today, we dig into what Wartburg does in order to set their players up for success on defense. Coach Tschetter was influenced by several of our past guests, including Louisiana Tech defensive coordinator Scott Power, Randolph-Macon head coach Pedro Arruza, and retired Wisconsin-Platteville head coach Mike Emendorfer. Show Notes: Play fast: lighten the mental burden Relentless Communication Assignment sound: do your 1/11th Technique focused Tackling, block defeat, and creating turnovers Teaching tackling in the team meeting, plus quizzing Be multiple Stop the run: force offenses to be one-dimensional Create chaos Win the situational Don’t flinch and turn the page Base defense from 4-3 learned from Northwest Missouri State Defensive line responsible for A and B gaps Leveraged-based run fits Su

As coaches, we always seem to be in a hurry to get to where we want to be, to get to that position we set as a career goal. In that haste, we may forget that we have plenty of opportunities to improve ourselves and build our skills in the place we are at. That’s exactly what Caleb Collins did in progressing through the ranks from being a high school teacher, to an analyst, to an on-field position coach in the FBS. He found ways to use the positions he was in to get the reps he needed to improve his skills as a coach. In this episode, Coach Collins shares examples from his journey, as well as the methods and progressions he uses to coach the outside linebackers at Baylor. While he gets focused on the specifics of outside linebacker play as we go, you can learn from the way he thinks about it and the methods he uses to prepare his position for success on the field. Show Notes: How teaching in the high school classroom helped him to an on-field FBS job Getting reps at coaching your own room Traits desired in

Calvin Renfroe is in year seven as the offensive coordinator at Olivet Nazarene. In this episode, he talks about what the staff calls “position battles.” He shares the process they use to constantly evaluate their players and give them feedback so that each player is continuously improving. The position battles have proven to help improve performance on the field, as well as build the culture at Olivet. Show Notes: Defining position battles We don’t choose starters - the players choose Where this idea stemmed from How evaluation builds the culture Being efficient with grading Example - quarterback, adjusted completion percentage Aggressive adjusters Grading decision making Playmaker points Transparency is key Method for sharing the grades How grades work into the practice plan Make it take it Tuesday Using grades to improve concepts or techniques and highlight strengths Creating an environment for learning and coaching Adding a component to grade to emphasize something This is a living breat

Today’s episode is a segment from the 3rd Annual Lauren's First and Goal Coaches Clinic, in which Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule talks about coaching the top 10% of your team. What he says in this segment applies to any coach in any sport. We have had some impactful talks from head coaches over the three years of the Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic, and this one ranks right up at the top. It’s definitely a top 10% presentation full of takeaways for you and your staff. Speaking of staff, the staff pass and individual premium pass are still on sale at lfgf2023.coachesclinic.com. These passes are an incredible value at just $60 per coach. As a bonus, these passes will convert to Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic Plus. LFGF Clinic Plus is a new membership available on CoachTube, and it will allow you access to 2023's 130 talks for one year plus access to a monthly rotation of courses from past clinics. You don’t need to do anything for this upgrade. Your premium pass gets you access to LFGF Clinic Plus following the