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Gary BarnettFormer HC Colorado, Northwestern

MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY

A. Find out problems before you have the answers- Dont go into a new situation with problems from your last job. This will be a new situation with new kids.The only way you can know is by working in the day-to-day operations and by observation.

- I realized I didnt know the players at Northwestern. I just knew their names. I made sure by the timespring ball started at Colorado, I knew the kids, their parents, their expectations, by meeting with themand their families one on one.

B. Mission Statement

- Created by you and your staff. Put it in a place where everyone can see it, use it to make toughdecisions. Put it on 1st page of the handbook.

C. Schedule

- Started posting schedule in the locker room, with the first game on the bottom, moving up to thebowl game, used a theme of climbing the ladder also talked about building for November and that thegames at the beginning were the foundation, etc. Covered every game on the schedule with maskingtape except for the opponent they were playing that week. Created a visual representation of blockingeverything else out and only focusing on that specific opponent that week.

D. Handbook- Everything is spelled out for the year: Meetings, schedules, responsibilities.

E. Develop Leadership From Day One- Two assistant coaches are assigned to every class (Frosh - Senior), meet periodically to discuss issueswith the players.- Whoever controls the locker room controls the team.

- Met with each new senior class before spring ball started, asked: Who did you most look up to? When Iask this question next year about you, what will they say about you? Always find ways to createaccountability in your program.

F. Sunday

- If you dont give the players Sunday off, then they dont really ever have a day off, because on Mondaystheyre going to class. Some of the kids feel very strongly about their faith and want the chance to go tochurch, or just want some time to spend with family or recharge. Good for the coaches too, because itgives you time to let off some steam after a loss, refocus after a win.

G. Include Everyone

-Anybody who touches your players lives should be considered part of your staff. The more people feellike a part of your team, the more they will make decisions based on what is best for the team. Used toask EVERYBODY on Thursday, What do we have to do to win this game? Included trainers, managers,video guys, academic people.

- Several times in coaches meetings, the staff would say things, either about each other or about theplayers, how much they cared about them, how they really felt about them. He felt that it was importantthe players hear this, so there were many times when he would have the coaches re-enact a part of acoaches meeting so the players could hear the way the staff talked about them, showed them they reallycared about them.

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STUDENT-ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP

A. What did you hear me say?

- Ended every player meeting this way. You can fix a lot of problems before they start. Can use the sameapproach with assistant coaches.

B. When the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear- Put accountability in players hands.

C. Student Handbook- EVERYTHING you can think of that players have to deal with. Moral and criminal issues covered. At

Colorado, went over it everyday, and marked down when they talked about it. This ended up helpingthem with the legal issues they had with certain allegations coming from a female kicker, they hadeverything written down, what they talked about and when they talked about it. (CYA - Cover your ass)

D. 90/10- Great teams spend 90% of their time chasing dreams, 10% of their time on internal issues. Average

teams spend 50% of their time chasing dreams, 50% on internal problems. Bad teams spend 10% of their

time chasing dreams, 90% of their time dealing with internal issues.

E. Here to be changed, not change the University- If thats not what you want, then leave. Parents have entrusted us to help their kids through the tough

times. Youre here to become a better person.

F. Offseason Competitive Workouts- Dirty Dozen Workouts. Six competitive teams. Make sure there were at least three relays out each six

periods. Have the ability to trade players, coaches keep score. Overtime (once every 4-6 weeks), makesure it is unannounced, want to make the players used to having to play an unexpected OT period everyonce in a while, used to being shocked.

- During conditioning and sprints, post the names of the guys that force the team to run extra sprints inthe locker room. Peer pressure is very powerful.

G. Fess Up and Fix it- Used the example of the Blue Angels. Theyre only there for two years, sometimes less than that.

They need to be able to own up to mistakes and miscommunications quickly without any BS. They musthave a lot of trust in each other. Same with football team.

GAME AND PRACTICE PLANNING

A. 3rd and 5 Situations- Believe its the most important down in football. Youll have a couple of games where the opponent is

equal to you. During those games its important to have a couple of 3rd and 5 plays that youve practicedall season long, but you havent shown all season.

B. PAT/FG Practice- Rapid fire speed, two FG teams running, one after the other. Yells out seconds left on the clock,between 0:05 and 0:01 seconds left on the clock. Lost a game because there was five seconds left on theclock and the holder was not ready for the quick snap, got a bad hold, missed the kick. Decided afterwardthat they would never lose a game again because we dont know the mechanics of quick snapping andholding with the clock ticking down.

C. Safety Chart- Keep a chart in your pocket about situations where it may be better to take a safety than to punt out of

your own end zone. See too many games where teams are unaware of situations where it can be prudent

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to take a safety. (Ex: a minute left, up by seven, inside your ten, may want to think about taking a safetyand kicking off from the 40 and flipping the field)

D. Work it in, Dont Put it in- Doesnt believe you can put in a play in one week. If you really want to be good at it, it takes about

two weeks to get the players comfortable with it. Should work it into the script gradually until you knowthe players can execute it at a high level.

E. Punt Game - Fake Punt Consequences- Did a study when he was at Northwestern, and over a four year period, only 13% of all fake punts led

to a score. Keep in mind that the expected returns from a fake punt may not be as great as the risk youare taking.

F. Halftime Philosophy- Where are we right now? Dont revisit the past. What do I have to do right now to win the game?

OFFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY

A. Do what you have to do to win your conference- Not a system guy, adapt to what your conference opponents are running and what is hardest for

them to defend against.

B. 50/50 - Run/Pass- Balance is crucial

C. Screens

D. Shotgun Option- The option game from the gun has allowed offenses to create a very complicated running game

where once there was none.

E. Up Tempo- Big fan of the no-huddle attack that Oklahoma ran with Sam Bradford

F. Help Your Defense- Spread teams have difficulty defending physical football teams. Make teams change their practices.

Create opportunities to practice physicality.

G. Playactions

H. Be Physical

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FIRST TIMERS MEETINGFred Farrier

- The AFCA Convention is a professional development tool for you.

- If you can go to ten sessions and get 1-2 new ideas from each, thats 20 ideas on how to improve as acoach.

- Visit the vendors, know what the cutting-edge stuff is out there. By the time you become a head coach,youll know what products youll want to use for your program.

- NETWORKING ABILITIES - Meet coaches to work a camp.

- Its all about networking. Its absolutely not about how good you are.

- Can I call you and ask about special teams? (etc)

- Professional Development Pamphlets - Record which sessions you go to. PDS Sessions. AFCA sendsyou a certificate saying you completed your professional development program, PDS Certification.

- Everyday is an interview.

- What is your image? What is your brand?

- Whatever it is you want to be, you need to be that now. Wanna be a HC? Dress in a suit. Theres acertain way those guys carry themselves.

- Be very aware of how you carry yourself and who you associate with. When you meet somebody, howdo you carry yourself?

- If you want to give out your resume, make it as simple as possible. Print it out, fold it up, put it in anenvelope, label it with your name and any other useful info. Make it so they can put it in their jacketpocket, dont have to carry something around all day.

- You get 30 seconds to a minute to make your pitch, especially with the big time guys.

- Whatever you want to do at night, be prepared to get up and work in the morning. Use each day to youradvantage, especially early in the morning.

- Follow up with people you meet at the convention. Text people every Saturday before a game (Way ofadvertising yourself and your brand). When a job comes open, make it so your name is the first one thatpops into peoples minds.

- Take something with you that you can use back to your program.

- Get involved, join a convention committee.

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Sonny DykesHead Coach Cal

- Started out at Navarro Community College. Lined the field, did the laundry, etc. Worked with HalMumme and Mike Leach at Texas Tech

- #1 thing you can do as a teacher/coach is learn to prioritize. What are you good at? This maychange from week to week and year to year, so learn to adjust based on personnel.

- Details matter, but the big picture matters more. Sometimes we as coaches cant see theforest for the trees. You as a head coach have to be in a state of constant evaluation.

- Surround yourself with good people. People you trust and are committed to the programssuccess. I hired guys to coach, and then I became the team coach. I hung around the locker room andpicked the guys brains to get a feel for the team.

- If you can recruit good football players who totally bought in, its gonna be better than a greatplayer whos only kinda bought in.

- The #1 thing I evaluate coaches on is how they communicate with their players.

- Good character is more important than good knowledge when hiring a staff.

- Morale is critical. What kind of working environment does the HC create? How do the assistantsinteract with each other? Everybody who has anything to do with the program must be bought in. Thisincludes managers, trainers, video guys, academic people, EVERYONE. The players must be hearing thesame message from everyone in the program, and everyone who comes in contact with them in any way.

- Dont let it become all business. Enjoy the experience, dont always make it a grind. We ascoaches enjoy being around young people. Youre trying to help kids and theyre allowing you to do whatyouve always wanted to do.

- Have fun whenever you can. Lighten the mood once in a while.

- Execution is more important than scheme.

- If you can execute a small number of plays on offense and a few base defenses , youll be apretty good football team. It doesnt matter what you know, it matters what your players know.

- Be as simple as possible, the simpler you are, the faster your players will play.

- Empower your players whenever possible. Force responsibility on them, it forces them to growup.

- Practice is the most important part of how successful your program is gonna be. They neverpractice more than 2 hours, and thats at the beginning of the season. The time spent on the practice field

starts to decrease once the season progresses. By the end of the season, practice is often around anhour and ten minutes (and those are the long days). The normal practice time is about forty minutes nearthe end of the season. INJURIES HAPPEN WHEN KIDS GET TIRED.

- Be as physical in practice as possible. They do not bring people to the ground. This is part of thereason why they do not practice very long, it allows them to use the time they do spend on the fieldpracticing physicality.

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- You must design drills that emphasize important skills. This depends on what you are doing onoffense/ defense, etc. Dont waste time drilling a skill that your players will never use in the scheme thatyou run. (If youre strictly a zone team, dont practice a power pull with your OL)

- NEVER let bad effort slide. Address it and get him off the field. Shorter practices allow you toemphasize going 100% on all reps. Twenty reps going 100% are better than 80 reps going 25%.

- Rep it until you get it right, or throw it out. The players have to have confidence in the playduring a game. How will they believe in the play if you never executed it in practice? A lot of times theyhave thrown out things in the middle of the week, even concepts that they may have ran plenty of timesalready earlier in the year, for whatever reason it isnt working that week. They may end up coming backto it later on in the season, but will shelve it for that week.

- It took us until week six of year two to learn how to run and throw the slant properly, but oncewe figured it out, it was automatic from then on out.

- You have to practice situations more than you think.

- You can measure data. The #1 thing is turnovers. They won 15 of their last 17 games, and wonthe turnover battle in all 15 wins. In the two losses, the lost the turnover battle once, and tied in the other

game.

- 3rd down Have to stop them and have to convert them. Once they get to about 3rd and 8 atthe 50, they usually tend to treat it as two down territory. This allows them to call higher percentage playsthat they couldnt have called if they were automatically punting on 4th down. It makes your offense muchmore dangerous and unpredictable on 3rd down.

- Red Zone The difference between winning and losing games is the difference between TDsand FGs in the Red Zone.

- Defense goes through a turnover circuit every day, starts practice that way. Offense does thesame thing, they use offensive players to strip the ball, etc, to avoid getting too physical in these drills andgetting your players beat up. Emphasized ball security with the QB, didnt throw an INT until week 11. Be

smart on 3rd down. Punting is a good thing.

- At least half of practice emphasizes 3rd down, Red Zone, Goal line situations.

- Listen to your instincts, youve got a great sense of where your team is, trust what you see, andthen address your issues.

- The smartest guy in the room is the guy whos always listening.

- Had some 2nd year leadership issues at La Tech. Started a Leadership Council. (Read thebook, Water the Bamboo. Talks about how bamboo doesnt grow hardly at all during the first two yearsafter being planted, but you still have to put the work in, keep watering, keep taking care of the soil. Justlike Saban saysRespect the process) The team started out 1-4, had some issues, but he kept

reminding them to water the bamboo. It gave the players something to talk about and believe in. Theyended up winning a conference championship.

- Had some issues down the stretch this past season. 9-1 and two weeks away from going to aBCS Bowl, went 0-2 the next two games. I could see there were issues, and I couldve done somethingabout them, but Its pretty hard to change what youre doing when youre 9 -1. They had internal issuesbetween the offense and the defense, top-ranked offense and 120th ranked defense. There was a lot ofresentment between both sides of the ball. They needed to learn how to handle success.

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- There are several ways to create deception on offense. One is to run the option, another way isto use shifting and motions to disguise your intentions, or you can line up and go fast. Lining up quicklyallows you to hide certain things, like receiver splits, because the defense doesnt have time to recognizeit and make checks because youre snapping the ball so fast.

- Yards per play is a great statistic for self scouting, allows you to quantify efficiency.

- La Tech offense doesnt use as wide of splits as Mike Leach, they like to run the power play,and slightly tighter splits allows for the double teams you need to run the power. They dont have a baserule, but on average they use 1 yard splits.

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Grad Assistants Career Forum

Carlos Alvarado - Texas TechChris Thomsen - Texas TechDavid Brown II - Missouri S&TMaurice Linguist - BuffaloTodd Barry - ULM

- One of the roles of a leader is to create an environment that people want to be a part of.

Q: How do you develop a relationship with a coaching mentor?

- Summer camps are huge, they allow people to see you in action. Everyday is a job interview. Headcoaches take notes on who is in the bar all night and who is there to work.

- 2-3 legitimate relationships are better than 20 artificial relationships. Genuinely trying to get to knowpeople instead of empty and shallow conversations.

-Ask yourself, what am I doing when Ive got time off in the summer? Am I sitting around for a couple ofweeks just hanging out, or am I trying to get better by visiting with coaches, asking questions, working

camps, etc?

Q: Whats another way coaches can align themselves with coaches who can help them?

- Reach out to the people around you, not just to get a job.

- Working summer camps is a great way to learn how to coach and find your coaching voice without yourhead coach there to be critical of you. You can tell whether or not a guy is coming to work a camp to getbetter and help kids or just for the money.

Q: How do you get selected to work summer camps?

- Just reach out to different coaches (Be mindful of NCAA rules depending on what level youre at). Try to

observe the differences between camps, and the differences in coaching styles that you see. Exposeyourself to a lot of different styles and viewpoints and find what works for you.

- Start your own offensive, defensive, and special teams playbook and head coaches manual right now.

- February is the best time to contact coaches about summer camps, when preparations are just startingto be made for the summer.

Q: What is the most effective path to becoming a GA?

- Its much easier to get a GA job at the school where youre at. A good backup plan is to get yourmasters degree in teaching certification. Just in case you dont get a college job you can go the HS route.Grad school can also help you improve your writing skills, because people do pay attention to the way

you write.

- It doesnt hurt to send your info to everyone. The best thing to do is to find that ONE guy who willchampion you to other coaches. A head coach doesnt have time to talk to all 15 of you r references, buthe does have time to talk to 1 guy.

- If youre doing a great job where youre at, the coaches will be inviting.

- Surround yourself with people who love football and winning is important to.

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- Communicate with everyone about your intentions.

- Get into a position where youre able to work for almost no money.

Q: What are some more characteristics of being a good GA?

- Work ethic and positivity are crucial. Negativity breeds negativity. Find a positive mentor you can callwho can straighten you out and appreciate what you have.

- Have social intelligence. Observe how the staff interacts with one another and how they interact with theplayers. Handle your business, stay out of the way, and listen. Be able to absorb all the information youcan.

Q: What should be a GAs attitude toward working hours?

- Non-existent

- You are what the kids do on the field. Put your name on it.

- Your identity is how others view you. BE PROACTIVE. Humility with dignity. Be around people who care

about you. No job is above another job.

Q: What are some characteristics you look for in a GA to possibly move to a position coach?

- How do you interact with the players? Youre not gonna hire a guy who cant go in and control a room.How interested are you in the academic part of school? Do you really care about the player?

- Do I know that this guy will get the job done when Im not looking over his shoulder? Can he bringsomething to the table?Q: How do you know you are ready to be a full-time position coach moving up from a GA?

- Small school GAs get to coach, allows you to build confidence and develop your coaching style.

- Until you control your own room, there are things you wont recognize while youre a GA. If youre fair tothe players, theyll allow you to make some mistakes. At the end of the day, you just have to jump in thedeep end and start swimming.

Q: What is some good advice for preparing for an interview?

- Know what you know, and if you dont know it, let the coach know.

- Its easiest to talk about the stuff you do everyday. Have a teaching progression. Take the interview,dont wait for them to ask you questions. Over-prepare.

- Be able to answer that you dont know, but this is how the special teams coach handled it. Todd Barrywill often put on drill tape of his own players and asks how the candidate would coach it.

- Have a coaching manual, drill tape, etc.

- Have a plan. Know what to teach and how to teach it. Schemes can be learned by anybody. Get awayfrom schemes and teach fundamentals. Teaching progression is important, know what your plan is. Haveconfidence in what youre doing. If you dont know it, dont open that can of worms. Who are the peopleIm communicating with? What is the setup of the interview?

- Have a plan for the academic side. How will you motivate your guys to achieve academically?

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- There is an art to drawing things on the board. Be prepared to draw up all kinds of schemes on theboard. How are your circles?

Q: If a job is open, how do you position yourself to interview and get it?

- Send your resume to HR, and find the one guy who will go to the mat for you.

Q: How do you select guys for bringing into an interview?

- I dont care what you know, you gotta be able to teach it.

- Be strategic in the jobs you go after. Realize that working in an Air Raid offense probably makes youmore marketable and upwardly mobile than working in a flexbone triple option attack. Obviously if youreat a successful school, that jumps out as well.

Q: What kind of preparation do you do for interviews?

- Make sure youre giving them your own information, dont just repeat everything youve heard. Do youreally know what youre giving them? Can you teach it?

Q: What are the toughest questions in an interview?

- Why do you coach?- Why do you want this job?- Who has been influential in your life?- What do you bring to the culture and the atmosphere? (Culture and atmosphere is the most importantthing when hiring a staff)

Q: What should a young coach consider when selecting a job?

- Do you want to manage your happiness or your career? Where do you see yourself? What are youlooking for? Who are you? - Todd Barry

- What are the priorities? Masters degree vs normal job.

- Lots of schools require a Masters Degree in order to become a head coach. If you have a chance to getyour education paid for, you have to take it.

Q: What about balancing loyalty to the HC and your own ambition?

- Do what you said you were going to do when you were hired . Do a good job where youre at. Are you aman of integrity? Be constantly grabbing information. Let people notice the good job youre doing, andthey will come to respect you and seek you out, rather than the other way around.

- If you commit to something, how can there be the word de-commit? Have some integrity and do whatyou said you were going to do. If I ever hear of a guy taking a job somewhere and then taking another job

somewhere else, I put his name in my Do -Not-Hire file, and if he ever sends me a resume, Ill know whatkind of man he is. - Todd Barry

Q: When is it OK to look for another job?

- End of the season until March 1st. After that, if you go and interview for another job, youd better get it,because you wont have one here. - Todd Barry

Q: Which is better, an FBS position coaching job, or a D-2 coordinator job?

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- It depends on what the right fit is for you, what are you looking for?

Q: How does a young coach become a good recruiter?

- Get into the schools as much as possible. Your true work ethic shows on the road when no one islooking over your shoulder. Teaching and recruiting are the two things you do most in this job. Are youjust hitting schools or are you really getting to know the high school guys?

Q: Hardest lesson youve learned about recruiting?

- The HC will know what kind of job youve done when he gets into the home, whether or not youve builta relationship with the kid.

Q: What separates a good recruiter from an average recruiter?

- Developing personal relationships, do you care about that player? Tell them: At the end of the day, Iwant you to do whats good for you. Convey to that person that youre generally interested in them.Youll be better off 4-5 years from now with us.

- You have to take the recruit and guide them through the process, this is all new to them. Help the

families understand whats going on, a lot of times they get a lot of info and they dont know how toseparate it. When youre a GA, recruiting should be at the forefront of your mind.

- Know what your team is looking for. Be realistic about the players you bring to the table. Its not aboutgetting a lot of numbers, its about evaluating talent, character, and football intelligence.

- If you dont know about a position, defer to that position coach.

Q: How do you motivate players differently from a position coach to a HC to a GA?

- Be yourself, dont try to be something youre not. Be a good person, the players will know if yourephony.

Q: Effective ways to develop players?

- Have your position group write down goals for the week, then have them exchange the goals withanother player in the group. That player will be responsible for the others. A great way to createaccountability, get them to buy-in to the plan. Do things with the intent to develop them as men.

Q: Effective ways to keep players in line?

- Most guys want discipline. You gotta remember that these are your guys. Find ways to infuse youridentity onto your position group.

- Men work hard for fear, but men work harder for interest. Once they understand you care, youll havethem.

- We are builders of men. Move from fear-based motivation, to taking ownership and being proactive.

Q: Philosophy of discipline?

- Ownership culture. If you have too many rules, theres too many to keep track of. Develop a culture ofpositive peer pressure.

- How do you manage starting a family with starting your career?

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- You have kids at home, and you have more at the locker room, the wife has to understand.

- Family planning is important. If youve got four kids and a wife at home, your job options are a lot morelimited. Be aware of job opportunities and how they affect your families.

- GA at the FBS level or a position coach at D-2 school?

- Dont think about levels. Just be a full-time coach. Dont have a level as a goal.

- If your ultimate goal is to be a 1-A coach, you have to be a 1-A guy. The HC is gonna have to sell you tothe AD. A lot of it depends on your scheme, if you know something someone else doesnt.

Q: How important is it to get a GA job with your preferred major?

- More important to get around the right coaches and learn football. Are these some coaches that I canlearn from? Is the classwork light enough to where you can do what you need for football?

- Do research on the school you want to work with. What programs, majors, etc?

- If you do get a GA job, take advantage of the free education: Use the university, dont let that university

use you.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

- Do the best you can. The strongest network you have is the guys youre around every day.

- Enjoy the ride, this is a great profession.

- The impact you have is incredible, the longer youre in this profession the more obvious it will be. Bemore worried about who you are, not where you are.

- Perfect your craft. Be around the office, be a sponge, always be ready.

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General SessionMark Richt - HC Georgia

- What are you looking for when you hire someone?

1. Competency - Can you get the job done?

2. Character - Is he the kind of role model I want around my kids? Is he tough to work with? Is he a goodmentor to kids and other coaches?

3. Family Man - If hes got a successful marriage, thattells me hes got character. Kids need to see aloving husband and father. Want to have the same expectations with your players as your kids. Most ofthe kids will try to live up to your expectations.

- We dont want to ruin a players spirit by tearing them down.

- I cant guarantee you success if you persevere, but I can guarantee you failure if you quit.

- The Hotseat - Time during training camp after a meal. Set a chair in front of the team, and the playerstalk about what it means to be a Georgia Bulldog, their path, what theyre thinking about. Whats said in

the hotseat stays in the hotseat.

If you want a better job, apply enthusiasm to where youre at.

- Why do I want to be a coach? Ask yourself that all through your career. Coach Ri cht got cut from theDolphins and the Broncos but still wanted to stay in the game, loved the competition and strategy. As timewent on, the primary focus changed, and it became about the relationships with young men, and gettingin the position to help somebody, in football and in life.

- Encourage players to do community service during the summer. No matter where youre at, guys arethere who need you. How can I pour my life into the lives of these young men?

- Anger is a secondary emotion, the primary emotion is usually because theyve been hurt.

- Character is what youre doing when no one is watching.

- How I know things are bad is when I go to church and hear, Coach, were praying for you. Then westarted 0-2 and people said, Coach, were fasting for you.

- Had a team meeting after an 0-2 start. When youre in a bad situation, a team meeting wont give youteam unity, it will reveal to you whether or not you have it.

- What I do is not who I am.

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General SessionBill OBrien - HC Penn State

- I have a lot of respect for the coaching profession.

- People: When youre a HC, you have to surround yourself with high -character, no-BS people. You donthave the time for that in football. They have to be hard working and understan d that its not gonna beeasy.

- 1st thing when he got there was to make sure he had honest, open lines of communication with players.

- On players: Be hard on him, be fair with him, dont treat everyone the same. Be honest with them.

- Meet with yourplayers as early as possible when youre a HC.

- Talked to the team after the sanctions came out. Think about what your relationships mean. Im notbegging anyone to stay. I was myself and I was honest.

- Worked for some of the best (Mark Whipple, Ralph Friedgen, Bill Belichick). The one common traitbetween all these guys is that they wouldve been themselves in that tough situation. Since the NCAA

gave players permission to leave without a penalty, they knew that anyone still in that locker room wascommitted to Penn State.

- Its all about the guys you surround yourself with.

- To young coaches: Develop your beliefs early, dont wait for somebody to tell you what you believe in.Start writing it down now (Create your own HC Manual).

- In winter conditioning, you could tell right away the guys who werent gonna make it.

- Stop writing it down and just listen!

- Day one: Put together a flow chart w/ each persons job. Everyone in the building knows what their role

is.

- As a young coach, think about how you would want things done. Off time during the summer is a goodtime to sit back and review.

PRINCIPLES OF THE PROGRAM

1. Football should be fun and fulfilling for the student athlete involved- Not all of football can be fun. We as coaches have to be at the cutting edge of eliminating the drudgeryof football. They play music during practice, rotate the type of music, rap, country, etc everyday so thatpeople always have at least one day where their type of music is playing.

- Tries to play fast and get the team into a rhythm- Competitive drills

- Paintball and other fun activities during camp and summer- These also worked as team-building activities

2. Football must be a part of the educational experience at Penn State

3. Football is played to win. We will never accept losing at Penn State.- We will learn from a loss

4. No individual in the program is ever bigger than the team/ program.

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5. We will promote a team/ family atmosphere through loyalty and communication.

6. We will have a standard of performance for the players on and off the field

- Life is too short not to have your family at practice, especially when youre not around 6+ months of theyear.

THE BLUEPRINT

1. Plan: Plan your work, work your plan

2. People: Surround yourself with good people

3. Placement: Make sure people understand their roles

4. Preparation: Give them opportunities to prepare for their roles.

5. Motivation: Every year is different!

6. Management: Provide leadership through planning, guidance, and honesty.

7. Morale: Treat everyone fairly. Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.

- Started out working for Mark Whipple as the guy who made sure the camera lift was oiled and ready towork correctly.

- Let your coaches coach.

- A football game is broken down into three parts.- 1st quarter: Feeling each other out.- 2nd/3rd quarter: Making adjustments- 4th quarter: Situational football

- Put your players in positions to win in practice.

- Puts up new quotes in the locker room, a new message. That was 2012, this is 2013, its a differentteam.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

1. Best person they can be on and off the field. We have to be a team of character and discipline.

2. Best student they can be. PSU is a tough school. We need to strive to reach our academic potential.

3. Best athlete they can be. On the field, in the weight room. Strive to reach our athletic potential.

4. Make our own individual commitment to the team. Each man must sacrifice a little bit of his individualityfor the sake of the teams success.

5. The will to prepare to win. Everyone involved must be prepared to do what is necessary to win.

6. Confidence through preparation

7. Superior Conditioning (Can win you 2-3 games per year)

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THE MASTER COACH SERIESPhil Fulmer and Dick Vermeil

Q1. Explain your philosophy about dealing with players

DV - You coach people to play football, you dont coach football. I enjoyed the relationship part of the jobmore than the rest.

PF - We all have a background that develops us. We wanted the football team to be a family in all theways that it could be.- When I got the chance to be a grad assistant, I asked to work on the other side of the ball so I couldlearn defense.

- Dick Vermeil worked for George Allen who hired him as the first special teams coach in pro football.

Q2. What kind of assistants did you hire, what kind of relationships did you build?PF - We want guys who can manage themselves in all environments.

DV - Always tried to hire a guy who knew a position better than he did. Allows you to learn and critiquepeople. Sid Gillman didnt so much coach football as he coached the coaches.

- Hire someone who knows more than you do, then allow them to be the best they can be and make themlook smart.

Q3. Defensive Philosophy

DV - Whatever gave me the most problems, I tried to do on defense. Like man pressures, but not a biggambler in terms of weird or exotic blitzes.

PF - Great D-Linemen. Very aggressive on scheme, was on the cutting edge of zone blitzes back in themid 90s. Coach great players on defense.

Q4. Offensive Philosophy

PF - Run the football and control the clock, similar to Alabama. We changed based on the needs of thefootball team.- Peyton wasnt very good, he was just well-coached.- As a young coach, I paid attention to how the other positions were coached, and prided myself on beingable to talk on the same level as the other position coaches.

DV - When I started out, I thought if you threw the ball you were a pussy.- Had a great year, thought I was a great coach. The next year we lost a bunch of guys and found out Iwasnt as good as I thought I was. Found out that players win games. Was never a big scheme guy. - Was told Youre spending toomuch time trying to gain four yards. Always want to maintain the abilityto run the football in relation to the ability of the QB.- Even in the NFL, youd be surprised how often you can break leverage on an NFL defense by shiftingand motioning.

- In the NFL, the OL guys are getting more and more critical, without them, the skill players arent nearlyas good.- Sid Gillman hated the WCO, it wasnt a vertical stretch offense.

Q5. Philosophy on discipline.

DV - Used to waste too much time disciplining things that made no difference in winning and losinggames. Read a lot of WWII books written by guys who were there.- The Medal of Honor winners were often not the most perfect, procedural guys. They were usually theguys who drove everyone crazy.

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- Getting people to care is a helluva lot more important than standing at the door waiting to see ifsomeone is a minute late.- Most of the rules they have today are ridiculous.- Of all the guys we inherited year one in St Louis, we had nine left when we won the Super Bowl.

PF - Let the position coaches and the players handle the small discipline problems.- Buy into the family philosophy. You have a place here. At the same time, you have to be able to cutties.

DV - We never brought the team to a hotel the night before a home game during the Super Bowl year inSTL, never did it in KC either.

Q6. Philosophy of Motivation

PF - Established expectations very early on. Have to pick your spots. Keeping up relationships takes workeveryday.

DV - Players today have an unbelievable tolerance for love and appreciation.- A coach should be an unending source of encouragement. Players can sense where your heart is at.

Q7. Creating ethics and Morals

DV - If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you dont have integrity, nothing else matters. - Tell the players You only rent your locker.- When it comes to discipline, if you say youre gonna do it. - Discipline the fundamentals and the technique. (NFL Fundamentals are disintegrating)

PF - Problems are the same now that they were then. Bo Schembechler talked about it in 1972. He wentto go listen to him speak as a fan in Chicago, after hearing him, decided he wanted to coach, right thenand there.- Tom Osborne didnt talk very long about Xs and Os, mostly about discipline and being a man. Theteam will follow either the good or the bad kids.

Q8. Anything you regret?

PF - I regret they fired my ass!- I was a grinder and expected grinders around me.- Do a better job defining the job and not letting the game define you.

DV - Regret not slowing down. The grinding came from personal insecurity, insecurity in my position.Looking across the sideline and seeing youre coaching against Tom Landry or Don Shula can make youinsecure. People told him to slow down, because of my own insecurities, I wouldnt listen.- I regret leaving the Rams after winning the Super Bowl.

Q9. Something that can help the coaches - Wisdom, truth

DV - I believe in experience.- I learned an awful lot by having an office next to John Wooden at UCLA. He boiled everything simpledown about winning.

- Spend more time getting the kids and coaches to be the best they can be.- Dont worry about keeping three good RBs happy, worry about keeping the best one happy.- John Woodens practices were always very fast. Practice tempo, you can get used to moving

extremely quick all the time- You only scrimmage when you dont know what else to do. - Jay Prothro - every practice was different.

PF - Learn everything you can. You have to be a teacher at a lot of levels.

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- Establish a philosophy about what you want to look like.- Figure out who the three teams you gotta beat are, and recruit to that.

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Glen CarusoHC University of St Thomas

F.A.M.I.L.Y. - Forget about me, I love you

- Coach the kid, not the scheme.

- Vision- Summation- Selflessness- Thoughtfulness - I dont need you to be brilliant, I need you to be thoughtful.- Mental Toughness- Positive Mental Outlook

List of Favorite Books- Big Russ and Me (Tim Russert)- Good to Great (Jim Collins)- The Talent Code (Daniel Coyle)- Art of War (Sun Tzu)- As a Man Thinketh (James Allen)

- Psycho-Cybernetics (Maxwell Maltz)- Talent is Overrated (Geoff Colvin)- They Call Me Coach (John Wooden)- Blessings of A Skinned Knee (Wendy Mogel) - Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)- Ive Got Things to do With My Life (Pat Tillman)- Huddles: Fathers, Sons, and Football (Andrew Malcolm)- No, Why Kids of all Ages Need to Hear It (David Allen Walsh)

- I believe that we as a culture suffer from Small Trophy Syndrome. (Everyone gets a trophy in todayssociety)

The Leader: Know You, Be You

- The reason most people are average is because their self-awareness is subpar.

- Make a list of your Ams and your Nots. Draw a line through the list of Nots, with the items belowthe line the things you REALLY need to work on.

Coach Carusos House Rules:We Never QuitWe Never WhineWe Never Get Embarrassed

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General SessionJimbo Fisher - HC Florida State

- There are three seasons of coaching: Recruiting, Player Development, and Coaching

- Your football team has a one-year life expectancy. We have to develop its attitude, character, veryquickly. The most fun things are the ones who develop team chemistry off the field.

- People say you dont change, thats partially right. The things you stand for never change, but the wayyou do business day-to-day has to keep changes. Ask anyone in the business world if they still dobusiness the same way they did ten years ago.

- Kids today have a sense of entitlement, a Me-First attitude. Take the me guys and turn them into weguys, develop this attitude in the offseason.

- No matter what you do, or how much you achieve, you can NEVER arrive. Kids today dont understandthat.

1. Create an Atmosphere Conducive to Success

- As they develop, how does it help the players as they go?

- Communication and honesty - Ive never promised a player hell play or hell start. They have too manypeople telling them what they want to hear (Friends, girlfriends), we as coaches have to be different.

- The definition of success is consistent performance at a higher level over a long period of time.

- You have what they want most. We are here for them, theyre not here for us. We wouldnt have acoaching career if it werent for the kids.

- When you leave Florida State, I want you to have two abilities: Accountability and Dependability.Education is not as important as these two qualities. Education is a very opportunistic thing, not everyonehas the chance to go to school, but everyone has the opportunity to develop accountability and

dependability.

- Most kids dont feel they have control over their own lives, which is why they make the decisions theydo. They dont understand the power of decision making. Most decisions they make are based on thenext five minutes.

- Teach them to make a decision based on the next day, next week, next month, etc. Its a process.

- Meet with every player every semester. Lets them know where they stand.

- Most kids underestimate themselves.

- Most coaches dont reinforce the positive, in turn, we dont give them confidence.

- When heshad success in things hed never thought hed have success in, now he has trust in you, nowyou can coach him.

- Talent wins you games, character wins you championships.

- At FSU they use a point system for player behavior. Late to class = point, missing a class = 1 point. 3points and he sees his position coach, 6 points and it becomes a problem, he sees the Unity Council.- The Unity Council is made up of guys that reinforce the core values of your organization. Meet everyThursday. The greatest pressure kids face is peer pressure. Its much harder to lie to your teammates

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about where youve been and what youve been doing, because theyre with you all the time. Whenmeeting with the Unity Council, its just the players on the council, the player being disciplined, and anassistant strength coach who reads off the rules the player has broken. The player then has to sit thereand explain why he is in trouble, and what happened. You have to empower players, they play a hugerole in developing players. They set the punishments. After nine points, they see the HC, its an automaticsuspension.

- Since he took over as a HC, hes never had to suspend a player, though some have gotten close.

- Until your players are accountable to each other, you dont have a team.

- What are you going to do to reach the goals youve set? Teach them to set short term goals. Get themto focus on the process. What am I gonna do daily to make this happen? When they do well, brag onthem, dont just punish them.

- Its amazing how unconfident how most guys are in themselves.

- They drug test guys 10-20 per week randomly. Everybody gets their one time. Shows the players thatyoure not trying to catch them, trying to help them. 3 strike policy. If they dont wanna get help, you dontwanna have them on your team.

- Every player coming in meets with a sports psychologist. Coaches see them too, getting them to buy in.They get a profile on the kid, find out what makes them tick. Why waste a year trying to figure out whatmakes them tick if you dont have to?

- When a kid cant learn and he cant get confident, youll demoralize them. If you havent given themevery chance to succeed, youve failed them.

- The more people you can get to interact with your program that you trust to get your message across,the better the kids will absorb it.

- Youre never a great player until you affect the guys on your team in a positive way on a day -to-daybasis.

- When a kid starts to have success in the classroom and as a person, his confidence grows.

- During weight training, they try never to train in groups larger than 14-18 at a time, allows for moreindividual attention. This is harder on strength coaches, but better for the kids.

- During offseason conditioning, dont be content with the status quo, dont always keep doing the samethings youve been doing. Give your kids something different to do, it doesnt matter what it is, so they canfeel like theyre doing something different than their opponents. Gives the kid confidence in the coach,and they will play harder for you.

- Philosophy on rules: Dont give em a bunch of rules, they cant remember them all anyway.

- The rules are simple: Dont embarrass yourself, dont embarrass this team, dont embarrass thisuniversity.

- Create accountability anyway you can. What are you doing to reinforce it everyday?

- If everyone who comes into contact with your kids doesnt have the same mentality, youll lose em.

-At the end of the day, it s all about infrastructure and what you do on a daily basis.

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General SessionDavid Shaw - HC Stanford

THE ENVIRONMENT

- Thats what youre in charge of, the environment, the mood, feel, etc, as a HC.

HIRING

- Hire good people and delegate. If you have to micromanage everything, you probably hired the wrongguy.

1. Take your time.- Was struck by what the Colts said about Chuck Pagano when they hired him. Said if the Ravens hadgone to the Super Bowl, they probably wouldve hired someone else. If thats the right guy for yourorganization, you cant wait 14 days? The difference between hiring the right guy and the wrong guy isthe difference between winning and losing. Coach Shaw is willing to wait a very long time, sometimesuntil after spring football, until he feels like he found the right guy.

2. My dads quote- trust vs Xs and Os

- When I hire somebody, its gotta be somebody I trust. Work ethic, personality, and motivation areextremely important. As long as were on the same page, well get the right answers.

3. Value of the group interview - Chemistry- Find out as much stuff as possible about them. Tell us what you know, tell us what you like, tell us whatyou dont like. Look at the interactions. You cant win a lot of games if your staff cant get along. Whenyou walk into the office in the morning, you gotta be fired up and excited about it.

TEAM CULTURE- Locker rooms win games.

- It doesnt matter what the coaches know, because on 4th and goal from the 2, coaches are still watchingfrom the best seat in the house.

1. Recruiting- Start as you mean to go on.

- The internet is making superstars out of high school kids before they ever play a down. We dont talk to3rd parties. If we cant get the kid on the phone, we dont recruit him.

- When you let a kid know right away what your expectations are, youll know right away whether hes onboard.

- Dont have the biggest pool for recruiting, which allows them to get to know the kids better. You cant bebuddy-buddy during the recruiting process and then become a coach once they get to campus. Theywont play games with a kid. If youre not serious about me, dont waste my time.

- Dont promise them more than a college education, if you do, youre doing them a disservice, and youredoing college football a disservice. Im the adult in the relationship, and its my job to act like it.

- Nothing crawls up my spine like immaturity and wasted time.

2. Stanford Academics - Mentally Tough Finishers

- Our academic standards are a strength for us. We dont take early HS graduations for the purpose ofplaying spring ball. The kids who can handle the academic and admission process, the kids who play aplayoff game on Friday night and take the SATs on Saturday morning, you dont have to worry about

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those kids in the 4th quarter.

3. Everything is Competitive but not Combative

- We dont need to fight in order to compete in practice. We dont encourage the kids to hate theiropponent. When you hate your opponent, thats what leads to those bad decisions, th ose personal foulpenalties in the 4th quarter.

4. Peer Pressure and Respect

- Peer pressure is the greatest tool we have. Every team is the seniors team, what will happen is what isallowed to happen. Strict No-Hazing policy.

- Had a senior center, and told him they wanted him to take a more prominent leadership position on theteam. He told them he wasnt much of a talker, and that was OK. All they told him was, When someoneon the OL doesnt do their job, they need to know youre pissed about it.

- As a leader, and as a coach, you set a high standard for yourself, which in turn sets an example forothers and holds them to the same standard. Its our job as coaches to foster that type of environment.

GAMEDAY

- Play as a team, look as a team (with hints of individuality). Doesnt allow his players to get too crazy withthe uniform, wear only one sleeve, etc. You know how many bad football players look great? Wear twosleeves, theres a reason they come in packs of two.

- My sideline demeanor - Players live in the moment, my job is to say, whats next?

- I encourage players to live in the moment, they have to use their emotions, not let their emotions usethem. Playing in the moment allows you to forget the mistake you made on the last pla y, not get satisfiedwith what you just did.

- What your players need from you is consistency.

- 2 things that drive me crazy:1. Players give the team and the coaches anything less than your best.2. When they do something disrespectful to their teammates.

- Enforce it dispassionately, the player shouldnt think you enjoy it or youre out to get them.

- The game is too long, too many highs and lows to get wrapped up in a single moment. When we score,I start walking the other way talking to the coaches.

- I spent nine years in the NFL, which is a big reason why Im not in a hurry to go back. The NFLplayers all know that if you make a play, youve got 3 -5 seconds of camera time. They all discuss itamongst each other, and plan their celebrations.

- When celebrating a big play, I hate to see guys take ten steps away from their teammates. Stanfordpractices group celebrations, talk about it. We show our unity through celebrations. They challenge theplayers after a big play: How many guys can we get in the frame after a big play?

SOCIAL MEDIA

- Tell the players all the time that athletes are not anonymous on Facebook and Twitter.

- Dont try to explain things to the media.

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- Be a college kid, not a celebrity.

- What you say affects team chemistry.

- Talking about players responding to opposing fans and others on Twitter: Why get so upset over Twitterthat you give someone that power to give them your ear?

- Tell them to Hit pause before you hit send. Sleep on it. Its too easy to send something right awaybefore you really think about it.

- Twitter is to be used as a running commercial about how great your life is. Dont dump your emotionsall over Twitter.

- EVERYTHING you do affects team chemistry and affects the environment.

- Success breeds success. If you approach different things the same way, youll have success.

- We set goals, but we concentrate on today.

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General SessionBill Snyder - HC Kansas State

- First job was at a high school coaching football, baseball, basketball, track, bus driver, and taughtspanish class (didnt know anything about spanish) for $3,600 per year.

- The thing that makes the true difference is the intrinsic values and the val ues we portray to the youngones.

- Came back to college football, not because of the football, but because of the people.

- To the coaches trying to move up and get a better job: Be where you are. Did a lot of moving aroundearly on, then realized that I wasnt a very good coach. Spent most of the time with one foot out thedoor. Work hard where youre at.

- Im a big believer in having a process.

- 1st thing I talk with young people about is surrounding themselves with people who care about you, notpeople who may be fun, but dont care. Be one of those people who cares, direct them to other peoplelike that.

- There was a time in my young life when I said, maybe this hard work isnt all its cracked up to be.

- In order to establish foals you need to establish priorities in life. Once priorities are set, goals are easierto come by. Need a well thought-out, well-conceived goals, and a plan to reach those goals.

- We all have a goal weve never achieved before, otherwise it wouldnt be a goal.

- Once youve got the young person surrounded with people who care, then its time to work hard.

- 100% of people set some type of goal, 50% of people have a plan to get there, only about 10% actuallyachieve it.

- Saw the movie Lincoln, was all about perseverance. Had failed to gain public office seven previoustimes. Lost his fiance to an early death.

- Walt Disney went bankrupt twice before he opened Walt Disney Pictures.

- Spielberg didnt get into his dream school - USC. Now the film school there is named after him.

- Find a way to improve every single day of your life. What do you want to improve on today? What canyou do to improve?

- When Snyder got to Kansas State, there wasnt a single player on the team who had ever won a c ollegefootball game.

- Told the players: Were not gonna assess your improvement based on the scoreboard. Are youimproving every game? Everyday on the practice field?

- Tangible results come from intrinsic values and from applying them.

- Young people have a lot of problems, a lot of insecurities, not sure how to handle them all. Theseproblems will exist throughout your life. If you dont have a problem, youre not paying attention. Whatmatters is solving problems, finding solutions before problems arise.

- Do not place limitations on your ability to succeed.

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- Know exactly what your priorities are. If you choose to do this, will it help you achieve your goals? Ifyes, do it with all the enthusiasm you have, if not, why would you do it?

- Invest yourself in that which is best for the program youre at. Invest in it 100%

- When coaching, be yourself. Tried to emulate John McKay and was a miserable failure. Be who youare, I assure you its good enough. Nobody knows how to be you betterthan you.

- Went to the administration at Kansas State on behalf of the teachers and professors, to get them raises.Stressed that the football team is working with the educators not against them. Set aside a suite at thegames for the professors who wanted to come to the games. The more you have with you, the less youhave against you.

- Each assistant coach has a college within the university they are responsible for, use it to communicatewith the educators. Keeps the faculty involved. Allows the players to have respect for those responsiblefor their education.

- Each assistant, once a month, calls their players parents, fills out a form what they talked about, whatthe response is. Involves the parents, sometimes you may end up educating the parents and helping

them to become better people as well.

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Football Game Analysis

Michael Stoebermstoeber@nfl.jaguars.com

(EMAIL HIM FOR A FREE PDF COPY OF HIS BOOKFOOTBALL GAME ANALYSIS)

Director of Football Technology Jacksonville Jaguars

- What data do you need to record? Everything?o Positives:Can print every possible reporto Negatives: Time consuming

- First determine what you want in the end.o 79 different fields in the book, have used them all, but never at the same time.o Added and subtracted fields from the report on a yearly basis.

INFORMATIONAL GROUPING FIELDS

- It is important to record groups as well as the fine details

DOWN AND DISTANCE GROUPING

- Purpose should reflect how a coach would think about it during a game.- Plays should be able to exist in multiple groups.- A growing trend in the NFL is to examine D/D by the previous plays result. (2

ndlong after

incompletion, etc)- NOTE: NFL teams use 0 for down column to denote a 2 point conversion

MIX PLAYS

1st/2

nddown 1-6 that ARE NOT a part of the following situations are classified as Mixed

- 2 minute offense- 4 minute offense- Red Zone- Coming Out

FORMATION

- Grouping similar formations together so they can be studied is important- Dont like generic terms like doubles for 2x2 sets - Add personnel to your formation reports, calls similar looking formations different names

depending on what personnel the offense has on the field.- See the forest for the trees Reason you add specific detailed data fields, as well as a field for

formation types.- Have a formation naming system that covers 99% of all formations seen during a four year study.

23 different types of formations including:o Wildcato WR/TE in backfield

o OL in different spot- Have multiple levels and groups to both see details and similarities

PLAY DATA

- Play Type 17 different play types (Covered in book in greater detail)o I define run plays by blocking schemes, ball carrier, style of getting the ball to the ball

carrier, location of the blockers.- Passes 6 types

o Quick

mailto:mstoeber@nfl.jaguars.commailto:mstoeber@nfl.jaguars.commailto:mstoeber@nfl.jaguars.commailto:mstoeber@nfl.jaguars.com

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o Dropbacko Sprinto Playactiono Screeno Boot/Waggle/Roll

- A trick play is defined as anyone other than the QB throwing the ball - ATTACK POINT field Records the alignments of defenders to the side of the center the ball is

being run, you can chart what runs are called against what fronts. Allows you to chart not justwhat they have ran in the past, but also what you think they may run against you. (I LOVE THISIDEA)

SUMMARY

- Ask yourself what knowledge you need to record- Develop your plan for breakdowns in the offseason, and communicate it to EVERYONE- Evaluate what youre doing and see if you can make it better during the offseason - Think of the big groups as well as the little details.

EXCEL: Things to research for breakdown purposes

- Formulas for autocalc- Pivot tables- Slicers- Formula Keywords

o Nested IF Statemento And + Or Statement

- PIVOT TABLES: Drop variables in TWICE to make a % in the value column.