The Football Coaching Podcast with Joe Daniel

Paul "Bear" Bryant is a coaching legend. There's not much question about that. He won 6 National Championships as the Head Football Coach at the University of Alabama. The image of his houndstooth hat is unmistakeable. But we're football coaches, and we're not just interested in the story of a coach who won a lot of football games (323 games, to be exact). We want to know how. And why. In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, we'll take a look at the early year of Paul "Bear" Bryant's coaching career. How did he come to be the legend at Alabama? Starting with his upbringing in Arkansas, to his playing days at Alabama, we'll look at the rise of one of the most legendary figures in our profession. On to his time in the Navy during World War II, and his first head coaching job that followed, at the University of Maryland. Then on to Kentucky, and of course, to Texas A&M. The site of the famous Junction Boys. Don't get too excited, I plan to leave the Junction Boys story for another time. When this went on the Twitter Poll @footballinfo, I had every intention of covering Coach Bryant's entire career. But after doing my research, well… there's just no way. Instead, it's time to lay the foundation on one of the greatest coaching legends of all time! I'll share my thoughts, my own personal (though pretty thin) connection to Bear Bryant, and a few interesting stories on Episode 210 of The Football Coaching Podcast! This episode is sponsored by JDFB Insider, where you can get access to all 5 of my Coaching Systems, plus a whole lot more. Check out https://joedanielfootball.com/membership for all the details on how you can get instant access, right now.

The Overhang Safeties in your 8-man front defense set the edge. Defend the flats. They are critical to shrinking the field for your defense. Overhang Safeties are a major piece in your 4-2-5 Defense or 3-3-5 Defense. If you call it a 4-4 Defense or 3-5-3 Defense, they're your Outside Linebackers. The principles are still the same. Episode 209 of The Football Coaching Podcast will go in depth on coaching the Overhang Safety position. This won our Twitter Poll @footballinfo this week. Check in each week to vote for the next topic. I'll talk about the alignment of the Strong Safety and Weak Safety. We'll look at why you use variations in alignment and how to align your defenders to maximize their effectiveness. We'll look at the most effective stance for your defenders to execute their assignment. In this episode, I'm also going to address the most common question I get about the Overhang Safeties. What keys should they read? My answer is a little different than most, but something I have found to be very effective from week to week and season to season for these guys. Finally, we're going to dive into how to coach the technique for your Strong Safety and Weak Safety to perform their job within the defense to help you shut down your opponent. There's a lot of variation in this topic based on coverage. We could probably break it down by coverage, and again by Strong and Weak Safety. I'll talk about these guys in as much detail as possible without getting too specific to your coverage. But there will be some differences. I also focus a lot on the 4-2-5 Defense System and how we teach our defenders in there. You can get all the details on the System and get instant access today when you check out http://425defense.com.

Special Teams are one-third of the game. Every coach says it. Most of us don't actually spend that much time on it, though. In fact, a big part of special teams comes down to execution. Limiting mistakes. If you can do that, you can make big things happen. I posted 4 Special Teams units on our Twitter Poll @footballinfo. The winner by a big margin was the Kick Return schemes. And why not? Kick Return is a huge key to scoring for your football team. It's probably the single special teams unit where you have the highest probability of scoring (PAT/FG not included). Plus this is what's going to set up your field position on the next drive. Or the opening drive! In this episode we'll break down kick return schemes for handling deep kicks, sky kicks, squib kicks and onside kicks. You'll also learn how to use the right personnel on your Kick Return unit. And last but not least… we'll talk about practicing your Kick Return team. How can you get the most from these guys in the necessarily short amount of time that you have? In this episode, I mentioned Coach Lew Johnston's Put the "Special" in Special Teams by Being Unconventional video. Coach Johnston has been a huge help to me this year, so… buy his video! Want more podcasts? More football coaching videos? Support The Football Coaching Podcast on Patreon!

The Playbook. It's like the Holy Grail of football coaches. We dream of putting together that amazing playbook. With just the right selection of calls. You've probably drawn up one or two in your time. If you've been dreaming of this job for long, you at least drawn up a few plays. Almost every football coach has downloaded a few playbooks from the Internet, too. Good and bad. The truth of the playbook isn't nearly as sexy. Playbooks don't win games. Players do. What else do players do? Leave their playbook in their locker (or worse). Forget to study it. And execute the plays completely wrong. No matter how many times you drilled it. In this episode, we're going to talk about putting together your playbook, so that it actually gets translated to on-the-field success! Want to have a successful playbook? Check out JDFB Insider where I supply you with the playbook, but more importantly teach you how to teach your players so that your team executes on Game Day. Visit https://joedanielfootball.com/membership for more information.

Press Man Coverage is our Twitter Poll winner at http://twitter.com/footballinfo for this week. I'll look at some of the myths and reality of coaching Press Coverage. We'll also talk about technique for coaching press coverage to your athletes. I used to be one of those guys who shied away from press technique. Always thought you had to have some kind of freakish athlete to do it. Now I'm going to share with you why that's just not true. Why you can use press coverage for your football team, even with average athletes. This episode is brought to you by The 4-2-5 Defense System at http://425defense.com. Visit there to get all the details on this complete Coaching System, including how to put together a coverage package that matches your defensive front. Whether you're going to run Cover 3, Cover 1, Quarters, Robber, or Split Field Coverages, The 4-2-5 Defense System gives you complete instruction on how to do it. Plus you get base run fits, change-up fronts, blitz package, game planning, practice planning and more. Everything you need to dominate on defense this season with The 4-2-5 Defense System. I've worked with over 1,000 coaches on installing the System around the country and around the world. At every level including High School, Middle School, Youth, College, and Semi-Pro. Check out http://425defense.com for all the details on The 4-2-5 Defense System and how you can get instant access, today.

The Single Wing Offense has one of the oldest and most storied histories in all of football. After seemingly disappearing from the game, it has come back in force in recent years. And that's what we're going to talk about on this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast. The modern day Single Wing that you can run with your own football team, right now. I'll be looking specifically at the Unbalanced Single Wing as popularized by Coach Rick Darlington from Apopka High School (FL). Learn the philosophy and the thought process behind this unique offensive attack. Whether you want to install it, have to defend it, or are just curious - this is going to be a great episode!

You've got the playbooks printed. The players will be there. Are you ready, coach? This week in The Football Coaching Podcast we're looking at preparing for those critical pre-season practices. Getting your team ready for Week 1, when it really counts. Everyone wants a cookie cutter answer to installing your offense or defense. It's not that easy. You can't just run practice plans someone hands you. It's the same as running a playbook you download from the internet with no understanding of the How or Why. This episode shares my 4-Step Blueprint for Pre-Season Practice Planning. I've established the four main goals of pre-season practice, and then put together a framework for planning how to get all of this in. Links In this podcast, I referenced a few other podcasts and resources… Episode 125 - 5 Keys to Perfect Practice Planning Episode 80 - The 4 Types of Defense in Football The 33 Stack Defense: Run Fits is on my YouTube Channel

The Wing-T Offense has always been a fascination of mine. Even though I've never really coached the system. For this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'm indulging that fascination by exploring the origins of the Delaware Wing-T Offense. You might know the story. You probably don't. I didn't. Tubby Raymond is not a major part of this tale. In fact, he marks the end of the story. Instead, we'll talk about the true origins of the Delaware Wing-T Offense. A story that begins with Dave Nelson, Harold Westerman and Mike Lude. And it doesn't even start at the University of Delaware. Nope. This story starts in Maine. A few key resources for this episode… I've had a blast gathering information for this episode. Here are the key pieces so you can read them for yourself: Dave Nelson, Tubby Raymond and the Rise of the Wing-T Offense by Doc Bear. Big help in getting started on the right path. Mike Lude… An Originator of the Wing-T by Hugh Wyatt. Coach Wyatt has been on the podcast, and this kind of first-hand knowledge was exactly what I was looking for. Appendix III: History of the "Winged T" - by Harold S. Westerman posted by Dave Westerman. I think this was posted by Harold Westerman's son on his personal blog. It was a really good read. No idea what it is the appendix to. The Grand Experiment: Dietzel's Ingenuity Results in National Title by Marty Mule'. Not much related to the Wing-T and most of it is only interesting if you care about LSU football history. Tells the story of LSU's 1958 season, which got started in part with Paul Dietzel switching to the Wing-T Offense. Fritz Crisler's 1947 Single Wing Playbook is an interesting look. And to balance it out, this is a good look at the T Offense from Kyle McElvany. I also found Frank Leahy's book on the T Formation pretty cheap on Amazon.

This week is a special Football Coaching Podcast mailbag episode. I'm answering questions from coaches on all kinds of topics. I'll be discussing… How to coach the 7-technique (or 6i) Defensive End. This is a follow-up on the last episode about the 6-Tech Defensive End How do you get into coaching, when you don't want to be a teacher? What coverage options do you have for Trips formations in the Miami 4-3 Defense? ...some other things, I don't clearly recall, because I was recording this episode at about 3am before leaving for vacation the next day. That in itself should make Episode 202 of The Football Coaching Podcast a must-listen! I'll have to listen too, because I have no idea what's in there. For an in depth look at the 4-2-5 Defense, I've got an exclusive video series you can check out at http://425defense.com/podcast. You'll get instant access to the first video on the foundations of the 4-2-5 Defense, with two more videos to follow.

You'll find out the advantages of using a 6-tech Defensive End, how to coach this technique, and whether or not your football team has the right guy to play that position. The 6-tech Defensive End won our poll topic getting 33% of the votes and beating out Kick Return Strategy. There won't be a poll next week, but I do need you to send an email to [email protected] or tweet me your questions for next week's Q&A Podcast. I started using the 6-Tech Defensive End when we switched to the 4-2-5 Defense. We continued to use it in our 3-4 Defense front, as well. For an in depth look at the 4-2-5 Defense, I've got an exclusive video series you can check out at http://425defense.com/podcast. You'll get instant access to the first video on the foundations of the 4-2-5 Defense, with two more videos to follow.

In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'll talk about advantages of Press Quarters Coverage, the basics of coaching Press Quarters, and adjustments that you'll need to be ready to make if this becomes your base coverage. You can use press quarters coverage with any traditional defensive front. I'm focusing on the viewpoint of a 4-3 Defense, since that's where we have used Quarters most often. You can run this with your 3-4 Defense, 3-3-5 Defense, or your 4-2-5 Defense. If 4-2-5 Defense is your thing, I've got a special 3 video series that you can get instant access to right now as my special gift. Just visit http://425defense.com/podcast to sign up for that series right now. Links Coaching Press Quarters Coverage video on YouTube that was made for this episode. Quarters Coverage video - this is the foundations of the Quarters Coverage I teach in The 4-2-5 Defense System. Football Coaching Podcast Episode 189 - How To Coach Pattern Read Coverage Football Coaching Podcast Episode 196 - Defending Trips Formations Visit and follow my Twitter Profile Page @footballinfo to vote for next week's poll topic!

Coaches are always struggling to create an identity for your football team. We don't need to create it though - you should be trying to develop the identity. It's an important distinction, and the biggest takeaway from this podcast. You need to build around the strongest positive character trait that the majority of your team possesses. To find your football team's identity, you need to examine the community, parents, tradition, and your current players. You also need to look at yourself and the coaches around you. In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, find out just what the Team Identity really means, and how you can develop one that will take your football team to the next level of success. I'll also share several examples of Team Identity for you to look at, to help you decide what direction your football team's identity needs to go in. This isn't about X's and O's, but if you want to give your team's defense a new identity, I've got a free gift for you. Visit http://425defense.com/podcast to get instant access to my Foundations of the 4-2-5 Defense video series. Visit and follow my Twitter Profile Page @footballinfo to vote for next week's poll topic!

It's the single most searched term on Joe Daniel Football. "Linebacker Reads." So it's about time we do the definitive podcast on coaching linebacker reads. Of all styles. Because I coach them all. It's about finding what works best for your players, in your defense. And every player is different. Heck, every game is different - but we only have an hour (well, 70 minutes). I'll talk about backfield keys, guard keys, and the 2-man surface read for your Inside Linebackers. What it is, and how you can read it. No matter what defense you coach, we're going to talk about Linebacker Reads that you can use for your football team this season. Check out http://425defense.com/podcast to get instant access to my Foundations of the 4-2-5 Defense video series. This is my special gift to you and you can get access to these videos right now at no charge. Visit and follow my Twitter Profile Page @footballinfo to vote for next week's poll topic!

We're always looking for new technology to give your football team an edge on the opponent. And there's an increasing number of options. In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'll look at a few of those different options. From video analysis, to playbook, team organization and safety - learn new ways to improve your football team. None of these are the magic bullet. You have to become a better football coach to get better results. We're looking for ways to be more efficient, relay information, and improve safety on the field for your football players. Don't forget to check out http://425defense.com/podcast to get instant access to my Foundations of the 4-2-5 Defense video series, too! Don't forget to visit my Twitter Profile Page @footballinfo to vote for next week's poll topic!

This week's winner on our Twitter poll @footballinfo was Defending Trips Formations. We look at multiple ways to defend 3 by 1 formations no matter what defense you're running. In any game plan, you'll need 3 ways to defend Trips Formations. I'll give you plenty to think about. As with any other defensive plan, it starts with deciding what the offense is using that formation for. What's their purpose? Then you've got to make some decisions. Man or Zone? Or a combination coverage? 6 man box, or 7 man box? Or 5 man box when they're really trying to sling it all over the place? In this episode I also mention that special gift, my 3 Video Series on Coaching Football's 4-2-5 Defense that you can get access to right now at http://425defense.com/podcast.

The Red Zone is the Scoring Zone. When you get there, you've just got to put points on the board. And a field goal isn't good enough. No, in fact, a field goal represents a failure for the Offense in the Red Zone (still a positive for the team!). Red Zone Offense needs to be one of your top priorities for the Offense to be successful. In today's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'll tell you how to make it a priority. And a success. In this episode... The Definition of the Red Zone for your Offense How to make your players understand the importance of Red Zone Offense Putting together your Red Zone Playbook How to identify and take advantage of the Defense in the Red Zone Don't forget to VOTE in our Twitter Poll for next week's FBCP Episode Topic @footballinfo. In this episode, I also mentioned a free gift for listeners of The Football Coaching Podcast on Coaching the 4-2-5 Defense. You can get access now at http://425defense.com/podcast.

Cornerback technique is often neglected. If you focus in on the fundamentals of the position, you can make some huge improvements with these athletes in a short period of time. I'm breaking down the position by coverage and using the A.S.K.A. model. A.S.K.A. is Alignment, Stance, Key and Responsibility. It tells the story for every position on your defense. It is the pre-snap checklist every defender should go over in his head before every play. Whether you're Cover 2, Cover 3 or Quarters you'll get some great ideas from this week's Football Coaching Podcast.

Get your coaches in the right place is going to be critical to the success of your football team. This takes a lot of thought to get it right. Every coach on your staff is at a different level. A different person. We're not all great field generals, or great motivators. We each have strengths and weaknesses. And of course, every coach on your staff has a different level of experience. At different positions. Time to get it right. Listen to Episode 193 of The Football Coaching Podcast to find out how to make sure you're using your football coaches right! Don't forget about my 3 video series on The Pistol Power Offense System. Those videos are my gift to you. Register and watch the first video right now at http://pistolpoweroffense.com/podcast.

The Offensive Line takes more attention to details and technique than any other position on the field with the possible exception of Quarterback. Your asking big men to do unnatural things. Players can't just rely on their athleticism. In today's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'm going through the key blocks you will use in a Gap Blocking Scheme. That's plays like Power, Counter, Iso and Trap. This is a detailed look at blocking. Footwork, aiming points, and the upper body. If you want to learn more about Offensive Line play, and every football coach should, I strongly recommend two books: Coaching Offensive Linemen by Dave Christensen and James A. Peterson Complete Offensive Line by Rick Trickett I mentioned that 3 video series on The Pistol Power Offense System. The videos on Power and Counter will show you where I apply these blocks in our System. Those videos are my gift to you and you can access the first video right now at http://pistolpoweroffense.com/podcast.

It's the longest wait in football. The time from the end of school to kick-off on Friday night. Seems to take forever. Don't waste that time. You can get a lot out of your pre-game routine! This week's Twitter Poll winner was Pre-Game Warm Up's. From the pre-game meal to the opening kick, I'll go in depth on how you can get your players ready to play. How should you handle your meetings? When do you flip the switch? And on the field, how much contact are you going to have? This is the complete guide to get your players ready to perform from the first drive through the fourth quarter (and Overtime if needed!). I also told you about a 3 video series on The Pistol Power Offense System. Those videos are my gift to you and you can access the first video right now at http://pistolpoweroffense.com/podcast.

There's a lot of ways to get your Offensive Formations to your players. None of them are the right way, you just need a system. One that's consistent. Learning football terms like formation calls is like learning a foreign language. So you can't be too complex (I don't know how good your kids are doing in Spanish, ours struggle). Formations are usually called using a combination of words and numbers. But nothing is universal. Then there's the tags. You can get really complicated with tags. Oh, and motions! Shifts! Trades! It's endless. In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'm going to go into all of that. A whole bunch of different ways you can align your players. And how to put it all together. One of the formation systems I talked about in this episode is from our Pistol Power Offense System. You can get a Free 3 Video Series on one of the core schemes of that System at https://joedanielfootball.com/ppo. Don't forget to visit my Twitter Profile Page @footballinfo to vote for next week's poll topic!

On this edition of The Football Coaching Podcast, it's a deep dive into Pattern Read Coverage. What is it, and why should your team run it? And also… why shouldn't your team run it? We'll talk about making the decision. I'll talk about the 4 Critical Keys to Coaching Pattern Read Coverage. Then we'll dive into all of the communication your players have to learn to run a successful pattern read defense. In this episode I mentioned quite a few resources, and they're listed below: Coaching Pattern Read Coverage by Tom Olivadotti is an excellent overview of pattern read principles. Quarters Coverage Made Simple by Shap Boyd was crucial for me learning Quarters Coverage. Listen to my interview with Coach Boyd on Quarters Coverage in Episode 26 of The Football Coaching Podcast 4-3 Over Cover 4 Defense from Pat Narduzzi is a great resource if you're interested in Press Quarters. Or defense. Can't recommend this 2 DVD set enough. Don't overcomplicate your coaching. Keep it simple so your kids can execute. That's what The 4-2-5 Defense System is all about. To get access to free videos on The 4-2-5 Defense System, visit http://425defense.com/podcast.

For this week's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, Defensive Game Planning won the Twitter Poll! You can vote for next week's poll topic on my Twitter feed @footballinfo. This could probably make up a month's worth of show topics. I decided to focus on one aspect - the scouting. Gathering enough information to give your football team an advantage. Without going overboard. And without digging through too much information and actually falling behind. I talk about what information the football coaches need to know. And how much of that do your players actually need? Then we'll talk about the Game Planning Call Sheet. If you want to go deeper on that, check my article on 24 Things You Can't Leave Off Your Defensive Call Sheet. For more ideas on putting your Defensive Playbook together (after all, you can't get the call sheet right if you don't have a foundation), download my free eBook Defensive Installation Manual here.

The most important skill for a Linebacker is learning how to defeat blocks. A Linebacker should expect to defeat a block before he makes the tackle. It's also one of the hardest skills to get your Linebackers to execute. The natural tendency is to run around those big guys trying to push you. I've studied a lot on coaching linebackers. The best resource I've found is Lou Tepper's Complete Linebacking book: http://amzn.to/2mXKjMp If you haven't read it yet, you need to get it. Every football coach should check it out. In this episode, I talk about 3 styles of block destruction. We focus on the core principles including the strong inside foot, leverage and exploding the hips through the blocker. Then you'll shed the block and go make a tackle!

You voted and this is the topic that won! Coaching Without Leadership means coaching when you don't have those leaders on your team. The one's that would make your life so much easier. Here's the real secret. You have leaders. You have leadership. Now you have to be the coach. Develop it. And there's a lot going on here. For this podcast, I referenced my interview with Coach Chris Zablocki and his Pyramid of Priorities. Making good decisions is what you're really after. I also focus on the 5 Levels of Leadership that John Maxwell talks in this video. Maxwell's books are a must for football coaches. Finally, you can get instant access to Chris Zablocki's web clinic on leadership from last year, as well as my Max Motivation for Peak Performance eCourse when you join JDFB Insiders. Click here to get all the details.

Get ready for an in-depth look at Coaching the Outside Linebackers. Or Overhang Safeties. Whatever you want to call them! In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'm going through the foundations of coaching your force players in the defense. This is mainly from the perspective of a 4-4 or 4-2-5 Defense, or a 3-5-3 or 33 Stack Defense. But you can pick up some ideas no matter what defensive system you're running. Cover 3, Quarters, Cover 1 or Cover 2 all get discussed. I'm going through the ASKA pre-snap progression for your players. Stolen from TCU, as so many things I talk about are. ASKA stand for Alignment, Stance, Key, Assignment. It's a great way to build your pre-snap checklist that your players run through. I'll share the how and why of everything your Outside Linebackers need to do. Include 4 different Outside Linebacker Keys for determining Run or Pass and identifying the play. Outside Linebackers take a lot of work. This is the guy that most Offensive Coordinators will look to put in conflict. Make him wrong no matter what. This episode of The Football Coaching Podcast will help to arm you against the bad guys! Looking for the Umbrella Principle video? Click here to watch the video. Then you can sign up to get the entire 3 video series on Coaching The 4-2-5 Defense System delivered directly to your inbox for free.

I've talked a lot about The Pistol Power Offense System. But I don't know if I've ever talked about what it really is. At least, not on this podcast. The Pistol Power Offense System is just the One Back Offense. Run from Pistol… and under center, and gun. It's just a fancy name. What's the One Back Offense? Pretty simple. We've got a feature back. Then use a hybrid H-Back to move around and set up the defense. That hybrid guy replaces your Fullback in a Pro I Offense. He's just more versatile. Most of the plays are the same. Listen to this episode to hear the details of the running plays in the offensive playbook. Power, Counter, Zone, Stretch and Truck Toss. I get into the basics of each play, along with how and why they're packaged together. It's a good introduction to the One Back Offense for your football team. When you're ready to dive all the way in, join the Pistol Power Offense System!

Size matters. Especially when you don't have it. Coaching with smaller players means you have to make some adjustments. Your undersized team can still have success if you don't hit the panic button. In today's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'll give you 8 keys to Coaching With Smaller Players. This is probably the most common question I get asked. Or some form of it. "My team is undersized. What should I run?" The answer is… changing the playbook won't change a thing. It's how you use your scheme that will make the difference (no matter what it is). So don't panic about all those little guys. Listen to this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast for ideas on how to coach your smaller players. And if you need a System - one that works no matter who you're coaching - check out The 4-2-5 Defense System. You can get Instant Access when you sign up now!

The 4-2-5 Defense is probably my favorite defense. And what I'm best known for. In today's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, we're going to talk about the basics of this 8 man, even front defense. This is the same as a 4-4 Defense. Or a 6-2 Defense. Numbers don't really matter. Don't get caught up thinking this is some 'Spread Defense'. We'll go in depth on Defensive End alignment and responsibility. His technique is critical to the 4-2-5 Defense. This defense is a balanced front. You can flip your players strong and weak, or not flip them. This is an advantage when you're facing Hurry Up, No Huddle teams. I'll also talk about the variety of coverage you can run with your 4-2-5 Defense. Stay a single high safety Cover 3 or Cover 1, or get fancy. Like TCU's Split Field Coverage. Finally, we'll go in depth on position personnel. Who do you need in order to run a dominating 4-2-5 Defense? I'll give you details. I've worked with over 3,000 coaches on this incredible defensive scheme. To learn all about my 4-2-5 Defense System, visit 425defense.com and get Instant Access today.

When's the right time to start applying for jobs? That's easy. You can always apply for the job. The interview experience in invaluable. But when are you ready to take a head coaching job? "It depends." That's the answer we've heard for years. In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'm going to nail down the real right time to be a new Head Coach. Just a warning. I don't want to be a head coach right now. I have never been a head coach. A lot of this is a little tongue-in-cheek. But it's what I've observed. What I believe. What would have to be true for me, if I were to pursue head coaching jobs. My sources are a few head coaches I've worked for, and hundreds of head coaches I've worked with. It's a hard job. So… thinking about it? Or just want to reminisce about the time before you sold your soul to be a head football coach? (that's tongue-in-cheek too!) Listen to this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast. In this episode, I mentioned Coach Chris Fore. He's THE MAN when you want to put your resume together and prep for your head coaching interviews. Find him at CoachFore.org. I also mentioned the Max Motivation for Peak Performance eCourse. This is the definitive guide to building trust with your new team, and creating the culture that all winning teams have. It's available only by becoming a JDFB Insider Client.

Champions are made in the Weight Room. Every High School Football Coach talks about how important this time of year is. This week's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast is all about the keys to having a great off-season in the Weight Room. Getting the most from your football strength training. On a side note, this episode is 100 episodes after my favorite Football Coaching Podcast of all time… Episode 80 4 Types of Defense. What makes your football strength training program great? You need players in the weight room. Sell the program to them. Better yet, get your players that are already committed to sell to new kids. Then you've got to know your facilities. Yeah, you need a weight room. It doesn't have to be anything special though. Work with what you have. Then you ned a plan. Laid out. Well thought out. Don't just wing it. This season, we've got an expert Strength Coach to do all that for you. Chris Lawyer, who runs The Weight Room RVA here in Richmond, VA, has put together an incredible football strength program for you. Click here to get the details on JDFB Weight Room 2017 With 40,000 hours of strength coaching hours logged, Chris is a true expert. He's coached State, National and World Record Holders in powerlifting, weightlifting and strongman. He's also consulted with plenty of High School and College strength coaches. Chris knows his stuff.

I've only heard one coach ever talk about how loaded his team was. Twice. He's won two State Championships. For the rest of us… we got problems. The kids are too small. Too slow. Too young. Too soft. Too entitled. Something's wrong. For every single one of us. Probably why coaching is not for everyone. You get into coaching thinking you know everything. The smartest coaches are the one's who have never done it. Then you find out this is a hard gig. The kids don't run around like they do in Madden. But the truth is… your players can play. They're just like everyone else's players. Maybe not as big, or as fast, or as… whatever it is. But everyone has shortcomings. This off-season, figure out what yours are. Get to work addressing them. Then move on. Time to go to work. In this episode, I mention the Max Motivation for Peak Performance eCourse along with several of the other resources that are available exclusively as part of JDFB Insiders. Click here to find out how to get Instant Access to JDFB Insiders!

Our biggest job as a coach is to develop character in our players. Best way to do that is to model it. There's a lot of problems in society today. We know football can help develop our young men to overcome those problems. Rise above. And a victim mentality? That's a big one. It's always someone else's fault. "I can't!" Why not? Because of this… this… this… oh the list goes on. As a football coach, we shouldn't have that mentality. But it creeps up for a lot of us. I see it all the time. Stop finding reasons you can't. Start finding solutions. Finding answers. And then get to work. This episode of The Football Coaching Podcast is a total rant, by the way. By the way, JDFB Insiders is a great place to find help for your football team. 1% at a time. Stop looking for excuses about why you can't… sign up here for JDFB Insiders.

You work hard. Is it enough? Are you the right guy for this? We all worry about whether or not we've done all we can. Done it the right way. Your players only have a few years to play the game. That's a lot of pressure. Not to mention pressure for the faculty, administration and community. It's normal to wonder... Am I a good football coach? So I made a checklist. And you can download it from Joe Daniel Football. At some point we all run into tough times. You ask yourself the question. Then you carry on because, well, no one else is going to do it and you love it. That, coupled with the fact that you're listening to this podcast, means you probably are a good football coach. But we all need a reminder.

It's that time of year. Some guys are rolling into the Playoffs. Others are searching for answers. This episode of The Football Coaching Podcast is for those guys who know that what you're doing... it isn't working. Change your thinking. Your approach. Make that change first. Then you can change the scheme. I talk about my Pistol Power Offense System in this episode. You can check out the free video series at http://joedanielfootball.com/ppo. If what you're doing on offense isn't working... it's the solution. But not because of the playbook. Check out this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast to find out why.

You stand on the sidelines in disbelief. We worked on this! The fans in the stands have their doubts. How could any kid who's ever been coached make mistake like that!? The skills that you forget even need to be coached. The skills that everyone should be able to execute. On paper they seem so easy. But you've tried to teach it. You're cutting years off your life trying to get better at it. These are the 12 Football Skills that seem so easy that you shouldn't even have to coach it. But you do. And you coach it. And coach it. And coach it. And they will make the mistake again. How do I know? Because they make these same mistakes in the NFL, too. Check out this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast to find out the 12 Football Skills that Seam So Easy (but aren't)! In this episode I mention our Pistol Power Offense System and 4-3 Defense System. You can get immediate access to both of those when you sign up for JDFB Insiders today!

Every coach has the question. How do we turn losers into winners? Kids need to learn to win. Winning isn't easy. Sure, some wins come easy. And if you're just better than everyone else... that's easy. Championship football teams win close games. Tough games. Go back and look at nearly every undefeated team or Championship team in NCAA Football. They all have a scare somewhere on the schedule. When your team has a winning mindset, you win those football games. When they don't... you wilt and die. Listen to Episode 174 of The Football Coaching Podcast for ideas on how to establish that winning mindset for your football team! Ready to build the trust factor in your football team? Check out Max Motivation for Peak Performance, available exclusively as part of your JDFB Insider membership

It's one of the most frustrating parts of being a football coach. The scout team. You work to put all the opponent's plays down on cards. You show them to a group of guys on your team... wait, these guys are all on your team? ...anyway, hold the card up. Everyone looks. They nod. They head to the line. The ball is snapped. If the snap doesn't get fumbled, it's a small victory. Then the disaster is on. Wait, the Guard didn't pull! We need that guy to pull! Where's the Tight End? There's supposed to be a Tight End on that play! He was WHERE!? In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'm sharing ideas on how to make your scout team better. Just as an FYI, it's not using color coded cards. I never saw more confused kids than when I did the color coded cards. None of these are earth shattering. It's all about building your practice from small to big, just like we teach in JDFB Insiders. Check out this week's episode, and start making some changes in your practice planning that will save your sanity!

Putting together your offensive game plan is critical to the success of your football team. And the most important part of that game plan is your evaluation of the defense. What do they do best? Where are the weaknesses? Who are the best players? The worst players? What are their tendencies? When do they change? (you can get your tendency report faster if you let us tag your game film!) Then you take that information and put it against your offense. What are you best at? Where are your strengths? It's like fitting together puzzle pieces. This requires honest evaluation. Try to identify your bias. Try to identify the opponent's bias. This is the chess match that makes football great. Check out this week's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast for some game planning tips. And for more in depth analysis on your opponent, use the JDFB Insider membership forums to post your questions.

Lots of coaches can draw up passing routes. Trick the defense, find the holes in a zone. It's fun stuff. But this isn't 7 on 7. And it ain't Madden. You want to throw all those fancy passing concepts? You have to protect your Quarterback. In Episode 170 we talked about the pass protection technique that you can use. That's independent of your pass protection scheme. On this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'm diving into the different protections schemes you can run. Big on Big protection. Slide protection. Half-Slide protection. Turn Back protection. Sprint protection. What does it all mean? When should you use each one? How many protections can you install for High School Football? When you want to go more in depth on pass protection, check out Joe Daniel Football Insiders. Learn the in's and out's of our 5 Step Protection in the exclusive JDFB Pistol Power Offense System to give your Quarterback time to throw the football! (no matter what level you coach!).

There's your pass protection scheme, and there's the technique you use to execute it. Today we're talking about technique. You're probably familiar with kick sliding... that thing you see NFL Offensive Tackles do all the time. But that's not the only way to protect your quarterback. Or even the best way to go about it, if you don't throw the ball much. There's a few options. In today's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, we talk about 3 different styles of pass protection... Kick-Slide Technique Vertical Set Protection Lead Step Protection Each method has it's advantages and disadvantages. I've taught all of them in the past (and will likely use them again in the future, at the right time). This isn't a thing where you choose 2 or 3. You choose one technique for the entire season, based on what is best for your football team. When you want to go more in depth on pass protection, check out Joe Daniel Football Insiders. The Offensive Line Coaching Formula is a 12 hour instructional course including an entire module on how to teach pass protection for your linemen (no matter what level you coach!).

There are many different ways to coach Linebacker Keys. They all have their merits. None of them are perfect. This is probably the most asked question I get at Joe Daniel Football. What should our Linebacker reads be? It's pretty simple. What do you like the best? What gets your kids going the fast? You need to decide how much room for error you want to leave. How important is it for the keys to be right on paper? What your kids can process will be a determining factor. What can they learn? What can they execute? What gets them going fast? In this episode, I'll go through several different options for coaching your Linebacker reads. Decide what works best for you and your players! When you need more detail, check out JDFB Insider. We have the Coaching Linebackers for Peak Performance video, along with detailed reads in all of our defensive courses. It's all included when you sign up for JDFB Insiders membership.

Your players have a million things happening in their lives. And it's increasing all the time. Family. Friends. Other sports. Academics. Even when your players want to do the right thing... it's difficult. (most of them want to do the right thing, by the way) I recorded this episode completely off-the-cuff. No real preparation, a couple notes on a piece of paper. But it is very real. This is important stuff. Not the X's and O's. The stuff that matters. I do a lot of surveys of coaches that use Joe Daniel Football and listen to The Football Coaching Podcast. The issues we address in this episode are at the top of your list of problems. Players who want to play other sports. Single sport athletes are a big problem in the world today. Not because it's wrong to play one sport. But because it's wrong to play one sport if the kid wants to play other sports. What about parents? That's the big issue. It's probably the one that keeps me from being a head coach. Parents are tough to deal with sometimes. They have unreasonable expectations. Social life. Kids are getting into a lot more than we ever did. OK, maybe not. But it seems like it. Youth makes stupid decisions. We have to deal with that, and help as best we can. Expectations are sky high. Every kid, and every parent, thinks they're getting a scholarship. Any talented kid has heard from his uncle who used to play for a semi-pro team that he's definitely going to make it in The League. We have to deal with that, too. Listen to Episode 168 of The Football Coaching Podcast for ideas on how to deal with all of this. And for lots more on building relationships that matter with your players, check out the Max Motivation for Peak Performance course that is an exclusive series for JDFB Insider members. Timestamp: [04:03] What is a distracted player? [04:40] Distracted by other sports [08:50] Distracted by their own parents [12:32] Distracted by the social life [15:40] Distracted by expectations from the people around him [18:30] Get more ideas for helping your players

Every football coaching staff needs certain guys. And I put together a list. It's the 5 types of football coaches every staff needs to have. Are you one of them? The truth is you probably fall somewhere on a spectrum for each of these qualities. You have some of them. Some of them, you don't. Then you have the 5 types of football coaches no one wants. These guys are the worst. The guys who kill your team unity. Ruin your enjoyment of the sport. The types of coaches that need to either change... or get gone. I put these lists together based on coaches that I have been around. The best and the worst. There's probably some more out there. Good and bad. I just haven't worked with them. This week's Football Coaching Podcast was inspired by an email from Kody. If you have a suggestion for a topic you want to hear discussed on The Football Coaching Podcast, please email it to me! Please take a minute to leave us a review in iTunes for The Football Coaching Podcast. It really helps the podcast continue to grow! Want to see what JDFB Insider is all about? You can get instant access right now - click here .

As a Coordinator or a Head Coach, you're looking at the picture. How does it all work together? In this week's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, we're talking about looking at your football team from 30,000 feet. How can you get it all to mesh? Use these 6 little details to get started... Let go of the 'little things' if they don't affect your big picture. Know what the non-negotiables are. Communicate your Vision to the coaches and the team Put the pieces together without worrying about the individual parts. Timing is everything. Your football team is a machine. Constantly adapt. You have to make corrections, without over-correcting. It's time to step back and take a look at the big picture! The Defensive Installation Manual is an in-depth guide on figuring out the big picture for your defense. Click here to download it now.

We get caught up in the X's and O's sometimes. Probably too much. There's a lot that goes into a football season. Far beyond your playbook. Do you have everything ready? Are you prepared to deal with the off the field stuff? Make sure you've got all your gear ready. Have a plan for the worst case scenario. Put systems in place that will save time all season long. Maybe even get a new whistle (I recommend the Fox 40 Classic). This week's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast isn't really sexy. No cool plays. This time of year, all that should be in place. If it's not, you better get moving. We're getting everything in place to have a great season. Limit the headaches so that you can do what you love doing... Coach Football!

It's the Jimmy's and Joe's. Not the X's and O's. You know that. You still spend a boat load of time on your scheme. After all, your kids are the one's you've got. You gotta do something to fill your obsessive football junkie time. Where you put those players is just as important as how good they are. That's what this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast is all about. There are 5 key factors to consider when you start putting your players into positions... Evaluate the talents and abilities of each player. Focus on where they are at right now. What they have done in the past is only a small piece. Look at your scheme. What do you need at each position? Study your opponents. The one's you really need to beat to achieve your goals. Where do they attack your defense? Where can you crete mismatches on offense? Once you've placed those guys based on the first 3... where do you have extra depth? Where do you need more depth? Fix it. What does the player want? A lot of coaches ignore this. You should not. Keep your schemes simple. Because you won't get it perfect every year (or ever). Injuries play a big role, too. You may need to move some guys around. It's all about having the best 11 football players on the field! If you need to perfect your defensive scheme, download my free eBook, The Defensive Installation Manual. It's a 7 step process for choosing the right defense for your team.

You love football. You study it constantly. Always learning. We have an abundance of knowledge at our fingertips. When is it too much? To become a better football coach (fast!) you need to focus on what matters. We're talking Pareto Principle here. 80/20 rule. 20% of your stuff gives you 80% of the results. 20% of the plays in your playbook might get 80% of your yards. 80% of your points. 20% of the technique you're teaching on how to block or tackle is producing 80% of the success. Crazy stuff, right? Most of us are well aware of the 80/20 rule. But we don't always apply it to coaching. Your playbook gets bigger as the season goes on. As your career goes on. The drill library expands. More drills. Better drills. Bigger drills. Is all that stuff producing results? Sure. But some of it... about 20%... is producing most of your results. So here it is, Episode 163 of The Football Coaching Podcast. The secret. The holy grail. How to become a better football coach, right now... in one simple step. OK, I'm not an expert on this. It took me 4 steps. Listen to the podcast to hear me outline those 4 steps!

The finishing touches are on your playbook. Now you have to teach it to your players. Having a plan for your Offensive or Defensive Install Schedule this football season is critical. The best plays don't matter if they aren't executed. Execution relies on how well the coaches teach. If your Install Schedule is well thought out, the offense or defense gets taught in a logical pattern. It makes sense to the players. That gives them confidence that you know what you're doing. They play faster. They win more games. Start by deciding on your foundation. What matters to your football playbook more than anything else? Then build the offense or defense. Build it the way you would want a game to work. Some coaches want one play installed and run perfectly before they move on to the next play. Others want to get the entire offense or defense in first. Then perfect it. There is no right way. Just have a plan that makes sense! Other resources on Install Schedules: Episode 98 - Offensive Installation Guide Episode 120 - How To Create Your Install Schedule Also check out my Defensive Installation Manual for a step by step process to putting your Defensive Playbook together.

Kirk Ferentz is the Head Football Coach for the University of Iowa. You probably know that. In 2015 he led the Hawkeyes to an undefeated regular season and a Rose Bowl appearance. He received the Big 10 Coach of the Year Award for the 4th time. Coach Ferentz was also the recipient of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year and Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Awards for 2015. He's going into his 18th season at the University of Iowa. We talk about what it takes to build a successful football team. The importance of balance, keeping it simple, and building a culture. Sound familiar? Football is basically the same at any level. Coach Simple. Play Fast. Win. That's always the focus. Want a balanced, simple approach to coaching your Offense? Get my free video series on the Pistol Power Offense System.