The Football Coaching Podcast with Joe Daniel

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.

Chris Brooks has a decade of experience coaching the Wing-T Offense for Youth Football. He is the creator of WingT-Football.com. Chris has a Wing-T Football coaching pedigree that started with coaching the Youth program in Sherwood, Oregon. He learned the offense from the local High School coaches, who have over 20 years of experience with it. We'll talk about how to create a mutually beneficial relationship between Youth and High School coaches in your area. We look at the Wing-T Offense, and the terminology involved. We also talk about specialization of athletes. When is it a good thing, when is it a bad thing? On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 9:00pm Eastern, 6:00pm Pacific, Coach Brooks will be hosting a JDFB Insider exclusive Web Clinic on the Wing-T Buck Series. Insiders can log in and sign up. Not a JDFB Insider yet? You should be. Click here to learn more.

This week on The Football Coaching Podcast it's all about going fast. Our guest is Coach Bill Legg, the Offensive Coordinator at Marshall University since 2010 under Head Coach Doc Holliday. I've seen Coach Legg speak at Glazier Clinics on two different occasions. He has a great football mind. He's also incredibly willing to share and help other coaches. We'll talk about the role of an Offensive Coordinator in staff meetings. How to utilize the talent and knowledge of every coach in the room. Then we get into Tempo. How to play fast. How does using the hurry up, no huddle system change your offensive play calling? How can you, as a play caller, prepare yourself to call plays so fast? How do you get the play calls into your players? In JDFB Insiders, we have a module all about how to go fast, and use the hurry up tempo with our Pistol Power Offense System. You can get all the information here Have questions or feedback? Post a comment here!

Coach Bill Weiss is has been the Head Football Coach at Chisago Lakes High School in Minnesota for 19 seasons. His teams won their 2013 and 2014 Conference Championships. Coach Weiss joins us to talk about putting together a successful program on both sides of the ball. On April 27, 2016 at 9:00pm ET he'll be talking Defensive Line Technique on a JDFB Insider Exclusive Web Clinic. Coach Weiss talks about his Triple Option Offense and 4-3 Defense and why consistency has been important. He also shares how to adjust your playbook for your players each year. His passion is on the Defensive Line, though. And that's where we'll focus in on philosophy and technique for playing tough up front. Check out this week's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast – and JDFB Insider subscribers don't miss that Defensive Line Web Clinic!

This week’s episode is nothing but a rant. Seriously. I was set off by one comment from a coach I don’t even know. The comment was by new Georgia Tech head basketball coach Josh Pastner. I read about it in an article on football scoop (read it here). The whole thing is ridiculous. If you want to be the guy who works 100 hours a week or more, great. Sometimes I am too, but it’s not because I want to be. I’m sure not making anyone else do it, either. So I turned on the microphone and went on a rant for Episode 157 of The Football Coaching Podcast. Let me be clear. I don’t care about Josh Pastner, or Georgia Tech Basketball. He may be a great person. The comments may be out of context. The article really just clicked a little something that I hear all of the time. From coaches, from business men, from teachers. From everyone. You do not need to work yourself to death, neglecting your family and your health. You certainly don’t need to wear it as a badge of honor. Some guys love the “grind.” Working from 4am to midnight. Sleeping just long enough to keep from stumbling through the day. Mumbling something about brains. This podcast is a message to the guys who are not that guy. You don’t have to be. For the guy who wants to be… do you, bro. Just know that there are other ways to succeed. In this episode, I also mentioned The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey. Here’s the link

Are you using empty formations in your offense? If not, you need to listen to this episode. Incorporating empty formations into your offense is easy. You should do it without actually changing what you do or who you are. The advantage is that we’re either getting Cover 0, or a really clean look inside the box. I like either one. For many defensive coordinators, myself included, the first answer to empty formations is to load the box. Bring heat. Make you get the ball out in a hurry. But the truth is, once you burn them… decisions have to be made. Stay in Cover 0 and risk getting roasted again? Or give the offense a 3-2 box or a 4-1 box. Those 5 man boxes are so clean. You’ve got hats on hats. They are respecting your receivers. To an athletic Quarterback, this is a dream. You can really open up your running game now! Get all the details on how to use empty formations in your offense. Listen to this week’s episode of The Football Coaching Podcast!

You know how important leadership is to your football team. If you don’t have it, you really know how important leadership is. When coaches are trying to change the path that a program is on, leadership is the first place we look. No one knows that better than Coach Chris Zablocki. Following a string of 9 straight playoff appearances at Cedar Grove-Belgium High School (WI), Coach Zablocki was ready for a new challenge. He found that challenge at Sheboygan North High School (WI). Chris took over in 2015 after the team struggled through a winless season the year before. Changing a culture and turning a program around are not an easy task. But Coach Zablocki has a plan. One he’s used before. In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, you get details about the foundation of Coach Zablocki’s plan to change a football program. And it starts with building leadership. JDFB Insiders will get a much deeper look into Chris Zablocki’s plan for establishing leadership and turning a program around. On April 14, 2016 at 9:00pm Eastern, 6:00pm Pacific, Chris will be presenting an exclusive web clinic for JDFB Insiders. Want to be a part of that event? Click here for all the details on how to become a JDFB Insider right now.

You might not think you can learn much from a soccer guy. We're football coaches. Once you listen to my interview with Coach John O'Sullivan today, you'll realize you were wrong. There's a lot to learn. Of course, John O'Sullivan is much more than a soccer coach. John's website at Changing The Game Project website will tell you that quickly. He is a best selling author and speaker on how coaches and parents can make our sport - any sport - a great experience for the people that matter. Who matters? The players, of course. We lose sight of that. Adults ruin everything. I met John about a year ago. He has studied the single topic that matters the most. How to get your players to perform their best. Schemes don't matter. X's and O's don't matter. Not when your kids are not giving their all. Not when they don't love to play the game. That's what John is all about. In the interview we talk about some really important topics including... How to keep your players from jumping to other sports instead of football How to give your kids more confidence in their ability How to coach when you have lots of kids on different ability levels How to build your program so that parents aren't the problem You'll never eliminate all of the problems, of course. Humans do not allow for problem-free environments. But you can take some serious steps to eliminate the issues. In this episode, we also talk about the upcoming conference on changing your team's culture, July 8-10, 2016 in Boulder, CO. Click here for more information Jump into Episode 154 of The Football Coaching Podcast and listen to my interview with Coach John O'Sullivan, right now!

Coaches like to talk about empowering your players. But when is the right time? What should they have power over? In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, we're looking at how much pull your kids should have in the decisions we make. Can they decide when practice starts? When it ends? Should you let your players pick team captains? Do players get to decide where they're going to play? How much input should your players have in play calling decisions? Do the players have any input in playing time? Can your kids help you decide what to do in the weight room? How much should you listen to your players regarding injuries? And do your players get to have a say in the design of your playbook? I'll go over each of these topics and how you should handle player's input on each.

RPO's are the hot topic at clinics all over the country this year. But almost everyone is talking using run-pass options from a Spread formation. So we're bringing in Coach Justin Dottavio for a little JDFB Insider exclusive Web Clinic to talk RPO's in his Pistol Wing-T Offense. Something a little different. Coach Dottavio is the Head Football Coach, among other titles, at Cornerstone Charter Academy in Belle Isle, Florida. At a small school, you need to find the offense that fits your players. Justin and his staff came to the Pistol Wing-T Offense. Then they added in to RPOs. We also talk about the defense, the special teams, and Wrestlemania. Important topics. Want to be a part of Coach Dottavio's Insider Web Clinic on March 15, 2016 at 8:00pm Eastern, 5:00pm Pacific? Click here to become a JDFB Insider now

Putting together your Offensive Playbook for the upcoming season? Here's a checklist. What do you need to have to make sure your playbook is complete for your football team? It's not as easy as it seems. Well you'll need to know how you plan to call your formations. Can you get into all the looks you want to show? And you need to be able to do it easily. Then there's your motions and shifts. Who can you move, where can you move them. Now the important stuff. Your base run play. Nothing is more critical. You'll want a counter play off of that. And a way to get the football in the air with the Play Action Pass off that base run. How about some screens and draws when the Defensive Line is breathing down your neck? Better add those in. Get the ball out to the perimeter with your quick game passing. Then be able to go down the field if you're falling behind (or if that's just what you do). What if the game is on the line and time is running out? Do you have a 2 Minute Offense plan? Don't forget that the field is severely shrunken inside the 5 yard line. What's your special plan on the Goal Line? Finally, your playbook needs a Plan B. And Plan C. Got it? It's all detailed in this week's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast!

I listen to a lot of different podcasts and audiobooks. Usually not about football. But I get a lot of the ideas for The Football Coaching Podcast episodes from those other places. And this episode is a great example. Dan Sullivan and Joe Polish host a podcast for entrepreneurs called the 10x Talk Podcast. It's one I've been listening to a lot, lately. And in that podcast, I heard a great way to categorize our kids. This is all about deciding how to manage your kids. How to work with your kids. Who you need to put more of your energy into, and who you don't. It has nothing to do with talent. It has to do with people. If your kids aren't bringing the energy, the motivation, and the enthusiasm to the game like you need them to, then Episode 150 is for you!

Episode 149 is based on a discussion from our private JDFB Insider forum. Michael asked for advice heading into his first year as a Defensive Coordinator. It sounded like a great topic to me. I sent my own response, flipped through the advice from other coaches, and started making a list. I was shooting for 8 tips for 1st year coordinators. Either side of the ball, let's not limit it. Instead I ended up with 15 before I stopped myself and turned the microphone on. It is Super Bowl Sunday afterall, I don't need to be doing this all day. And here it is. 15 tips for 1st year coordinators. And head coaches. And assistant coaches. OK, these are tips any football coach should probably pay attention to.

Today we're getting a little deep. Some off the field stuff. And I'll travel back to 1937 for some help. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is one of my favorite books. It's not some get rich quick garbage like the title might make it sound. It's a book every football coach should read. Every person, really. We're looking specifically at the 10 Causes of Failure of Leadership from Chapter 6 in the book. This is a book I come back to over and over again, and you should really look into it if you've never read it. Here it is on Amazon. All football coaches are in a leadership role. Whether you are the head coach, coordinator, or position coach, you are leading. We lead other coaches, and more important we lead our players. Pay close attention to these points from many years ago, and see how they fit into your football coaching today.

It's the off season. And the centerpiece of your off season is the weight room. Don't get carried away with X's and O's. That's a lot of fun. But remember one thing... Jimmy's and Joe's matter more. A lot more. And you can make massive improvements for your guys in the weight room this season. A lot more than you can make on paper. So what does it take to run a great weight program? You don't need a ton of equipment. And you don't have to be a full time strength coach. You need to know enough about the lifts to teach them, and teach the lifts safely. Safety is above-all-else the most important aspect of coaching weight training. You've got to have enthusiasm. Believe that the weight room is important. Show your players that. And you need a plan. A path to follow. Where does the off season in the weight room start? What's the end game? How do you get there? Check out this episode for some ideas on building your championship weight room! And click here to join us on January 14, 2016 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT for the Critical Keys To Running A Championship Weight Room Web Clinic.

Defending the Double Wing is always a fun topic. It's a great offense for exposing your defense. The fact is, this is a tough task no matter what you run. It's a great argument against balance. I've been working on our 3-4 Defense eCourse and this is a topic that's sure to come up. So I'm preparing myself. Episode 146 is a collection of my ideas on defending the Double Wing Offense. It's not the end all, not the solution forever. Just ideas. Hopefully it gets your wheels turning as we head into the off-season!

There is no 'right' way. The sooner you learn that, the better your coaching career goes. It's not easy to accept, of course. I wish there was a right way. I wish there was one single scheme that would beat everyone else every day. As long as no one else knew about it, of course. But there is not. Every scheme can work. Offense, Defense, Special Teams. If it's sound and it fits your players (and you can teach it), you can win with it. And every football team is different. Your players are probably different from week to week - and even day to day. How your scheme gels together... how you turn 11 individuals into one unit... that is going to change every day. That requires you to be a flexible football coach. To have a toolbox of answers waiting. Knowing when you use them? How to teach them? That separates good coaches from great coaches. Check out Episode 145 of The Football Coaching Podcast to find out how you can be a Flexible Football Coach!

When the season's over, the next one begins. Post-season evaluation is a major part of that process. These are 9 key points that your staff needs to discuss during the off-season. Address them, you get better. Ignore them, you get disaster.

Why do you coach? Is it because you like football? Well of course. Maybe you're really competitive. Wins and losses. On Thursday night, before our last game, I was reminded of why I coach football. We have a tradition called the Senior Speeches. And it's an annual reminder to me, and the rest of our staff, of why this is all worth it. In Episode 143 of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'll tell you what our players say that reminds us that coaching is an important profession. One of the most important professions, honestly. Listen to Episode 143 on Why We Coach Football now, and give yourself a reminder why all the blood, sweat, tears and time are all worth it!

The weather is getting colder. The sun goes down a lot earlier. Football season is winding down. And that's when the really important stuff happens! Rivalry games. Playoffs. BIG things. But kids don't always see all of that as a reason to work. A reason to continue to grind. As a coach, you have the ability to change how your football players approach their craft. Even this late in the season. One way is to shake up your practice. Try some new ideas. Do something out of the ordinary. Listen to Episode 142 for some great ideas on how to shake up your football practice this fall!

It's happened to every coach. Some of your kids are checked out. Football is a long season. A grind. Not everyone has the focus and tenacity to push all the way through. At least not with a little help. And that's where you come in. When the wheels seem to be coming off, and you need to re-focus your players to finish strong, there are things you can do. But it all comes down to you as a football coach. What will you do to get your players back on track? Finish strong. Listen to Episode 141 of The Football Coaching Podcast. And stop wishing the season would end!

They come up at the worst time. Those special situations you forgot. The game is in hand, then something happens. You know you should have worked on it... but you just didn't. I've worked to put together a complete list of special situations for your football team. I know it isn't complete because - well, it never is. But this is a start. I've also included the spreadsheet I made in our JDFB Insider Forum . You can add more situations that your football team works on - or needs to work on - in the forum. We'll compile a big list and have it ready for 2015. As it stands, there are a ton of situations that come up in a football game that you have to be prepared for. Listen to Episode 140 of The Football Coaching Podcast to make sure you've got these big one's checked off!

We all dream of that day. Giving the halftime speech that wins the big game. Seriously, as I dreamed of becoming a Head Football Coach, this was what I thought about. It's like the iconic moment of coaching football. It just doesn't happen that way, though. Not very often. So when the moment comes... are you going to miss it? Are you going to deliver the halftime speech that wins the game for your team? Or might it be the speech that loses the game? Highly unlikely, but it could. You might be going about this all wrong. In Episode 139 of The Football Coaching Podcast, we're talking about the 6 keys to delivering a great halftime speech. I'll even tell you the best speech I ever heard. I also want to hear your favorite halftime speeches. You can leave them in the comments below here, or go to our JDFB Insider Forum to share.

Our job as football coaches goes way beyond X's and O's. And it goes far beyond drills, too. One of the biggest obstacles to success is player motivation. Getting kids to buy in. To play hard. To just want to. But motivation is not some mystical concept that we either have or do not. It's something that coaches can cultivate. In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, we're talking about how to motivate your football players. I'll give you 7 tips that can help you start increasing your player's motivation on the field. And you can start right now.

The season is under way. And everything may not be going exactly as planned. You're a problem solver. A fixer. When something isn't working... you do something about it. But here in the world of football coaching, we tend to do too much. To over react. The best thing you can do, often times, is to stay the course. Constant change means your kids will never get good at anything. They can lose confidence in themselves as players. In the technique you teach. And in you as a coach. That's never what we want. We want our kids to believe that they can do it. All they need to do, is do their jobs. You spent a whole off season putting this playbook together. Researching drills. Studying the talent you had coming along... And when you did that, your mind was clear. You were sane. Now it's football season. You're amped up. Sleep deprived. Maybe a little panicked. Can we all agree that clear headed you is a little more sane, a little smarter, than amped up, sleep deprived, panicked you? I thought so. So stay the course. Keep with the plan. Focus on fixing the problems, not changing the plan entirely.

What's the hottest new concept in Offensive Football Coaching this season? That's easy. Run-Pass Option plays. RPO's. OK they're not exactly new. But you might be seeing more RPO's now, than ever before. What is a Run-Pass Option? Why have they exploded in popularity in recent years? And how can you incorporate RPO's into your Offensive Playbook? In Episode 136 of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'll take a look at all of these questions. Plus, what are some of the issues with RPO's that you need to be prepared for, if you decide to incorporate them into your offense?

You've got those really cool blitzes in your package. And you love to bring the heat. But when is the right time? Or is there a right time? Rather than just calling your blitzes at random, how about using some reason and logic behind them? In Episode 135 of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'll tell you my 7 top reasons to use a blitz when calling a game.

Game Planning gets this mystic wonder attached to it. Fans often confuse a team being better at executing, with a coach having a great game plan. The truth is that game plans rarely will win you the football game. And the pursuit of the perfect game plan can help you coach yourself right out of a victory. So what should you be looking for? What do you need to do to prepare the perfect game plan? This month I am releasing The Game Planning eCourse for JDFB Insider Members. We'll look at every aspect of preparing a great game plan. In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, we scratch the surface of preparing your Offensive game plan.

Coach Simple. Play Fast. Win. That's the message with Joe Daniel Football. But how does it apply to the field? This year I've been working harder than ever to simplify. To give our kids the bare essentials of instruction that produce the results. Kind of 80/20 approach. 80% of the results are produced by 20% of the coaching that we give our kids. So why not cut out the other 80% of verbiage, drills, and detail? All the stuff that is clouding up our football player's heads. In Episode 133, I'll share 5 tips that are helping us to keep it simpler during the 2015 Football Season. At the time I recorded this, we were less than 24 hours removed from the first scrimmage. And while it wasn't great, we are far ahead of last season.

The first day of practice is almost here. And in Virginia, that means 3 days with just helmets. 2 days in helments and shoulder pads. How can we get the most out of the opening of camp? I used to think those first 3 days were a waste. They're not. Football practice without pads can be a huge benefit for your team. You can get your playbook installed, but there's even more. Focus on footwork. Teach attack angles. Learn how to practice fast, without contact. But safety is still your number one concern. I'll give you some pointers on staying safe during your pads-free practice, too.