The Football Coaching Podcast with Joe Daniel

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.

In 2004, I was captivated by the idea of throwing on every down. Chris Hatcher had me hooked. The Air Raid is absolutely brilliant. With just a handful of passing concepts, a simplistic running game, and a few screens and draws, you can make sure the defense is never right. Like every other scheme in football, it doesn't always turn out that way on the field. But it sure is a cool idea. While the offense is still being used, it's not as revered as it once was. You can look back to the '90s, when Kentucky's passing offense took the SEC by storm. Hatcher's teams that dominated Division II Football. And of course, Mike Leach throwing the ball all over the lot at Texas Tech. Not to mention, Tony Franklin System teams were dominating High School Football. When we look at the landscape today, it doesn't look quite as bright for the Air Raid. Leach and Kliff Klingsbury have struggled recently, as has Hatcher. (for what it's worth, I'm not a TFS member so I can't say for sure - but Tony seems to have evolved...) That doesn't mean it's not fun to talk about! So sit back and listen to Episode 131 of The Football Coaching Podcast. We're talking Mesh, Y-Shallow, Y-Stick, and just generally chucking the football all over the field!

You need to be prepared for anything, and that goes far beyond X's and O's. These are 8 important parts of your program that need to be addressed before practice starts.

How you install your defense shouldn't be scary. There's no right way to do it - but there's a lot of wrong ways. Coaches are often concerned way too much with how much to install, how fast. That's not the big issue. If you install too much, too fast, it's because you have too much in your playbook. It's a whole different issue - but one that I'll address in this podcast too. No, your bigger conern is not how much or how fast. The question is, is your focus in the right place? When you start installing all kinds of whacky defensive fronts and blitzes, your focus is no longer on the kids. Your focus is now on the X's and O's. That doesn't win football games. Listen to Episode 129 of The Football Coaching Podcast to find out how you can keep your focus where it needs to be when you install your defense this season.

I love the Wing-T Offense. So here's what I think about it. I'll tell you a basic overview of how I view the Wing-T Offense. It's incredibly versatile, but there are some basic rules. Then I'm going to give what I see as the advantages and disadvantages of running this type of scheme. If you're a Wing-T Guru, maybe you'll hear some things you agree with and some things you don't. For coaches who may not know a whole lot about the Wing-T, I hope this will spark you to learn a little more.

There's a lot of myths about tackling. But the truth of coaching better tackling is much simpler. I always hear coaches talking about violence. There's some misguided idea that if you don't lay the lumber you can't play defense. In reality, the whole goal of tackling is to get the man with the football on to the ground. He doesn't need to be hurt. We don't need cracked ribs, or snot bubbles (yes, a The Program reference). We just need him down on the ground, not gaining any more yards. How do you make that happen? It's not some special sauce. You don't need to hire some tackling guru. I do like what I've seen of USA Football by the way, I just don't believe that alone could fix your tackling woes. The key to better tackling is to coach specifically what you want from your kids in a tackle. Build confidence in their own abilities to make a tackle. And then get some help for them. 1 on 1 tackling is always going to be a tough job. The kids who carry the football are usually the best athletes on the field. If they weren't... well, they'd play more defense. But 3 on 1 is always good odds. By pursuing to the football, defeating blocks, and getting better with our reads and keys, tackling will automatically improve. More guys to the football means more chances to finish the tackle.

It's a huge Mail Bag episode today! Plus a short interview with Coach Ricky Coon from Southeast Missouri State. Here's what's on the menu... What are some key tips for a first year Head Coach? How should I adjust my practice plan for Junior High football? What adjustments do we make to the practice plan schedule for Training Camp? How do you align your corners for Cover 3? What are the 5 Defenses every coach should study? How do you hold the Linebackers on the Jet Sweep? Big mailbag show. Dive in and find some good stuff.

Are you getting all you can out of your practice time? Practices need to be geared toward winning football games. Not looking at your practices that way? You're leaving something on the field. Listen to Episode 125 to find out... How to plan a practice with a purpose What drills you should be using and what drills you don't need How to progress your players through a practice to learn a skill set they need for the next game (or needed last game!) How to create a competitive atmosphere while still accomplishing game planning goals How to know if you should install a new play or leave it out And you'll learn about the latest Live Web Clinic from Joe Daniel Football! Questions & Answers What coverage should we use on the Goal Line with our 4-2-5 Defense? Do you use a 6-Technique Strong End or a 30 technique Will Linebacker in your 4-3 Defense? Show Links To sign up for the May 19, 2015 Web Clinic, 15 Critical Keys To Planning Perfect Practices For Your Football Team Every Week This Season, visit http://joedanielfootball.com/ppwc What A Real 4-3 Defense Should Look Like For more detail on the 5 Minute Rule, listen to Episode 83 of The Football Coaching Podcast.

Coach Rob Patterson sat in with me for The Football Coaching Podcast in this episode. He's currently the JV Coach for Southern Lee High School in Sanford, NC. Coach Patterson has been on a path a lot of coaches want to know how to follow. He started coaching youth football when his son was playing. And he fell in love with it. After many years of coaching, he's moved to the Middle School and now High School coaching ranks. And he's winning. Rob is a Joe Daniel Football Insider member as well as a member of the 4-3 Defense eCourse. His youth team won their Pop Warner championship. He took his defense to the Middle School level and allowed just 8 ppg. Currently, he is coaching with the Junior Varsity at Southern Lee and also working in the box and as Quality Control for the Linebackers on the Varsity. Special Bonus: How To Build A Whiteboard, or... Why I Cannot Drive My Truck Right Now.

Episode 123 of The Football Coaching Podcast is the start of something new. This is our first Success Stories interview with members of Joe Daniel Football. Coach Donnie McDonough returned to his alma mater after college, and took over as the head coach at Western Wayne High School in 2013. After a rocky start, the team finished 6-4 in 2014. Their first winning season, and first playoff appearance, in 20 years. Coach McDonough is a member of The 4-3 Defense eCourse, and a Joe Daniel Football Insiders member. Hear how his football team made the turnaround in this episode!

Earlier in the week I wrote an article about the true nature of the 4-3 Defense. The way I see it, anyway. The 4-3 Defense has certain rules. A few years ago I wrote about the 8 Laws of The 4-3 Defense. Block down, step down. Spill the football. 7 Man Front. Mike Linebacker has to be a 2-gap player. I know a lot of people don't see the 4-3 Defense this way. That's OK for them. For me, the Miami 4-3 Defense as it was designed by Jimmy Johnson and his staff at The "U" is where it's at. And it is still one of the best defenses in football. So sit back and listen to How To Coach The 4-3 Defense! Show Links My interview with Shap Boyd on Quarters Coverage (includes the link for his video, assuming it's still available) Download my Defensive Installation Manual Want to learn more about the 4-3 Defense? Check out my eBook, Installing Football's 4-3 Over Defensive Front.

There's more to getting ready for a football season than printing out a pretty playbook. Your football team has to execute fundamentals if they're going to win. That means you need to have your drills ready. And this week, we're looking at how to build your defensive drill package for the upcoming season. Follow this 5 step process to decide how you're going to put your drills together. And know that your package will be a forever growing and changing entity. If you are going to follow these steps, you need to get Step 1 nailed down first. And that means you need the Defensive Installation Manual.

I get a lot of emails asking about the Install Schedule. There's more to it than that. While most of my eCourses give an in-depth look at the install schedule for the scheme, there's a key. Those courses include why you install each piece. That is why I'm not real excited to email you a spreadsheet of our install schedule. It changes every year. So check out episode 120 of The Football Coaching Podcast to see the 4 questions you need to ask when setting up your install schedule. I look at this specifically from the standpoint of Spring Practice, because it is April here as I record the podcast. But you should apply the same logic in the Fall as well. One last note. I just moved into a new office with it's own little studio. I recorded this without thinking - I knew there'd be an echo, just not how bad it would be. I'll hang up some blankets and put a couple books on the shelf before the next episode. But I thought this episode was too good from a content standpoint to just throw out (they're never as good the second time). Question & Answer When using Robber Coverage, which side is the Read Side against 11 personnel formations (1 TE, 1 RB)? Do you call your strength against a 12 personnel formation (2 TE's, 1 RB) Show Notes [02:45] Spring Practice Schedule [04:30] Why I don't sent out install schedules [07:07] Step 1 - What do you need to get good at? [10:04] Step 2 - What do you need to find out? [14:10] Step 3 - What do you install in the first 2 weeks of the season? [18:56] What coaches should be doing in Spring Practice [23:55] Step 4 - Ask yourself why. [33:40] Question: Which side is the Read Side in Robber Coverage against 11 Personnel? [39:30] Question: How do you call your strength alignment to 12 personnel formations?

Our coaching staff is considering a two platoon system for the 2015 season. That's not unusual, since it comes up every year. We just may be closer to it this season. It's time to look over the pro's and con's of the two platoon system in Episode 119 of The Football Coaching Podcast.. On the surface most coaches view the concept as being either "The Solution" or a complete impossibility. We have to dig deeper before we make the decision one way or another. Here's the hardest part. Once you make the decision you have to stick to your guns. You'll be tempted to play a lot of guys both ways. Two Platooning only the kids who are not good enough to start, however, won't change much. And then you have to be ready to play kids both ways when it's absolutely necessary, or the right decision for your football team. See the fine line? I'd love to hear your experiences with coaching a Two Platoon football team at the High School level. Post it in the comments! Show Notes The Football Coaching Podcast, Episode 80 - there's only 4 types of defense. http://joedanielfootball.com/80 [00:27] Announcement on open enrollment for Joe Daniel Football [02:30] Coaching a Two Platoon Football Team: Pro's and Con's [23:55] How To Defend Tight End Trips (Trey Formation) in the 3-3 Stack Defense [29:30] Can You Use The 3-2-6 Defense For Passing Downs Or As A Change-Up?

It's been used as a dirty word. A "system" guy. Quarterbacks lose draft position. Coaches get dismissed as being uncreative or unoriginal. They're probably not too upset. After all, you don't get labeled as a "system" guy until you start winning football games. I've just released my video series this week on The Pistol Power Offense System. You can check out the first free video here: http://joedanielfootball.com/pistolpower As I was putting it together, I thought about what it means to run a "system". It means you believe it what you do. You have a playbook, not a stack of plays. You know how you want the job done. Your players learn exactly what the job is. They gain confidence. They play faster. System coaches win more games. And you don't have to BUY a system. You can systematize your own offense. You SHOULD. Socheck out The Football Coaching Podcast Episode 118 to find out how you can turn your football offense into a SYSTEM.

Tons of new stuff on this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast. Among those, this is the first episode coming from directly from Joe Daniel Football. I'll announce some of the changes that are taking place and explain - for the first time - why I made the switch from three sites down to just one. And some of the behind the scenes that made this change so... errr, exciting. Ranting? Yes there is a rant or two. Specifically, what not to ask when you have the chance to meet an offensive guru. Or any genius, for that matter. And finally, I'll dive into the mailbag for a few questions: What do you think about the Hawk Tackle (rugby style) of Pete Carroll versus the USA Football tackling style? How do you coach press man technique for defensive backs? All that is this week on The Football Coaching Podcast!

Back to the mailbag! Well actually, the voicemail bag. I’ll be answering a couple questions that came in from our voicemail line – the best way to get your questions answered on the podcast. First, we’ll look at how to coach the hand-off for the Zone Read, and also for the Power Read or Inverted […]

We’re back this week with MORE of your questions on Coaching Football’s 4-2-5 Defense! This all surrounds the release of 3 free 4-2-5 Defense videos I’ve put out this past week – and are available for a very limited time (like, if you’re reading this a couple weeks later, they’re gone). You can get […]

This week is devoted to answering your questions on coaching football’s 4-2-5 Defense. With thousands of copies of my Coaching Football’s 4-2-5 Defense eBook sold, I’m kind of a self-made expert in the thing. Not to mention that in 2014 we had 107 coaching staffs join up with the 4-2-5 Defense eCourse. In total, there […]

I’ll keep this really short. This podcast is all about one thing… The 10 Best Football Coaching Books I’ve Ever Read I make no claims that these are the best ever. I’m open to suggestions. So put those in the comments! Listen to Episode 113 here… These are my favorite Football Coaching Books. They have influenced […]

We’re continuing on with our off-season in preparation for the 2015 Football Season. Yeah it’s early, but time’s wasting away! Today it’s time to talk about your offense. Do you have the right scheme or is it time for a change? The answer isn’t always easy. I’m not a big advocate of constantly changing your […]

This is the short, short Thanksgiving version of a post! I’m only putting this up so that the audio gets into the ear buds and iPhones of you guys that are travelling this weekend. Happy Thanksgiving! Want to hear your question on The Football Coaching Podcast? Click the “Send Voicemail” tab on the right and […]