The Football Coaching Podcast with Joe Daniel

Defensive line drills can be a key piece to having your big boys playing their most efficient, most effective football. They're not the only tool you need in your toolbox, but one you need without a doubt. In this episode we're talking ways to improve your players with defensive line drills and focusing on the fundamentals of D-Line play.

Every coach is looking for the best football fundraising ideas. It's part of the job. Regardless of your school size, being a good steward of the program's finances is a key to success. Whether you're trying to bring money in, or stop the flow of money going out, you need to be on top of the organization's "check book" to ensure you have the finances to continuously be improving. In this episode, learn the best football fundraising ideas for your team. Find out how to get control of finances, control how much you spend, and increase money coming into your program this season.

RPO plays have changed the game on both sides of the football. Run Pass Option offenses are not just at the college level and big high schools, though. You can use these schemes in your small school football offense. In this episode, we're talking to back-to-back Oklahoma State Champion coach Lynn Shackelford from Cashion High School (Cashion, OK) about his evolution into RPO plays, how they helped his teams perform well above their expectations, and how he's using them today to keep adding 1A state championships to his trophy case.

Are you still scared of playing press man coverage? Man coverages seems to be every DC's "off" coverage, usually to compliment cover 3 or in blitzing situations. But, seemingly just as many coaches stay away from man coverage all together for their own personal reasons. On this episode, we're speaking with Sooner legend, NFL GREAT, and Owasso Rams DB Coach Dominique Franks about how press man technique changed for him at each level of the game, and how he's successfully coaching it now to the CBs at Owasso High School (Owasso, OK).

As the season comes to a close, we're all evaluating where our strengths and shortcomings were this fall. More than likely, many of us have found that there is improvement needed in the strength and speed departments of our team. In this episode we discuss the why, the what, and the how of preparing football workouts and building a successful weight room program.

The Air Raid Offense is one of the most popular offensive systems in football today. There are also a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings about the offense. Coach Patrick Taylor is the Head Coach of North Surry High School in North Carolina. He's an expert in the Air Raid Offense and joins the podcast to share his knowledge. Learn the base philosophy of the offense, what coaches moving into this system can expect, and where the offense is going in the future.

As most of us get into our offseason, sending our student athletes to different sports, it's a great time to start planning ahead for spring ball and summer workouts.

On any given Friday night, an uncountable number of offensive schemes are being ran across the country. But, from pee wee to the collegiate level, you can always find a team running the Wing-T. Tonight, we're going to discuss the basics of the offense, everything you need to know to get your feet wet.

As defensive coaches, we're constantly stuck between keeping coverages simple enough for our kids to execute, and complex enough to make an opposing QB wrong. In today's episode we will discuss how to change-up from your base coverage, ways to disguise what you're doing from play to play, and small tweaks that can change up your base to make it more effective for the team you're facing without slowing down the play of your players.

We've discussed revolving offenses in previous episodes, and how there is no king of the mountain. However, the spread offense has held its own for several years. In today's episode, we will skim the surface of the spread option, why people continue to use it, what its key formations and plays are, and what weaknesses a coach can expect from year to year.

Sometimes the season just doesn't go your way. Every season, at every level, there are teams at the bottom of the standings. Every season there is even an NFL team who is so bad, they get the #1 draft pick. Most of us have had to deal with it at one point or another. But, regardless of the score board or district standings, you can successfully utilize the games you have left. In today's episode, we will discuss playing out a season that hasn't gone your way, when to pull the plug, and what your plan moving forward should be.

Linebackers are often considered to be the most "torn" position in football. They have twice the responsibility of other position groups, and multiple reads at the snap of the ball to get them to their assignments. Tonight's episode we will discuss drills specifically for the linebacker corps, to help get your players reading and reacting more efficiently and playing their assignments with muscle memory.

Many pro and college athletes have made the change to coaching their sport. While some find success, this is not always the case. In today's episode, we're going to try to break down why this happens, why skill doesn't always translate to coaching ability, and why you don't have to be brilliant to be successful.

Blitzing in football is a lever that many coaches pull for different reasons and with widely varying frequency. Some want to send an additional player every snap, some wait for the planets to align on the perfect situation. In today's episode, we will discuss three primary purposes for blitzing in football and what each of these bring to your playbook.

Every coach knows tackling is a key to winning games, but do you know the physics of football tackling? The two most basic functions of American football, at any level, are blocking and tackling. If you're coming up short at either job, you're probably not seeing a lot of success on that side of the ball. Tackling, much like every other aspect of the game, has evolved over the years. Players have gotten bigger, faster, and stronger. The game has opened up in regards to playing behind a row of blockers, to getting the ball in open space. In today's episode, we're going to discuss the fundamentals of tackling, and some drills that you can use to better prepare your athletes to make all types of tackles, whether it be open field or round the edge of the OL trying to hit a sideline.

In 1906 Saint Louis University (eventually named the Billikens) completed the first official forward pass in college football history. Everyone else was playing checkers (Rugby style football to be exact) and SLU's head coach Eddie Cochems was playing Chess. Today's episode is all about the offense, and how it has cycled over the years. From the "Rugby" beginnings, the Split-T of the 50s, the Wishbone of the 70s-90s and into the Air Raid era. We will look at how each of these offenses, and a few others, were phased in and phased out, and where they're still useful today.

From depth charting players in the pre-season to trying to stop your cross-town rival's power play, understanding your defense is of utmost importance. The better you know your system, what each lever is best at stopping, the more efficient you'll be at adjusting on the fly. This episode of The Football Coaching Podcast delves further into the idea of having the best 11 on the field, by concentrating on your overall understanding of your defensive system.

When you're filling out your football depth chart for your defense this season, you should be pencilling in the 'Best 11'. In Youth and High School Football where we do not recruit, we coach the kids we have. They might not always fit into a perfect mold for each position. This episode of The Football Coaching Podcast kicks off Season 10 with a look at what the Best 11 really means for your defense. Find out how to pick the right guys and put them in the right places on your football depth chart.

For every playbook out there, you will find another way to name offensive football formations. There are no strict guidelines or rulebook to what you call your formations. Creating your own system of rules for how you name offensive football formations is important, though. It will determine how easy it is for your players to grasp new formations. The system also determines how easy it is for you call new formations. I love keeping it simple. Football plays take a lot of work. They take time to install and perfect. You do not need a lot of plays. Formations are cheap. You can install new formations quickly in practice. Being able to run just a few plays out of many different formations creates a complex look for the defense, while you keep it simple. Check out this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast to learn all about naming and grouping your offensive football formations.

Unlike the rest of the topics in Season 9 of The Football Coaching Podcast, this is not one of the 20 most asked questions. In fact, this question gets asked very infrequently. But it is important. When do I know it is time to walk away from coaching? You feel like you need a break. The stress of the job is wearing you out. Changes in your life have made the huge time commitment a bigger burden than it was. You don't get the same joy from the game as you did before. There are a lot of reason coaches ask the question. In this episode, I will talk about how I knew it was time to walk away. And how I knew it was time to come back.

Two platoon football has been a divisive concept in high school football over the last decade or more. Do you specialize players on one side of the ball, or keep the best players on the field at all times? There's a lot to the issue. And while there is not as much argument about two platoon football anymore, there is still a lot to consider. My feelings on two platoon football are not a secret, either. But I see the advantages. And disadvantages. That's what this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast is all about.

What is the best football defense for my team to run? I hear that question a lot. But there's no easy answer. In Season 9 of The Football Coaching Podcast we're answering the most common questions I've heard over the last decade. And this question about the best football defense is one of the most popular. Check out this episode for a look into some of the biggest myths and misunderstandings about defensive football. After listening, you'll be ready to push ahead coaching your defense with confidence.

Coaches are always trying to find ways to spice up practice, like running fun football drills. Little things that make practice more like a game. Wait a minute. We have to come up with cute ways to make football practice seem like a game? There's a problem here. This episode of The Football Coaching Podcast looks at how to cure boring football practices. Fun football drills to spice things up, why that is insane, and how to make your players enjoy practice time so they come back for more. It's all in this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast!

The failures of your football scout team are the bane of every coach's existence. You're trying to prepare your starters to play a top opponent. That scout team is ruining everything, though. Football scout teams don't have to equal misery. But you have to put them in a position to succeed. We have a plan for that, and I'm going to share it with you in this episode.

Winning in all three phases might be a cliche, but you will lose games if you have sloppy special teams practice. Planning your special teams practices is critical if you don't want to shoot yourself in the foot on game day. How do we plan special teams practice when we only have a 90 minute practice plan? It seems like there is too much to get done. But that's not true. This episode of The Football Coaching Podcast dives into planning your special teams practices - and your special teams playbooks - with a Coach Simple approach.

You don't want too many plays in your offensive playbook. But you need enough plays to beat the defense. So how many plays do you need to have ready? How many plays you need in the playbook is the 15th episode in our 20 Questions series for Season 9 of The Football Coaching Podcast. It is one of the 20 most-asked questions I have seen from our podcast listeners and JDFB Coaching Systems clients. Every offensive playbook is different. And every coach is different. But this episode will give you a solid guide for how many plays to have in your offensive playbook.

Linebacker reads and keys are the single most searched for keyword on Joe Daniel Football. It seems every coach is looking for the perfect reads for your linebackers. I have coached just about every type of linebacker reads imaginable. Keying guards, keying backfield. I have cross-keyed the backs, keyed the 2-man surface… you name it, I have tried to coach it. Skip all the hassle. Get the complete guide to Linebacker Reads in this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast.

I hear from coaches all the time who have their own ideas on how a football team should be run. They just cannot get the head coach to listen! This is a touchy subject. After all, the head coach is the man in charge. This is his time to shine. Not only that, he probably has more experience than other coaches on staff (though not always). This episode dives into how to get your head coach to open up to your suggestions… and when to keep your mouth shut.

The Coach Simple plan uses the 5-Day playbook install to get your system taught quickly. All of the systems inside JDFB Coaching Systems use a version of this principle. The 5-day playbook install plan gets your base playbook installed in just one week of practice. The plan is to have enough installed so that you could play a game or scrimmage. You might not have everything, but you have enough.

With the season approaching, you need to figure out how you want to organize your football coaching staff. Who is going to coach which positions? Where is each coaching going to be most valuable to your athletes? Putting the right coaches in the right places is just as important as putting the right players in the right positions. This episode of The Football Coaching Podcast dives into getting the most out of your football coaching staff this season.

Defending quads formations can be scary when your football team is not prepared. Have a plan and your defense can shut down 4 by 1 empty sets with ease.

Football tackling technique is critical for a good defensive football team. There is no special secret. Find out the drills to focus on to get better.

Landing your first or next high school football coaching jobs can be tough. You need a plan. Follow these tips to be prepared for your opportunity.

The wedge kickoff return is the simplest and likely oldest kickoff return scheme in football. It is also one of the most effective and easiest to teach.

Trick plays are a part of every offensive playbook. Sometimes you need a big play and a little trickeration can make it happen. There have been a lot of great trick plays throughout the history of football. In this episode we take a look at three of the best High School Football trick plays. These could be a part of any offensive playbook.