December 18, 2023

Best Eleven of 2023, #9: The Process of Evolving an Offense – Curt Fitzpatrick, Head Coach, SUNY Cortland

24 minutes

We continue our countdown of our “Best 11” interviews of 2023 with an episode from SUNY Cortland Head Coach Curt Fitzpatrick. Cortland just defeated defending D3 national champion North Central in a thriller at the Stagg Bowl 38-37 to win their first national championship.

Coach Fitzpatrick joined us earlier this year at the New York State High School Football Coaches Association Clinic. We discussed the process of evolving an offense each year to be able to attack opponents and best utilize personnel.

As you sit down to plan what your offense will look like in the next season, this conversation is a good one to revisit.

Congratulations to Coach Fitzpatrick and the Red Dragons on their 2023 National Championship. Here is our #9 interview of 2023. Enjoy!

Show Notes:

Being multiple

Advantages of niche offenses

Defining multiplicity

Approach to researching ideas

There are many ways to coach one play: Find the one that fits best

Approach to evolving an offense

Looking at it from an opponent's point of view

Finding a new play isn’t always the answer

Grounding things in your identity

Building complements around the base play

Exercise to figure out if you are attacking the whole defense

Finding the discipline to know what fits your identity is the magic

Embracing new ideas but figuring out how they fit you

Ability to execute is the filter

Andy Kotelnicki: Making the game finite

Follow Coach Fitzpatrick on Twitter @_CoachFitz.

Additional Curt Fitzpatrick Episode:

Devotion Leads to Promotion

Additional Episodes Recorded at the 2023 New York State High School Football Association Clinic:

Michael Toerper, Head Coach, Ithaca College

Nate Milne, Head Coach, Muhlenberg College

Joe Gerbino, Offensive Coordinator, Utica College

Andrew Jackson, Defensive Line Coach, West Virginia

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