Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast guest is Phil Longo, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Mississippi. Longo has been at Ole Miss for one season in that position. Before arriving there, he was the offensive coordinator at Sam Houston State for three seasons, helping the Bearkats to the FCS playoffs all three seasons and overseeing the No. 1 total offense in the nation (547.3 yards per game) in 2016. He began his coaching career at Parsippany Hills (New Jersey) High School (1996-1999), then had stops at William Paterson University (2000-2001), La Salle as head coach (2004-2005), Minnesota-Duluth (2006-2007), Southern Illinois (2008-2009), Youngstown State (2010) and Slippery Rock (2012-2013). In the podcast, Longo and host Keith Grabowski talk about the Rebels’ up-tempo offense, communication within that offense and more.

Show notes

1:00 How Longo feels about his first year at Ole Miss

2:05 What’s different about coaching in the SEC compared to everywhere else

4:15 Asking Longo about a specific offensive formation he frequently uses

5:45 What Longo likes to do on the first play of a possession

6:30 Why Longo’s offense isn’t running as many plays at Ole Miss as it did at Sam Houston State

7:55 How to communicate within the “Don’t Blink Offense”

10:30 How to work around officials’ placing of the ball in the up-tempo offense

12:00 Advice for training players within the up-tempo

14:50 How the communication process works from coaches to players

16:15 How to be as efficient as possible in practice

19:00 Teaching tools the coaching staff uses

Today’s guest on the Coach and Coordinator podcast is Andy Sims, head coach at Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kansas. Sims just completed his fourth season at North, and he guided the Mustangs to a 6A state championship last fall, the first in school history. He’s also coached at several nearby high schools and served as an assistant at Central Missouri, where he also starred as a player. On today’s podcast, Sims and host Keith Grabowski talk about turning around struggling programs, Sims’ offensive philosophies and more.

Show notes

1:00 Sims’ background turning around struggling programs

4:30 The motivation of turning around a program

6:00 What Sims commonly sees at programs with losing records

8:40 The first thing Sims does upon arriving at a job where the team has struggled

10:45 Selling yourself to a new team

15:00 The importance of delegating

17:30 The pillars of culture that Sims tries to install

20:45 How to mesh the hard work and fun

23:40 What’s unique about North’s offense

27:45 How North determines its offensive scheme

29:45 A play that North uses in its pass offense

34:45 How many passing concepts are in North’s playbook

36:15 How North practices its offensive scheme

41:15 Preparing for any scenario

44:25 The winning edge

Today’s guest on the Coach and Coordinator podcast is Andy Sims, head coach at Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kansas. Sims just completed his fourth season at North, and he guided the Mustangs to a 6A state championship last fall, the first in school history. He’s also coached at several nearby high schools and served as an assistant at Central Missouri, where he also starred as a player. On today’s podcast, Sims and host Keith Grabowski talk about turning around struggling programs, Sims’ offensive philosophies and more.

Show notes

1:00 Sims’ background turning around struggling programs

4:30 The motivation of turning around a program

6:00 What Sims commonly sees at programs with losing records

8:40 The first thing Sims does upon arriving at a job where the team has struggled

10:45 Selling yourself to a new team

15:00 The importance of delegating

17:30 The pillars of culture that Sims tries to install

20:45 How to mesh the hard work and fun

23:40 What’s unique about North’s offense

27:45 How North determines its offensive scheme

29:45 A play that North uses in its pass offense

34:45 How many passing concepts are in North’s playbook

36:15 How North practices its offensive scheme

41:15 Preparing for any scenario

44:25 The winning edge

On today's Coach and Coordinator podcast, offensive line coach Jonathan Himebauch with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League joins host Keith Grabowski. The Connecticut native, and former USC and pro football player, has 20 years of coaching experience. That includes seven years in both the CFL and NCAA, with stops at Nevada, Wake Forest, San Diego State and UNLV. Himebauch discusses his extensive coaching career, player relations and more.

Show notes

1:15: Himebauch’s football journey, from coach’s kid on up

9:45: Engagement and communication with students

12:30: Learning what players will respond to

17:40: Process for player learning and evaluation

25:50: Players have to believe in you and what you’re teaching

31:55: Offensive line culture

38:30: Key difference between American and Canadian football

41:30: Advice for coaches at any level

44:45: The winning edge

On today's Coach and Coordinator podcast, offensive line coach Jonathan Himebauch with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League joins host Keith Grabowski. The Connecticut native, and former USC and pro football player, has 20 years of coaching experience. That includes seven years in both the CFL and NCAA, with stops at Nevada, Wake Forest, San Diego State and UNLV. Himebauch discusses his extensive coaching career, player relations and more.

Show notes

1:15: Himebauch’s football journey, from coach’s kid on up

9:45: Engagement and communication with students

12:30: Learning what players will respond to

17:40: Process for player learning and evaluation

25:50: Players have to believe in you and what you’re teaching

31:55: Offensive line culture

38:30: Key difference between American and Canadian football

41:30: Advice for coaches at any level

44:45: The winning edge

Today’s guest on the Coach and Coordinator podcast is Chris Ash, head coach at Rutgers. Ash, who just completed his second season as the Scarlet Knights’ head coach, and is the first Big 10 coach to appear on the podcast. Before coming to Rutgers, Ash served as defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and Ohio State, and was part of the staff on the Buckeyes’ 2014 College Football Playoff championship team. Ash and host Keith Grabowski talks about culture, building a staff, recruiting and more.

Show notes

1:30 How Ash’s career trajectory brought him to the Big 10 coaching ranks

3:30 What Ash had to learn along the way

5:30 Some of the big names in football who have influenced Ash

9:30 The importance of culture within a program

12:30 How Ash has built the culture, and where the Scarlet Knights stand in their three-year plan

15:45 How Ash built the Rutgers defense based on his past experience as a defensive coach

17:55 Recruiting at Rutgers

20:40 Ash’s system for evaluating players

23:00 The formula for building a coaching staff upon taking the Rutgers job

24:30 How Jerry Kill helped Ash during his time at Rutgers

27:00 How Nunzio Campanile has helped the coaching staff

29:15 What Ash looks for in a recruit

31:20 The winning edge

Today’s guest on the Coach and Coordinator podcast is Chris Ash, head coach at Rutgers. Ash, who just completed his second season as the Scarlet Knights’ head coach, and is the first Big 10 coach to appear on the podcast. Before coming to Rutgers, Ash served as defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and Ohio State, and was part of the staff on the Buckeyes’ 2014 College Football Playoff championship team. Ash and host Keith Grabowski talks about culture, building a staff, recruiting and more.

Show notes

1:30 How Ash’s career trajectory brought him to the Big 10 coaching ranks

3:30 What Ash had to learn along the way

5:30 Some of the big names in football who have influenced Ash

9:30 The importance of culture within a program

12:30 How Ash has built the culture, and where the Scarlet Knights stand in their three-year plan

15:45 How Ash built the Rutgers defense based on his past experience as a defensive coach

17:55 Recruiting at Rutgers

20:40 Ash’s system for evaluating players

23:00 The formula for building a coaching staff upon taking the Rutgers job

24:30 How Jerry Kill helped Ash during his time at Rutgers

27:00 How Nunzio Campanile has helped the coaching staff

29:15 What Ash looks for in a recruit

31:20 The winning edge

Best of Defense Pt 2

Today on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast we have the newest installment of our “Best Of” series with the Best of Defensive Coordinators, Part 2. We look back at all the great defensive coordinators that we have had on the show and pick out some of the best ideas and concepts shared on the show. In part 2 we focus on strategies and tactics for defensive success.

1:01 John Steger: Strategy for stopping today’s dynamic offenses

4:58 Bob Trott: Key to having a consistent defense with today’s modern offense

7:46 Chris Wolfe: How Wolfe stops the run

9:37 Rob Hinson Changing the scheme to stop the run

10:32 Rick Streiff Utilizing free safety in the run game

11:44 Allan Moore 4I defensive alignment

13:04 Chad Braun Preparing for an option offense

14:37 Mike Fox Creating sacks

16:47 Mike Fox Creating interceptions

18:35 Chad Braun Stopping the pass

19:38 John Loose Adjustments made in practice to stop the pass

20:59 John Steger Emphasizing turnovers in practice

26:05 Chris Kappas Creating turnovers

29:17 Mike Fox Red zone defense

31:57 Rich Wright 3rd down defense

34:39 Rob Everett Money downs

39:26 Chad Braun Practicing critical downs

40:51 Wallie Kuchinski Circumstantial football

45:10 Van Malone Taking away the RPO

48:29 Chad Braun Stopping the RPO

49:07 Kirk Fridrich Defending the RPO

50:49 Alan Rodemaker Stopping RPO

51:49 Scott Power Challenges to facing the RPO and practicing defending the RPO

57:05 Dave McFarland Defending the RPO

58:09 Strait Herron Stopping the RPO

1:01:37 John Loose Defending the RPO

1:04:22 Mark Bruns Creating a defensive system and the need to make adjustments quickly

1:06:37 John Steger Number of calls Steger brings

1:10:05 Joey Didier Breaking down D week to week

1:13:51 Joey Didier Game calling responsibility

1:15:06 Grant Caserta How players communicate during the game

1:17:01 Scott Boyle Game planning, stopping the run, and practicing situational football

1:23:02 Rob Everett How to train and teach players to adjust in game

Today on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast we have the newest installment of our “Best Of” series with the Best of Defensive Coordinators. We look back at all the great defensive coordinators that we have had on the show and pick out some of the best ideas and concepts shared on the show. In Part 1 we focus on setting up the defense for success

Show Notes

2:10 John Steger: Player development and having a strong senior class

4:22 Mike Fox: Recruiting the right people and having a family atmosphere

5:51 Allan Moore: Being positive and giving players ownership

9:12 Bob Trott: Culture starts with WE

11:29 Rob Everett: Culture must be defended especially in times of adversity

13:58 Wallie Kuchinski: Importance of alignment when establishing a culture

16:45 Scott Power: Culture vs scheme

18:03 Casey Jacobsen: “Wolf Pack pyramid”

20:38 Rich Wright: Building the defense around simplicity

22:22 Rob Everett: Coaching creativity

23:24 Mark Bruns: Creating a defensive system and quickly making adjustments

25:23 Wallie Kuchinski Personnel placement, sacrificing size for speed

27:49 Grant Caserta Finding players with defensive instincts

30:20 Chris Wolfe Utilizing the best available players

32:16 Rick Streiff Molding the scheme to fit personnel

34:16 Allan Moore Odd front defense

36:56 Van Malone Defense installed at SMU, matching talent

39:04 Chad Braun Base defense

40:16 Scott Power Base defense, 4-3 1 high

Today on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast we have a solo podcast from host Keith Grabowski where he gives some ideas and tips to new coordinators. This episode is based on an article Keith wrote a few years ago, “Tips for a New Coordinator.” On this episode, Keith gives some helpful advice to a coordinator who is just starting out.

Show Notes

1:51 To be a coordinator does not mean you are a guru

2:18 Coordinator means to bring together

2:56 Be organized

3:25 Be mindful of your practice reps

4:42 Do the little things right

5:15 Out-execute the other team

5:57 Outwork your opponent

6:50 Prepare players for certain situations

9:19 Be a great teacher

10:15 Taking over a new program

11:23 Be tech-savvy