Kyle Ralph is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Ralph, a graduate of St. Xavier High School (Cincinnati), is currently the head coach at New Palestine (Ind.), which he’s led to a 22-2 record over the last two seasons. He discusses how he disguises his Inside Zone, his use of Power Spread and how he builds culture through a leadership council of players.

Show notes

:32 Start as a football coach

2:37 Key takeaways as a young coach

4:40 Impact on coaching philosophy

6:25 "The kids are always first."

8:05 Establishing culture and Ralph’s “Leadership Council” of players

12:55 Power Spread

14:37 Disguising inside zone

18:05 Adjusting week to week

22:54 3x1 Flood

25:49 Mistake as a young coach

32:04 Young coaches need to be prepared to work hard

33:45 Concerns for the game

38:29 "We do the shoulder tackling stuff"

40:33 Two-minute drill

Van Spence is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. He is the head coach at Paulding County High School (Dallas, Ga.). Keith and Spence discuss making the jump from assistant to head coach, Spence’s mid-zone concept and the growing issue of transfers in high school football.

Show notes

:29 Becoming a football coach and 14 years at McEachern HS

2:50 How the coaching staff instills work ethic

3:35 Character-building as part of team culture

7:03 Expertise as an offensive coach and the study of the quarterback position

10:26 Mid zone

16:30 Never assume a player knows exactly what to do

17:48 No one is bigger than the program

22:26 Creating a balance between being a coach and a father

25:24 Transferring is a growing concern in HS football

26:31 Two-minute drill

Scott Boyle is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Boyle currently serves as the defensive coordinator at Bentley University (Waltham, Mass.). He previously served as the head football coach at Massachusetts powerhouse Lowell High School, where he also coached the school’s basketball team. Boyle dives into his 4-2-5 defense, why his focus starts with stopping the run and how coaching clinics can be networking gold mines.

Show notes

:32 Start as a football coach

2:22 Philosophy as a coach

3:39 Creating a culture based on outworking anyone and everyone

5:05 Philosophy of Boyle's 4-2-5 defense

6:02 Just like in the classroom, players learn in different ways in football

7:40 Committed to the 4-2-5

8:51 Importance of good players who trust each other--and the scheme

10:05 Game planning: Start with stopping the run and practicing situational football

16:01 Don't be in a rush to be a HC (or a OC/DC).

18:43 Clinics and college practices: Networking gold mines

21:09 Balance is so important, because football can't be everything

22:25 Concerns for future of the game

23:58 Two-minute drill

25:25 The winning edge

Casey Jacobsen, the co-defensive coordinator at Morningside College (Sioux City, Iowa), joins USA Football’s Coach and Coordinator podcast. He’s been at Morningside for over 12 years, starting as an offensive line assistant, then transitioning to special teams coordinator before becoming the co-defensive coordinator. Jacobsen sits down with Keith to discuss the “Wolf Pack Pyramid,” maintaining tempo with the scout team and the importance of attention detail.

:22 Why he became a football coach

1:02 Transitioning from an offensive line coach to a defensive coordinator

2:17 3 biggest influences on his coaching philosophy

4:14 How consistency has contributed to success

5:07 The “Wolf Pack Pyramid” and how it encompasses the team culture

7:02 Morningside’s defensive philosophy

8:25 Paying attention to the details

12:37 How to get fast tempo out of the scout team

16:34 Getting too “fired up” at players

17:29 Book recommendation

19:12 Learning unbalanced formations from the NFL

21:19 Doing the small jobs right

21:46 Balancing family and football

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Anthony Petruzzi, head coach at Raritan High School (N.J.) is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. He and Keith discuss modular defense, the importance of keeping language simple and why coaches should think twice before issuing ultimatums to players.

Show notes

:27 Start as a football coach

4:08 Football as a vehicle to teach life lessons

6:26 Importance of relationship building and building culture through community service

11:03 The advantages of a modular defense

14:28 Keeping language simple

17:03 Making adjustments from the base defense

22:19 Don’t allow 3-step drop routes—make them beat you over your head

24:01 Why Petruzzi regrets giving players ultimatums

26:06 “Reserve your right to punt.”

32:41 Advice to a young coach

36:00 How to create a balance in life

38:49 Two-minute drill

42:55 The winning edge

Mike Turk is the head coach and athletic director at Huntingdon College (Montgomery, Ala.), and he’s today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. He discusses the wishbone inspiration for his shotgun zone read, why Dive is still a top play call and why it’s important to give players a second chance.

:34 Start as a football coach

2:51 Lessons learned as a young coach

4:29 Developing as a coach

7:01 The most important part of every play

9:15 Building culture

11:35 Offensive philosophy = balance (and not just run/pass)

14:33 "As it gets wider, it gets less deep." Why simplicity and mastering a few plays is key.

17:02 Wishbone-inspired zone read from the shotgun

22:12 Wishbone influence on coaching QBs, and why Dive is A Number 1

24:34 Playcall with game on the line

28:15 The importance of second chances for players

30:15 Best coaching advice received

32:44 Coaching technology: A long way from 16mm film

34:40 Concerns for future of the game

38:52 Young coaches need to be ready to sacrifice

41:30 Maintaining balance

44:42 The winning edge

Nick Inzerello, USA Football’s senior director of partnerships and education, joins the Coach and Coordinator podcast to share the inside scoop on Rookie Tackle, a gateway between flag football and traditional 11-player tackle football that USA Football announced on Wednesday. Inzerello discusses the genesis of Rookie Tackle, how it’s different than 11-player football and why creating a better experience for young people playing football can help with participation.

Show notes

3:09 How it all came to be

7:06 Response to people who say "This changes the game too much."

8:49 Rookie Tackle and participation numbers

12:32 Monitoring the 2017 pilot leagues

14:45 The American Development Model and Long-term Athlete Development (LTAD)

Brandon Houston, offensive coordinator at Rockdale High School (Texas) joins the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Houston is also the founder and CEO of CoachHuey.com, a place for coaches to communicate and share ideas. He and Keith discuss his offensive strategies, improvements in coaching technology and how to install a team culture.

Show notes

:28 Start as a football coach

2:36 How alignment, assignment and execution are crucial to success

5:08 Building philosophy from a great playbook

6:20 Shaping team culture with daily slogans

8:58 Running shotgun and spread

18:32 Mistakes made as a young coach

21:21 Learning to pick and choose your battles

22:52 Advice to young coaches

24:27 Book recommendation

27:23 Ways to incorporate running backs into pass routes

30:06 Creating a balance between football and family

32:18 Concerns for the future of the game

34:11 Two minute drills

35:59 The winning edge

T.J. White sits down with Keith in today’s episode of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. White currently serves as head coach at Birmingham-Southern (Ala.). Under White's guidance as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Centre College (Ky.) averaged a team-record 499.1 yards per game in 2015. He dishes on life as a Division III coach, the importance of the little things and why coaches should never claim that “not having enough heart” was the reason for a loss.

Show notes

:31 Start as a football coach and lessons learned early on

3:48 Philosophy and why Division III football is a "volunteer army"

8:08 Removing emotion and why "we didn't have enough heart" isn’t an excuse

9:54 Importance of repetition

13:14 No magical identity to White’s offense. Just good players executing plays.

18:19 Tendencies

22:05 Schematics in the red zone (with limited vertical space)

24:20 VHS tapes and why, no matter how small the task, your signature is tied to the end result

27:45 Going the extra mile

29:30 "If you just want to stand outside with a visor and headset and look cool--you're not gonna make it."

33:50 Creating balance

37:02 The winning edge

Ron Lewis is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Lewis is entering his sixth season as an assistant coach at Baldwin Wallace University (Ohio), where he works with the team’s wide receivers. Lewis breaks down how he succeeds with receivers who lack top-flight speed, how he gets his receivers accustomed to winning the deep the route and the one factor that will cause him to reject any new play idea during the season.

Show notes

:56 Making the transition from HS to college

3:16 Learning to be a WR coach in college and the adjustment to seeing more press coverage

6:08 4 keys to success with WRs who lack top speed

8:46 Drills to win the deep routes

14:46 5 characteristics needed to start as a WR at Baldwin Wallace

17:25 Developing a "hustle" mentality

22:33 Can draw up plays all day long--but what can you practice and get good at?

28:27 The athlete development pathway

32:34 Frustrations of assembling a staff at the high school level

35:10 Two-minute drill

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