Today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Jason Mangone, head coach at The College at Brockport, an NCAA Division III school in New York. Last season, Brockport was named the AFCA D-III Coach of the Year after guiding the Golden Eagles to a 13-1 record, the best in school history, and a berth in the national semifinals. Twenty Brockport players earned all-conference honors, and four were named all-americans. Mangone has been on the Brockport coaching staff since 1999. He became offensive coordinator in 2004 and was named head coach in 2013. On today’s podcast, Mangone and host Keith Grabowski talk about keeping things simple, efficiency and more.

Show notes

1:00 Mangone’s journey to become a football coach

3:20 Mangone’s thoughts on New York’s proposed state legislation to ban tackle football below age 14

5:00 Why parents should decide if youths should play tackle football instead of lawmakers

7:05 How Brockport’s program has improved

9:45 How the team blends competition with fun

11:10 How the coaching staff creates work/life balance

13:20 Why Brockport’s coaching staff doesn’t try to spend too much time in meetings

15:00 How Brockport uses technology to coach and game-plan

17:00 How much time Mangone expects players to spend on video

18:10 Why simpler is better

20:40 How a smaller game plan can be more successful

23:00 How best to add wrinkles to the game plan

26:15 Examples of wasting time with the game plan

30:05 The difference between calling plays and being a coordinator

32:05 Brockport’s go-to play

35:15 The five “S’s” of success

38:30 The winning edge