This week on Inside the Headset – Presented by CoachComm, we sit down with Craig Bohl, the new Executive Director of the AFCA. In this conversation, Coach Bohl walks through his career as a coach, shares his love for College Football, and talks about his new role with the AFCA. Coach Bohl is a well-respected football coach and has had a long career of success highlighted by his time as the head coach at North Dakota State and, most recently, Wyoming.  

Show Notes: 

1:00 Introduction 

1:26 When did you decide you wanted to be a football coach? 

2:12 How did you grow in your first few years coaching? 

2:56 Differences between working as a Student Assistant and a Graduate Assistant 

4:21 Transition to North Dakota State  

5:07 How did you go about sharpening your tools as a young coach? 

6:51 Experience at North Dakota State 

7:34 Learning to coach unfamiliar positions  

9:15 Transition to Tulsa 

10:31 Transition to Wisconsin 

12:25 When did you start going to the AFCA convention? 

15:11 What position would you say is your position? 

16:40 First Coordinator position with Rice 

17:56 Differences between Year 1 and Year 2 as a coordinator 

19:31 Experience at Duke 

20:18 Uniqueness of working at Private Schools 

21:47 What advice would you give your younger self? 

23:34 Opportunity to return to Nebraska  

25:09 Differences in coaches over time 

26:36 Nebraska Football Culture 

31:08 Opportunity to take over as the Defensive Coordinator at Nebraska 

32:25 First Head Coaching opportunity at NDSU 

34:00 How did you know you were ready to be a head coach? 

35:19 Constructing a coaching staff as a head coach 

38:16 Experience in interviews 

39:50 What are some common characteristics of successful teams? 

41:40 What was your recruiting philosophy? 

44:38 Finding the right fit in a job 

49:13 What did you do on Day 1 at Wyoming? 

50:06 What are some takeaways from your time in the profession? 

52:20 What attracted you to the Executive Director position with the AFCA?  53:54 What led you to get involved with the AFCA Board?  

54:47 Why is it important to get involved with the AFCA as a young coach? 

55:45 Conclusion