

Coach and Coordinator Podcast
Keith Grabowski
Keith Grabowski interviews the most knowledgeable head coaches, coordinators, and position coaches from professional, college, and high school football. Keith and his guests discuss the philosophy, concepts, schemes, and strategies that they have learned throughout their careers. Each show includes a specific idea that can be applied to help coaches at every level find the winning edge.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 13, 2020 • 15min
Coaching The Mental Rep - Sam Parker, Offensive Line Coach, Ferris State
On today's podcast, Sam Parker, offensive line coach at Ferris State shares a unique way in which he coaches his players to get mental reps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 12, 2020 • 45min
Brian Kight - Changing Culture
The Leadership Journey - Week 2, Changing the Culture
Brian Kight and Keith Grabowski team up for this special Leadership Journey edition of the Coach and Coordinator podcast. This podcast will occur weekly throughout the season, focusing on issues that teams face during the season. Kight discusses changing culture in today’s podcast.
01:20 Alonzo Highsmith’s observation on Hard Knocks
01:58 Patience and discipline in changing a culture
03:00 Culture matters to winning and the quality of the experience
04:10 Culture is not the objective; it must have a function and relevance
05:53 What are you changing the culture for?
06:10 Contribute to the environment you are in
08:29 Urgency plus patience with discipline
09:23 Not urgent enough in pressing people now
10:20 Don’t rush when you see the pay off
11:50 Be urgent in the day and patient over two years
12:58 What does urgency done correctly look like?
13:55 Three things: maniacal commitment, intolerant of anything but the standard, do it with a ton of love
17:00 A unique combination
21:54 Being maniacal and intolerant is not an excuse to mistreat people
25:30 Urgency - don’t let empathy stop you from being urgent
26:27 Discipline is required
28:00 The intent of discipline
29:20 Doing things out of compliance, obedience, or discipline
29:48 Weakness of compliance and limitations of obedience
31:38 What can we learn from the opportunities of game day?
32:20 Culture is measured in years
33:00 Look for language change and behavior change
34:00 Look for micro ways to adjust in-season
34:24 Incremental changes begin to build up
35:46 Make significant major changes in the off season
38:35 The outcomes are going to come the we are good enough to earn them
Leadership Journey Playlists:
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/sets/the-leadership-journey-with
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/sets/the-leadership-journey-season
https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/sets/the-leadership-journey-with-1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 11, 2020 • 48min
John Shoop, Former NFL and FBS Offensive Coordinator and QB Coach On Training the Quarterback
The Game Plan with Coach Charlie Coiner and guest John Shoop
Guest host Charlie Coiner joins Keith Grabowski this season for “The Game Plan” series. Coiner is a retired coach and the founder of First Down Playbook. Coiner has worked as an assistant coach in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills and ash the college level with a number of teams, most notably, Vanderbilt, LSU, Louisville, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
John Shoop has coached at every level. Currently the QB coach at AC Reynolds High School, Shoop spent the majority of his career in the NFL as a quarterbacks for the Panthers, and added offensive coordinator duties with the Bears, Buccaneers, and Raiders. He then went on to be the offensive coordinator at the University of North Carolina and then Purdue.
00:44 John Shoop bio
02:09 Change in the focal point of offense
02:47 Continue developing QB mechanics in season
04:20 The value of the QB coach
04:50 Constant feedback is necessary
05:17 Calibration and timing
06:14 Coaching “that guy” and protecting him in practice
07:09 Working with the second quarterback
08:31 Grading players on their proficiency of the playbook
09:37 Continuing to prepare for contingency plans
10:58 John Shoop joins the show
11:39 Challenge of honing the decision while improving mechanics
12:09 The best coaches think of an entire practice as an individual period
12:50 Always coach techniques
13:50 Working waist up and waist down
14:49 Two things upper: arm speed and a tight circle (Tom Brady, Dan Marino and Aaron Rodgers)
17:28 Lower body: wide base and throw with a small step
18:30 Harder to correct the upper body
19:51 Training the lower body
21:14 “The eye of the hurricane”
21:46 Coaching up fundamentals outside of individual
22:17 The value of 7 on 7 in QB development
24:33 Working with the youth league and 7 on 7 coaches
25:27 Offense today and how they stimulate enthusiasm
29:38 Number one goal in the NFL for a quarterback – start 16 games
30:35 Be intentional about durability
31:05 Dick Jauron – cumulative effects of hits
32:32 A play that can work at all three levels – “Razor”
36:59 The upper body – Peyton Manning
38:36 7 on 7 in practice tips to get a more game like feel
42:00 Getting more out of the drill for number two QB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 10, 2020 • 47min
OL Technique in the Power Running Game. Joe Ashfield - Offensive line coach, Rice University
Today’s guest on the Coach and Coordinator podcast is Joe Ashfield, who enters his first season as offensive line coach at Rice University. Prior to Rice, Ashfield spent five seasons as an offensive assistant at Stanford, where he prepared opponent scouting reports and statistical analysis. Other coaching stops include New Mexico Military Institute, Loras College and Delta State. He also coached the North Harbour Pride in New Zealand and the New Zealand National Team.
After playing college football at Saint John’s University, where he graduated in 2000, Ashfield played professionally as a quarterback in the German Football League
On today’s show, Ashfield and host Keith Grabowski talk about his experience playing and coaching overseas and developing as an offensive line coach.
Show Notes
2:15 Going from football player to coach
7:18 Practice style of his college head coach, John Gagliardi
10:52 Playing football abroad
12:33 Putting players in the best situations to succeed
14:34 Coaching football overseas
17:14 Developing schemes later in coaching career
18:24 Transition from playing quarterback to coaching offensive line
21:49 Building the offensive line at Rice
25:43 Giving control to the players
29:02 Players modifying the scheme to their advantage
32:32 Implementing successful and safe technique
35:09 Using strongest part of the body in blocking
38:21 Best drill to unlock the player’s hips into the block
40:47 Ashfield’s go-to play to call
42:19 Why he uses the wing on the gap scheme
43:45 The Winning Edge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 9, 2020 • 14min
Matt Rhule - Leadership: Understanding Your "Why"
Today’s episode is a Quickcast with Matt Rhule special thanks to Texas High School Coaches Association Convention and CoachTube. This is from prior to the 2019. The entire talk which includes a section on leadership and branding as well as Coach Rhule’s clinic on Winning in the Red zone are available on CoachTube. A link is in the shownotes. Shownotes can be found in your app in the episode description or on our new home for the podcast, coachandcoordinator.com
-What is your job as the head coach
-The first question to ask
-Why are you here?
-Coach Rhule’s why
-Mission statement - why and how
Follow me on twitter @coachkgrabowski and check out our Instagram for football coaches footballcoaching_com
Link to Matt Rhule - Building the Brand (and Winning in the Red Zone):
https://coachtube.com/course/football/matt-rhule-building-the-brand/1066764?ambassador=325306f59bb543b6883ff4baa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 6, 2020 • 14min
Six Keys For Red Zone Success - John Pennington, Head Coach, West Virginia State
Today's episode is from our Quickcast series, a short podcast on a single topic. Today we focus on success in the red zone with John Pennington.
John Pennington enters his fourth year as the Head Coach at West Virginia State University in 2020.
Pennington was named head coach in the Spring of 2017 and promptly proceeded to lead the program to its first winning season in a decade.
In his first season as head coach, the Yellow Jackets hit statistical milestones that were unheard of prior to his arrival. They earned a No. 1 ranking in all of NCAA Division II in red zone offense by scoring 47 times out of 48 attempts. Additionally, his team ranked first in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) in completion percentage, third down conversions, and passing yards per game. They placed second in the MEC in total offense, first downs, and scoring per game.
6 Keys:
1. Everyone understands the plan
2. Goal 5 points avg. per Red Zone attempt
3. Game plan menu
4. Practice Plan
5. Visualize the calls
6. Go with your gut
Check out the first clinic of the offseason:
ihsfca.coachesclinic.com
Twitter: @CoachKGrabowski
John Pennington RPO Course
https://coachtube.com/course/football/john-pennington-rpo-offense/11751906?ambassador=325306f59bb543b6883ff4baa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 5, 2020 • 13min
Creating Big Plays And Turnovers On Defense - Chris Kappas, Defensive Coordinator, Austin Peay
Chris Kappas is the new defensive coordinator at Austin Peay. He spent eight years in two stints on the Mount Union coaching staff, five as defensive coordinator.
In the five years as a defensive coordinator, his unit hwas in the top 10 in at least three national defensive categories in each season.
In 2015, Kappas earned National Coordinator of the Year honors as his defense topped all of college football allowing 197.6 yards per game. Mount Union also led the nation that year in third down defense (21.4-percent), rushing defense (55.2 yds/game), scoring defense (9.3 ppg), sacks (4.53 per game) helping leading the team to its 12th national championship.
He spent two years as the Raiders offensive coordinator and led a group that was among nation's top scoring teams.
On this Coach and Coordinator Quickcast, Kappas discusses creating big plays and turnovers on defense.
-Defensive philosophy
-Creating an emphasis on turnovers
-Strip tackle technique and practice
-Game planning and looking for opportunities for big plays
Check out all of our episodes on coachandcoordinator.com
Don't miss the first big clinic of the off season December 8-12
Register and check-out the line-up at ihsfca.coachesclinic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 4, 2020 • 52min
Spread and Shred- Craig Stutzmann, Offensive Coordinator, Washington State
On today’s podcast, host Keith Grabowski continues our “Training Camp” series with Craig Stutzmann, offensive coordinator at Washington State. Coach Stutzmann was formerly the passing game coordinator at Hawaii and helped lead the Rainbow Warriors to 310.3 pass yards per game in 2018, good enough for ninth in the nation. During his time at Emory & Henry College (Va.) as offensive coordinator, his offense was dubbed “Spread-and-Shred” for their unique style of play. Stutzmann joins the podcast today to talk about his offense as well as how he implements it in the QB room during camp.
Show Notes:
2:44 Coach’s journey
7:18 Transition from high school to GA to assistant
12:58 How different systems shaped his Run and Shoot offense
15:40 Evolution of the passing game both offensively and defensively
18:58 First QB meeting during camp
25:15 Communicating with players during camp both for positives and negatives
29:36 Developing fundamentals early in camp and during the season
37:35 Teaching decision making in the classroom
42:49 Evaluation process
47:55 Winning edge
Connect with Coach: @CoachStutzman
Related Content:
User-804678956 – Training-camp-up-tempo-offensive-line-install-with-cody-kennedy-offensive-line-coach-tulane
User-804678956 – Training-camp-developing-tight-ends-with-nick-sheridan-tight-ends-coach-indiana-university
User-804678956 – Training-camp-qb-installation-with-will-hall-offensive-coordinator-tulane
Link For Illinois Clinic:
ihsfca.coachesclinic.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 3, 2020 • 30min
Doing the Job of Offensive Coordinator - Rob Likens, OC Arizona State
Arizona State Offensive Coordinator Rob Likens joins Keith Grabowski to discuss the job of an offensive coordinator. Grabowski and Likens discuss highlights of his 3 hour presentation at Tony Franklin's OC Magic. Recorded at OC Magic in San Marcos, TX 5/11/19.
Show Notes:
00:00 - Intro
00:32 - What the game means to you
03:11 - Benefits of the event
04:59 - Communication
07:18 - Working and communicating with assistant coaches (Breaking walls)
09:27 - Communicating with your quarterback
10:59 - Setting expectations
12:28 - Simplicity under pressure
14:27 - Championship effort
15:24 - Human element
17:10 - Simplistic advantageous system
18:44 - Analytics (Attack 3rd Down)
20:18 - Putting together a game-plan (Information sheets)
21:44 - Game week
25:21 - Winning Edge
26:28 - Goodbyes/Outro
Link For Illinois Clinic:
https://ihsfca.coachesclinic.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 2, 2020 • 16min
Quickcast: Coaching Style- Ed Orgeron, HC, LSU
Today’s episode is presented by CoachTube with special thanks to Texas High School Coaches Association. From our Quickcast Series, our guest is Ed Orgeron, Head Coach, LSU sharing his insight on coaching style.
What is a Quickcast?
You already know the Coach and Coordinator Podcast for interviews that touch the many areas of the skillset and mindset that makes a successful coach.
In our Quickcast we focus on a coach’s most powerful insight on a single topic. We pull out the most useful, interesting and helpful ideas into an episode you can consume in 15 minutes or less. It’s our uptempo version of the podcast.
With a library of over 1,000 episodes, we have plenty of these nuggets to share with you to help improve your own mindset and skill set as a coach. Enjoy!
Shownotes:
How did Ed Orgeron make the move to being the head coach of the LSU Tigers having never been a coordinator? He takes about exactly that today and shares his insight on what it takes to be a head coach.
1:30 Coaching style - be yourself
2:57 Having a positive attitude towards work
3:30 Become an expert at your position
4:17 Treatment of your players
7:17 Be highly organized as a coach
8:05 Have a teaching progression
8:29 Organizing drills
13:04 Importance of having a drill list
Get this entire presentation from Coach Orgeron on CoachTube.
https://bit.ly/2TKPe30
Our new home for the podcast:
coachandcoordinator.com
Twitter: @CoachKGrabowski Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


