Offensive Coordinators

[Nitro14]

If you were looking for an OC what traits would be a must? Where would you start looking etc?

[Phoenix]

Nice Thread. I will ponder on it a little more before I give my answer though.

[fromthetop2]

To me, there are two main traits (among many) that are critical:

 

1. Adaptability: the ability to adapt your offensive scheme around the talent you have available- not the other way around. It is only fair to the high school player and the team that you be flexible enough in your approach to bring out the best they have. If you only coach one offense- spend time in the offseason learning about others. Athletes make the offense, not the other way around.

This also includes the ability to honestly know your strengths of your team, as well as their weaknesses.

 

2. Organization: From practice to game days, how you organize yourself is critical. Are your practices scripted to take maximum advantage of the brief time you have? Do you incorporate learning and teaching to the same degree you just run plays? Do you engage everyone in practice or just the starters? And game day, did you prepare before hand to know what you want to run, when you want to run it, and have a reason for the plays you are calling? How are you organized to call plays? Do you have it charted or do you just "wing it?" If you are disorganized, your team will show it.

[Nitro14]

To me, there are two main traits (among many) that are critical:

 

1. Adaptability: the ability to adapt your offensive scheme around the talent you have available- not the other way around. It is only fair to the high school player and the team that you be flexible enough in your approach to bring out the best they have. If you only coach one offense- spend time in the offseason learning about others. Athletes make the offense, not the other way around.

This also includes the ability to honestly know your strengths of your team, as well as their weaknesses.

 

2. Organization: From practice to game days, how you organize yourself is critical. Are your practices scripted to take maximum advantage of the brief time you have? Do you incorporate learning and teaching to the same degree you just run plays? Do you engage everyone in practice or just the starters? And game day, did you prepare before hand to know what you want to run, when you want to run it, and have a reason for the plays you are calling? How are you organized to call plays? Do you have it charted or do you just "wing it?" If you are disorganized, your team will show it.

 

Thank you fromthetop2! That's some good stuff! Being organized and adapting to the talent that you have, makes sense to me. I agree 100% about athletes make the offense not the other way around. Some say pick an offense and stay with it. I always thought that sounded a little crazy.

[LSMFT]

Does your philosophy change if you coach in college?

[66in74]

Does your philosophy change if you coach in college?

 

 

Probably not as much. You can recruit the type athletes you want.

A good OC in high school also needs to be able to walk the hallways and get more kids to play.

[fromthetop2]

If you're a college OC, then it becomes more about schemes and recruiting athletes to utlilize those schemes. Organization becomes more important- as does delegation. Your position coaches have to be on the same page as you, and will see that the skills needed for the offense are taught. You do more game planning at this level. Your offensive attack utilizes to a greater degree your skilled athletes- as well as it is tempered by the skills of the defenses ( d-coordinators) you face.

That is one of the reasons Gerry Faust couldn't make the transition to college- it was the college defenses. They were smarter than him.

 

Take it to the pro level- then it is all about matchups, game plans, adaptions, and play calling.

This is one of the challenges that Norm Chow had a hard time mastering- how plays that worked so effortlessly would collapse at the pro level. Too many superior athletes with great speed disrupted things. Too many brilliant defensive minds that anticipated what you were running, would do things to confuse you, and take away your strengths.

 

I had the privelage to observe a pro OC work at the high school level. As he said, the fundamentals were the same, but he didn't have to worry as much about the defenses because they really couldn't counter what he threw at them.

[Nitro14]

Here's a another question fromthetop2. Let's say you were an OC of a high school and you had a line with not much experience, a couple of them with decent size, a 230 pound fullback that started the previous year and is pretty good, a couple running backs that have good speed, one who will be a sophomore that has great vision and blazing speed but is fairly small, a sophomore QB who has decent size, pretty good passer, runs the option well, a backup fullback who plays all sports and has good hands and not really any wide recievers that are exceptionable. What kind of offense would you try to run and why? Thanks in advance.

[fromthetop2]

Your line is a huge determiner as to the type of offense you can run. So is your QB

If you are not big, but quick, take big splits and then you can sit the QB in the shotgun and run plays out of that (pass/run).

If your line is big and slow, you can do short passes and gut runs.

If your line is average, but smart- you can do a lot of traps, second level blockings, and teach them pass blocking techniques.

If your line is average all the way around, the wing-t type plays might be your best hope.

Your RB's can become receivers (out of the backfield, slot, WR) if they are plentiful and the best athletes.

Your FB (if he has hands) can be a TE in that scenario,or an H-back.

 

IMO, above all, you need to be multiple in your sets to disguise the shortcomings and play on the strengths. You can run the same five plays from six different sets. You've got to have a plan when it is 3rd and 8, or if you are down two scores in the fourth quarter. That's why you have to be multiple.

However, others feel that if you run the same five plays to absolute perfection- that will give you the best result.

Your QB has got to be able to throw the ball from point A to point B (wherever that may be). If he can't throw, you are limited so you better be creative.

 

Just my opinion

[Nitro14]

Your line is a huge determiner as to the type of offense you can run. So is your QB

If you are not big, but quick, take big splits and then you can sit the QB in the shotgun and run plays out of that (pass/run).

If your line is big and slow, you can do short passes and gut runs.

If your line is average, but smart- you can do a lot of traps, second level blockings, and teach them pass blocking techniques.

If your line is average all the way around, the wing-t type plays might be your best hope.

Your RB's can become receivers (out of the backfield, slot, WR) if they are plentiful and the best athletes.

Your FB (if he has hands) can be a TE in that scenario,or an H-back.

 

IMO, above all, you need to be multiple in your sets to disguise the shortcomings and play on the strengths. You can run the same five plays from six different sets. You've got to have a plan when it is 3rd and 8, or if you are down two scores in the fourth quarter. That's why you have to be multiple.

However, others feel that if you run the same five plays to absolute perfection- that will give you the best result.

Your QB has got to be able to throw the ball from point A to point B (wherever that may be). If he can't throw, you are limited so you better be creative.

 

Just my opinion

 

Thanks again. Do you need a job? We could sure use your knowledge here @ Warren Co.

[Solomon]

Excellent thread. It could do for either coordinator or head coach.

 

I agree with FTT on what has been said. I believe each coordinator has a base offense that he is most familiar with, but it must be adapted to what players he does or doesn't have.

 

Another trait I think is huge is a team being very fundamentally sound. I don't care how fancy the X's and O's are, if they cannot execute the basics, then they will not be successful consistently. Along with that is how well can the players execute. I think too often some coaches try to get too fancy and complicated and forget the basics.

[compusatman]

I agree utilizing talent should be rule #1. It's amazing how many coaches try and force a square into a O. The my way or the highway mentality does work but takes much more time to implement and usually crashes under extreme duress.

 

I will say that after watching our coach for 3 years demand his players learn his system that it puts much more pressure on the skill players. After running from the Spread for 3 years my son has finally seen the light. I never would have believed it. I felt, like so many others, that running out of the spread is suicide. I am now convinced of one thing...if a RB can be successful out of the Spread then he can run from any set the coaches put on the field. Now...my son prefers the Spread to any other offense despite the fact it showcases the "AirCorp". It gives freedom to not only the RB's but to the linemen as well. I challenges them to use their brain instead to just go at it old school.

 

The times have changed. Offense is run-n-gun. And if you don't play the quick strike game then you better have a championship D to offset the grid.