Here are some of the important aspects of being a head coach.
EVALUATION
One of the first things you have to be part of is building a roster. Depending on the structure of the team you’re part of, you may or may not have a voice in the player selection. In fact, some teams prefer that you don’t. The reason? Scouts say coaches have a tendency to “fall in love” (so to speak) with a particular player while watching workouts and say “I want that guy”. Scouts and personnel people are usually trained to be more objective. Thus, you have to be able to play the cards you're dealt.
Still, once they’re on the team, you’re the guy in charge of determining just how good they really are. Workout warrior, one-year wonder, or true football player? That’s why you practice. Preseason games help a lot because you get to see your guys hitting someone else for once. You pretty much have to be aware of everything that’s happening on the field. If you miss something, it can affect your ability to make a good personnel decision, something which generally isn't easy to begin with.
Assuming you determine the guys who are indeed ready to be a pro though, the job isn’t over. In fact, it’s just begun.
ORGANIZATION
Once you have an idea of just how good your guys are (or aren’t) then it’s time to start comparing. Is Receiver A better than Receiver B? Is Lineman X better suited to play on the interior or the exterior? Would he work best on the left side or the right? How about determining whether your old veteran quarterback still has enough gas in the tank? If not, is your young guy ready for the big time? And what about that guy who isn’t as good a position player but is a real special teams ace? Who do you sit so he can play?
These are the kinds of decisions coaches have to make while filling out a depth chart, but even the depth chart isn’t the final word. On a weekly basis, you have to account for injuries, sometimes suspensions, maybe even for your star player being a knucklehead and doing something stupid. Did I mention that the guy you downgraded to a backup role isn’t especially happy about it?
Anyway, let’s say you have the lineup you want. Time to move to the next step.
PREPARATION
Now you’ve got to get the guys ready for their big game. That means not only knowing your guys, but knowing their opponents as well. How’s their run game stack up against your run defense? Is their defense aggressive or reactionary? What parts of your attack match up well against them? Perhaps more important, where are you vulnerable? This is where the coordinators, your best Xs and Os guys, are invaluable, so you seek their input as much as possible.
All these actors (and many more) go into a game plan. Then you and your position coaches set about to teach the guys you chose to be in the lineup what that game plan is and what part they play. Hopefully, the guys catch on. After all, you did pick the right guys, didn’t you? Having second thoughts? Might be a bit too late for that now.
Still, you do the best you can to get what the guys need to know into their brains, but you also have to do something about their hearts as well.
MOTIVATION
So what’s your angle to light a fire under the guys you chose to play and taught the game plan? Build the other team up as unstoppable like Belichick, or tell your guys that they’re the ones who can’t be beaten like Ryan? If you’ve been around a while, they’ve likely heard all your favorite speeches by now. Can you come up with something new that’ll rekindle their fighting spirit and inspire them to greatness? If so, what is it?
Of course, you have to remember that what motivates one guy might not motivate another. Thus you might have to leave some of those duties to the position coaches. After all, they’re the ones who work most directly with the players. And hey, you hired them, so you know you got the best guys for the job, right? Right?
Hopefully, but ready or not, it’s game time. Now you’ve got to shift into a higher gear.
MANAGEMENT
Now the game’s started. Just like in the preseason, you have to know everything that’s going on, only this time it counts. What down and distance is it? How many timeouts have you got? Is your best linebacker tired? Who’s in at runningback now? How many carries has he had? Too many, or not enough? Oh great! Somebody’s hurt on the field. Is it one of yours? If it is, how bad is it? Is his backup ready? Is his backup even active or did you have to sit him to make room for that special teams guy? How much time is left? Can we get the ball back? Should I have gone for two on that last score? Wait, how many timeouts do we have again?
Sound complicated? It is. That’s why some guys who make great coordinators don’t always make great head coaches. Being lord and master over one aspect of the team isn’t quite the same as being responsible for all of them. A dozen different things are happening at any one time, and if your mind isn’t capable of multitasking, you’re likely to make a bad decision that may cost your team the game (and you, your job).
And again, even that’s only half the battle.
ADJUSTMENT
So you’re into the game now, and parts of your game plan seem to be working. Unfortunately, other parts are looking like a disaster. You’re learning that your primary corner is no match for their top receiver, or perhaps their best pass rusher is making a turnstile out of your best tackle. Maybe the other side is doing something they've never done before and you weren't ready. Whatever it is, it’s got to be fixed, and fast.
You have to do it on the fly, of course. There will, however, be some time available at the half where you can make the big changes. Of course, the coach on the other side is making changes too. Do the changes you’re making account for the ones he might be making over there? If not, you might have to make yet another change, teach your guys what it is on the sideline (when you have time) and hope they execute.
Okay
So is that it?
Not really. There are plenty of other factors that affect the outcome of a game, everything from crowd noise to weather conditions to plain old dumb luck. Sometimes the ball bounces your way, and sometimes it doesn’t. Of course, as the guy in charge, you have to account for those things, and handle them. While you’re at it, your agent called to remind you that your contract is nearly up, and he and the owner have very different ideas about how much you’re worth.
Yeesh :willy_nilly:
You might notice that a good number of the above sentences are questions. There’s a reason for that. Questions are what a head coach deals in, and lots of them. After the game is over, you’ll be answering even more questions from guys who have a story to write for the local paper or TV outlet. If you lost, the press isn't likely to be forgiving, and the fans even less so. How they portray you may or may not be fair, but you don’t have much control over that (realistically, none at all).
For all those questions, you have to have an answer, and you have to have it now.
This is what the team will be looking for in a new head coach. Someone who has those answers.
So when you’re looking at potential candidates, ask yourself these questions.
- Is he good at recognizing talent?
- How are his organizational skills?
- Do the players he coaches come to games prepared?
- Are guys willing to go to war for him?
- Does he make smart in-game decisions?
- How well does he adjust to what the other team is doing?
We need a coach that’s not just good at one or two of those things, but all of them.
Being bad at even just one of them can mean the difference between championships and mediocrity.
