Coach and Coordinator Podcast

Chili Davis is the special teams coordinator for Florida A&M. His previous experience includes quality control analyst for special teams at the University of Washington, assistant special teams, and tight ends for New Mexico State,  Before his time at Washington, Davis coached the inside receivers, served as the assistant special teams coordinator, and oversaw the tight ends at New Mexico State, c...

Today’s episode is from our archives, a discussion with Troy McAllister, head coach at Phillips Academy High School in Chicago at the time of the recording. In 2015, McAllister helped Phillips Academy become the first Chicago Public School to win an Illinois high school football state championship. In 2017, Phillips Academy won its second state championship, finishing with an undefeated 14-0 seaso...

On today’s episode, from our archives, long-time coach at both the high school and college levels as well as offense consultant Dan Gonzalez discusses taking a holistic approach to protecting the passer. Too often, protection is seen as the responsibility of the offensive line, or the line and quarterback, but this discussion highlights that protecting the passer is not only a shared responsibilit...

In this episode, the next installment in our “Teachable Moments” series, Bodie Reeder draws out the importance of happiness as a coach pursues professional goals. We learn from Coach Reeder’s journey in how to approach taking over an offense versus being able to adapt your own, growing through setbacks, advancing from entry-level roles, and adjusting to new situations. Show Notes:  Football = Fami...

Today’s episode is from the 3rd Annual Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic talk from Dalton Hilliard, Defensive Backs Coach at UConn. Dalton Hilliard joined Jim Mora’s coaching staff after spending the 2021 season as the secondary coach at Arkansas State. Coach Hilliard worked as a defensive graduate assistant at UCLA while Mora was the head coach there, and then served on Chip Kelly’s staff in 2018 as...

On today’s podcast, we focus on putting together drills that translate to game day success as well as setting up a room built on trust and accountability to each other. Juwan Lewis begins his first season at Alabama State after serving two seasons as the running backs coach and high school recruiting coordinator at Davenport University. Lewis came to DU after a stint at the University of Findlay. ...

In this episode, the first in our “Teachable Moments” series, Taylor Mouser recalls those early days of stuffing envelopes and the journey taken as a young coach to now leading his own room. Show Notes: Stuffing envelopes Proving you are about it Moving with a staff you know Staying on after being a graduate assistant Taking an old-school approach to recruiting The “boom boom” room Building relati...

On today’s podcast, we discuss the process of evolving an offense with flexibility by design and an openness to creativity. We discuss how teaching is central to this process and the workflow and tools coaches have at their disposal to teach players in a way that is most relevant to them. Scott Lemn, head coach at Bridgewater College, joins the podcast to dig into this process of offensive develop...

Today’s podcast is from the 2nd Annual Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic in which Ron Roberts, now the defensive coordinator at Auburn, talked about multiple defenses and the different pressures they utilize. He started the presentation by talking about the three things required to play great defense, his philosophy, defensive goals, determining what you need to develop in each position, the analytic...

On today’s episode, we give support to youth football across the country, and especially in California, where the state legislature will soon vote on a bill that, if passed, would ban youth football. The answer should not be to remove youth tackle football and focus on flag. While flag football is a precursor to tackle, it is not the same as tackle football. Tackle football embraces all body types...

I met Coach DiGaetano in 2017, and I talk about the game and coaching with him often. He’s been a repeat guest on the podcast (see links below). And currently, he is an assistant coach at Fordham University. He has an intense passion for tackling and studies it better than anyone I know. I feel comfortable calling him the foremost expert on tackling. However, Coach DiGaetano also has incredible id...

Lee Rose is now a defensive analyst for the University of North Carolina. But Coach Rose got his start in Poland. He learned very quickly how to work with limited resources and to make his teaching and coaching clear and concise because his players spoke English as a second language. Since that experience, he has been on a quest for best practices in teaching and coaching, especially as they relat...

Today’s episode is from the 3rd Annual Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic to benefit pediatric brain tumor research and cancer services. In his talk, Lew Caralla, Director of Strength and Conditioning at Charlotte, delivered 39 ideas on coaching. All are straight to the point and cover ideas directed to both players and coaches. We pulled out 11 of those ideas more focused on the coach, and how a coac...

Today’s episode is from our archives. It was recorded with Dub Maddox five years ago, pre-pandemic and at the start of what proved to be a rapid evolution of today’s defenses. Interestingly, the concepts Coach Maddox talks about may be more relevant now than when he shared those ideas originally on the podcast. Dub is one of the great thinkers and great football minds in the game. I have picked up...

We reached out to today’s guest after we confirmed some eye-popping stats from his 2022 season. 62 touchdowns, 3,204 passing yards, and 1,805 rushing yards, in sum producing an average of 500.9 yards per game and 48 points per game. All at the high school level with 12-minute quarters and a running clock after a 30-point differential. Those numbers screamed “high-level execution”, and we wanted to...

Ben Kotwica has 17 years of coaching experience, including 15 seasons in the NFL. Most recently, Kotwica served as the assistant special teams coach for Minnesota in 2022 and was part of a coaching staff that helped the team to the NFC North Division title. A graduate of Army West Point, where he was a linebacker and team captain, he went on to serve as a helicopter pilot, reaching the rank of Cap...

Football is in Lance Zierlein’s blood. He is the son of retired NFL Coach Larry Zierlein and an analyst for NFL.com since 2015. His opinions on the best players in the game are highly respected across the industry. Today, he joins us to share his involvement in the Joe Moore Award, shed light on the process for determining the award's winning unit, and reveal the characteristics of the highest-per...

Adam Cushing is the run game coordinator at Duke and also coaches the offensive line. Prior to serving on the Blue Devils staff, he spent three years as the head coach at Eastern Illinois University. Coach Cushing spent 15 seasons in a variety of roles at Northwestern University, including ten seasons as the offensive line coach. He also coached the super backs, tight ends, and H-backs, after star...

Today’s episode is from our archives and features Brent Dearmon from when he was the offensive coordinator at Arkansas Tech. Since that time, he’s gone on to do big things. Coach Dearmon is currently the head coach at the University of North Alabama. Prior to his current role, he served as the offensive coordinator for Florida Atlantic in 2022 after spending the 2021 season as OC at Middle Tenness...

Billy Riebock is the offensive coordinator at Midwestern State in Wichita Falls, Texas. He’s coached at all levels of college football, gaining valuable experience from the coaches he’s worked with all along the way. On today's episode, Coach Riebock shares how he utilizes data in the offseason to help determine what the offense will look like for the coming season. He also goes into detail about...

On today’s episode, Amanda Ruller joins the podcast to share a different perspective on networking in this profession, finding a way to the top, and then dig into ideas and drills for training running backs. Coach Ruller is currently the running backs coach at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She recently served as the assistant running backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks through...

On today’s episode, we sit down with Aaron Taylor to learn more about the Joe Moore Award, the only college football award that honors a group instead of an individual. Aaron Taylor played for Joe Moore at the University of Notre Dame. Taylor was a two-time All-American and a first round pick in the 1994 NFL Draft. He played professionally for the Green Bay Packers and the San Diego Chargers. Tayl...

Mike Waufle most recently served as the defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills. Coach Waufle served as defensive line coach for the Oakland Raiders from 1998 to 2003 and coached in Super Bowl XXXVII. Waufle coached primarily single-gap four-man defensive lines in 4-3 Defenses. He was the defensive line coach for the New York Giants from 2004 to 2009. He won Super Bowl XLII in 2007. He returned...

This episode from our archives, recorded in 2019, features Chris Kappas who was recently named the 2022 AFCA FCS Assistant Coach of the Year. Demonstrated in this episode, Coach Kappas has shown his ability as a coach on both sides of the ball. He has been recognized as the Football Scoop D3 Coordinator of the Year in 2015, while he was the defensive coordinator for National Champion Mount Union. ...

Matt Tschetter is the defensive coordinator for Wartburg College who led Division 3 in rushing defense, while also recording the most interceptions. They ranked in the top 25 in most defensive categories. Today, we dig into what Wartburg does in order to set their players up for success on defense. Coach Tschetter was influenced by several of our past guests, including Louisiana Tech defensive coo...