The Coaching 101 Podcast

Self Scouting can be one of the most important things you’ll do for yourself as a coach and for your program. You can’t see everything on the practice field. And in game time scenarios, you’ll likely do things from the gut and less calculated. Self scouting is the best way to analyze what those gut calls are before they happen, and practice film can show you issues LONG before that Friday night ki...

Coaching sports is a very complex endeavor. In high school football, you are given 10 weeks to showcase the work you put in for the other 42. If you’re successful, you earn the right to play more and eventually, best case scenario, you win the last game of the year and hoist that championship trophy. But then what? The trophy goes on the shelf, the depth chart rolls over, you start installing fund...

RPO’s are the way forward in offensive football. You’re either using them, or being beaten by them. To take full advantage, you need to find a way to incorporate them with the system you’re already running, not changing systems just to run RPOs. On this episode, we discuss what RPO’s are, how to install them, and how to use them to open up the run AND pass games. What is an RPO? types of RPO - Run...

Coach Bill Courtney is an author, podcaster, and football coach. He was also the star of the Netflix documentary “Undefeated” in which he turned around a struggling North Memphis school and along the way helped change the lives of many players.  Coach Courtney joined co-hosts Kenny Simpson and Daniel Chamberlain to discuss that turn around, his new podcast “An Army of Normal Folks,” his book, and...

High School defensive football is sometimes an anomaly. We’re constantly making up things to defend against the wild west that is offensive football in the early 2020’s, and yet we are also always on the lookout for the next big thing trickling down from the NFL or NCAA football.  On this episode Kenny Simpson and Daniel Chamberlain are joined by coach Cody Alexander, an ambassador and liaison bet...

There are so many defenses out there these days. 3-4, 4-2-5, 4-3, 3-3, 5-2… the list goes on and on. There is even some defense named after a Jaws movie… and it’s counterpart that has something to do with minnows of all things. On this episode we’re talking all about defense. How to pick yours, why you shouldn’t try to be “multiple” all the time and where to find information on the best defensive...

Picking your offense doesn’t have to be hard. You also can’t put an offense on repeat and expect the exact same results year in and year out. You have to fit your scheme to your situation. On this episode we’re talking all about offense, how to pick it, why you can’t run them all, and where to find info to ensure you have the best product for your team. What do we need to consider when picking our...

One of the all-time great HC’s, Houston Nutt,  joined the show to talk about the evolution of football from “fist fight in a phone booth” to “spread em out”.  On this episode we discussed the changes he’s seen in X’s and O’s, practice, discipline, and more. Who were your coaching influences? What did they instill in you to take forward? Dad taught AR School for the Deaf: Patience and perseverance...

One of the uncomfortable topics to discuss in coachins is that sometimes jobs end. Sometimes they’re long dramatic drawn out endings, and sometimes they’re abrupt endings. “All good things must come to an end,” is a statement that rings oh so true in football coaching.  On this episode we’re talking all about why coaches get fired. From falling out of favor, to the whirlwind that can sweep through...

Balancing your family time with your football time is a challenge for all coaches. Most of us are not getting paid full time to coach, which means we’re balancing another career and our family too. But, “times they are a changin’.” There are ways to help you get family time back. On this episode, we’re joined by University of West Florida’s Head Football Coach Kaleb Nobles to talk about difficulti...

Fundraising can be one of the hardest parts of coaching. Anytime you’re asking for money from outsiders to help your program or selling some cheap product or unhealthy food as part of a fundraising campaign, many people will immediately be very uncomfortable. But, it doesn’t have to be like it’s always been. There are other options if you’ll look and be creative On this episode we’re breaking down...

Taking over a program can be one of the best times in a coach's career, or one of the worst bumps in the road. It’s a large undertaking that you must be prepared for. On this episode Kenny and Daniel are joined by Coach Beau Collins to talk about making the jump, problems you may find along the way, and what to do to be prepared your first day on the job. What position is the hardest in footb...

Situational Football is more than just yelling at your favorite NFL coach on the TV for screwing up a timeout call. It’s married to all aspects of the game. Every single play is an example of 3+ situations; is it on the wide side of the field, or the boundary? Opening play of a drive? Just got a first down? What yard line? How much time on the clock? What’s the weather like? Situations are everywh...

Staff organization can make or break your team. If you mismanage your coaches, and don’t ensure key positions are getting the best coaching, you’re likely not going to find success in the long run.  On this episode we discuss how we believe a coaching staff should be organized, and how to prioritize the positions you need to fill. How should we organize our staff? Every position coach is not the m...

Topic: Building a Drill w/ Chris Haddad Drills are some of the most basic parts of practice, and for some they become the most difficult to plan. Listen as Kenny, Daniel, and our guest Chris Haddad break down the most important parts of a drill, why it’s important that they’re relevant, and which are their favorites. What are the base pieces of drills that must be present? It needs to be able to e...

“Feed the Cats” is a track speed program that is taking the football world by storm. Creator Tony Holler talks with Kenny and Daniel about his program, what it looks like in a football program, and all about knocking out conditioning (which players are likely to replay for you on repeat once they find this episode) for you team in the name of longevity in performance. How would the Feed the Cats p...

Opponent Breakdown is somewhat of a ritual for many coaches. Others can’t seem to systematize the weekend event to get the most out of it. Done correctly, and efficiently, your opponent breakdown can give you all of the keys to success for your team, without eliminating all of your weekend family time. On this episode, we discuss Coach Simpson and Coach Chamberlain’s Opponent Breakdown systems tha...

Football practice is the only time of the day that some of your players are going to think about football, so you better make the best of it. With the increase of items to steal our attention, i.e. Social Media, we now have to compete against shortened attention spans too, which means we’d better be efficient when we lace ‘em up throughout the week.  On this episode we discuss how to organize your...

On this episode Kenny and Daniel are joined by Southside (Batesville, AR) OL Coach Bo Gould to discuss the fundamentals of Offensive Line play, where to start during your spring and fall installs, and how to make adjustments to get your OL Group to play beyond their ceiling What is our plan going into spring/pre-season practice Getting OL to understand concepts rather than individual plays We teac...

On this episode of The Coaching 101 Podcast, Kenny and Daniel are discussing building your program at all levels. Listen in for a “playbook” on how to get every player, coach, teacher, and administrator on your side as a coach, and how to get the community behind your program. How do we build up our School Buy-in? Community events Build an atmosphere around our program Social media Meet the “Enter...

On the inaugural episode of the Coaching 101 Podcast, Kenny and Daniel introduce themselves and talk about their football journeys. Also, they discuss the purpose of the podcast, and what they hope the listeners get out of it. Coach Simpson Introduction Family Bio / Background Moved a lot as a youth (military)  Learned from many coaches as an athlete Harding U, graduate, met wife 3 children Avery...