Alignment in Action: When the Work Sustains Itself - Keith Murphy and Tesfa Smith | Central Michigan Football

In the final episode of Alignment in Action, the focus shifts from vision and identity to sustainability. With systems established and expectations set, this episode examines whether alignment holds when responsibility is fully handed off to position coaches.

Recorded during Central Michigan’s first season under head coach Matt Drinkall, the episode features extended conversations with special teams coordinator Keith Murphy and defensive line coach Tesfa Smith.

Rather than revisiting philosophy, the conversations center on daily execution, accountability, and what alignment looks like once the head coach steps out of the frame.

This Alignment in Action episode is paired with the Alignment in Action AI Companion, a behavior-based evaluation and planning tool built directly from these conversations to help coaches assess alignment, ownership, and decision-making when responsibility moves beyond the head coach. For staffs looking to ensure standards hold under pressure and function without constant oversight, this series provides a clear lens and practical application.

⁠⁠Alignment in Action AI Companion⁠⁠

Episode Focus

• Whether alignment survives beyond the head coach’s direct involvement

• How standards are maintained through structure rather than supervision

• The role of clarity and ownership in sustaining culture

• What accountability looks like when trust is already established

Key Themes

• Alignment expressed through consistent behavior, not language

• Ownership of position rooms without competing authority

• Teaching standards that allow players to play fast, not fearful

• Systems designed to function without constant oversight

• Development as the foundation of accountability

Coaches Featured

• Keith Murphy, Special Teams Coordinator

• Tesfa Smith, Defensive Line Coach

Connect on X:

Keith Murphy: @CoachMurphy87

Tesfa Smith: @CoachTesfa

This episode closes the series by showing alignment in its most practical form. Not as vision. Not as identity. But as work that continues when leadership steps back and trusts others to carry it forward.

What’s Next

The Alignment in Action series concludes here, but the conversations continue inside the Coach and Coordinator Network, where additional articles, breakdowns, and an AI companion tool are available to help coaches apply these lessons inside their own programs.

Links can be found at https://coachandcoordinator.com/.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices