The Football Coaching Podcast with Joe Daniel

They come up at the worst time. Those special situations you forgot. The game is in hand, then something happens. You know you should have worked on it... but you just didn't. I've worked to put together a complete list of special situations for your football team. I know it isn't complete because - well, it never is. But this is a start. I've also included the spreadsheet I made in our JDFB Insider Forum . You can add more situations that your football team works on - or needs to work on - in the forum. We'll compile a big list and have it ready for 2015. As it stands, there are a ton of situations that come up in a football game that you have to be prepared for. Listen to Episode 140 of The Football Coaching Podcast to make sure you've got these big one's checked off!  

We all dream of that day. Giving the halftime speech that wins the big game. Seriously, as I dreamed of becoming a Head Football Coach, this was what I thought about. It's like the iconic moment of coaching football. It just doesn't happen that way, though. Not very often. So when the moment comes... are you going to miss it? Are you going to deliver the halftime speech that wins the game for your team? Or might it be the speech that loses the game? Highly unlikely, but it could. You might be going about this all wrong. In Episode 139 of The Football Coaching Podcast, we're talking about the 6 keys to delivering a great halftime speech. I'll even tell you the best speech I ever heard. I also want to hear your favorite halftime speeches. You can leave them in the comments below here, or go to our JDFB Insider Forum to share.

Our job as football coaches goes way beyond X's and O's. And it goes far beyond drills, too. One of the biggest obstacles to success is player motivation. Getting kids to buy in. To play hard. To just want to. But motivation is not some mystical concept that we either have or do not. It's something that coaches can cultivate. In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, we're talking about how to motivate your football players. I'll give you 7 tips that can help you start increasing your player's motivation on the field. And you can start right now.

The season is under way. And everything may not be going exactly as planned. You're a problem solver. A fixer. When something isn't working... you do something about it. But here in the world of football coaching, we tend to do too much. To over react. The best thing you can do, often times, is to stay the course. Constant change means your kids will never get good at anything. They can lose confidence in themselves as players. In the technique you teach. And in you as a coach. That's never what we want. We want our kids to believe that they can do it. All they need to do, is do their jobs. You spent a whole off season putting this playbook together. Researching drills. Studying the talent you had coming along... And when you did that, your mind was clear. You were sane. Now it's football season. You're amped up. Sleep deprived. Maybe a little panicked. Can we all agree that clear headed you is a little more sane, a little smarter, than amped up, sleep deprived, panicked you? I thought so. So stay the course. Keep with the plan. Focus on fixing the problems, not changing the plan entirely.

What's the hottest new concept in Offensive Football Coaching this season? That's easy. Run-Pass Option plays. RPO's. OK they're not exactly new. But you might be seeing more RPO's now, than ever before. What is a Run-Pass Option? Why have they exploded in popularity in recent years? And how can you incorporate RPO's into your Offensive Playbook? In Episode 136 of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'll take a look at all of these questions. Plus, what are some of the issues with RPO's that you need to be prepared for, if you decide to incorporate them into your offense?

You've got those really cool blitzes in your package. And you love to bring the heat. But when is the right time? Or is there a right time? Rather than just calling your blitzes at random, how about using some reason and logic behind them? In Episode 135 of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'll tell you my 7 top reasons to use a blitz when calling a game.  

Game Planning gets this mystic wonder attached to it. Fans often confuse a team being better at executing, with a coach having a great game plan. The truth is that game plans rarely will win you the football game. And the pursuit of the perfect game plan can help you coach yourself right out of a victory. So what should you be looking for? What do you need to do to prepare the perfect game plan? This month I am releasing The Game Planning eCourse for JDFB Insider Members. We'll look at every aspect of preparing a great game plan. In this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast, we scratch the surface of preparing your Offensive game plan.

Coach Simple. Play Fast. Win. That's the message with Joe Daniel Football. But how does it apply to the field? This year I've been working harder than ever to simplify. To give our kids the bare essentials of instruction that produce the results. Kind of 80/20 approach. 80% of the results are produced by 20% of the coaching that we give our kids. So why not cut out the other 80% of verbiage, drills, and detail? All the stuff that is clouding up our football player's heads. In Episode 133, I'll share 5 tips that are helping us to keep it simpler during the 2015 Football Season. At the time I recorded this, we were less than 24 hours removed from the first scrimmage. And while it wasn't great, we are far ahead of last season.

The first day of practice is almost here. And in Virginia, that means 3 days with just helmets. 2 days in helments and shoulder pads. How can we get the most out of the opening of camp? I used to think those first 3 days were a waste. They're not. Football practice without pads can be a huge benefit for your team. You can get your playbook installed, but there's even more. Focus on footwork. Teach attack angles. Learn how to practice fast, without contact. But safety is still your number one concern. I'll give you some pointers on staying safe during your pads-free practice, too.  

In 2004, I was captivated by the idea of throwing on every down. Chris Hatcher had me hooked. The Air Raid is absolutely brilliant. With just a handful of passing concepts, a simplistic running game, and a few screens and draws, you can make sure the defense is never right. Like every other scheme in football, it doesn't always turn out that way on the field. But it sure is a cool idea. While the offense is still being used, it's not as revered as it once was. You can look back to the '90s, when Kentucky's passing offense took the SEC by storm. Hatcher's teams that dominated Division II Football. And of course, Mike Leach throwing the ball all over the lot at Texas Tech. Not to mention, Tony Franklin System teams were dominating High School Football. When we look at the landscape today, it doesn't look quite as bright for the Air Raid. Leach and Kliff Klingsbury have struggled recently, as has Hatcher.  (for what it's worth, I'm not a TFS member so I can't say for sure - but Tony seems to have evolved...) That doesn't mean it's not fun to talk about! So sit back and listen to Episode 131 of The Football Coaching Podcast. We're talking Mesh, Y-Shallow, Y-Stick, and just generally chucking the football all over the field!