The Football Coaching Podcast With Joe Daniel

Regardless of your offensive scheme, the person who touches the ball nearly every play is the Quarterback. Regardless of his skill level, you have to build your offensive scheme around him. Your overall system should include plays and packages to make any QB successful, once you identify what he can do, and what he can’t. On this episode Joe, Daniel, and our guest Patrick Taylor discuss the reasons you have to build around your QB, ways to accommodate your QB, and how to change your play calling mindset depending on who your QB is.

Having absolute studs on your football team sounds like a dream come true. But, the truth is, even having absolute raw talent in the huddle comes with its own problems. Maybe your best players are pulling an Allen Iverson, “Practice? We talkin’ about practice man.” Or perhaps they’ve begun shutting it down with a scholarship already in hand and those around them telling them they’re better than they may be. On this episode we’re joined by former Texas HS Coach Randy Jackson to discuss ways to motivate your star athlete throughout the season and beyond. We tackle some of the major concerns associated with coaching extremely talented players and a few solutions to getting over those hurdles.

We’ve all had that one player who just HAS to test the limits. We know it’s only natural, but it can definitely test us as coaches. Whether it’s your star running back showing up late consistently or a youth player whose parents just can’t seem to get them to practice on time, we all have to have a plan in place to ensure the discipline of the team doesn’t falter due to our “problem child”. In this episode Joe, Daniel, and guests Antoine Smith and Bill Weiss share years of combined wisdom on dealing with the situations above and many more that you may have had already or need to have a plan for in the future.

Regardless of the record, history, or size of your team, something all coaches have to deal with is parents. Some can be jet fuel for your system, and some can feel like an anchor dragging you down. But, parent involvement is a currency that every team needs to help maximize their potential in the fall. On this episode Joe and Daniel are joined by Coach Rick Stewart to discuss some successful ways to communicate with parents, how to get to know them, increase involvement, and what to do if you have a parent already going sour. 

On this episode we’re talking to Dale Baskett, a renowned speed coach with over 40 years of speed training experience in the NFL, MLB, and numerous collegiate and high school powerhouse schools, about the intricacies of training speed throughout the year, how little time it can really take away from you, and some mistakes of guys who are trying to do it on their own. Dale is a big part of our “If you don’t know, hire an expert” philosophy. 

No matter the size or level of your program, adding players to your roster is always a good thing. Maybe you’re under the roster size expected for your school size, or you’re seeing kids in the hallway that you know could help you be successful. Either way, you have to be able to recruit the building to add numbers and hopefully talent. On this episode Joe and Daniel discuss the importance of recruiting your school, which kids you should aim to recruit, and we talk about a few ways to make you a successful recruiter and team builder.

The H-Back is a position that few admit to or knowingly use. However, they’re showing up more and more across the world of Football. In the NFL, Travis Kelce has been playing the role since his emergence in 2014. In college, the Oklahoma Sooners have had a pair of H-Backs helping in their bread-and-butter counter game for at least the last 5 years. Last but not least, the High School ranks have been attempting to use everything the next level does for ages, and the H-Back is just the next thing to trickle down to their level in mass. On this episode we’re focusing on identifying what a H-Back is, the benefits of using one, and how you can fit a H-Back into the offensive scheme you’re already running. You may be closer to having one than you think. It may be as simple as changing the designator in your playbook.

Every coach in the game has a “best” player on defense. They may or may not be a talent that will move on in the game. But, we all need to know how to identify who our best player is in each position group, and where to play them within that group on Friday nights. In this episode we’re talking about why you need to identify your best players, which player in each position group is really your best, and which position you should play them in depending on your overall defensive scheme. 

Helping Football Coaches build your Program and Succeed

When it comes to learning how to coach football, we all have to start somewhere. Everyone’s starting point will be different, and for various reasons. Some of us start coaching after successful playing careers and learning comes easy, some of us haven’t touched a football in 10+ years and it feels like the lingo is in a different language. Some start with highly successful mentors that pass on their techniques, others start from scratch with nothing but a desire for self-improvement.  In this episode, we’re discussing Daniel’s start to his coaching career, why he decided to become a coach, and what methods he found useful in learning how to coach football.

How to call football plays from the sideline is one of the most asked questions from new coordinators or play callers. Everyone does it a little differently, and even if you have a way, you may be looking for a more efficient method. In this episode, we will discuss exactly that. How do we like to call plays, whether on the offensive or defensive side of the ball, and what are some pros and cons for each method we’ve tried.

Defensive line drills can be a key piece to having your big boys playing their most efficient, most effective football. They’re not the only tool you need in your toolbox, but one you need without a doubt. In this episode we’re talking ways to improve your players with defensive line drills and focusing on the fundamentals of D-Line play.

Every coach is looking for the best football fundraising ideas. It’s part of the job. Regardless of your school size, being a good steward of the program’s finances is a key to success.  Whether you’re trying to bring money in, or stop the flow of money going out, you need to be on top of the organization’s “check book” to ensure you have the finances to continuously be improving. In this episode, learn the best football fundraising ideas for your team. Find out how to get control of finances, control how much you spend, and increase money coming into your program this season. 

RPO plays have changed the game on both sides of the football. Run Pass Option offenses are not just at the college level and big high schools, though. You can use these schemes in your small school football offense. In this episode, we’re talking to back-to-back Oklahoma State Champion coach Lynn Shackelford from Cashion High School (Cashion, OK) about his evolution into RPO plays, how they helped his teams perform well above their expectations, and how he’s using them today to keep adding 1A state championships to his trophy case.

Are you still scared of playing press man coverage? Man coverages seems to be every DC’s “off” coverage, usually to compliment cover 3 or in blitzing situations. But, seemingly just as many coaches stay away from man coverage all together for their own personal reasons. On this episode, we’re speaking with Sooner legend, NFL GREAT, and Owasso Rams DB Coach Dominique Franks about how press man technique changed for him at each level of the game, and how he’s successfully coaching it now to the CBs at Owasso High School (Owasso, OK).  

As the season comes to a close, we’re all evaluating where our strengths and shortcomings were this fall. More than likely, many of us have found that there is improvement needed in the strength and speed departments of our team. In this episode we discuss the why, the what, and the how of preparing football workouts and building a successful weight room program.  

The Air Raid Offense is one of the most popular offensive systems in football today. There are also a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings about the offense.  Coach Patrick Taylor is the Head Coach of North Surry High School in North Carolina. He’s an expert in the Air Raid Offense and joins the podcast to share his knowledge. Learn the base philosophy of the offense, what coaches moving into this system can expect, and where the offense is going in the future.