Regardless of your opinion of him, this is pretty succinct wisdom . Just wanted to share. H2P
http://coachingsearch.com/article?a...lling-and-the-question-every-coach-should-ask
Lou Holtz has five pieces of advice for every offensive play-caller, and a question every coach should ask themselves.
On his SiriusXM College Sports Nation show, Holtz said play-calling was the biggest criticism he received as a coach, even after winning a national championship. But there were five keys he shared.
1. Get a first down
“It’s not a game of touchdowns. It’s a game of first downs. 1st-and-10, do it again. If you get enough first downs, you’re eventually going to end up in the end zone.”
2. Make them defend the entire field
3. When in doubt, run a base play
“You don’t win games because you made a great play. You win games because you eliminate the bad plays.”
4. Have a reason to call a special play
“Don’t run a halfback pass unless you ran a sweep and saw that the cornerback’s coming up and it’s open. Don’t run a reverse until you know the back-side end is not staying at home.
5. Get your offense into a rhythm.
“Offense is rhythm. Defense is disrupting the rhythm.”
Holtz added that you must have the confidence and the ability to pick up two yards, no matter what. In practice, he would announce a run over right tackle and put 15 players on the scout team defense, running it over and over.
“After about five times, the players get mad and all of a sudden, we’re getting four, five yards against 15 people,” he said. “Think how much easier it’d be if they only had 11 and if they didn’t know where we were going. It has to be that mentality, that we’re going to be able to pick up two yards.”
In the end, Holtz said every coach has to ask themself a simple question.
“Did I hurt this football team? Did I give them a chance to win? Was I an asset for them?” Holtz said. “The hardest thing is not losing. The hardest thing is to let people down. When people are counting on you, you have an obligation to make sure you’re totally prepared and you’ve done everything you could.”
http://coachingsearch.com/article?a...lling-and-the-question-every-coach-should-ask
Lou Holtz has five pieces of advice for every offensive play-caller, and a question every coach should ask themselves.
On his SiriusXM College Sports Nation show, Holtz said play-calling was the biggest criticism he received as a coach, even after winning a national championship. But there were five keys he shared.
1. Get a first down
“It’s not a game of touchdowns. It’s a game of first downs. 1st-and-10, do it again. If you get enough first downs, you’re eventually going to end up in the end zone.”
2. Make them defend the entire field
3. When in doubt, run a base play
“You don’t win games because you made a great play. You win games because you eliminate the bad plays.”
4. Have a reason to call a special play
“Don’t run a halfback pass unless you ran a sweep and saw that the cornerback’s coming up and it’s open. Don’t run a reverse until you know the back-side end is not staying at home.
5. Get your offense into a rhythm.
“Offense is rhythm. Defense is disrupting the rhythm.”
Holtz added that you must have the confidence and the ability to pick up two yards, no matter what. In practice, he would announce a run over right tackle and put 15 players on the scout team defense, running it over and over.
“After about five times, the players get mad and all of a sudden, we’re getting four, five yards against 15 people,” he said. “Think how much easier it’d be if they only had 11 and if they didn’t know where we were going. It has to be that mentality, that we’re going to be able to pick up two yards.”
In the end, Holtz said every coach has to ask themself a simple question.
“Did I hurt this football team? Did I give them a chance to win? Was I an asset for them?” Holtz said. “The hardest thing is not losing. The hardest thing is to let people down. When people are counting on you, you have an obligation to make sure you’re totally prepared and you’ve done everything you could.”
