EmeraldIngot
Five-Star Recruit
Not sure if this deserves it's own topic, but I thought I'd share my personal thoughts on having a dedicated QB coach and how to fit that in with the two (?) other position coaches available under the Offensive Coordinator.
The very idea of a dedicated QB coach who does nothing but coach the QB is rediculous. It's a waste of a position that is limited by NCAA regulations. When you only have a few position coaches that can be part of your staff, you have to have position coaches that can coach multiple positions. In my opinion, this should apply to all positions, both offensively and defensively. I'll lay out how, in my opinion, it should be organized.
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One assistant coach should be in charge of the QB's and WR's. This is because you can teach as much fundamentals as you like, but it won't help your passing game if the QB's and WR's are not in rhythm. You could have a perfect NFL legend as your quarterback, but if he hasn't gotten practice time to get in rhythm with the WR's, his chances of anticipating where that guy is going to be and how he beats his coverage is going to mean that the ball WILL NOT be placed where that WR needs it to be to not only make a catch, but to get at least a few yards downfield. The common term is "catch it in stride". Having an assistant coach who not only is teaching both the QB's a proper throwing mechanic, footwork, and how to read coverage, but also teaching the WR's to read the same coverage and make the same decisions to be on the same page as the QB as well as how to properly run the routes in the scheme as decided by the OC. This means a LOT of practice time, a lot of 'reps' between all strings of QB's with all strings of WR's. This means that the #2 QB will be nearly as familiar with the #1 WR's as the #1 QB is. And if several of your top WR's get injured, the #2's can step in without a significant loss of rhythm and timing. Or if the QB gets injured (like 2013...) the #2 and #3 QBs shouldn't lose too much rhythm because they also are familiar with the WR's they'll be throwing to. It's not about how much playing time the backups get, but how many reps they get in practice. This builds familiarity and comfort. If someone goes down, if you're almost as comfortable with his backup, you won't have so many 'miscommunications'.
This leaves a dedicated position coach for OL and TE's, teaching the blocking schemes and blitz pickups, as well as communication. Again, the same 'rotation' during practice to get the lower stringers playing with the upper stringers to build familiarity helps keep the quality of play high when the next man has to step up for whatever reason. Of course, TE's should have a little bit of time with the QB and WR coach to help polish route running and build familiarity with the QB in the pass game.
The last position coach should be RB and FB coach. This will allow him to dedicate time to teaching his runners how to cut back, how to find the open lane, to follow blockers, to read front seven coverages and so on. The RB's and FB's will need to spend a little time working with the OL and TE coach on how to pick up blitzes when they're in pass protection situations, and also a little time with the QB and WR coach for the passing game out of the backfield. All three of these coaches need to be in constant communication to make sure their players are synchronizing well with the other groups. That 'coordination' efford is the job of the OC, just like the name implies.
A very similar setup can and should be put in place for the Defense, but I won't go into detail here.
The head coach's job is to make sure that all positions are going well and that the OC and DC are keeping things together. The HC needs to spearhead the recruiting drive, and should probably also personally oversee the special teams efforts.
If everyone is doing their jobs and doing them well, the level of talent you have becomes much less relevant to the overall success of your team. A mediocre QB and a mediocre WR can fool a first round DB if they're in a better rhythm than the DB is with his teammates.
Please let me know what you think.
The very idea of a dedicated QB coach who does nothing but coach the QB is rediculous. It's a waste of a position that is limited by NCAA regulations. When you only have a few position coaches that can be part of your staff, you have to have position coaches that can coach multiple positions. In my opinion, this should apply to all positions, both offensively and defensively. I'll lay out how, in my opinion, it should be organized.
T
One assistant coach should be in charge of the QB's and WR's. This is because you can teach as much fundamentals as you like, but it won't help your passing game if the QB's and WR's are not in rhythm. You could have a perfect NFL legend as your quarterback, but if he hasn't gotten practice time to get in rhythm with the WR's, his chances of anticipating where that guy is going to be and how he beats his coverage is going to mean that the ball WILL NOT be placed where that WR needs it to be to not only make a catch, but to get at least a few yards downfield. The common term is "catch it in stride". Having an assistant coach who not only is teaching both the QB's a proper throwing mechanic, footwork, and how to read coverage, but also teaching the WR's to read the same coverage and make the same decisions to be on the same page as the QB as well as how to properly run the routes in the scheme as decided by the OC. This means a LOT of practice time, a lot of 'reps' between all strings of QB's with all strings of WR's. This means that the #2 QB will be nearly as familiar with the #1 WR's as the #1 QB is. And if several of your top WR's get injured, the #2's can step in without a significant loss of rhythm and timing. Or if the QB gets injured (like 2013...) the #2 and #3 QBs shouldn't lose too much rhythm because they also are familiar with the WR's they'll be throwing to. It's not about how much playing time the backups get, but how many reps they get in practice. This builds familiarity and comfort. If someone goes down, if you're almost as comfortable with his backup, you won't have so many 'miscommunications'.
This leaves a dedicated position coach for OL and TE's, teaching the blocking schemes and blitz pickups, as well as communication. Again, the same 'rotation' during practice to get the lower stringers playing with the upper stringers to build familiarity helps keep the quality of play high when the next man has to step up for whatever reason. Of course, TE's should have a little bit of time with the QB and WR coach to help polish route running and build familiarity with the QB in the pass game.
The last position coach should be RB and FB coach. This will allow him to dedicate time to teaching his runners how to cut back, how to find the open lane, to follow blockers, to read front seven coverages and so on. The RB's and FB's will need to spend a little time working with the OL and TE coach on how to pick up blitzes when they're in pass protection situations, and also a little time with the QB and WR coach for the passing game out of the backfield. All three of these coaches need to be in constant communication to make sure their players are synchronizing well with the other groups. That 'coordination' efford is the job of the OC, just like the name implies.
A very similar setup can and should be put in place for the Defense, but I won't go into detail here.
The head coach's job is to make sure that all positions are going well and that the OC and DC are keeping things together. The HC needs to spearhead the recruiting drive, and should probably also personally oversee the special teams efforts.
If everyone is doing their jobs and doing them well, the level of talent you have becomes much less relevant to the overall success of your team. A mediocre QB and a mediocre WR can fool a first round DB if they're in a better rhythm than the DB is with his teammates.
Please let me know what you think.
