Coach ,

The story is one of the most unique in terms of coaching journeys.  

In 2017 Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy was looking for his next offensive coordinator and embarked on an unorthodox method for his job search.

As told on ESPN, Gundy looked at stats on the internet, 

Gundy went online and looked up offenses that excelled both with rushing and passing numbers. He then narrowed the search to no-huddle, tempo-based offenses similar to Oklahoma State's. Next, he found coordinators who also coached quarterbacks. The last step, the trickiest, was identifying lesser-known coaches who might stick around even after successful seasons.

Starting at the FBS level, Gundy worked his way to Shippensburg University, a Division II program in south central Pennsylvania. Under Mike Yurcich, Shippensburg had led Division II in offense (529.2 yards per game) and ranked second in scoring (46.9 PPG) in 2012, a year after shattering team records for scoring and yards.

Jumping ahead, after more vetting, research, phone calls and then a call with Yurchich, Gundy offered him the job which was a three year contract for $400,000 per year. Yurcich was making $52,500 at Shippensburg.

Yurcich told ESPN,

"Pretty humbling experience," Yurcich said. "It's very unique. It doesn't happen, and I've got to try to capitalize on the opportunity given."

And capitalize is exactly what he did. Oklahoma State led to an opportunity at Ohio State which led to Texas and then to his current position at Penn State.

He is an example of hard work paying off.

Recently, Coach Yurcich shared his tips for developing quarterbacks at the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association Clinic.  

In this segment of his talk he emphasized the importance of training the QB’s eyes to stay downfield. A QB who does this consistently will find opportunities for big plays. Coach Yurcich explains that and tells why 7 on 7 may not be the best place to train this (click on image for video):

Coach goes on to talk about the importance of the drills and techniques you use showing up on film. Here is an example of his “right foot under right armpit” technique:

Coach Yurcich’s story is a great one, and seeing him go through his clinic, it’s easy to understand how his knowledge and preparation allowed him to capitalize on his incredible opportunity.

I can say that CoachTube has become a source of a “star search” this off season. I have had several calls from FBS staffs asking me who is the best guy for ____. I point them to the courses from coaches and I know all of them have had the opportunity to privately clinic with some of the top programs in the game.

Keep an eye on the coaches who share their knowledge on CoachTube. They just may be the next “unknown” coach making it big like Coach Yurcich.

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski

P.S. Coach Yurcich’s talk is part of a 10 course QB Training Bundle which puts together every aspect of QB play that you need to know as a QB coach, and is a tremendous resource for your library. It is a 67% savings so grab it now. 

The bundle includes courses from:

-James Franklin, HC Penn State

-Phil Longo, OC/QB North Carolina

-Jake Peetz, OC/QB LSU

-Robert Weiner, QB Toledo

-Dave Patenaude, QB Georgia Tech

-Mike Sullivan, Asst. Army West Point

-Ian Shoemaker, OC/QB Eastern Washington

-Kyle Ohradzansky, OC/QB Shippensburg

-Zach Tinker, OC/QB Central Washington

Details on every course here: QB Training Bundle