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Six years into the podcast it has been fun to see the guests continue to grow and advance in the profession, and Jason Houghtaling has certainly been one of those guys. Head Coach Mike Vrabel thought so too.

“Jason is a great example of that…he’s a great teacher. He’s working multiple schemes. He was a head coach…it was probably one of the best interviews I’ve had in 5 years.” -Tennessee Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel on hiring Jason Houghtaling as the new offensive line coach.

It was no surprise that he’s been able to make it from the FCS to the NFL and lead a position group. What always shined through in my conversations with him was his ability to teach and his skill as a leader.

He presented on “Teaching the Wide Zone” at the 2nd Annual Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic in 2022.  

Let’s take a look at his teaching of the Wide Zone Play.

Why Outside Zone?

The Wide Zone is a play showing up in many offenses at every level today. It’s a play that is a great starting point to build an offense around.  In this video, Coach Houghtaling share the “Why” behind running this play (click on image for video):

Video: Why Outside Zone?

Effort and Style of Play

While it may sound cliche, the effort is the starting point for success on the Wide Zone play. The foundation is the style of play more than technique. While they are technically sound, they have a style of speed off the ball, physicality, toughness and finish. He shows what that looks like in this video:

Video: Effort and Style of Play

Basics for Each Position

Coach Jason Houghtaling gives a great overview of the basics for every position in this video. Every position has key coaching points in its execution that must be accomplished every time the play is called.

Video: Wide Zone Basics for Every Position

Expect the Titans to continue to build on their outside zone play in 2023. With Coach Houghtaling leading the way, I’m sure we will see a Titans OL unit that paves the way.

Be sure to register for the 3rd Annual Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic here:

https://lfgf2023.coachesclinic.com/

The proceeds from this clinic benefit families who have a child undergoing cancer treatment as well as pediatric brain tumor research.

LFGF is not a pass through organization. All of the proceeds go to those who need it and there are plenty. Marianne Loose and her team of volunteers work directly with the families.

Bring your entire staff to this clinic and please make other coaches aware of this opportunity to learn and help others.

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski