Coach ,

In 2012, I had the unique opportunity to interact with Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden at his Fired Football Coaches Association headquarters in Tampa, Florida. I was able to get a glimpse of the best football lab on the planet.

While it was just a small room lined with beta and VHS tapes with a glass table and big-screen sitting at the end of it, Gruden had created an easily accessible database of football knowledge. He had anything a coach could think of. My time there started with a question from Gruden, which he quickly answered himself.

“What do you want to see?” “How about Peyton Manning from linebacker depth practicing ball fakes?” A few clicks on his mouse, and the Manning video popped up. We watched. He pointed out the fine details of Manning practicing and perfecting his faking. Then it was on to the next idea.

“What about post routes from behind the receiver perspective?” A few clicks and we were watching post routes as Gruden critiqued technique. “I gotta show you this ‘nudge’ protection, Grabowski. You’re gonna love this …” The night continued in this manner…

What impressed me and inspired me was Gruden’s ability to continue to learn the game through this powerful resource he put together, which gave him access to every college and NFL game film he wanted.

I wanted something like that, but that was an expensive operation...It didn’t stop me from coming up with a way to learn from the best.  

Jump ahead to December 2016. I wanted to step away from the game (I was coaching D3 at the time) to watch my kids do their thing in high school, but I wanted to keep learning. I had been studying something called podcasting and developed the initial concept for The Coach and Coordinator Podcast. 

While I didn’t have the manpower or resources to put together Gruden’s football lab, I could get on the phone, talk to the best in the game and learn exactly what they do to find the winning edge. The best was I could share that with coaches for free!

That became and still is the premise of the podcast:

• The most knowledgeable head coaches, coordinators, and position coaches from professional, college, and high school football. 
• Guests discuss the philosophy, concepts, schemes, and strategies that they have learned throughout their careers. 
• Each show includes a specific idea that can be applied to help coaches at every level find the winning edge.

At the four year anniversary this week, over 1,000 episodes and nearly 5 million listens, Coach and Coordinator thanks to coaches like you is going strong and helping coaches around the country.

I always felt the podcast needed a dedicated home to share more content from coaches and highlight the best concepts shared on the podcast. The new home is coachandcoordinator.com.

I also felt that there was content that worked best in a visual format, so last we just released our first FREE edition of our digital magazine, Coach and Coordinator Monthly. 

I would love your feedback on what we have put together. Ultimately, we have created this for us, the coach.  

It is the visual compliment to the Coach and Coordinator Podcast. From feature articles on all three phases of the game, to building your program, to the latest from sports scientists and performance coaches, to the cutting edge technology and coaching methods that can help put your program on top. It includes text, diagrams, and video.

The best part is it comes directly to you from some of the best coaches in the game.

November’s issue is loaded with insight stories, interviews, and X and 0 breakdowns, and work is underway on the next issue. I want to note that unlike any other coaching magazine, this one includes something for every single position. The next edition will be bolstered by even more video.

See what you think.  It works on any device and is optimized for phones, tablets and computer screens and it's FREE.

Finally, I have been working to share the knowledge that I have picked up over the years, having just released three courses. I have left these on sale after Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Here’s one to take a look at as you begin your offseason study of your own offense.

I strongly believe that a good structure can set you up for success. This course details how we created a streamline system that was the best for player learning. I made the first 30 minutes free which includes work you can do now to audit and improve your own systems.

I am always looking for the best to learn from at every level around the country. If you know a coach doing great things, please let me know and I will reach out. If you are doing something unique or you have something that can help our game, please don’t hesitate to contact me and we will talk some ball.

Whether it’s through podcasts, virtual clinics, courses, or anywhere you are able to, like Coach Gruden does, keep learning this game.  

Thanks for making it to the end of this email Coach. The fact you even opened it shows you are the type of coach that is alway growing. You understand the players you coach, your communities, and the game of football in general depend on you becoming the best coach you can be.

Always be growing!

Keith