Coach ,

As a coach’s son,  I always have been a bigger fan of coaches growing up than I was the players.  I would hear stories about good coaches from my dad and follow their careers. I was excited when Jim Tressel, who went to my alma mater Baldwin Wallace was winning National Championships at Youngstown State and then became the Buckeyes’ head coach.  I wasn’t surprised.

I still am a fan of coaches today.  What’s made it even more fun is having coaches on my podcast who I watch climb the ranks. 

While I have not had Jeff Traylor on as a guest yet, I love his story with the University of Texas-San Antonio Road Runners.

From his start as a high school coach until today where he has his team sitting at 9-0 and #15 in the nation (#23 in the CFP), throughout his career, he is an inspirational story for any coach at any level.

He got his start at the high school level.  As a high school football coach (he also coached basketball), Jeff Traylor built his hometown program into a powerhouse, posting a 175-26 record (.871 winning percentage) and led the Gilmer High School to three state titles in five appearances and 12 district crowns.  He was a four-time Texas High School Coach of the Year for Class 4A.

Jump ahead to 2020, in his first year at the University of Texas-San Antonio, he led the Road Runners to a 7-4 record and 1st place in Conference USA West.

This doesn’t come as a surprise to many who know Traylor. Matt Rhule, head coach of the Carolina Panthers said this of him.

“Jeff Traylor is a dynamic, transformational leader who will usher in a bright new era for UTSA football...I look forward to seeing Coach Traylor and his staff bring a championship to San Antonio.”

How has Traylor done it? It starts with recognizing that his players are always a reflection of him.  With that as the framework, it certainly puts a sense of urgency in developing everyone who he leads.  He explains here:

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For Coach Traylor it’s simple. He points to this concept as something he’s made his career on in this video.  This one is critical for every program and more importantly  for our game to continue to grow:

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Building a culture isn’t as easy as it seems.  It’s more than painting some cool words on a wall or printing them on a t-shirt.  We have to get that into the players’ hearts.  Coach Traylor shares that idea here:

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Many times coaches who are successful coordinators become the head coach.  Coach Traylor admitted that early on he was just an offensive coordinator with the title of “head coach.”  Then he lost to some teams he shouldn’t have and realized he needed to evolve.  From those lessons, he developed “the triangle of toughness” which he admits he borrowed from Pete Carroll.  He explains the triangle of toughness here:

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Building with the end in mind, Coach Traylor builds his offense around players, not plays.  This fits with his philosophy of developing players. He shares that philosophy on how he begins building his offense here:

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As the third part of the triangle of toughness, special teams play a major role in UTSA’s success.  The Road Runners’ special teams coordinator Tommy Perry points out that the great coaches in the game like Bill Parcells, Bill Belichik, and Nick Saban love special teams.  In this video he shares what he learned from Coach Parcells:

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It’s been a crazy year in college football and certainly, many will come knocking on his door to lead their programs, which is why UTSA offered a $28 million contract extension.

Regardless of where he is, there’s so much to learn from Coach Traylor’s journey and the coach he has become

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski