🎠Here it goes! Time to Take a Ride on the Coaching Carousel
Nov 30, 2023 2:36 pm
Coach ,
The Coaching Carousel has started to spin and the first wave of coaching changes has some big moves being made.
Let’s take a look at what happened so far with some of the coaches we have had speak in our clinics, as well as picking up a few coaching points from this group of coaches.
Mike Elko - Head Coach, Texas A&M
The first big change of the off season was Mike Elko heading back to Texas A&M after serving as the head coach at Duke for two seasons
Coach Elko guided the Blue Devils to back-to-back bowl games. He was named the 2022 ACC Coach of the Year as the Blue Devils finished 9-4 complete with a bowl victory over UCF in the Military Bowl. The 2023 season saw the Blue Devils get off to a 4-0 start before injuries took their toll and Duke finished the regular season 7-5.
Prior to becoming Duke’s Head Coach, Coach Elko made his mark as a defensive coordinator. There’s no doubt that he will look to the defense to form the backbone of his team. He brings back an aggressive philosophy built on sound fundamentals. The Aggies will look to create an aggressive mentality and more turnovers on defense.
Coach Elko explains his philosophy on what makes a great defense here:
(click on image for video)
Coach Elko knows another opportunity for turnover exists when getting to the QB. The QB is in a vulnerable position for losing the ball. He explains how they teach the Tomahawk to create a turnover (click on image for video):
Jeff Lebby - Head Coach Mississippi State
Jeff Lebby was on the other side of the Egg Bowl rivalry as the OC at Ole Miss befor moving on to be the OC at Oklahoma the past two seasons.
After a transition year with the passing of Mike Leach, Coach Lebby will be tasked with building a new identity for the Bulldogs.
In the past, Coach Jeff Lebby labeled their identity on offense as “Fast. Fearless and Physical” and his offenses definitely lived out that identity.
Being Fast means that they play with great tempo. It starts with a detailed approach which Coach Lebby believes they do differently in that they spend a lot of time coaching the mechanics of tempo. Two components of this are the ball mechanics of how to get the ball back to the official and their use of a continuously recording tape to evaluate the mechanics and coach it.
Being Fearless is how they attack every single day. They call the offense in a fearless fashion and they play with a fearless mentality.
Finally, they identify as being a Physical football team in the way that they do everything. Coach Lebby explains what Fast. Fearless. Physical means to the Rebels here (click on image for video):
Video: Fast, Fearless, Physical
In general, Coach Lebby has had a very balanced attack. The way they get it done is with a detailed approach of how they teach every aspect of the offense.
Overall the offense contains key components:
- Personnel Placement
- Controlling Tempo
- Creating Space
- Vertical Running Game
- Vertical Passing Game
Here’s an example of how this comes together in a game plan and works on a particular play (click on image for video):
Video: Deep Post Play Action Pass
Sean Lewis - Head Coach, San Diego State
Coach Lewis did an outstanding job as the head coach of Kent State. Coach Lewis was the youngest head coach in the FBS when Kent State hired him seven seasons ago. He spent this past season on the sidelines for Colorado and Coach Prime.
Coach Lewis runs a hybrid of the Baylor offense with more of a power running game. Tempo is a part of it. They ran the fourth most plays in the FBS in his last season at Kend, with an incredibly high pace.
In addition, he knows how to build a strong culture and the Aztecs will benefit from his leadership. Here is Coach Lewis’s method for evaluating culture (click on image for video):
Seth Littrell - Co-OC, Oklahoma
Oklahoma will fill the OC position with Co-Coordinators is former Oklahoma Sooner (and former North Texas Head Coach) Seth Littrell and Jon Finley.
As a disciple of Mike Leach and the Air Raid influence, Coach Littrell didn’t necessarily evolve into a pass-happy coach. At North Texas, he had a solid run game the ball and loved condensed sets for the run as much as he did for his Air Raid passing concepts.
With gaps and angles created, the pin and pull is an outstanding play from a bunched set. Coach Littrell illustrates the concept in this video:
More to come!
There’s been plenty of movement at all levels of college football. Expect the carousel to get going here and gain momentum as programs work to solidify their staff so that they can capitalize on early signing day plus the thousands of players who have entered the portal.
Always be growing!
Coach Grabowski
Here are presentations from the coaches highlighted in this email (Cyber Monday savings extended):
Mike Elko - Building a Championship Defense
Jeff Lebby - Offensive Philosophy & QB Development
Seth Littrell - Condensed Sets