Coaching question

[The Twelvethman]

Can someone tell me how it works when you have a HC like Mike McDaniel, Shanahan, Reid etc that call the plays, whether they are offensive or defensive minded, what does the OC or DC under them do?

Do they still come up with the schemes and plays but the HC calls them in? (Doesn’t make sense being as most of them are the innovators of the modern offense)

Do they run the HC schemes and plays during practice while the HC oversees the entire team?

Do they just get the HC coffee or tea?

And what about a HC like Pete, what’s he doing? just in constant communication with his OC/DC about what he wants to see happen next, run vs pass perhaps but not the exact play?

And lastly your guess on will our next HC call the plays on either side of the ball?

 

[renofox]

They report to the HC and supervise the position coaches. They design plays, formulate gameplans and come up with the practice schedule, including plays and techniques to practice during the week. They educate the position coaches on practice plans and techniques. They participate in and evaluate the practices. Plus much more, but those are their primary duties.

 

[RiverDog]

Can someone tell me how it works when you have a HC like Mike McDaniel, Shanahan, Reid etc that call the plays, whether they are offensive or defensive minded, what does the OC or DC under them do?

Do they still come up with the schemes and plays but the HC calls them in? (Doesn’t make sense being as most of them are the innovators of the modern offense)

Do they run the HC schemes and plays during practice while the HC oversees the entire team?

Do they just get the HC coffee or tea?

And what about a HC like Pete, what’s he doing? just in constant communication with his OC/DC about what he wants to see happen next, run vs pass perhaps but not the exact play?

And lastly your guess on will our next HC call the plays on either side of the ball?

A lot of them will take up station in the press box and be in direct communication with the play caller on the sideline.

I've never liked the idea of the head coach calling the plays, offense or defense. When Mike Holmgren was our HC, I got the impression that calling the plays caused him to be out of touch with the emotional aspect of the game, that he had his head buried so deep into that Denny's menu that he lost track of the game situation, was too emersed in X's and O's that he didn't have a good feel for the flow of the game, didn't engage in conversations with his players and coaches, that this or that defender could be beat, and so on. I also think it had the tendency to give the defense and special teams the impression that they weren't as much a part of the team as was the offense.

But a helluva lot of them do it, and many, like Andy Reid, are very successful, so who am I to say that it's a bad idea?

 

[bigcc]

It's a good question

It's not entirely the same in every instance, but they're basically an assistant to the HC

So they do stuff like assist film study, will typically have a mic in the booth to the coach, will be the person talking to the coach the most during the game by far.

They'll run the scout offense/defense as well. If your HC is like shanahan, it makes sense for the OC to run scout d because they'll be familiar with their scheme from film.... The d coordinator is scouting their offense obviously so it makes sense for the person most familiar with their offense to run scout.

Since they are in the booth instead of sideline, they can see the field from a better angle and be able to make better reads on the keys the opposing players are making at points of attack. And can relay it to the coach.

They're very busy, not exactly fetching coffee lol. From the head coaches perspective, they're their most trusted confidant.

If you aren't calling plays (like Pete) you're in constant communication with everything, kind of like what you said.

I think we're going to sign Johnson or Macdonald, and I would expect both of them to run the offense/defense respectively.... I don't think we get another "overseer" coach like carroll

This article gives some insight, coaches like carroll do most of their work during the week between games

https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/jim-harbaugh-michigan-suspension-62633038