Pro athletes to HC in one step?

Doug Pederson, Calvary Baptist Academy (Shreveport,LA)
www.tigerrag.com/?p=1140

Put up a legitimate run for state championship
....And he's now QB coach in the NFL



*of course he had plenty of help from AD, Johnny Booty (architect of Evangel)

wingtol - Yeah, he was the LB coach there, his son played varsity as a soph and is apparently quite the stud. So he's got 1 year association with the school.

What do you think about him getting on the interview panel - how often does a 1st year to the school position coach get a place on the interview panel? He apparently worked the administration constantly until they relented. How about him asserting to the candidates that he should be the DC? Coaching gossip around here is that he pretty much said take me or hit the highway. Most of the coaches I know would have their staff set and not want/need a DC given to them. If you were interviewing for a HC position and he was on your panel, saying he should be your DC, what would your reaction be? A lot of the coaches left and basically said to stuff it.

How about if he wasn't a pro player, maybe a good college player. 1 year as LB coach at the school, couple of years in NC. Would that qualify him as a viable candidate?

I'm not saying that he's not a qualified football mind. He's played at a far higher level for far longer than I can imagine. But there is so much more going on as a HC, especially one with a fading reputation (taken some hits the past few years, probably why the fathers were willing to part with the legend), that there might have been better choices. I'm sure that he will do well.

I'm not sure why this hire is bothering me. The Jerry Reese hire didn't even make the tag lines in the news sites. Different program, different expectations, different coverage. Reese is apparently coming in with a new staff so several key players are leaving and the old staff is pretty much gone. He's coming into a different situation and nobody is going to be expecting him to restore the former glory. From what I hear he was the best of a much smaller pool and won it without being on the panel.

As far as Pederson it sounds like he's doing a heck of a job. That's the stories I'm looking for, both good and bad.

Funny, I thought Dennins Dunn was the head coach at Evangel during their run.

My area, NFL guy who got two rings with New England as a lineman, was asst. for 2 years at one school then got head job at another school in area after only having 2 years of coaching experience. Beat out a lot of more experience coaches for job. He won 3 games first year and 2 games the next. We played them this year, they were terrible. The line was soft and they fundamentally were terrible. Before anyone says maybe he took over a bad situation etc., the school has a football tradition and has been successful.

The Moniker NFL has a lot of pull, being on the board has a lot of pull. The true fact based on research was he only coached 1/2 season for Lovey in Chicago and then left for family reasons. Hey, I am peeved, I would have loved the job and did apply. The man has big time experience as a player, not a coach and frankly that is worlds apart...and he will understand that soon enough. 43/34 schemes in HS will work but you do not have 11 athletics out there and communication and what a player does at the lower level do not compute sometimes. Now add Parents, Staff selections and AD and the others and it can make a potent cocktail, BS will get you so far and then your on your own. Added to that is Salisbury Prep another cush job in Connecticut. They hired St. Lawrence Div 3 coach who had a 25% winning percentage I believe in a 7 year run...go figure? Here is another Menlo/Atherton, HC has had no HC/Coord exp , and very little Position coaching... Hey guys no sour grapes here, really I got a great gig and a great team... but getting back to the bay area or East Coast...simply top drawer would have been nice.
I wish all these Coaches a great season.

Only personally knew 1 guy that had any pro experience (AFL Las Vegas) and then got his first HS gig as a header. Not pretty 0-9, 0-9, 1-8. He was and is a great guy his problem as I think is the problem with most great athletes. Is that he didn't understand why a kid couldn't do something that was so simple for him to do. Hard for him to teach something to someone that he didn't have to learn himself as it just came naturally to him. Just my .02

I only personally know 1 guy who played at upper levels (both major D1 or NFL) who turned out to be a good coach.
That is Corky Rodgers in Jacksonville, currently at Bolles.
He's simply the best and future hall of fame coach.

However, personally, I've had contact with lots of upper level guys and some NFL guys and all were terrible coaches.
Because of my experiences I started thinking that great players made terrible coaches. I don't know if it was my expectation or just the guys that I was around and on my staff.
Every single one of the are unable to communicate their ideas and abilities to the kids. They could not do it.
The kids would idolize them and look up to them and I never had 1 of them able to coach.

What I learned was the best thing with these guys was to use them for stories to inspire the kids. They could tell stories but they were unable to communicate how they were able to do what they do.

Hardy Nickerson may be different though. He's very intelligent and articulate, he's been around here for years. A lot of people said he would be a coach one day. So this doesn't surprise me.
I'm sure he's only there because of his son and wanting to be around him. He's a pretty sharp guy according to people in the Tampa Bay area. I don't know him personally, so he doesn't fit my post.

I don't mean to insult anyone here. I just told my personal dealings with successful players, your's might be different.

OJW

Who??

I think that it may be that it's just more noticable when a "name" guy fails as a coach.

Mike Jones (who? I got ya AR) went 11-3 his first year as HC of a HS. They won the title that year on a last second hail mary. This past year they went 6-5...he is now leaving to be the linebackers coach at Southern University in Louisiana

I have a 9 year NFL Vet coaching Youth Ball for me now, doing a great job.

Great teacher, nice guy, knows what avg kids are and are NOT capable of, great communicator, loves the game. Kids like him.

OTOH Ive had several former DI guys that were AWFUL coaches, had to get rid of them, they were none of what this guy is. Did they know the game, OF COURSE, but they werent great coaches.
I love that he takes responsibility, if anything goes wrong, doesnt work out, he doesnt point fingers anywhere but at himself. He's very positive with the boys.

Just got done watching a Tom Osborne coaching DVD we got from netflix, HC IMO is a lot of visionary, manager and face of the program, but the great ones are MUCH more than that IMHO, per TOs description of his role and what HCs should be. Not every NFL guy is cut out to do that. HEck some great DI guys I know werent qualified to coach youth ball.

Great HCs are great managers, communicators, think on their feet well, great PRIORITY SETTERS, great teachers, great leaders, not all players have that.

Tim McDonald, former USC/49er safety, has a pretty excellent program going at Edison High in Fresno, but I think he's a rarity. Chris Dalman, former 49er OT, has worked as a coach at Palma HS in Salinas and for a short while at Stanford and has done a pretty excellent job. Conclusion? 49ers get it done.

I think that says it all.

i played DIAA as QB, and wouldnt even say "pro" with the short time i spent in AFL, and then knocked around in the Ladder League...

but i am going to be taking my first job as a HC, having never coached... i understand some of the comments made here about leadership, teaching, be quick on your feet to adjust, and being able to teach from the ground up... but i just dont see why a few view athletes coming in to HC jobs like these, as a bad thing...

im sure everyone can list a guy they heard of, THAT FAILED, but how many of them are successful and you DONT know? i can name 4-6 depending on the carousel here in northeast TN who all played DI and came in as HC's and have turned .500 average schools into TSSAA contenders in the 4A and up...

im not trying to argue anyones opinion, but i just dont see what exactly it is that makes one "qualified" in your eyes...? really i would love to read up on what some of the thoughts are on THE qualifying trait... (no sarcasm at all, absolutely sincere)

theres so many variables that play into it, money, budget, KIDS, you guys know the list, with KIDS being probably the top... its hard to run ANY scheme if the kids are out-matched in size/speed/heart/brains/(insert fundamental football characteristic here)...

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