rooster
Sophomore Member
Posts: 246
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Post by rooster on Dec 13, 2014 13:38:13 GMT -6
Coaches,
i need your advice...
I recently resigned from a head coaching position after 12 seasons due to a lack of administrative support the past couple years. We had very good success up until the past 2 seasons, where we went 4-14. After discussing the situation with my family, I decided it was time to move on.
Dilemma: I intend to coach football somewhere next fall, and take a year or two away from being a HC. I'm having a very difficult time deciding which route will give me the best opportunity (make me more marketable) at landing a quality head coaching job in a year or two?
Here are my options: 1) I've been asked to be an assistant coach at the NAIA collegiate level, and 2) I've been asked to join a high school staff that made it to the state finals this year with a strong nucleus returning for next year.
Which route is the best way to go?
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Post by coachd5085 on Dec 13, 2014 14:03:10 GMT -6
How do you pay your bills?
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rooster
Sophomore Member
Posts: 246
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Post by rooster on Dec 13, 2014 14:33:05 GMT -6
How do you pay your bills? I teach at the high school I just resigned from. Principal gave me his blessing to coach elsewhere. |
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Post by coachd5085 on Dec 13, 2014 15:21:06 GMT -6
Ah. So the scenarios is teaching all day at a High School, then driving to either another HS to coach, or driving to an NAIA school and coaching?
I would say that from what I read here regarding the hiring of coaches, most admins seem to put college coaches on a pedestal, regardless of ability.
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Post by wolverine55 on Dec 13, 2014 16:47:32 GMT -6
Pretty early in the game still for teaching openings. What are the odds of a job opening up at the other school? Or would you not leave your current job regardless?
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Post by freezeoption on Dec 13, 2014 16:48:10 GMT -6
yes, but you will probably take a pay cut, no insurance or pension
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Post by wingtol on Dec 13, 2014 17:09:19 GMT -6
yes, but you will probably take a pay cut, no insurance or pension What is that an answer to? He just said he was keeping his teaching job and able to coach elsewhere. Coaching in college would be nice for several reason, especially if you don't have the responsibility of a full time assistant which I doubt you would as a teacher still. Can build the resume up. But a HS team that has a chance to win a state title is pretty rare to land a spot with. Both would look good on a resume I would assume but maybe winning at the HS level would give you a bit more juice for a HS job. But who knows it could all depend on your area and what people view as important. |
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Post by jgordon1 on Dec 13, 2014 17:30:21 GMT -6
You you haven't coached in college and it is something you might want to do I would do it now..opportunities aren't always easy to come by
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Post by CanyonCoach on Dec 13, 2014 17:31:50 GMT -6
NAIA schools can be vastly different from one to the next. I assume you know the college coaches well enough to know if they are going to provide learning experiences or if you are going to be a glorified student manager, or on the other end get thrown into a coordinator position with little or no warning.
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rooster
Sophomore Member
Posts: 246
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Post by rooster on Dec 13, 2014 18:17:47 GMT -6
NAIA schools can be vastly different from one to the next. I assume you know the college coaches well enough to know if they are going to provide learning experiences or if you are going to be a glorified student manager, or on the other end get thrown into a coordinator position with little or no warning. I know the coaches quite well at both the college and the high school. I would be a position coach at the college that is coming off a conference championship. I believe either position would be a GREAT learning experience (even for a 25 year coaching veteran like myself). I've never coached at the collegiate level, and hate to turn down a good opportunity. Besides, who knows to where it could lead. However, I still have that burning desire to be a high school head coach. The coach at the high school is one of the best in the business. That's what makes the decision a difficult one and the reason I wanted to solicit some opinions. I appreciate the insight fellas. |
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Post by fantom on Dec 13, 2014 18:41:53 GMT -6
NAIA schools can be vastly different from one to the next. I assume you know the college coaches well enough to know if they are going to provide learning experiences or if you are going to be a glorified student manager, or on the other end get thrown into a coordinator position with little or no warning. I know the coaches quite well at both the college and the high school. I would be a position coach at the college that is coming off a conference championship. I believe either position would be a GREAT learning experience (even for a 25 year coaching veteran like myself). I've never coached at the collegiate level, and hate to turn down a good opportunity. Besides, who knows to where it could lead. However, I still have that burning desire to be a high school head coach. The coach at the high school is one of the best in the business. That's what makes the decision a difficult one and the reason I wanted to solicit some opinions. I appreciate the insight fellas. Since it has no effect on your day job why not go for the college job? You're planning to make it a short-term deal anyway and it'll be a new experience. |
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Post by coachjm on Dec 13, 2014 18:53:12 GMT -6
Rooster,
Although my insights aren't likely what you are looking for I do know your situation well, both from having similar opportunities and from walking that path. My view is that you are really in a win/win situation. You have a good resume after a successful run as a HC, you have stable employment to ensure you continue to feed your family but just as important you are able to be selective on the next HC position you take. The college position is with a good staff of people that are honorable and passionate and likely will continue to win, the HS position being one that could easily make another run with a HC who is well connected and has the ability to build great programs. Ultimately, to me it is about what path you want to go, I love coaching HS football, I love the age of the kids and how they are yearning for mentorship, I love the role that we take as HC in the community, I love the competitiveness of working against friends and peers in the profession. I like the fact that I can have a little balance in life as a HS coach (although this is always a battle). Growing up with a Dad in the college profession and intially choosing that route I quickly learned that I was more fulfilled in aspects of teaching/coaching rather then recruiting/image aspects of college. Teaching Football at any level is fun and working with a bunch of hard working athletes at the local college is very rewarding so ultimately either path will be another experience that you will enjoy and make a difference in.
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Post by coachnichols on Dec 13, 2014 22:15:07 GMT -6
I have gone this route. While my head coaching experience wasn't as long or successful as your rooster, I did something similar. I continued to teach at the high school level and coached Oline at a NAIA school. Take this with a grain of salt, but here are my thoughts on this after returning to high school football this past season (after two years of NAIA coaching).
I don't know where you are at or what NAIA school you are considering, but the effect on your resume will be small. NAIA football doesn't mean much to most AD's and administration around here. Now that can be because most AD's and admins are clueless or it may be because of a stupid bias towards NAIA football. Either way, in my opinion and from my experiences, unless you were a head coach at that level and were successful, it won't register much with the majority of decision makers.
If you already know that you want to be a high school head coach again in a few years, I would choose option 2 and join a successful program and use those connections to get another job. IMO, a lot of guys in this state seem to get head coaching jobs because they worked for a successful head coach ("Hey, Coach Superman is amazing and if this guy was on his staff he must be amazing too! Who cares that he is a slapd*ck assistant with zero head coaching experience or even coordinator experience. That program is successful so he will be successful too!"). Maybe it's like that in every state. I hope not for their sake. If it is like that where you are at, then I suggest you choose option #2. Now, that said, you may get to the college level, love it, and want to stay.
I would also say that as far as you growing a lot from the experience will be true. It's fun to coach a little bit more mature player and grow in the way you deal with players and motivate them. I found this past season that my time with the older kids helped me realize how much I enjoyed working with high school age kids. Don't assume though you are going to join a NAIA program and learn a lot of football. Again, my experience is limited to the KCAC schools of the NAIA but I have found that a lot of coaches have the ego you hear about ("I'm a COLLEGE coach.") but there are very few of them that have the ability/smarts to support that ego. There are some very, very good high school coaches in Kansas who would do very well in the KCAC if they chose to go there. While there are always things to be learned from any situation, many times the NAIA is used as a stepping stone so hopefully the staff you might join is one of the more stable ones.
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Post by blb on Dec 14, 2014 7:59:10 GMT -6
I was in a very similar situation 20 years ago.
Coached four years at a nearby D-III college while keeping my teaching job.
Very beneficial experience, being in a different organizational model, learning from the college game, going out to watch other HS teams play Fridays.
I was then ready to get back into HS coaching again and have been since.
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