Working with guys who played in the league.

some good some bad, as ive pointed out before coaching is different than playing , an outstanding athlete does not automatically an outstanding coach make.

ive seen guys hired for who they were and certainly not what they were.

it all falls on the HC to see and limit what his influence is

I think he means the other coaches are enabling the former NFL player...by deferring to him simply because he was an NFL player, not on the merits of his ideas.  

The only one I've personally worked with was the first HC I ever worked for. He'd been drafted by the Vikings as a late round choice back during the Fran Tarkenton years and didn't make the final roster. He was great. Dude also got to play his final college game against Terry Bradshaw and personally blocked Romeo Crennell.

There was a team here a couple of years ago who hired a former NFL safety to be DC, then handed the program over to him the next year. He was charismatic and talked a good game to players and their parents, but his teams' fundamentals were godawful. His defenses gave up at least 50 a game every week and he was 1-9 as HC before he got himself canned for some sort of wrongdoing the following spring.

The NFL way is very different from HS ball.  Different rules, different environment, different abilities, etc.  NFL coaches don't really teach fundamentals--they hire guys who already have them and cut those who don't.  At that level, it's all about individual matchups and scheme.  That is the opposite mentality of a good HS coach.

I have. Some were great, some were not so great. Playing at that level doesn't mean you can teach it to a 15 year old.

My beef with them is people usually worship the ground they walk on when they really aren't better than anybody else.

A few years back, I coached under a 25 year old HC who'd played LB at the NAIA school up the road.  He said he didn't go to clinics because he already knew everything about football.  That guy was loads of fun to work for...

I know a lot of guys like that. Makes for a really fun year.

I will say that if you have a good one it can help immeasurably. Worked with a HC once who had NFL experience, knew football, but a lot of the other things that go with the job (instruction, time management, weight room, etc) eluded him. Now, said HC didn't like taking advice (because remember he was an NFL guy and he should know better) unless that advice came from another former NFL guy.
At first it was frustrating for a few of us coaches who saw a lot of mistakes taking place but were never listened to, but then we learned how to outsmart the system. We would just get Coach ----- or Coach ------ (both of whom played in the NFL) to make the suggestion, sure enough it would be implemented. I can think of a number of times that this took place. Moreover, for everyone who doesn't like how they are so admired by the masses, if they are on your side it helps. They can deflect any criticism by praising your abilities relative to things in the NFL.

So other than having to tuck your ego away if they are all good, then it is all good.

I will say however position wise most were a goldmine as they would share what they were taught ,at the highest level , often by some of the best in the game .

Not that any of them were bad guys at all, they were all very professional.

Had one that was a longsnapper and he made our longsnapper the best in the league. Actually, best any of us had ever seen before or since. He was extremely humble and was a pleasure to work with, I was sorry to see him go.

Not to generalize, but a lot of great players don't make great coaches IMO. In my experience, lots of them are slightly unwilling to listen, don't understand that most kids didn't have the talent level they had, and don't have that drive to grind and really get after it like we do in the offseason. Now obviously, these guys aren't always bad. I find a lot of former stud athletes to be guys kids listen to. Their presence grabs the attention of players and they'll listen to him.

I think guys like myself who were average players and never got to play past HS have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder, and more of a sixth sense on what kid can and can't do. Work ethic is usually naturally better in average former players because they're used to having to rely on it to play.

I've never worked with an NFL guy, but plenty of collegiate guys. Some of them look down on anyone who wasn't a star and assume that they have a naturally superior coaching ability and is pisses me the frick off. First step to being a good coach is to forget who you were as a player

I would question a HC however who would hire a guy from the NFL if he didnt want him to teach what he knew...it seems counter intuitive to me, unless they are banking on his popularity to bring in kids.

that seems to be the growing trend.
high profile names and hires in this area.  you hire a guy with a NAME and think he will bring immediate super bowl type success to the program.  when he falls flat on his face, because in the N, MFING, F L, they dont do laundry or mow grass, paint fields, clean locker rooms, sticker the helmets, etc. etc....

the biggest mistake a program on hard times can do is hire a name to run the show, with ZERO coaching experience at the high school level.  just because you can run a 4.5 and outjump the DB, does not mean you can design an offense that will translate for the 165lb sloppy guard and the noodle arm qb.

in last 4 years I have seen former NFL/NCAA dudes get fired for
1.cussing the kids out at halftime, at a really good program that if he just cared a bit they would win state championships
2. blaming admin for being racist and they are against him and the program(nah dude you played 5 qbs in 1 game because each of them threw INT in your ignorant NFL style passing attack offense.)
3. asking for a massage from student athletic trainer, because your weekly massuse(SIC) was out of town.  STUDENT ATHLETIC TRAINER!!  and then pay her friend 100 bucks and buy them food to eat and take them home.  
4. resigned in lieu of firing(isnt that always what it really is) because he got caught driving kids from 1 side of town to the other from 1 school district to his school.  oh and throw in the kids got busted at summer camp smoking lefty cigs in the dorms, WITH COACHES.
5. another resignation-former nfl injuries dampen my ability to coach, so im out, until the next good job opens and its the grace of god im healthy.

but all the blue collar, try to do it right, grind from volunteer 9th grade coaches to varsity coordinator in the span of 15 years get often overlooked because, they are blue collar, joe not a pro....

NFL dude doesnt need our weak salary or the joke of a supplement(in some places) to live.  me as HSFB coach does....this is my lively hood.  you played in the league.  go roam those sidelines or sign up for sideline reporter.  leave HSFB to the guys who truly love the game and kids....

rant over.  

And that's the thing... being an elite player will get you a pass on a lot of stuff for a while because people are in awe of the resume, but eventually even parents will get fed up.

I've seen guys get hired as HC right out of college or off an NFL career with little or no coaching experience.  It usually doesn't end well.

The bottom line is that the guys often hiring coaches don't really know that much about football.  They think the NFL is the pinnacle of football, so if they hire an NFL player (or an SEC player, or whatever), that guy will come in and teach the kids how to play like them... as if he yells at them enough, the kids will suddenly start running 4.5 or throwing pinpoint passes 70 yards downfield.