Head Coaching Interview Questions

this was taken from the Jerry Campbell website and was written by coach campbell for the benefit of all of us:

Your Resume Should Address The Following Four Questions
Make Sure You Have The Answers.

1. Answering the following four questions in a fully persuasive way will greatly increase your odds of developing a winning resume. The questions are the crucial elements of the resume formula. Answering them will not only give you the material you need for building a strong resume, but will also prepare you for networking and interviewing.

2. What do you want? That is your job target. (Offensive coordinator, etc.) The resume should be built around your job target (whether you include an objective or not) so that prospective employers can immediately see what position you are aiming for.

3. Why are you qualified to do it? That’s the summary or “Professional Profile” section. This is where you outline the skills and credentials that qualify you for the job. You can break your skills into functional sections or use bullet points to highlight key points. If this section is done properly, it will convince prospective employers that the rest of your resume is worth reading, bringing them to the next question.

4. Where have you done it? That’s the “Experience” section. The reader needs to know who you worked for, the city and sate where they are located, and what you did. Ideally, your job descriptions should include lots of active verbs and focus on keywords and functional skills that are most relevant to your target job or position.

How well have you done it? Listing accomplishments and special projects shows by example that you have contributed to previous schools or employer’s bottom line (winning, etc).

Preparing For The Interview

The following steps should take place before the actual interview:

· Know the salary scale (this avoids you having to talk salary during the interview)
· Know the increments of all the coaching positions if possible.
· Have an idea of who may come with you.
· Know your five - year professional goals.
· Investigate the history of the program (at least last three years).
· Study the district, i.e. number of schools, middle school program, the names of upper administration personnel, etc.
· Compile a list of questions for the interview committee.
· Organize pertinent materials for the interview, such as;

a. Coach’s responsibilities and staff structure (be sure to include girl’s athletics if applicable).
b. Booster club information (philosophy, etc.)
c. Brief summary of coaching philosophy.
d. Playbook.



Interview Coaching Tips

This information should be used as tips for the actual interview.

· Dress for success, i.e. first impressions.
· Proper attitude, act as if you already had the job, body language, eye contact, project confidence, etc.
· Be quick to respond to all questions.
· Emphasize the positive when discussing their school.
· Philosophy, how do you handle athletes?
· Convince the interview committee of your loyalty and its importance.
· Be able to demonstrate your organizational skills.
· Have a plan for developing your off-season program.
· Be able to discuss the sharing of athletes.
· Have an academic plan, how do you keep your athletes eligible?
· Knowledge of your states rules and regulations, the committee needs to be convinced that you will abide by all rules.
· Be computer literate; demonstrate the use of high-tech in scouting, grade checks, game plans, etc.
· Don’t ad lib be honest and sincere.
· Be yourself.

Considerations To Address When Applying For A Head Football Or Assistant Coaching Position

The following information should be used as a guide when applying for a head coaching or assistant football job. The following items listed below should be followed that will allow you to make your decision based upon the following criteria:

· Genuinely enthused and excited about.
· Long term committed, both to the school and its community.
· Positive in belief of the school, the community and football program.
· Earnest in promoting and supporting the students and the program.
· Contributing at a high level competency while actualizing your potential.
· Involved in the youth of the community.
· Is this a school that I would want my own kids to attend?
· Is this a community that I truly want my family involved in.



What is the coaching situation? How many football-coaching stipends available? Does the head football coach have full say on who is allowed to coach? How many coaches



Questions To Consider Asking When Seeking A Head Football Coaching Position

The following information should be considered and thought through when looking into your choices for the right school to be the head football coach at.

· What is the administrative feeling towards athletics? What part does athletics play in the total educational program? What are the school’s philosophies, goals and objectives concerning athletics?

· How is the continuity among coaches? Do animosities exist between coaches of different sports?

· What is the administrative policy concerning disciplines?

· What is the breakdown of administration? Who am I responsible to? What is expected of me?

· Does the faculty have a positive or negative feeling towards athletics?

· What support does the school receive from the student body, parents, boosters, and community?

· What is the attitude of the athletes? Are they familiar with winning programs?

· What current disciplines have been established in athletics concerning training rules, conduct, quitting, failure of classes, alcohol, drugs, etc?

· What is the social atmosphere among the students? Are there complications due to cross-cultural rivals? What are the socio-economical backgrounds of the students?

· What types of off-season programs are available? Is there a summer weight program and if one is in place what has been its attendance? Does the program provide athletic periods?
· must I keep from the old staff? Will I be allowed to bring coaches with me (offensive and defensive coordinators)?

· When keeping members of the old staff they must be able to conform to a new philosophy and new ideas. A Head coach must determine if the old staff can be loyal to change and his ideas for running his program.

· Does the district allow time off for professional development (clinics, seminars, etc.)? Does the school provide funds for coaching clinics? If not, may coaches use sick leave time to attend clinics without negative pressure from the administration?

· What is the policy concerning budgets? What is the football budget? What are the procedures for outside fundraising activities?

· What facilities are available?

Practice fields Equipment?
Game field (lights) Basic football gear
Locker rooms Sleds, Storage
Varsity room Football dummies
Training room Media – Video, editing systems
Weight room Game day headphones
Gyms or field house Training supplies
Coaches offices Uniforms game, practice

· If facilities are not available, can compensation be made through a booster club or maintenance department? Does the administration welcome improvements and ingenuity? A head coach needs to improve on his facilities annually.

· What are the policies and procedures concerning scouting, travel, buses, equipment maintenance, field preparation, meals, filming, etc?

· Does the school allow a summer camp? 7 on 7? May a fee be charged?

· Does the school have any special regulations other than those specified by the district or state association with regards to eligibility?

· What are the salary ranges for teaching and coaching? What are the other responsibilities accompany teaching contracts? (Club supervision, committees, etc.)

· Is the school willing to support a strong winning football program? Do the administrators, teachers, students and community want a strong program?

A football program should be managed with a business like approach. It should be well organized to function in a smooth, progressive and systematic manner. It should support the philosophy of the school climate, highlighted by accelerated goals, ideas, and its people. The ultimate goal of the school and the football program should be to meet the needs of the community and to become the best it can possibly be in a highly competitive environment.

Most Frequently Asked Interview Questions For
Head Football Coaching Position

The following questions are those most often asked during the interview process, be prepared to address each one in some detail.

· Philosophy

a. What do you do with seniors once the season comes to an end?
b. Staff development / all sports.
c. Educational philosophy.
d. Offensive philosophy.
e. Defensive philosophy.
f. Off-season philosophy.

· Tell us about your strengths.
a. Organizational skills must be evident.

· Tell us about your weaknesses.

· How would you get the faculty involved in the athletic program?

· What is your primary concern when developing your basic offense and defense?

· Explain your methodology of handling disciplinary cases?

· What are some of your strengths? What are some of your weaknesses?

· Why do you want his job? What do you know about the school district?

· How will you handle your football coaching staff assignments and organize your staff among the teams we promote – varsity, Jr. varsity, and freshman?

· What steps will you take to insure the academic eligibility of the athletes? What plans do you have for study halls?

· How do you see yourself with the administration at being important to the success of the overall program?

· How should the booster club be set up and should there be one club or a separate club for each sport?

· If we where to watch a practice what we would expect to see?

· If we where to observe your off-season program what should we expect?

If Teaching Position Is Required

When applying for a coaching position that requires you to teach as well, the following questions my be asked by:

· Tell us about yourself. What is your background, education, etc. and why you want to be considered for this position?

· What do you enjoy about teaching and what do you believe is the greatest attribute or characteristic that you could bring to the classroom to ensure the success of your students?

· What do you need to know about your students in order for them to be successful?

· What techniques do you use to motivate students and get them excited about learning?

· If you gave a major exam and 35% of your students failed, what would you consider as too high a failure rate and how would you deal with it?

· Describe your methods/philosophy of classroom management/discipline.

· Explain your approach for communicating with parents about concerns involving students in your class. Do you consider parent involvement an important part of the education process? Explain.

· Tell us what you know about the following: Block scheduling and Cooperative Learning.

· How do you feel about inclusion and developing modifications for Special Education/504 students?

· How do you want your students to view you?

· What is your philosophy of classroom management? How do you handle discipline problems in the classroom?

· How do you plan standards-based lessons in your subject area?

· Describe a successful lesson that you have delivered.

· In what area do you believe you could grow professionally?

· When do you contact parents regarding your students?

· Are you interested in coaching/advising any extra-curricular activities?

· Give an example of how you are a team player.

· What do you feel is the meaning of the document and motto, “No child left behind”, and how does that motto relate to you as a teacher.

· Do you have any questions?

worst interview question i was ever asked... (for what its worth, i later learned that you just dont accept jobs that put boosters pres in the interview)

"why do you run that offense? the pros dont run it? we ran "it" and "it doesnt work"...

should have gotten up right then and there. I did get some satisfaction when they said " we arent sure you have enough experience" and i said "i knew youd say that, so here is a copy of schoolastic coach magazine with a story on Bob Ladouceur and De la salle...." ( from what i understand he didnt have experience either)


anyhow not every interview is an interview...sometimes its a roasting.

Do you have a copy of that article??? If you do I would love to have a copy of it. Might need it some day.

Did the same with the above entry but I wanted a copy of this article from above "i knew youd say that, so here is a copy of schoolastic coach magazine with a story on Bob Ladouceur and De la salle....".

Thanks.