Struggling to turn it around. ADVICE PLEASE

You're right. It's time to go.

I think I would choose somewhere other than Buffalo to shuffle off to for football coach!

"Our most basic and over-riding phliosophy is that success is a by-product of doing things right, and that doing things right is a choice. This choice applies to every aspect of our player's lives - thoughts, attitudes, speech, appearance, actions, and the way they play. The more things you do right, the greater your chances of being successful. We believe that there are a million ways to do anything the wrong way, and only one way to do it right. We want to make doing things right a habit, and we want our players to take pride in doing things right. If my name is attached to it, it will be done right. We do not emphasize winning. We measure success by the number of things done right. There's the wrong way, and there's the "Cougar" way!"

I wrote that five years ago when I was putting my program manual together in preparation for my first stint as a head coach after being an assistant and a coordinator for the previous 14 years. We went 1-9, 0-10, and 3-7 during the first three years. Three years of absolute hell. The greatest fiction writer of all time couldn't come up with the sh!t that I and we had to go through. Believe me, nothing that anyone is going through anywhere else could be any worse, and I wanted to leave. I wanted to get out of that frying pan that was turned up on high. It was absolute misery.

But I was determined to stick it out to the death, and a few times that was a real possibility, or until they canned me, because the job wasn't finished. "If my name is attached to it, it will be done right." I was bound by my own philosophy, a philosophy that I believed in, and a philosophy that was beginning to take root in our kids even though I couldn't see it at the time. I read somewhere right here on Coach Huey where someone said, "are you in it for the wins (ego, selfishness), or are you in it for the kids?" And we had a lot of good kids that I cared about. What kind of diservice would I be doing to those kids who had busted their butts for me, what kind of example would I be setting for them by quitting. It would put the lie to everything I had told them. So, for me, quitting was not an option. I was going to stay until they fired me, or until I could walk away and leave a good program in good hands.

The next year we went 7-5 and made it to the second round of the playoffs. So far this year, we are 8-0, have already qualified for the playoffs, and are playing for the region championship this Thursday night.

So, in a nut shell, that's my story. Maybe it will help you with your decision. Good Luck!

What is your vision for the program? Have you approached that vision? Have you adjusted the vision along the way?
My vision was a team that is competetive. We don't have the socioeconomic clientele to become a perennial power. But we could get to become a team that averages .500.

My vision was a team that is physical. I want teams/coaches to look at the schedule and say that game is going to have some hitting.

We were on our way. The previous two seasons I got lots of compliments from coaches about how hard the kids played.

The practices were geared towards that philosphy. This year we departed from that philosophy. The high powered spread we bought into just doesn't bring the same toughness to HS kids that some other offenses bring. The defense, as I eluded to before, was more about line up here rather than use this fundamental, while practicing at game speed.

- Did your approach to how you coached the kids change as you went from really bad, to bad, to okay, etc.....

The practices actually improved the first five years, IMO. That was part of me becoming a better HC. I realized that Friday is a direct reflection of Monday thru Thursday.

I am my own worst critic, trust me. And I will say that I got more lenient as I got to know the kids as they got older. I "worked" with them (monte hall). I don't know the answer here. Be a hard a$$ and drive the fence riders away or work with them. Numbers are a big deal in football.

- Did you step away from the defense as means to grow your staff? Looking to get over the hump? I thought that I needed to run the offense. There is so much second guessing by players and such that I wanted that responsibility. I also believed my asst coach understood the ideas of fundamentals, and practicng at game speed. I thought I had finally found an asst that "got it". Those guys are hard to come by in a struggling program.

- Same question for the change to 'high powered offense'
I thought, and still do, that we aren't gonig to line up with guys and over power them. We need a slight wrinkle to help us compete. Whether it be option, misdirection, or spread/athletes in space. I felt this high powered offense would give us the athletes in space thing. So therefore I had to "buy" into the new offense.


- Do you have the energy to stick to the plan/vision? Most programs will 'take a step back' along the way.

I love football. I love coaching. I constantly think about how we can get better, be in the weight room, drills, schemes, opponents, etc. BUT then I come to school and it's like REALITY hits as I walk down the hall. I feel like I have to play Monte Hall and the Pied Piper to get the kids to believe and have some desire. I know that is what all head coaches do, but it really gets tiring when you get so little in return.

Deuce,
was hoping you and your friend could have turned it around.
Coaching is fun, when it ceases to be fun, then it's time to do something else for a while.
You are young and smart, you've got your life ahead of you too.
Like you said, sometimes it's time to move on.

I realized this myself in the latest program.
Sad to see what's happened to the kids left there, but it was time for me to move on also.

To Bulldogoption,
you've got some replies from some of the finest coaches in the game here. (I certainly am not putting myself in that catagory)
But the replies look good from others.

As much as you've put your heart into it, it might be time to step back. You've had more success than anyone else in a long time.
That is obviously a "dead horse." Time to dismount my friend.

If you stay, how much better will you be next year-and the next?
You've made the proverbial "chicken salad" now for years-congrats on that one. You will be well thought of in the future.

There are a few programs that I know of personally that have been bad to barely average since I started coaching.
No one will be able to turn them around because football is about people, not X's and O's.It's about people.

You can't MAKE people, well you can, but it takes a long time and they usually come along 1 at a time.

So, love the people around you, love your family and your God and be at peace with your decision.
You've done a great job. Might be time for a little distance.

OJW

Coach,
I feel your pain. My story is similar in terms of a long term of less than stellar records. A big difference is that it has been an evolutionary process or more accurately a de-evolutionary process. We are a program with a storied history...@least 7 state championships, conference championships, a 50+ win streak in conference, all-state players, over 50% of our players go on to the next level and play, it goes on and on. However, through it all there are a few certain things that I hang my hat on: I am convinced that each and every one of the people involved in our program is trying to do his BEST. I look a young man in the eye who had multiple corrective surgeries just so he could walk, much less play football who has just told me, "Coach, what do you do when your best just isn't good enough?" and tell him that he now has understood something about the game of football, all a player, a coach, can give is his best, unfortunately a score is kept on the field but if you indeed have done your best you've done it all. I bought into the high-powered offense thing, I gave up both OC and DC responsibilities and it has come with a mixed bag of success and failure. One thing that I do know: to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome is a very accurate definition of insanity. Maybe you need to change, again (it's good to be king and make a declaration) or maybe you need to make the ultimate change and step away from the program...it sounds to me like you've done it right and MOST IMPORTANTLY...YOU'VE DONE YOUR BEST.

plus we're ranked in the top 10 in rushing in our class with an all soph. backfield running the double wing offense. Both our wings are 15 years old, lol. Our o-line averages 190 across BUT it's all double teaming and out numbering at the point of attack.

I took over a program in 2007 that in the previous 30 years had a cumulative record of 80-193 (.293 win percentage) and only 4 winning seasons. Two of those winning seasons were 5-4 records. The other two winning seasons were the only two post season appearances in school history dating back to 1955. During the 5 years prior to me taking over, the program had a cumulative record of 5-40 (.111 win percentage) under 3 different head coaches.

In 2006, the year before I took over, the varsity football season was cancelled after 4 games due to numbers and safety issues. The team gave up 40+ points per game and got shutout in all four games played. Due to the cancellation, the 2006 season was heavily scrutinized by local, state, and national media coverage the likes of which I have never seen. This program was by no means a storied football program and the town itself presents huge cultural challenges to creating an environment centered on success especially from a football perspective.

As stated earlier, I inherited the program in 2007. Thank goodness we finished the entire season but unfortunately we went 0-9. In 2008, we came very close in two of our games losing by 5 and 8 points. We won our season finale 40-12 against a team that finished 3-6. That win allowed us to finish 1-7 and snapped a 28-game losing streak.

Last season, 2009, we went 4-5 and finished with 4 or more wins for the first time since 2000. The issue with the 2009 season was that in our five losses we were outscored 192-22. In three of those losses we were shutout. The point I'm trying to make is that we weren't even close in the games we lost. This season, 2010, we finished 4-5 and had consecutive seasons with 4 or more wins for the first time since 2000. This year we lost 3 games by a combined 22 points (one by 2, one by 6, and one by 14). Our record was exactly the same the last two years. The difference is, however, we were much closer to only the 5th winning season for the program since 1977.

It has been an absolute grind since the start but we are diggin' in and making huge strides considering where we've come from. Most of the challenges have been in everything but the football aspect. When I'm working on football-related tasks and the actual coaching process, everything seems right. The challenges have been recruiting, selling the weight room, lack of facilities, fundraising, etc. We are a small school (430 students) in a small, rural community in a county with 19% unemployment and a state that has the highest unemployment in the nation. 69% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunches which means they live below the poverty line. The community and school environments combined with a football history that consists of 4 winning seasons since 1977 have made this building process extremely challenging.

My advice to you would be to not allow one group of seniors to dictate your resolve to help your program reach its pinnacle. It's just one group of kids that came through and you know what? They're gone now. Yeah they may have left some baggage behind with the culture they attempted to create but one season cannot change the progress made over the previous five. Despite the record taking a step back, did you feel like your team competed with teams throughout the season but came up short a few times? I ask because you do not have the scores listed, just the records. Records rarely tell the whole story especially during a building process. The path to the penthouse goes through the sewer and I know we both understand what it's like to be in the sewer.

Even the best of programs take a step back on their way to getting further than they have ever been. I wouldn't allow yourself to feel like one step back during this building process should signify failure or a reason to walk away. It's just another step in the process, a tough pill to swallow no doubt, but part of the process. Teams come back from playoff seasons and don't make the playoffs next year all the time. Does this mean that the program is heading in the wrong direction? Absolutely not. Now if that continues to happen for two or three years afterward...well now somebody needs to take a long look in the mirror.

I firmly believe, and coach I don't even know who you are, but I understand what you're going through...if you have the passion to continue to dig in and get the program headed in the right direction, then you should do so. But if you don't have the passion, you should move on. Very simple. You just really need to assess where you are at mentally. Do you still believe in your ability to turn this program around? The reason I ask is because if you don't then nobody will.

The program will turn the corner if you can continue to be a leader that people (players, coaches, parents, community members, faculty, administration, etc.) believe in. If you feel like their belief in you has been compromised beyond repair because of this senior group, then I think you are right to leave. But if you still have enough believers, I think it would positive for the program as well as yourself that you continue as Head Coach because nobody else would be able to rally the troops under those circumstances. You are not part of the problem, you are part of the solution. You obviously have a level you want the program to reach and I'm assuming you have not gotten there yet.

You, nor I, are Head Coaches of prestigious programs and changing the losing culture is all about making believers of people. You've invested so much time in the program that I would advise you to make sure you want to walk away from the tremendous strides you've made. Building a program under those circumstances is not a recipe for INSTANT pudding. You know that. Whatever decision you make though Coach, please be sure to make the decision with a clear mind so there are no regrets either way. After everything you've been through, regret is something you should not have to shoulder.

Check out this website and fill out the survey. Do what you will with the results at the bottom of the survey. But this may put your decision in perspective. The website is:

www.jeffjanssen.com/coaching/evaluation1.html

Whatever you're decision Coach. I wish you the absolute best. I don't care what the records show. If you truly believe your presence within that program made those kids better people, students, and athletes then you've accomplished what every coach's mission should be. Good luck.

Coach, as far as whether or not you should stay or go all that I will say is this. Leave on your terms, when you are ready. Whether or not that time is now I can't say, but some good can come from this season.
1. It can be used to remind players what happens to complacent teams.
2. Treat your experience with the new offense and DC like an experiment, you certainly sound like you learned a lot from it already. In a way this was the perfect year for an experiment because with the poor attitude of your seniors they probably wouldn't have done well in any system.
Also I would return to an offense that suits YOU!
"buying into", or "believing in" an offense doesn't mean much IMO. I "believe" that any offense can be effective and have seen almost all of them move the ball and score points. But if the offense doesn't fall in line with your personality and overall philosophy then I don't think any amount of time, research, or "belief" will make it work for you. For example, I prefer a ground and pound hit em in the mouth and make em like it type of offense and am having success with that. I would be very lucky to win 2 games a year if I tried to run TFS or any thing like that. The Air Raid is a solid offense and is well thought out and fairly simple(which is also one thing I like) but it's just not for me.