What would you change first...

Defense. A lot of times you are changing alignment/positions without changing technique a ton. I have been a HC for going on 5 years. This coming year will be our 3rd base D. We haven’t changed O yet. We have tweaked O based on ability and personnel. But we were 3-3 on D for 2 years. 3-4 for 2 years. And now going to be 4-3

Defense
In the 'playbook' we are a base 34, but can get into a 43 without changing personnel and with changing personnel. We also can also go with a 425 with a personnel swap. We get into a 33ish look based on call/formation, and also do a 44 personnel package.

All of these are adjustments that we swing based on weekly scouting and what we are riding with, but as already mentioned squeezing a down block, wrong arming, clear/cloudy reads, etc.... don't change.

I would doubt that offensive guys will come on this thread and chime in because most are welded to 'their' offense. Defensive guys have to change gears week to week.  The offensive staff is usually long gone before the defensive guys are on Sundays.

i guess i would be the opposite.

but i was always defense. coached an offensive position, but spent most of my years as dc.

i switched defenses at times, based on a few different things over the years (sometimes hc requirements), but always ended up going back to the 4-3.

there are certain offenses and things about offenses i liked, but i never knew all the nitty gritty details like i did on defense. so i maybe can't appreciate the difficulty of changing offenses. but i think i was a lot like larrymoe with my defense.

i would think though, that you can change offenses and still keep certain principles and foundations in place.

i will say (off the subject a little), that if you're gonna zone block, you better have an o-line coach that understands it inside-out and upside-down.
a zone team with a bad o-line coach is a disaster waiting to happen, regardless of available talent, and one with a mediocre o-line coach will be .....mediocre. or at least, that's my experience.

and maybe that's true of other blocking schemes.

anyway, if and when you change either, you need someone on staff that really knows the new system, or you and your staff need to spend a lot of time with someone who does.

just my 2 cents.

This is interesting...it would be interesting to hear a more indepth discussion of this rationale.  Especially from DTDW coaches.

Perhaps a new Thread??

Along "Play defense, not defenses" I don't really get what changing defenses would mean. You might use different fronts, play more man, stunt and blitz more but the same basic principles apply. If you have a decent toolbox you probably will be making tweaks, not wholesale changes. 

To me, then, changing offenses in-season (And I'm assuming that's what you mean) is easier. To the kids you're just running different plays. 

When and what am I changing?

I think offense is more preseason/offseason focus where you install what your going to use and you add new wrinkles throughout the year. So I think a wholesale swap is conductive before the season.

Whereas, defense is installing a bunch of stuff early and then through game planning picking what works from that this week and repping it. So I think defense is more conductive to change inseason.

However, I think offense is more adaptable in season than some are giving credit, and I think that comes down to focusing on changes in personnel, formations, motions, etc. Not changing the scheme and therefore the techniques your teaching.

I go into every year with who I know I have available to me and what I feel like they can do.

What position group are we deep at and where are we light. Over the years I have developed a system to create depth and not have to change rules like when I first started. The front may look different from year to year but the philosophy and techniques stay the same

I’m saying that before the season you need to inventory what you have and adjust based on that. So it could be either or. Hopefully you have a system in place on both sides where you aren’t wholesale changing stuff.

For example if I have a banger playing QB mid double may be a play I go to often. If he’s kind of a pansy between the tackles I may throw that play out and run more trap. If he’s not good at reading the triples I have adjustments to keep the offense going but it may look different than last years offense.

This is merely anecdotal and based on observation.

Most HCs are offensive guys, especially if they have a dedicated DC. And many of them are inveterate "pencil and paper" guys.

Which seems to make them more likely to change their offense, especially if something doesn't work satisfactorily.

Like in a game. HC runs Blast once or twice, it gets stopped, and he gets off it rather than trying to figure out "why" and fix-adjust it. Goes to the next column on his Play Sheet.

Shotgun more conducive to QB lead/power.

The "why not" shotgun is, I dislike how an errant snap (even just a bit low or high, or too slow) can disrupt the timing of a play. I just need to get over that and build a better plan on rep'ing snaps.

Interesting, as a DC now (and all I'll ever be to scale back a bit as I get into my late 40's), I run a D that can succeed with an undersized fast team.

Big, strong and fast? Run the same thing, really won't matter too much what you run, it will all work.

SMall and slow? RUn the same thing, really won't matter too much what you run, it won't work,


Offense though....I agree. Power running game? Speed? Kids that can throw/catch? Small fast Oline vs. big/strong Oline? Would and has had implications for what I install for an O....but then again, I'm a retired HC/OC and just a DC from now on

Like wise

Been a part of many offensive schemes over the years. So far, in my opinion, wing-t has been the most versatile from one year's group of athletes to the next. Mostly talking about having a good QB in the mix or not, either way, we'll probably be ok. 

I agree about changing defense before offense, but your defense should be able to adjust for the different players you'll have each year in high school. In our scheme, we can change between an odd front and even front and one person's job changes, and that one player would be someone who is specific for that season. Everything else stays the same. It's a matter of what we want to base out of that year.