AFM Subs Ask - with former NFL special teams coach Mike Sweatman

Mike Sweatman coached for 23 years in the NFL, primarily with special teams. He began his NFL career with the Vikings and later  coached with the Bears, Patriots and Jets and had two stints with the New York Giants. Sweatman coached under Bill Parcells when the Giants won the Super Bowl in 1990 and later, Coach Tom Coughlin hired him as Special Teams Coordinator in 2004. His career included three Super Bowl appearances and two championships. He answers your questions about special teams play.

What should a head coach, at any level, require of his special teams coach? That is, what are his major goals and responsibilities?
Chris Tuttle, Assistant Coach, Somonauk High School (IL).
 
Simply put, the head coach should expect his special teams coach, along with all of his other coaches, to provide the players with the coaching, game plans and preparation to give them the best chance to be successful. 

More specifically, the responsibilities of the special teams coach is to oversee all aspects of special teams play under the direction of the head coach. This includes all off-season planning, playbook preparation, pre-season scouting, off-season personnel development (specialists identified and trained) and the creation of training aids such as diagrams, videos and grade sheets.

Practice responsibilities include planning the phase of practice devoted to special teams, including meetings, walk throughs and the actual practice, and organizing the special teams to maximize the utilization of personnel, both players and coaches. Plan the work, then work the plan.

Game day responsibilities include pre-game scouting of the opponents, warm-up (who are the specialists and how are they kicking?). Sideline organization is critical that makes sure that the correct players are in the game. Coach Bill Parcells’ favorite question on the sidelines was “Are there eleven on the field?” Injury substitutions or perhaps a mismatch substitution, half time adjustments and wind awareness are all the responsibility of the special teams coach.

The job of the special teams coach is much easier when there is a clear and defined understanding of what his head coach expects. My best advice is to develop a coaches’ manual defining responsibilities and expectations.

When it comes to the punt team, do you prefer to have a multitude of schemes or do you favor keeping it simple and just getting really good at only a few different things? Patrick Saporito, Wide Receivers Coach, Alderson-Broaddus College.

I prefer “simple and sound.” There are a number of different ways to get fired as a special teams coach but the easiest is to have your punt protection break down.

The punt play is a fourth down play, a change of possession play in which the punt team needs to maximize its field position for their defensive unit. In my opinion, this can best be done by having a sound protection and coverage scheme and being able to execute it. Execution comes with practice and, as Coach Johnny Majors would always say, “Practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.”
 
What drills do you use to improve your kickoff coverage?
Neal Pucciarelli, Assistant Coach, Cumberland Gap High School (TN).
 
There are many drills that teach the fundamentals of good KO coverage, but they all can be put into six categories based on the skills to be developed.
 
1. ALIGNMENT/START - These drills teach proper alignment and the acceleration needed to get speed down the field. Have your kicker go through the kicking motion without kicking the ball. Coach “onsides and acceleration”. It can be a 15-yard drill with multiple repetitions and either a warm up or conditioning drill.
 
2. COME-TO-BALANCE - Kickoffs and punts are the only plays in football where the players consistently run 40 yards at full speed and then have to come under control to make a play. This requires a “coming to balance” and changing direction. Utilize this in a KOC drill or as conditioning.
 
3. RUN AROUND BLOCKERS - Teach your coverage players to run around blockers early in the coverage and then return to their lanes. Generally, when the coverage is within 15 yards of the returner, they need to be in their lanes playing blockers. Bags or players with hand shields in the lanes will teach this skill. This can be a minimal contact drill.
 
4. PLAY BLOCKERS - Teach your players to play blockers within their lanes when they are within 15 yards of the returner. Have 2-Gap blockers with arms extended similar to the linebacker drills teaching the fundamentals of hit-separate-disengage.
 
5. PURSUIT ANGLES - This can be taught with either full field coverage or half field coverage. Have the returner downfield with a coach telling him when/where to go. Tag off on the returner as he continues to run down the field, similar to a defensive pursuit drill. 
 
6. TACKLING - KOC tackling must always be closely monitored by the coach. If a bad habit (ducking the head) or some other improper technique is noticed either in half speed work in practice or full speed game tackling, the coach must sit the player down until proper technique is mastered. This is a tackle after running down the field full speed technique and then coming under control.
 
Kickoff coverage drills can be fun and instructional. The primary focus should be on proper fundamentals, techniques and safe play.
 
What characteristics must a special teams player possess to play for you? Who is the best special teams player that you have ever coached? Douglas Heslip, USA Football Instructor and Coach of Team USA, Canton (OH).
 
My standard answer to the qualities of a good special teams player is the ability to run and hit. I would also add that the player needs to be disciplined and consistent. Disciplined to do his job and not try to do another player’s job and the coach must have confidence that he will execute his assignment.

Trying to list some of the best special teams players that I have been fortunate enough to be around is quite difficult, but here it goes: Jan Stenerud, Sean Landeta, Pat Mannelly, Dave Meggett, and Reyna Thompson.
 
Coach, we don’t always have a great kicker at the high school level and many of our coverage players play offense and defense. In your opinion, what is the most effective coverage scheme that keeps things simple and sound and also makes the opposition’s offense have to drive the ball as far as possible to get points? Chris Johnson, Assistant Coach, Ripon High School (CA).
 
The most important aspect of a good KO coverage is the kick. We are not always blessed with good kickers, but we must strive to add quality to his kicks (distance, hang and direction) If your kicker can maximize any one of these three qualities, he can increase the effectiveness of his kicks.

In regard to your coverage scheme question, you answered it, “simple and sound.” Schemes are not the answer to good coverage, good players are the answer. This is not a team to give “reps” to a good kid, this is a team that you must earn your way by making plays. Instill pride in the way you cover kicks, even if the kick is less than perfect. Teach them to “cover the kick that is kicked.”
 
What is your approach when teaching open field blocking on your different return units? Martin Leguerrier, Head Coach, Mont-Bleu High School, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.
 
We all dread that “illegal block in the back” or the “holding” call that happens on way too many kick returns. Here are some ways to avoid these penalties:
   
•  Teach your players the rules. This includes not only the letter of the law, but also how the officials make the call. What do they see that indicates a penalty – a stretched jersey, a player being turned, hands on the back (big number), or a player being pulled to the ground. Demonstrate these calls (offenses) to your players. If possible, make a teaching video demonstrating situations where these penalties occur.

     •  Walk through your return scheme. Make sure that the players know the assignments. If a block is too difficult, change the scheme.
    
•  Practice full speed “touch”, emphasizing foot and body placement. Teach your players to be between the tackler and the ball carrier. Don’t reach. Officiate your practices.
    
•  Continually emphasize the importance of avoiding penalties on special teams. Coach Bill Parcells would always say “no player is worth a penalty.”
 
How much input does your head coach provide you? Is it more during the off-season or more intensive during the season? About how many hours are you allotted per week for drill and scheme work? Bob Perkins, Assistant Coach, Springfield High School (OH).
 
The head coach needs to provide a lot of input to the special teams coach. There are not three independent phases to your football team. Offense, defense and the special teams all have to work in conjunction with the overall team concept developed by the head coach and his staff. The team concept dictates the types of schemes that you run and the utilization of players on your roster.

Much of the work is done in the off-season in regard to the scheme development (playbook) and specialist identification and skill development. During the season the special teams coach needs to seek input from the head coach in regard to individual game plans and depth charts. In my NFL experience, the coaching staff would watch tape of that day’s practice as a staff and receive input from the head coach or any other staff member in regard to the scheme and players’ availability. 

The special teams game plan was always presented for approval by the head coach on Tuesday (game plan day). As the weeks practice progressed, the plan was modified as need be to fit the personnel available and the evolving plans on offense and defense. Friday was rehearsal day by which all plans were solidified. Game day was “working the plan” with situational input from the head coach.
 
A weekly schedule of special teams meetings and practice might look as follows: 
 
MONDAY
•  Special Teams Meeting (Full Squad) - 30 minutes 
•  On Field Correction - 8 minutes
 
TUESDAY
 •  Game Plan Day
 
WEDNESDAY
•  Special Teams Meeting - 30 minutes
•  Walk Through - 10 minutes
•  Practice - 12 minutes
 
THURSDAY
•  Special Teams Meeting - 30 minutes
•  Walk Through - 10 minutes
•  Practice - 12 minutes
 
FRIDAY
•  Special Teams Meeting - 30 minutes
•  Walk Through - 10 minutes
•  Practice - 15 minutes (Rehearsal)
 
SATURDAY 
•  Special Teams Meeting - 30 minutes 
 

Call-outs - 5 minutes 


We have tried various packages to block a field goal attempt. In your years of experience on both the college and NFL level, what are the most important things we can tell our players to maximize their efforts? Bob Stanley, Assistant Coach, Greenville High School (MO). 
 
    This is truly one of the most difficult plays in all of football to coach because kicks are hard to block and players (and coaches) do get discouraged. Here are some coaching points to emphasize in your FG BLK scheme: 

•      It is a 4th down play. You must be sound against a fake.

    Play situational football.
•      Take a sprinters stance, narrow with weight forward. Look in at the ball.
•      Crowd the ball, stay outside. Watch the ball, get off on the snap and not the man over you.
•      Stay low, hit on the rise through the offensive lineman.
•      Get your hands up in the line of flight of the kick.
•      Outside rushers lay out for the block spot. See the ball kicked and watch it hit your hands. If there is a mishandled snap, tackle the holder.

Teaching the field goal block is a challenge. Make it a fun period by ending the session with a “scoop and score” play so that when it happens in your game, the players will look like they have done it before.
 
Open field tackling has been a problem with our special teams units. What drills would you recommend to improve tackling in space? Steve Van Buren, Assistant Coach, Lakeview high School (OH).
 
Improving your kicking units’ open field tackling is more involved than just doing drills, although I will list some for you. Improving your units’ tackling also involves improving the quality of kick and the talent covering the kick. Some drills include:

•  Sprint and come to balance. Full speed sprint for 30-40 yards and then break down, widening the base and lowering the center of gravity. Finish the drill with a tag off on the ball carrier.

•  Two on one. Two defenders sprint down on one ball carrier. Have a coach tell the ball carrier when/where to go. Tag off on the ball carrier. This teaches not only the sprint and come to balance concept, but also leverage and pursuit angles.

•  Mirror drill. Start with cones 5 yards apart and a ball carrier and tackler within 5 yards of each other. Tacklers mirror the ball carrier until the ball carrier makes his move to score, and then they close with the ball carrier. The coach can vary the amount of contact desired. The primary coaching point of this drill is to teach the tackler to be in position to tackle the ball carrier.

Any open field tackling drill that stresses the coming to balance after the sprint down the field, reacting to the ball carrier, leveraging with the rest of the coverage or the sideline and the proper lane discipline will improve your squads’ open field tackling.