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AFM Magazine


Etched In Stone

Longevity: Surviving the Test of Time
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Perhaps Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden, of Tampa Bay, said it best when describing the profession of coaching when he told American Football Monthly, “Coaches are like offensive linemen, you don’t hear much about them unless they are in the transactions section changing jobs.”

Unfortunately that is sometimes the case, but the fact remains that coaching is still one of the most rewarding professions in the world, so what are the secrets to success? Or more importantly, what are the keys to longevity? After all, coaching is one of the most volitale careers anywhere. Coaches are rarely given enough credit when they win and are often given too much credit when they lose. In an era where one false step could be your last, implementing steadfast business practices could be your best bet of guaranteeing a longlasting career.

Dealing with the distractions of modern football has never been more difficult, but utilizing a few sound words from the industry’s greatest coaches may make your goal of reaching the finish line a little less daunting.

American Football Monthly recently sat down with seven of the industry’s greatest football coaches, who’s middle names are “Longevity” ... Marv Levy, Dan Reeves, Chuck Noll, Eddie Robinson, Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno and Lou Holtz share their thoughts exclusively with AFM on what coaches can do to increase their odds of surviving the ups and downs and avoiding the pink slip:

Bobby Bowden, Florida State

“ Coaching longevity? This is a hard question to answer nowadays. The only thing that I can say is for you to do your best, after all, that is all you can do is your best. I don’t think that you can plan on having a 30-year career because things change so much and the liabilities now are so big that I don’t think that you are going to have long careers that Joe Paterno, Lavell Edwards, Eddie Robinson and myself have had anymore. Coaching has become such a precarious profession it seems like. In other words, hiring and firing are much more common nowadays, where it was not 50 years ago ...”

Staff ... “You have to do everything you can to make your present situation work. I think that begins with hiring a quality staff, basing loyalty as your No. 1 virtue.”

Focus ... “If you want a better job – prove it. Now how do you prove it? By taking the job you’ve got and doing the best you can and catching eyes because people see it. That is the best way to get a better job, but if you are just sitting there hoping to get a better job and you are not doing a very good job where you are then you can forget about it. If you want to better yourself, which everybody does, then prove it by doing a great job right where you are.”

Decisions ... “It is hard to get into college ball and if you already have your foot in college ball, then it is hard to take a step back to high school ball. However, there is nothing wrong with stepping down to high school ball because you might be happier there. First, there is not quite as much pressure. Next, you can be with you family more which is the most important thing anyway.” “However, if you are coaching in Division I-A and you want to stay in I-A, then you better stay there because there is no guarantee once you get out that you can get back in.”

Networking ... “I’ve always said that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know ... that is in every business. If you are a small college coach like I was in the very beginning or a high school coach that is wanting to promote to Division I, then you had better meet as many I-A people as you can. How do you do that? Go visit the school and watch spring training and introduce yourself to the coach and then try to help them. How can you help them? Ask. They remember that, and if you make an impression on them, when those assistants become a head coach, then they might remember you and want to hire you.

“Remember, coaches can usually spot the people that are simply self-promoting, but all of this goes back to the kind of job that you are doing at your school.”

Mentors ...“Bear Bryant, Bob Neyland, Bobby Dodd, Ray Graves (Florida) were very instrumental to me. Bud Wilkinson was another. I made a point to meet them all and hang around them when I could. Every spring I would go visit a major college somewhere and spend 2-3 days. When Darrell Royal was at Texas I would spend 3-4 days watching practice just asking questions and learning. The best thing that we can do as coaches is make ourselves available for others.”

Balance ... “You must get your priorities in life in order. Football is not my priority in life, it is a priority, but not the priority. If a coach makes it the priority, then I think that he will be very disappointed and possibly not very successful.

“The way I have always listed it in my talks is god first, family second, other people third and then yourself ... if you do that and work as hard as you can then I think that things will work out.”

Joe Paterno, Penn State

“I don’t think that you can do anything for sure to guarantee a long career, but you certainly have to have a little luck. I think if you get comfortable in a spot and you have confidence in the people running the program then your odds of success increase. Don’t be looking around thinking there is something better someplace else. Every time I had a chance to move when I was young, I went to Rip Engle and he’d say, ‘Joe, think it through ... it isn’t where you are at 35, it is where you are when you want to retire.’ I always kept that in the back of my head every time something came up and I always looked at a situation and asked myself if I wanted to retire there.”

Balance ... “Finding balance between family and career is the toughest job you’ve got. My wife, Sue, and I have five kids and my wife had to make a lot of sacrifices. I was away a lot, especially when you are first trying to establish yourself as a head coach because you feel that you have a lot to prove. The job can take 20 hours a day if you let it. I gave up golf and other things so that if I had some free time I would spend it with my family. The longer you go the easier it gets.”

Dan Reeves, Atlanta Falcons

“Just like any other career, you have to surround yourself with good people in order to succeed. Whether it is good players or good coaches and – in our case – good ownership, you need to surround yourself with people who share your philosophy.

“I never coached in college, but some of the best coaches that I have hired have come from college football. They are great teachers and that is what coaching is all about. Regardless of whether it is pro football or high school football, it all boils down to fundamentals.

“I don’t know if you can ensure longevity and success, but what you can do is work as hard as you can and not leave any stone unturned. You have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and say that you did the best you possibly could. Sometimes there are circumstances that you don’t have control over, but you have to perservere. It is the same thing we teach our players, you go one play at a time and one day at a time. You teach your players the same things that you should be living yourself.”

Mentors ... “As a player I wanted to be just like Johnny Unitas, he was my hero. In coaching, I also had heroes. I had been under a great high school coach, a guy named Jimmy Hightower ... I had been under a great college coach, a guy named Marvin Bass ... I was under a great pro coach, a guy named Tom Landry. Other than my mom and dad, those guys had more influence on me than anyone else.

“When it comes to mentoring, I take the same approach Coach Landry did. I tell them that I am going to try and help them be the best coach that they possibly can and I will be there for them. When I knew that I wanted to be a head coach, I payed attention to the details, not just the Xs and Os.”

Advice ... “When I was getting ready to go to Denver to be a head coach, the best advice that I received was from Coach Landry when he said for me to always be yourself.”

Eddie Robinson, Grambling State

“The first thing I would tell a coach is to get a sound knowledge of the game and the understanding of a particular system. You have to have this knowledge to not only explain your philosophy, but to also make sure that your players understand it. You must never stop learning as a coach. ”

Focus ... “Work at the job you have and do a good job there. Work with the young people you have and make them better athletes that are not afraid to work hard. You are dealing with human beings, therefore, you have to really get them to understand what you are trying to do and that comes from patience and understanding.”

Balance ... “Family is very important. I could not have been half as successful as I was without the support of my family. Without my wife (Doris), I would not have won 408 games. Coaching is a difficult job and it is very demanding. If you have a spouse that does not understand, they can make the situation much more difficult.”

Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh Steelers

“You have to have a message and you have to win in order to keep your job. That all comes from getting into the minds of your players. You are helping them become successful on the field and it all goes back to the how to’s ... how to run, how to block, how to tackle, how to play defense, how to play offense. You must provide ways to guarantee player success and if the players are successful, then you can coach as long as you want.

Focus ... “You have to live in the present and work with the people that you have and make them successful and then the future takes care of itself. Success breeds success, so if you are having success you will attract people, both coaches and players.”

Balance ... “There is no question that a coach needs to find balance. Your family life is as important as your work life and if you are not successful in your family life then you won’t be successful in your career. You must find a way to make it work. Each individual is different, so you have to find the things that bring you success.

“I always had a motto, ‘Whatever it takes.’ This means you must do what you have to do and that changes daily. You have to be able to recognize obstacles and be able to meet them head on. You must be able to adapt. After all, your players change, your coaches change, your enviroments change, so to strive for longevity you had better be able to adapt. You have to collect (or recruit) people that are motivated ... that will help ensure success.”

Lou Holtz, South Carolina

“I think the first thing that you had better do if you want to be a coach is that you must be persistent, resilient and totally committed to the purpose of coaching and not just during the good times. You are going to have ups and downs. You are there to prepare young people for life. Make sure that you run a clean, honest program that focuses on intregrity and character. Do your job the best way you can and don’t worry about how long you’ll be there. The rest will take care of itself.”

Networking ... “Be a student of the game, study and learn. Most importantly is to be a good teacher and if you do everything right then someone will find you. I don’t care where you are, coaches will find where you are if you are a good teacher.”

Focus ... “Your character and integrity have to be flawless if you are going to be in this game for a long time. Don’t ever sacrifice your morals and values. Our prison systems are full of people that tried to find easy ways to accomplish their goals. Be a good teacher and learn from other people and you will make it.”

Marv Levy, Buffalo Bills

“I think that there are two things involved in striving for longevity in coaching: First, when you go into coaching with the idea that you are going to ascend and be at the top of the game, you are in it for the wrong reasons. I think you go into it because you really, truly enjoy it. You would be amazed how many times I would get letters from young coaches while I was coaching the Bills asking, “How do I get to be a head coach in the NFL?” I was tempted to write back to them and say that you don’t want to coach.

“I think that no matter where you are, you coach as if that is what you are going to do for the rest of your life. I started as an assistant in high school and I just wanted to be the best darn assistant high school coach that I could be and if good things happened – fine. You have to feel that this is truly what you want to do and not have your sights on some far distant goals.

“Secondly, a coach must possess resilience. There are some tremendously disappointing moments in coaching. I never felt burned out. I used to jokingly tell guys that the only coaches that were burned out were the ones that were financially secure.”

Termination ... “There was a time when I was still very young in my 30’s when I got fired as the head coach at the University of California-Berkley. We hadn’t had much success despite having a fantastic staff, which included Bill Walsh, Mike White and Dick Vermeil. We just couldn’t get any players. At that point I wanted to coach so badly that I had an opportunity to coach at William and Mary, and so I did it. It may have appeared to be a step back, but it wasn’t at all for me because it turned out to be the happiest college situation that I coached in.

“You can’t coach out of fear of being fired. One of the worst things a guy can do to keep from getting fired is to do something that he really doesn’t believe in because there are pressures to do it. Understand that getting fired is part of it and don’t fear it. There are very few coaches that have coached their entire careers without being fired and many successful coaches have been fired.

“Also, when it happens you can feel terrible for a short period of time, but don’t lie there in the fetal position forever. You’ve got good qualities and you may have to take a step back, but so what?

“Remember, Abraham Lincoln lost a few elections. All of coaching is overcoming obstacles and getting fired is one to overcome. View it as something that is surmountable. Being fired is a huge obstacle, so surmount it!

Mentors ... “Every summer when I was in high school, I would follow Bud Wilkinson around from clinic to clinic ... from Nevada to Vermont, and after the eigtht or ninth one, Coach Wilkinson asked me, “Are you here again?” So, introduced myself and he invited me to spring practice and I got to know him over the years. He once told me the best advice that I ever heard, ‘The biggest thing isn’t to determine what you have to do, it is determining what you don’t have to do.’

Networking ... “Networking is important, but if you are doing it just to rub shoulders then no. If you are going to go to coaching clinics, to the convention or to the senior bowl game to learn, then you are going to network by default. Networking is part of a healthy educational process.”

Balance ... “Coaches often make a mistake of thinking that the time that you invest is going to help you win. Don’t do it just to say that you put in more hours than anyone else in the league. I think the guy that puts in more hours than everybody is not quite as effective. The guy that puts in the right number of hours to get the job done and then allows himself time to refresh is the one that will be more successful. Finding balance and efficient work habits is the key to success both on and off the field.”






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