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AFM Magazine


Lessons Learned - From an NFL Assistant Coach

by: Chris Mattura
Veteran NFL Assistant Coach
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Besides coaching on defense, my most valuable learning experience took place while working with the quarterbacks. Prior to my NFL coaching days, I worked a summer football camp for two years at a Big Ten university where I befriended the QB Coach, (Presently an Assistant Head Coach in the NFL) who taught me the QB position. We spent hours upon hours watching film. The first words that came out of his mouth were, “If you want to learn football, this is the position to coach.”
He first started down low with the linebackers. If the shoulders were open / gate = zone coverage. If the shoulders were parallel /slide = man coverage. He wouldn’t go to the next segment with me until I mastered it. That took about two days. Then he jumped into reading body posture. Many cues and indicators for quarterbacks are mannerisms of defensive players. In the secondary, most players when in man-coverage will drop their butts relatively close to their calves. Some will roll their jerseys up after exiting the huddle. One potential Hall of Fame cornerback totally changes his stance. To this day, in pre-snap press man-coverage, he will align in a sprinter’s stance. Inside leg up, outside leg a full yard off the man. There is no secret – he’s the cue.


By the time I worked the camp the second year, I started to study film. He would run a play for less than two seconds and have me call out the coverage. We started with reading low to high as our introductory phase – the inside linebackers to straight down centerfield. If they open hips =zone, flat hips = man. When we progressed to up high, (centerfield) he made me account for the plane of the two safeties. If they were both erect and on the same plane it was some form of 2-deep/ 2-man. If they were not on the same plane, one was rolling down while the other was going to play centerfield. Even though defensive coaches coach like hell to keep both safeties on the same plane it’s very hard to do. The player who is aligned slightly closer to the ball, with his chin over his chest is coming down to the box area. Human nature takes over – “I must get there!” Just like with the zone blitz. When a defensive end is dropping to become a curl/flat/force defender, he sometimes aligns slightly wider than normal.


My first off-season after coaching QBs at the collegiate level, I wanted to do a much better job the next year. After graduate school on Wednesday nights I met with the quarterbacks for 2.5 hours. We had the call sheets and watched one game per week. I have never experienced a more worthwhile coaching activity in my life. No game, no pressure, it was all good. We talked about fronts, stunts, blitzes, coverages and everything in between. By week 3, I was doing all the listening and the quarterbacks were doing all the talking. Who, What, Why, Where and How? These questions need to be answered on every play during a film session with the QBs. After week 5, we changed up our routine. I asked each quarterback to take the Cowboy remote and answer every one of the above questions on every snap for an entire quarter. As much as they learned, I learned even more and it made me hungrier. I started to realize and understand the depth of not only the QB demands, but the inner workings of all 21 other positions.


My in-season routine focused on our opponent and the ability to continue to improve mentally. We used a check card for our run game and the QBs filled it out each week – if in “over,” we run this and if in “under,” we run this. If 8-strong, we run weak and visa versa. In the passing game we were a traditional run and shoot team.
We counted the box and wanted to run first and pass second. If we cued man coverage, we either checked to a man-beater, threw it hot and or max protected and went for the home run. Your QB needs mental reps even more than physical reps.


On Thursday nights in college we tested our QBs with a short written exam. Who is their strong safety? What is their pressure down? Who is their main disruptor (blitzer)? Who is their cue if any? What is their 3rd down favorite? What is their 2-minute defense? What is their red-zone coverage break off delineation – +30 to +21. +20 to +12. +11 to +3. +2 in? What is their short yardage defense?


It’s obvious that the QB has a lot to learn and therefore the QB coach must become an expert. Like anything, if you put the time in the results will be positive.

While coaching high school football, we overcame a short staff by working with our QBs on the gymnasium floor four days a week in the morning during the season well before school started. We worked on all our ball drills, landmarks, run game meshes and pass drops. I loved using the lines on the gymnasium floor as railroad tracks. Our footwork, ball handling and faking improved dramatically. We jumped rope, did cone work and worked on our throwing technique. We worked hard on the mental side of the game of counting the “men-in-the-box” by using chairs. Our “check with me” run game really came together as a result.


After practice each day and on Friday morning we watched film with the quarterbacks – we kept it simple. Identify the strong safety and his number. We made sure the scout team strong safety had the same number we were going to face each week in practice. We also always found an imposter on defense who could cue us up based on his stance. Once you find an indicator, you must take advantage of it. We made sure each week that cue was identified by his scout team number and position. Do the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. Until you coach the quarterbacks you will never appreciate what they are asked to do each and every snap. You will grow to think much differently of them.






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