Letter from AFM

After the Boise State Broncos completed their season 14-0 with a win over previously-unbeaten TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, you might expect Chris Petersen to give credit to his arsenal of trick plays that almost always work or Kellen Moore’s incredible 2009 performance for the Bronco’s success. Instead Petersen, AFM’s 2009 FBS Coach of the Year, looked to something more intangible – team chemistry. That’s why we’ve titled this month’s cover story “Chemistry Professor.”
In the ten-plus years that we’ve been presenting the Coach of the Year award, very few winners have been as deserving as Petersen. In four seasons as head coach, he has compiled an eye-popping 49-4 record with two undefeated seasons and two BCS bowl game victories. That record, plus the previous seasons that “Coach Pete” spent as offensive coordinator, have combined to give Boise State the winningest record in the FBS between 2000-2009.
While his innovative, high-powered offenses have produced gaudy numbers, it’s the intangibles such as team chemistry that Petersen considers crucial to the Broncos success. That’s also true for many of the 11 other AFM Coach of the Year winners that we recognize in this issue. As you read their profiles, themes like discipline, leadership, unselfishness and balance stand out. For Don Bosco’s Greg Toal, it’s a strong work ethic that has been the key to their first national prep championship. For Villanova’s Andy Talley, “Tapping the Rock” became a theme that the Wildcats rallied around on their way to the FCS championship.
So while offensive and defensive systems and schemes and X’s and O’s are obviously critical for every coach and every team, your role as a leader, motivator and team-builder is just as, or maybe even more important.
Another great lesson of coaching leadership comes from Coach Luke Salmons, who engineered a miraculous turnaround, from 0-11 to 12-1, in one season for Lawrence County High School in Louisa, Kentucky. His keys to turning around a losing program begin on page 34. If you’re coming off a disappointing season in 2009, we hope these tips can help revive your squad this year.
In this issue of AFM, we’re pleased to debut some very innovative coaching diagrams as part of our article on the “5-Wide Spread” offense that starts on page 26. As you will see, these diagrams, which have been provided to AFM by Coaching Players, are true 3-D representations of on-the-field formations. We think they’re a great way to visualize how to execute the plays we present every month and we expect that you and your staff will be using some sort of 3-D diagramming software in the near future. To see the diagrams really come to life, you can check out animated versions of them on AmericanFootballMonthly.com. If you have comments about our new diagrams or anything else in AFM, please send me an email at jgallup@AFMmedia.com.
Last month, we heard from BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock, defending college football’s current system in his “Your Take” column. For an opposing viewpoint, we turned to guest columnist Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports. The co-author of the upcoming book “Death to the BCS”, Wetzel presents what we think is a logical and compelling argument for scrapping the BCS in favor of a true playoff.
Even without a playoff, this might be the year that a non-BCS conference team finally gets to play for the national championship. If they can get by Virginia Tech on Labor Day and run the table, look for that team to be Chris Petersen’s Boise State Broncos. Good luck, Coach Pete, and congratulations on being named AFM’s Coach of the Year.

John Gallup
Editor and Publisher