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AFM Magazine


Starting Fresh – What are the priorities for five new first-year head coaches?

by: David Purdum
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Steve Sarkisian’s first team meeting as head coach of the Southern California Trojans lasted an hour. There was no planned speech, only bullet-pointed priorities on what he expected from his players and what they could expect from their new coach. He strived to make his introduction as real as possible.

“I don’t think you should come into that first meeting (with a new team) believing that you’re going to win over all the players,” said Sarkisian, who, after five successful seasons at Washington, was named head coach at USC on Dec. 3, 2013. “Try to give them an idea of what’s to come. Try to hit the main points that you know that you’re going to continually be coming back to in the months leading forward. And then you just try to give them an idea of who you are and what you’re about.”

His introductory meeting at Washington featured a different message than the one at USC. The Huskies were coming off an 0-12 season and needed a boost of confidence. The Trojans, in contrast, were prepping for a bowl game, when they were introduced to Sarkisian, who, of course, had a very successful stint as the Trojans’ offensive coordinator.

“Don’t try to put a front on,” Sarkisian advised about introductory meetings, “because, in this job, adversity is going to strike, and when it does, the real you is going to come out. So I try to give them who I am from Day 1. That way, when adversity strikes, I’m not somebody different.”

In addition to Sarkisian, AFM talked with four other coaches entering their first seasons at new FBS schools. They each faced different challenges and took different approaches to setting the tone at their new program.

Texas’ Charlie Strong: ‘Setting the mindset’
 
Charlie Strong arrived at the University of Texas with a pretty straightforward priority: “It’s time to put the program back on the national stage.”

To accomplish that, Strong believed a mindset needed to be established. He went to work on the Longhorns’ mental toughness immediately.

“The mentality is always going to be physical and mental toughness,” Strong said in June. “You have to build your program on toughness. That’s what all the successful teams do. It’s all about toughness. Players understand that. If you are a disciplined program and you prepare them the right ways and they have the right focus, that won’t be an issue. But they have to understand that it’s going to be about the players and they’ll do everything we ask them to do.”

Strong and his staff began installing that mindset during a winter conditioning program. Toughness remained an emphasis during spring practice, which was used to measure effort in assignments, techniques and fundamentals. Some practices had to be restarted, Strong noted.

Freshmen were introduced to Strong’s mindset during the summer. It all built up to his first preseason camp as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns.

“When you get to preseason camp, now you really feel like it’s time to build this football team,” he said.

“Now we have to come together as a team with the chemistry and with the focus and now it’s all about the preparation because now we’re looking into the season.”

Strong said pinpointing a quarterback will be one of his major challenges in his first year.

“You start at the quarterback position because he is the one that manages the team for you,” Strong explained. “I always want to make sure we are protected up front because that is where the games starts with the offensive line. Then, on the defensive line, do we have enough depth that we can get off of blocks. The little guys don’t concern me as much as the big guys but I just want to make sure that the quarterback position and the offensive and defensive lines are really strong enough.”
 
Penn State’s James Franklin: ‘Be flexible with your system”
 
James Franklin’s approach to installing his offensive and defensive schemes at Penn State was built on flexibility.

Franklin was named the Nittany Lions’ new head coach in January, after a three-year tenure at Vanderbilt filled with overachievement. He brought 16 members of his Vanderbilt staff with him to Happy Valley. They helped answer the expected questions from new players.

“Very quickly, they want to know what you’re going to run on offense, defense and special teams,” said Franklin. “They want to know what schemes you run and if they fit into it.”

Franklin installed the basics of his offensive, defensive and special teams schemes in the opening weeks of spring practice. He then turned to something he emphasizes is possibly the most important part of putting in a system at a new program.

“I’m a big believer that you better have flexibility within your system,” Franklin said. “I don’t believe that we’re going to run this scheme and that’s the only scheme we can run. We’re not going to show up and force feed some system. You better have the flexibility to take advantage of the personnel that you have. If you have an NFL fullback on campus and you don’t use a fullback, well, I’d suggest that you use one. I think, as coaches, you need to have the flexibility within your system. If you’ve got four really good linebackers that are better than your four defensive linemen, why not play the 3-4 for a year?”

Franklin says he and his staff are always trying to identify their team strengths and then figure out how to use them.

“You’re not only looking at individual personnel, but also personnel groups,” Franklin explained. “What positions are the most talent and depth at? Is it DBs? Tight ends? Receivers? Well, you better have those guys on the field. We put a bunch in spring ball, then as we were evaluating the guys we got some ideas that we think make sense. But then when you get to preseason camp, you’ve got 25 new guys from the recruiting class. Now, we’ve got to take a very similar approach to what we did in spring ball. You might think your identity is going to be one thing and it actually is something different.  So you have to adjust to that.”

Army’s Jeff Monken: ‘Making players’ life easier’

Coming from Georgia Southern, Jeff Monken knew he was going to face some unique challenges when he signed on to coach the Army Black Knights. But he also knew that his new players faced unique and demanding challenges as well. One of Monken’s top priorities upon taking over the program was to make things a little easier for his players.

“The biggest goal we had for the summer was to get our guys in a position where they could be in peak physical condition,” Monken said in June. “The nature of West Point and the responsibilities they have with military training, which is different than any other college in America, really can take its toll physically on our football team. That’s something that’s been a real challenge here in the past. Guys are in summer training right up to a few days before preseason camp. This year, we were able to adjust our summer schedule, where all of our players  were able to do their summer military training late in May and early in June so that we can now use most of the summer leading up to the camp for their physical development.”

Monken also increased the size of the support staff to help assist coaches on the road recruiting.

In addition to the tweak in the schedule and increase in support staff, Monken says he and his staff are making noticeable changes to the defensive scheme, while making more subtle adjustments to Army’s traditional option-based offensive attack.

“Going through the spring, it was apparent our offense, not just in terminology, but also in the schemes and plays we emphasize, bread-and-butter plays, is different than what they’ve previously been,” said Monken. “For outsiders, it’s probably going to look exactly the same. But from our perspective, there’s probably some changes and hopefully those are going to benefit us.”

Washington’s Chris Petersen: ‘Don’t assume anything’

When Chris Petersen was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach at Boise State, he had a good idea about what he wanted to tweak and what he wanted to keep the same. It was a much easier transition than what he’s facing now at Washington.

“It’s hard being new on both sides, for the players too,” said Petersen, who, in his eight seasons, built Boise State into arguably the most successful non-power conference program in the modern era.

Now, he takes over a Washington program looking to take a step up in the Pac-12. And it’s all new.

“You’re really starting over from scratch (at a new program),” said Petersen. “You have your systems and the way you do things and you have no idea how similar or dissimilar they are. It’s definitely tougher coming from the outside in. It’s tougher for everybody.”

Petersen began evaluating his roster during offseason workouts and conditioning sessions, and then began the process of installing his offensive and defensive schemes in the spring.

“There is a very fine line of getting your systems in, but not putting so much in that they can’t get anything,” Petersen said. “I thought our players did a good job in the spring of grasping it. I think we got a decent foundation laid, but now it becomes about the details. That’s what fall camp will be about: tightening up the details, and going from there.”

Petersen’s best advice for a coach taking over a new program is to be prepared for anything and be patient.

“Don’t assume anything,” Petersen said. “Your way is going to be different from what the players are used to. You have to go in with the idea that it’s one step at a time and everything has to be talked about and explained thoroughly. And then when you do put it in and this is how you want to do it, there’s certainly going to be adjustment along the way to find out what works at your new place.”

USC’s Steve Sarkisian: ‘Take your time assessing your team’
 
Similar to Franklin’s approach, Sarkisian says while he has schemes that he believes in, he also wants to be flexible in those schemes and be able to adjust to his roster’s strength and weaknesses. The assessment process isn’t quick.

“I try not to make those assessments in one or two days,” he said. “I try to really let it set in and try to get to know our team and watch a lot of film, and then play to the strengths that we have. I believe that we have enough flexibility in our schemes, but also to allow us to develop our players into what we want.”

Sarkisian said he did not install everything in spring practice and spent more time evaluating his roster.

“We tried to get the base of our schemes installed, but then really looked at our roster, learned about our roster,” he said. “We wanted to understand who we are. This is our strength; this is our weakness. Let’s start focusing on those things, so when fall camp comes around we can tailor our schemes to the strengths that we have.
 

“Do we have great speed at the skill positions? Are we big on the offensive or defensive line?” he added.

“Do we have backs that can run between the tackles or do we have backs that run to the perimeter? Does the QB throw the deep ball well? Does he throw the quick game well? There are just so many things that add up. One, it’s the immediate reaction or assessment, which is on the field. But then, two, it’s coming back and watching cutups from practice of a specific scheme or a specific position group. So much happens on every play that you can’t address it all. You have to go back and look at things specifically to get an assessment for your strengths and weaknesses.”
 
Will Success Breed Success?

Taking over a program as head coach is nothing new for the five coaches profiled in this feature. In fact, each one has enjoyed success in their first few years at the helm of their previous programs. Time will tell whether they can duplicate this success in 2014 and beyond.

Charlie Strong

It took a couple of seasons to get things going at Louisville, but once Charlie Strong got all his pieces in place, the Cardinals moved up the national totem pole. The Strong era at Louisville kicked off with consecutive up-and-down 7-6 seasons in 2011 and 2012. But there was noticeable improvement. In his first season, Louisville’s defense shaved more than seven points off of their points allowed per game, and the offense scored eight more points per game. His tenure ended with an 11-2 and 12-1 seasons that were capped by convincing bowl wins over Florida and Miami.
 
Chris Petersen

Chris Petersen’s first season as head coach at Boise State couldn’t have gone much better. The Broncos finished off an undefeated season with the famous BCS bowl upset of Oklahoma. The Broncos averaged 39.7 points, while allowing only 17.6 points per game. Petersen certainly inherited a talented program from Dan Hawkins, who left for Colorado as the Broncos’ most successful coach. And he certainly made the most of that talent.

Jeff Monken

Georgia Southern, a perennial FCS power, hadn’t experienced a 10-win season since 2003. Then, Jeff Monken arrived. In Monken’s first season, the Eagles went 10-5 and reached the national semifinals. Georgia Southern was just 4-4, before going on a late-season run. It was only the beginning. Monken went 38-16 in his four seasons at Georgia Southern. In his final season before taking a new challenge at Army, Monken led Georgia Southern to an upset of Florida.

James Franklin

The two seasons prior to James Franklin’s arrival at Vanderbilt, the Commodores went 1-15 in the SEC. Vanderbilt hadn’t won nine games in a season since 1915. It all changed with the Franklin hire. Vanderbilt won two conference games in his first season (2011). The Commodores’ offense had averaged 17 points per game from 2008-2011. Under Franklin, Vanderbilt averaged 28 points per game. He wrapped up his three seasons in Nashville with back-to-back 9-4 campaigns, gaining plenty of national attention along the way.

Steve Sarkisian

Washington went 12-47, including an 0-12 campaign in 2008, before Steve Sarkisian was hired. He made dramatic improvement in his first season in Seattle, leading the Huskies to five wins. Sarkisian’s offense helped the Huskies double their points per game average from 2008, going from 13 to 26 points per game. Sarkisian wrapped up his five-year tenure at Washington with three consecutive winning seasons.






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