If You Were an Available HS HC/AD....

[Bullaholic]

Would you rather go to a high-profile, deep-winning tradition school, or one that was in need of re-building?

On the other side of the coin, if you were a school board member, would you consider only candidates with a winning record for the job?

[GreenMonster]

Originally posted by Bullaholic
Would you rather go to a high-profile, deep-winning tradition school, or one that was in need of re-building?

On the other side of the coin, if you were a school board member, would you consider only candidates with a winning record for the job?

Personally, I would want the challenge of rebuilding a program. Often times high profile coaches that are successful are highly competetive themselves and are always looking for a tougher challenge. Another reason I would want to go into a rebuilding situation is the expectations are a little lower and there are always growing pains in the first year or two of any change at the top of a program. The kids have to have time to adjust and buy in to the new guy and I feel it's harder for kids that have been successful to buy in to what some new guy is saying especially if there is a change in philosophy on how to win football games. Kids that have been losing are more receptive to change in my opinion than kids that have been winning. You can also dig a little deeper into that and the community as a whole might be more receptive to change at a place that hasn't had much success in their recent history than one that has had a successful AD/Head Coach in place. That's the: "But coach, we've always done it this way." Syndrome.

As a school board member I would want a winner, but I wouldn't necessarily look at the candidate's most recent win-loss record. I think you have to look deeper into it. You would need to know all of the factors. How long has he been doing this. What were the situations to all of his previous jobs before he arrived and after he left. Does he build a program or feast off of the rebuilding talents of the guy before him. When he leaves a program are they able to maintain a resemblance of the success he built while he was there. What are his morals? How well does he work with others in the district. Does he focus on football or does he tend to build up the entire program, boys and girls? It is highly important that football coaches are leaders that teach our young men and women how to grow up and lead successful lives. Winning is important for the entire school and the entire community, but often times winning comes at a cost. As a board member you have to know how much you are willing to pay for those wins because not all coaches put citizenship on the same level as they put wins. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of really good coaches and good men in this business, but there also some highly successful coaches that win at all costs.

[Bullaholic]

Originally posted by GreenMonster
Personally, I would want the challenge of rebuilding a program. Often times high profile coaches that are successful are highly competetive themselves and are always looking for a tougher challenge. Another reason I would want to go into a rebuilding situation is the expectations are a little lower and there are always growing pains in the first year or two of any change at the top of a program. The kids have to have time to adjust and buy in to the new guy and I feel it's harder for kids that have been successful to buy in to what some new guy is saying especially if there is a change in philosophy on how to win football games. Kids that have been losing are more receptive to change in my opinion than kids that have been winning. You can also dig a little deeper into that and the community as a whole might be more receptive to change at a place that hasn't had much success in their recent history than one that has had a successful AD/Head Coach in place. That's the: "But coach, we've always done it this way." Syndrome.

GM, how careful do you think a young, successful assistanct coach has to be when considering getting an HC job? I know of some instances where such young assistants have jumped at the chance to "get their own ship" and have met disaster by going to low performing programs that no coach could historically resurrect and have suffered on their resumes as a result.

[kaorder1999]

there are assistant coaches who have been coaching for years that havent pursued head coaching jobs because they werent great jobs and for some reason they are still the first to tell young assistants the same thing....yet....they are now nearing retirement and have never gotten another opportunity to be a head coach. Its a tough deal.

[Torb]

I was once told by a very wise older Head Coach.... "to get that first HC job you will probably have to take a "bad" job and make it a "good" one."

You still need to be careful though and check it out as completely as you can. Make sure that you work on character and discipline as well as execution (off season is great for this). The character and discipline of your kids can allow you to play some people close and even win a couple of games youre not supposed to. It takes 4 - 5 years to get that worked all the way through your program so you need to be assured the ISD Administration & School Board will hang with you. Schools that have been struggling for years are looking for improvement. Not just on the field, but in the way your kids compete, carry themselves, and academically. And you probably need to have some athletes coming in the lower grades (see check it out as completely as you can) and be involved everyday with those young ones.

[GreenMonster]

Originally posted by Bullaholic
GM, how careful do you think a young, successful assistanct coach has to be when considering getting an HC job? I know of some instances where such young assistants have jumped at the chance to "get their own ship" and have met disaster by going to low performing programs that no coach could historically resurrect and have suffered on their resumes as a result. I think that this is the toughest question in the business Bull. In order to be a coach, a good coach, one must have tremendous confidence in himself and his ability to do what he does as good or better than everyone else. I think as a young coach that you need to look at a lot of factors. You need to do your research before you apply. You need to know what kind of athletic history the place has traditionally had. You need to know how much growth the area has gone through recently that might invalidate the longterm history you have uncovered. You need to know yourself and your own family and whether or not you will fit in with the townfolk because if Mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy. You need to know what kind of situation you are coming into. Did the coach leave or was he let go? How supportive is the administration? What does your own support system look like? Do you have someone that you trust that you can call and give you good sound advise about how to handle a situation that maybe you've never encountered? There is a lot that needs to go into it in my opinion. But, you know, it happens every year that good young coaches take jobs that they shouldn't take and they never recover from it and I am positive that every last one of them had envisioned a different ending to their story.

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by GreenMonster
I think that this is the toughest question in the business Bull. In order to be a coach, a good coach, one must have tremendous confidence in himself and his ability to do what he does as good or better than everyone else. I think as a young coach that you need to look at a lot of factors. You need to do your research before you apply. You need to know what kind of athletic history the place has traditionally had. You need to know how much growth the area has gone through recently that might invalidate the longterm history you have uncovered. You need to know yourself and your own family and whether or not you will fit in with the townfolk because if Mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy. You need to know what kind of situation you are coming into. Did the coach leave or was he let go? How supportive is the administration? What does your own support system look like? Do you have someone that you trust that you can call and give you good sound advise about how to handle a situation that maybe you've never encountered? There is a lot that needs to go into it in my opinion. But, you know, it happens every year that good young coaches take jobs that they shouldn't take and they never recover from it and I am positive that every last one of them had envisioned a different ending to their story.

I think its all about expectations....if the school that needs the head coach hasnt won a game in forever or hasnt had a winning season in forever, you have to be on the same page as the campus administrator. If they are expecting a state championship then you need to run away. If they understand that small realistic goals n eed to be set and accomplished then you have something to work for then you can turn the job into something good for you. You also have to fully understand that taking that job can hurt you when it comes to applying for other head coaching jobs no matter how good of a job you do. Nowadays though, the sad reality is that its all about who you know. Id say that maybe 60-70% of jobs are filled with someone who has some kind of conncection to that person doing the hiring.