My expectations for assistant coaches

Josh Waybright

I expect my assistant coaches to be smarter than me. I don't want to surround myself with yes men. I want guys that are going to think out of the box and challenge me from time to time. There is nothing wrong with that. I expect them to be teachers before they are coaches. That's really all coaching is, teaching. Who can teach better? I expect them to be loyal, cooperative, and grateful. There are required to help conduct study hall, team meals, progress reports, charting stats, watching film, and being a great role model. They are expected to come early and stay late if need be.



They are told that they represent this school, program, and community both on and off the field. I want them to grow and learn. They are expected to go to clinics and learn the game better in the off season. They are expected to help with the off season strength and conditioning program. They are expected to coach special teams. We coach all three sides of the ball so it's important that they know are schemes and game plan inside out. They are expected to put in the extra time knowing that they aren't going to get paid for it. We tell them that this is a seven days a week job during the season.



Loyalty is the number one requirement for me. Everything we talk about stays behind closed doors and to themselves. They need to be counted on to be trusted. I have to pass along pertinent information at times and it's not for them to share with others. Once again I don't want yes men, but I also want guys that believe in me and what we're doing. I'm not looking for guys to help change the program. I'm looking for guys that buy into the program. They believe in what they're doing. I'm always up for a better way to do things, but it has to fit the scheme. If it doesn't help the kids then we aren't going to do it. If it doesn't fit into what we are already doing then we aren't going to do it. I want their opinion but not to the extent that it is a detriment to the program. This is my time to be a head coach. If they want their time then I will help them get their. But I expect them to be on the same page with me.

Kevin Fitzgerald
As alluded to in the reading, I believe the top quality in hiring an assistant coach is loyalty. I want total confidence that my staff and I are on the same page with all things related to the program. This does not mean we agree on everything, but we are united on all decisions that are made. I have been very fortunate in my 12 years as a head coach to have the staff that I do. When I got the job after my mentor, Mike Pariseau (I spoke of him week 1) retired; I was humbled that the entire staff backed me as the successor. I was able to keep the staff intact and try to build on what we had going. Since then, I have retained several of those coaches, while a few have since retired. Currently, eight of the nine assistant coaches I have, played in our program (the ninth has been with us for 17 years). A few from when I was an assistant and a few when I was the HC. I take such pride in the fact that former players want to come back to our program and be a part of it. This gives me great comfort from a loyalty standpoint as well as a consistency standpoint. I trust my guys impeccably and they know how our program operates so their transition into coaching is a little easier.



As far as my expectations for them, I am very clear beginning with our pre-season coaches meeting, and even though we have been together for a while, I begin the year with these expectations. Among these expectations are, professionalism (clean up your social media), preparedness (have a prepared practice plan for your position group with drills that address specific needs for the week), engage with players (during stretch, during individual, in the hallways during the day, in the weight room, in the summer), supervise the locker rooms, man the equipment room, deal with small problems and let me know of the big problems (if you are not sure if its big or small, tell me). These are a few of the expectations I communicate to them, but there are certainly others.



Additionally, I post a “game day responsibility” list, which outlines each coach’s jobs on game days. We all know what needs to be done logistically to get ready for a game, but this takes the guesswork out of who does what.



I cannot reiterate enough how fortunate I am to have the staff I do. The years of service my assistants have with our program range from six to 17 years. The cohesiveness and trust we have in one another is comforting to me as the HC. Again, we do not agree on everything (far from it), but we come to decisions we feel are best for the program through respectful, although sometimes heated, discussion.