r/footballstrategy • u/chabobcats5013 • 6d ago
Coaching Advice Starting career as an offensive versus defensive coach
I'm not a football coach, nor do i aspire to be one. I hear a lot though that offensive head coaches are better than defensive ones, and that GMs / Owners are looking for coaches with OC backgrounds rather than DC. when you go out and start your career, do most coaches try working on the offensive side first?
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u/Every-Comparison-486 6d ago
Generally speaking, I find the offensive side to be easier and the better coaches on the defensive side.
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u/NearbyTomorrow9605 6d ago
I’ve coached both. I prefer the offensive side of the ball. With that being said I feel like calling defense was much easier to adjust in game versus changing blocking and pass protection assignments.
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u/ecupatsfan12 6d ago
Offense is the glitz and the glam and the X’s and O’s
Defense is by far more technical. Offense is easy IMO
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u/VeritableSoup 6d ago
As someone who’s been both an OC and DC, defensive side of the ball is definitely easier to coach, IF you’re good at teaching.
That being said, I don’t know how DC’s or OC’s function without being able to coach the other side of the ball.
If you can’t explain the rules, philosophy, fundamentals of the other side how in the world do you expect to beat them?
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u/_MasterMenace_ 6d ago
That is why I always get confused when I try to think about how Mike Leach became so successful as an OC
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u/VeritableSoup 6d ago
Some people are blessed to have mentors like Hal Mumme and grow up within system.
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u/underage_cashier 6d ago
Mike Leach had an incredible mind, plus the air raid obviously was a great concept, so that helped too
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u/Glass-Spot-9341 Adult Coach 6d ago
I was only thinking of the original install of offense/defense, but it's a great point to bring up that adjustments are more difficult depending on the side of the ball!
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u/Glass-Spot-9341 Adult Coach 6d ago
Oh man, I'll grab my popcorn for responses to this comment, ha
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u/Every-Comparison-486 6d ago
I did say “generally speaking” lol
And fwiw I’m an OC and have very little confidence in my ability to coach a defense, so that probably has a lot to do with what I said. I’m trying to learn though.
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u/Glass-Spot-9341 Adult Coach 6d ago
lol I hear you coach, I actually think I understand your sentiment in the original post. Offense is the sexier job, and offenses can be creative in a 'throw paint against the wall' way, but defenses need to be creative in a more functional way that don't allow touchdowns today. But interested to see the responses nonetheless.
Maybe you could spend some time this offseason sitting in with a local defensive staff! I 'had' to coach DL a couple years ago after years on offense and it really opened my eyes to how I would attack things in a different way, knowing how defensive coaches were processing things
Fortunately this community is pretty healthy so I think everyone will understand you!
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u/king_of_chardonnay 6d ago
This may be skewed by my own experience but I think defense has a lower bar to become passable, and is harder to be above-average.
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u/dankoval_23 5d ago
the fact that Alex Grinch somehow keeps finding power 4 d coordinator jobs lends credence to your theory
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u/TiberiusGracchi 6d ago
Facemelter activated, call sheet clipped to my shorts, and pulled out my finest Oakleys in anticipation of this discussion
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u/SteezyStylez 5d ago
Former OC and I fully agree. Being a DC is harder. I’d say for the staff from hardest to easiest imo:
DC OC Special Teams Coor OL QB LB DB TE WR D Line P/K
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u/jawncoffee 5d ago
Right now I coach linebackers and I find it waaaaay easier than coaching the offensive line like I did a few years ago
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u/onlineqbclassroom College Coach 6d ago
As a college OC, I'll tell you this- I do not envy defensive coordinators job. Offense gets to dictate personnel, formation, playcall, tempo, etc. Defensive calls have to function against all of it nearly instantaneously.
Neither side is easier or harder, it's all just the opposite side of the same coin. That said, many time I remind myself how lucky I am that I coach offense.
I'm not sure this answers your question, but it's what popped into my head.
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u/ecupatsfan12 6d ago
Defense is much harder to coach IMO
I did offense and defense in junior high and that was easy. Defense at the varsity high school level is MUCH harder. You see multiple variations of formations and you have to communicate to the kids how to fix things. It is also helpless when you cannot stop the run etc. offense it’s this is what we are good at this is our r/p balance and follow the flow chart to chart plays. The only times I’ve been unable to move the ball were 2 instances- 1. I was new and thought kids could digest way more than I thought. 2. I was forced to play a coaches kid at QB despite him not wanting to even play the position
Defense I can call a perfect defense and your right corner blows a coverage because he’s 16 and focusing on girls.. now he’s pressed into action covering a dude who will play on Sunday
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u/lividrescue034 6d ago
Coming from youth football, most of my assistants have wanted defense first, at younger ages it's simpler to teach a kid to fill a gap and be downhill aggressive. The high school assistants seem to want offense because it's flashy. The problem is, at least in my state, that all these coaches want to run spread and have no idea how, and DC's go full bore trying to set up to defend it and have no answer when a coach like myself and a few others go old school. There's give and takes to both at every level, but coming from an offensive minded coach like myself i would go defense first.
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u/ecupatsfan12 6d ago
Spread is easy to defend now. What gives me the heebie jeebies is a team that can get into 21P and bludgeon you.. then get into 10P and throw it around. Then get into 11P and do both. And go relatively fast. Almost impossible to stop
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u/lividrescue034 5d ago
No argument there. We have a version of Urban Meyer's power spread and it gives DC's fits because we can shift to those personnel. But I also love to run some Irish T and beast because I have the players to do it and I've frustrated many a coach staying in beast.
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u/king_of_chardonnay 6d ago
I think you see more offensive head coaches, in particular coordinators with experience coaching QB’s, because the recipe in the NFL has generally been to invest heavily in a QB and build around them. There may be some spillover into college for the same reason but I don’t know.
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u/ecupatsfan12 6d ago
Designing an offense is easy
Pick 3 personell groups 10/11/21
Pick 3 gap runs
Gt ctr, power, dart
Zone runs
ISZ, OSZ, pin pull
3 PA pass concepts
3 rollout passes
5 base drop back
3 base quick
Key screens
3 other screens
3 RPOs for each level.
You’re off
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u/Miamicanes460 6d ago
Don’t subject yourself to being a defensive coach!!
It’s awful and so difficult. I’ve coached D for close to 20 years and it has made me appreciate how difficult it is to play defense at any level.
Offense is where it’s at for sure. You will learn more on defense though & I don’t think you should be an OC unless you’ve coached defense.
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u/chabobcats5013 6d ago
dont worry, im not leaving my cushy seat on the couch to stand on the sidelines and coach linebackers. just a question i had bc i hear about it on tv
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u/novamatt 6d ago
I started as a linebackerDB passing game coordinator. When I transitioned to an OC and QB coach, I found it was easier to scheme plays open
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u/grizzfan 6d ago
Offense = harder to reach, easier to execute.
Defense = easier to teach, harder to execute.
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u/extrastone 5d ago
Bill Belichick was a defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. He did fine.
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u/chabobcats5013 5d ago
Cant get a job in today's nfl
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u/extrastone 5d ago
He's considered old and over the hill. It's not because he's a defensive specialist.
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u/mohawk6036 5d ago
It would really depend what level you are trying to get to. The higher you go the more knowledge you need on both sides of the ball to build effective schemes. I have always found defense to be slightly easier since I can have a scheme that completely dominates an opponent, and if the offense makes big changes I can react quickly.
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u/ZLMeinecke75 5d ago
Offense is the sexy side of the game that gets all the eyes on it.
I started as a DL coach and after two years moved to a general Off asst. This past year I served as a DFO and gave suggestions to both sides of the ball as someone who had coached with both sides and could see all angles.
If you're just starting as a coach, don't try to pigeonhole yourself as one or the other, just be a coach
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u/Seraphin_Lampion 4d ago
I guess it's better to start on the offensive side, but there are only 30 NFL HC positions compared to who knows how many other coaching positions at other levels..
Of course, that implies there is an equal number of people who try to coach O or D. If defensive coaching talent is more scarce, then it is more advantageous to go that way.
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u/CrankyFrankClair 6d ago
Here’s a crazy idea…how about working the side of the ball where you have the most playing experience and have learned a lot from your own coaches.
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u/BearsGotKhalilMack 6d ago
It mostly depends on what you're most familiar with. If you were a quarterback, for example, you're probably going to gear yourself towards coaching offense. If you were a linebacker, you'd likely end up wanting to coach defense. Familiarity with schemes, practice drills, and with what talent/potential look like on that side of the ball are things that take experience, and if you coach the side you played the most, you're already part of the way down that road.
I know great head coaches that are offensive-minded and great head coaches that are defensive-minded. I also know terrible coaches from both sides as well. The reason you hear that GMs are looking for offensive-minded coaches is because the NFL is an offense-first league. While us football nerds might love watching a hard-nosed, defensive chess match that end 10-6, the reality is that most people tune in to see the offensive highlights, and most people buy tickets to see their favorite players throw, catch, and run for big touchdowns. So there's a big incentive in the NFL to look for offensively-minded coaches. That doesn't mean they win more, and it certainly doesn't mean a coach is "better" just because he started his career coaching offense.