AFQ X's and O's

Free football coaching strategies, play diagrams, X’s and O’s for coaches at all levels

Year: 2015



The Night Roger Gruneisen Almost Fired Me

I heard from Coach Gruneisen today. He brought up one of the times he almost fired me! 🙂 We were at Bath County playing in the freezing cold for the region championship in November of 1989. Bath had beaten us…

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Graduation Gift or Retirement Gift

Check this out. It may be the perfect gift you are looking for. It has football, wisdom, life lessons, and great stories from a collection of great old coaches. If you are looking for something that will rekindle your memories(or…

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Coach Russell’s Ruminations – May

May is here, Spring has sprung, and I hope everyone is able to take a few minutes to enjoy it. Here at Norwich, and at most schools playing our level of college football, the “Spring” (I put that in quotes…

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Spring Ball Wrap-Up

We just completed a very successful spring football season at Cornell with our 12 practices allowed by the Ivy League.  As with most things, we can attribute much of our success to diligent planning and consistent execution.  What follows below…

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3 Option Go-To Play

By David Machuca, Every coach has that go-to play in crunch time. As an offensive coordinator, I want our quarterback and offensive unit to feel confident and comfortable in those pressure situations. I believe I have found “that play”, at…

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The Transition Plan: What are the Priorities?

Rex Lardner, the Managing Editor of American Football Monthly, is a good friend of mine. He asked me to share my transition plan on this blog. Holler at me if you have questions. Overall, I have tried to address people issues…

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South Florida Could Steal the Draft Spotlight

Finding high school football talent in South Florida is not a difficult thing to do. Seeing the players mature in college and selected in the NFL Draft gives an opportunity for reflection, and with the first Round set for Thursday…

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Transition: When One of Yours Takes Over the Program

  On April 2nd, a tough transition began to take place. I resigned as the head football coach at Mason County HS after 19 great years. I am returning to be the head football coach position at Mercer County Senior…

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Special Teams

“Flat Path” or “Swing/Bubble” Route On Zone Read?

The “Swing/Bubble” or the “Flat Path” route – which one is better to run out of a shotgun, 2 x 2 formation off of Zone Read? The Swing route, also known as the “Bubble” is the most used route for the…

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Salaries Soaring for Alabama HS Coaches

Hoover High School (AL) has raised the bar for coaching salaries in Alabama with the announcement it increased the pay of Josh Niblett to $125,000 — up from $114,471 a year ago. The move was finalized Thursday and made Niblett…

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