What Is a Head Coaches Roll Today

In College Football we focus on the head coach of the program. We tend to accept that it could take 2-3 seasons for new head coaches to get their staff humming in the right direction. But what do you all think the role of the head coach really is? My view on this is that they are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of a program but their role is to build a program not win a season.

I think this separates the really good coaches from the has beens who looked like a great candidate but could not build a true program. The worst head coaches are those hiding in plain sight. The ones that have initial success but are in over their heads when it comes to the long bow approach to a successful football program in today's hyper competitive market. This is where traditional blue bloods come to die. They settle. Settling on what they have as it hurts the "EGO" to admit failure.

So how do you build a program versus just win a season? What does winning a season mean to the administration, the donors, the alumni and fans in general. The stock market react to sudden news. The fan base is no different. They see the future in the present like no other group and as a group they are powerful as they impact the social media platforms today that in turn can influence decisions internally and externally.

The Head Coach must understand how to build a true program. Where do you find these diamonds? You do not try to develop someone who has either been on your staff and is loyal or does not possess the resume from a True Program, ala Alabama and Nick Saban. Saban understands this. He doesn't radically shift his methods. He understands that the program is all about the staff and that he welcomes change within the staff by building the individual parts to survive this. He clearly understands succession planning and is a master of the chess pieces required to sustain elite status over time.

We hear the phrase, "A Hot Mess". quite a bit when we see the elite programs lost in their own decisions of the past that refuse to see the real depth of their decisions. Some don't care and look to other attributes within the University to focus on. This is no different than the NCAA death penalty but self imposed.

Hunting for the right turnaround leader takes time but its also right there for the taking. You can name the programs where a Head Coach is advancing to Program Status while his staff is being hand picked fo actually move on. This is the key. These leaders understand that as you build you will rebuild as your success is right there on the TV and Social Media platforms for all to see. Your staff is desired. So you keep assuming departures by building on your unique law of attraction built on the field of play.

Fight On!