By Jeremy White, NFLHS.com
After directing the offense in Miami as a coordinator under Dolphins coach Nick Saban, Scott Linehan accepted his first NFL head coaching job this offseason.
He has inherited a potent-but-aging offense in St. Louis, one he hopes will continue its point-producing prowess as he guides the Rams.
A mix of veteran talent on both sides of the ball gives Linehan optimism, but he's in the same position many high school coaches face when they step into a program for the first time: he must decide whether to tear down and rebuild, or simply enhance what already exists.
Unlike high school coaches, though, there is no "farm system" for the NFL. Drafting and trading are the ways to build a program. Varsity skippers, meanwhile, have the luxury of investing time in and lending their expertise to the lower ranks.
That's why it's crucial for high school coaches to show an interest not just in their varsity and junior varsity squads, but to take an active role in fostering the fundamentals at the junior high and perhaps even Pop Warner levels.
"You build a team by starting off with the young players," Linehan advises.
By letting lower-level coaches know the points you want emphasized in practice and the philosophies you want taught, you're investing in your future varsity clubs at an early point. That allows you to focus on teaching once the players get to high school. Linehan suggests starting off by identifying the team's leaders.
"You really want to improve your team not just talent-wise, but with some leaders," he says. "You want good, positive leaders that will affect the team positively, not just on the field, but also off the field.
"It's hard to develop leadership. You want the guys who are natural leaders either vocally or by example."
Guys that don't fit that mold may not belong in the program, regardless of their talent. Those who do offer that special skill need to be encouraged and put in positions that will demand respect - and emulation - of the other players.
As an offensive coach, Linehan has had the opportunity to work with a plethora of quarterbacks. Young QBs often have poor mechanics and perhaps even an unorthodox throwing motion. The latter, contends Linehan, must be accepted to a point. After all, not everyone fits the Dan Marino mold - nor can they be expected to.
A prime example is Bernie Kosar, who often dropped his elbow and released the ball with a sidearm motion - but the ball still got where it needed to go effectively. The message to high school coaches: don't be overly aggressive in trying to fix a thrower's motion.
"I think you accept it to a degree. You can mess around too much with the way a guy throws the ball," says Linehan. "You can always improve a guy's mechanics, but you can mess someone up if you try do change their motion too much. You can tinker with things too much and it ends up worse."
Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc.
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