Saturday, May 30, 2020

A Morning With a Legend


Friday, May 29, 2020

Our Coaches Exchanging group is made up of 16 American football coaches spread over Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland and even one in California.

Since the beginning of April we have been conducting Zoom meetings as a way of sharing our knowledge of American football during the Coronavirus Lockdown.

At first we just did clinics for each other  and then we reached out to coaches in America who graciously gave of their time to help colleagues all over the world.

We have already held 23 of these meetings and are currently scheduled for at least one more. We have four more American coaches who are in the process of deciding topics and dates to join us, what a fun ride!

This morning our group had an amazing meeting with one of the true legends of the game . . .

Veteran NFL Defensive Master Coach
Wade Phillips was our guest!

Calling Coach Phillips a veteran coach is an understatement.

The NFL just celebrated their 100th season. Coach Phillips has been coach in the league for the past 46 of those years!

After his playing days as a three year starting linebacker for the University of Houston, he started his coaching career in 1969 as a Graduate Assistant with his alma mater.

After a year being a G.A. with the Cougars, he spent three seasons coaching high school football in Texas.

Next up was three campaigns coaching at the NCAA DI level with Oklahoma State and Kansas.

Then in 1975, his NFL career started as an assistant with the Houston Oilers where his father, Bum Phillips, was the Head Coach. This was the first of nine NFL assistant coaching jobs Coach Phillips would hold, all on the defensive side of the ball and mostly as a Defensive Coordinator.

Besides the Oilers, his other NFL assistant coaching stops included time with the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers, Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams.

On three occasions, when his Head Coach was fired in mid-season, Coach Phillips was elevated to the position of Interim Head Coach with the Saints, Falcons and Texans.

Coach Phillips was named as a Head Coach with three NFL franchises, the Denver Broncos, the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys.

What an amazing coaching journey and what a wealth of knowledge.

Coach Phillips was just a folksy,
good man who shared so many
insights with us today,
THANK YOU COACH! 

As an FYI item, here is the list of our speakers to date:

Coach Kyle Callahan, Swarco Raiders, Austria
Intermediate Passing Game 

Coach Ryan Clements, Graz Giants, Austria 
Giants Defensive Culture - LB practice plan and everyday drills - 6 coverage and man coverage

Coach Adam Rita, Formerly Bergamo Lions, Italy - now coaching in Canada
Operating Systems

Coach George Contreras, Varese Skorpions, Italy
What I’ve Learned About American Football Since 1958 - Aggressive Kicking Game Strategies

Coach Chris Calaycay, Vienna Vikings, Austria
3x1 Defense Run Fits and Coverage Checks

Coach Max Kössler, Vienna Vikings, Austria
4 Verticals and 3 Level Concepts

Coach Nick Johansen, Salzburg Bulls, Austria
Power Run Game and Compliments

Coach Wojciech Andrzejczak, Calanda Broncos, Switzerland 
Shoulder Tackling System

Coach Brian Guzman, Tec Toluca Borregos, Mexico
Spread RPOs & Building an Offense at Altitude

Coach Hector Palacios, Tec Toluca Borregos, Mexico
#IceInOurVeins - Building Our Defensive Brand

Coach Ernesto Alfaro, Tec Guadalajara Borregos, Mexico
4x1 Empty Set Both With and Without a TE

Coach Ben McEnroe, California Lutheran University Kingsmen, USA
Zone Schemes – Scouting/Video Breakdowns

Coach Ryan Clements, Graz Giants, Austria 
Role of a Collegiate Quality Control Coach

Coach Pete Alamar, Stanford University Cardinal, USA
Developing a Winning Special Teams Culture – Stanford Punt Return/Block Drills and Fundamentals

Coach Rich Worsell, University of Akron Zips, USA
Football Breakdown 101 – Analytics for European Football

Coach Brock Olivo, Chicago Bears, USA
Punt Coverage - Punter & Snapper Operation Time

Coach Eric Marty, Reedley College Tigers, USA
Boot and Sprint Out Pass Game

Coach Craig Moropoulos, Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros, USA
Down Gap Attitude in an Up-Tempo System

Coach Nick Holt, former DC at Purdue, Washington, Southern California, USA
Developing NFL Linebackers – Skills and Drills for Success

Coach Mark Helfrich, former OC Chicago Bears, former HC University of Oregon Ducks, USA
Q and A

Coach Ron Roberts, Baylor University Bears, USA
Defending the Spread

Coach Wade Phillips, former HC Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys
Defensive System

Thursday, June 4th, 20:00
Coach Nick Holt, former DC at Purdue, Washington, Southern California, USA
Developing NFL Defensive Linemen – Skills and Drills for Success

In the evening, we accepted an invitation to a BBQ dinner at Mike and Vanessa's home in Oxnard.

After some great hamburgers
we sat down to play a game for kids
based on Charades

It was great fun, especially when I had to act out belly dancing.

Finally, I want to say THANK YOU to all of the people who have reached out with their well wishes via FaceBook the last few days upon hearing about my retirement from EuroBall coaching.

It is humbling.

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