Head Coaches who have actually never played football

[Original1]

Head Coaches who have actually never played football on ANY level...

I'm just throwing this out here to get some feedback.

What are your thoughts? Do you know of any? Are they or have they been successful?

Should it be a prerequisite?

 

[DarterBlue2]

I believe Robert Weiner of Plant may be one. He did not play college ball, of that I am sure. And, I am not sure he played high school either. Weiner has won several state titles since he took over the Plant program. 

[peezy28]

RW was indeed not a football player.  There are a few others in which I am not sure about but Callahan and Garcia may make the list.  Mesick at Clearwater also never played football.

[OldSchoolLion]

Back in the 1970's, Dillard High appointed their 5-foot tall, JV cheerleading coach as their HC of their girl's basketball team.  She had run track at Bethune Cookman.  40 years later, Marcia Pinder is one of the most successful coaches, male or female, this state has ever seen.

More so than ever today, coaches need a set of skills outside the technical realm, ie communicator, motivator, salesman, etc.  We also have a shortage of good coaches, so I think we need to be open-minded about such things.  There are a number of FL hs coaching legends who did not look the part.  

So many of these kids today crave to be loved and mentored.  If someone came along who is willing to invest in them, I think they could gain respect regardless of background or stature.  Having a football guru as an AD to mentor such a newbie would obviously help.

 

[Original1]

5 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Back in the 1970's, Dillard High appointed their 5-foot tall, JV cheerleading coach as their HC of their girl's basketball team.  She had run track at Bethune Cookman.  40 years later, Marcia Pinder is one of the most successful coaches, male or female, this state has ever seen.

More so than ever today, coaches need a set of skills outside the technical realm, ie communicator, motivator, salesman, etc.  We also have a shortage of good coaches, so I think we need to be open-minded about such things.  There are a number of FL hs coaching legends who did not look the part.  

So many of these kids today crave to be loved and mentored.  If someone came along who is willing to invest in them, I think they could gain respect regardless of background or stature.  Having a football guru as an AD to mentor such a newbie would obviously help.

 

Excellent insight! Thanks for the input.

[OldSchoolLion]

5 minutes ago, Original1 said:

Excellent insight! Thanks for the input.

Back in the day, it was not unusual for someone to coach multiple sports at the high school level and it was not uncommon that a coach had little to no college experience in one or all of those sports.

I knew one who coached football and golf. He never golfed competitively, yet he coached some excellent golf teams.  Wrestling coaching legend John Lyzott of McArthur came there to be a tennis coach.   High schools were not afraid to give someone with little formal experience a chance to "learn along the way."  

We have become very specialized and snooty today.  It's this "hs football is bigger than life mentality."  Now we need hs coaches with specific backgrounds.  Reminds me of the companies who only want to hire "people with experience" and have no opportunities for those without.  So, how does one ever get it?

Folks today would laugh themselves silly at how unsophisticated things were 50 years ago.  We got to where we are today by a lot of creativity and "experimentation."  And to continue to evolve, we need the same.  Sometimes the best "outside the box" thinkers are "outsiders," because they are not bound by perceptions and traditional barriers.

[OldSchoolLion]

41 minutes ago, Original1 said:

Excellent insight! Thanks for the input.

sorry for the random thoughts here.  With today's age of hs and college football giants, more so than ever, players are getting excluded because they simply do not have the size.  There is some skinny high school kid out there today who knows the game and who could be the next Bill Castle if you let him.  As we move forward, I think we will have to be more open to coaches without formal experience because the game is becoming so exclusive, even at a high school level.

One disadvantage I see today is that kids in some areas don't play outside as much anymore.  When I grew up, we had a neighborhood  football league and 8 year-olds played with the 18 year-olds.  We played hs football every day of the year for years and years.  Even as a little kid, I was playing with/against members of a high school state champion team and I knew their whole playbook at 10years of age. All of those kids in that league knew football really well and could have become hs football coaches, even the ones who did not go on to play in high school.    

 

 

[Original1]

2 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

sorry for the random thoughts here.  With today's age of hs and college football giants, more so than ever, players are getting excluded because they simply do not have the size.  There is some skinny high school kid out there today who knows the game and who could be the next Bill Castle if you let him.  As we move forward, I think we will have to be more open to coaches without formal experience because the game is becoming so exclusive, even at a high school level.

One disadvantage I see today is that kids in some areas don't play outside as much anymore.  When I grew up, we had a neighborhood  football league and 8 year-olds played with the 18 year-olds.  We played hs football every day of the year for years and years.  Even as a little kid, I was playing with/against members of a high school state champion team and I knew their whole playbook at 10years of age. All of those kids in that league knew football really well and could have become hs football coaches, even the ones who did not go on to play in high school.    

 

 

I would agree with you. Some kids love the game, but because of their size, they don't attempt to play.

Heck, I've even talked to some kids who were in high school bands, but had had brilliant football minds because they've been watching the game so much.