Maximize Tempo in Your Offense - Coaching Points from 11 Coaches

Tempo offense has been in the mainstream of football thinking for about a quarter of a century now when guys like Randy Walker and Rich Rodriguez made it popular, but it still is, in many ways an underutilized and under-coached aspect of an offensive attack.

Today’s "best of" episode shares the ideas of 11 coaches on maximizing the advantages of tempo by how it is structured, the plays run with it, how it’s game planned, the mechanics of playing fast and how it even can become engrained in culture.

-Hawaii offensive coordinator Ian Shoemaker - tempo as a stressor to the defense 

-Kansas Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki - Using tempo to create multiplicity, game planning tempo, paying attention to what plays work most efficiently with a fast pace

-New Wisconsin Offensive Coordinator Phil Longo points out that you can move as fast as the officials, so understanding what their pace is can allow you to build your procedures and call plays that can be executed within that 12 or so seconds that it takes for the ball to be put into play.

-Texas passing game coordinator and receivers coach Brennan Marion views tempo as a part of their attack which wears a defense down and forces them to play a fifth quarter in terms of the amount of reps.

-USFL New Orleans Breakers OC Noel Mazzone was at the forefront of tempo and continues to utilize it but he points out how he teaches it and the types of plays he likes

-Incarnate Word University assistant Keith Barefield ran the statistically fastest offense in football while he was the offensive coordinator at Quincy and it helped them turn an offense around and break records. In this segment, he explains how tempo should be coached as well as the mechanics of running the fastest offense.  

-Tennessee OL Glen Elarbee was part of one of the most explosive offenses in the country in 2022. #1 in Total Offense 538.1 #1 in scoring 47.3. He explains why he loves tempo for the offensive line and provides the details on coaching the mechanics of tempo with the offensive line in this segment from Lauren’s First and Goal.

-Arkansas OL Coach Cody Kennedy believes that training for tempo has to start in the meeting room and be carried over to walk through in getting linemen to think and make their calls.  

-McMurry University Head Coach Jordan Neal joined us when he was the coordinator of the #1 offense in D3 in 2016 averaging over 600 yards per game. He explains his 10-10-100 and perfect play drills which teach his players to line up and play fast as well as get into shape to play at a fast pace.

-Tempo is not reserved for no huddle only. Army TE Coach Matt Drinkall joined us on the podcast in 2017 when he was the head coach at Kansas Wesleyan which had one of the most potent offenses in NAIA. He discusses how tempo can be utilized from a huddle to stress a defense.

-We finish up with the Head Coach of Klein Cane HS in Texas James Clancy. He started the program at this new high school in 2017 and immediately made being uptempo a part of their culture. It’s something they live in everything they do. He also explains how they coach tempo in practice. This has allowed them to have success on the field.

Episode links and clinics at coachandcoordinator.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices