Coaching: NFL vs College vs High School vs Pop Warner

glorydayz · 2010-03-03T12:36:38-08:00

This is something I have been thinking about for a long time. Now I know all of the talent is basically equal across the board based on level of play but lets look at what these coaches are teaching and how it all translates upwards. Pop Warner coaches have to coach boys and girls, they can't cut anyone, and everyone has to play so you can't stick the fat kid on the bench all year. These coaches are responsible for teaching the kids how to run, catch, tackle, play within a scheme, and keep them engaged in the sport. Most NFL players have played in this league when they were youth. Compensatin = volunteer H.S football coaches are broken into two catagories (public & private schools), public H.S have a no cut policy and the kid has to come from a regional area to attend the school. These coaches don't have to play all of thier kids but they may have to coach kids that have never played football before so things like snapping the football and recieving the snap from the center can be an every day drill. Compensation = $400 per month stipend Private H.S is a different story, they do have a cut policy and they can recruit kids from everywhere. These coaches coach at a very high level however they don't have to teach a kid how to run when they can simply recruit a kid that can run. these coaches are usually next in line for a college job. Compensation = 5-6 k per month. College coaches are almost at the same level as the NFL because they can recruit talent and offer scholarships. The players come in from H.S programs that have prepared them to an exstent, and they have skills on arrival. These kids will need to be coached in some fundamental areas but it is the scheme that matters (see tebow). Compensation = 2-5 million per year NFL Coaches are the most recognized and get the most credit when athletes perform well, however ALL athletes that enter the NFL come with the tools to succeed (fast, strong, understand the game) to an extent. NFL coaches do not spend much time in tackling drills because players already know how to tackle. The focus once again is scheme. compensation = 2 - 8 million per year With all of this said, the real difference is the money that each league brings in. When is comes to coaching the Pop Warner coach starts with the rawest players so they will need to conduct the most basic practices, wich may translate to these coaches contributing the most to the NFL in the long run yet these coaches get no compensation. each of the next few levels should tend to get easier and easier since the player is slightly more polished at every level. with that said, which of these coaches tend to have the most impact on the player and which would you say is the better football coach when you look at player developement?

Mar 3, 2010 at 2:04 PM

pantstickle
Hall of Fame
Posts: 3,467

Almost anyone with a basic idea of how football works can coach Pop Warner. The knowledge required to coach in the NFL is considerably higher.

I could coach Pop Warner, easily. I could coach middle school. I could probably help out with a high school football team.

College? No way. The players know way more than I do. NFL? Not even close.

They're compensated more, because NFL teams make money. They get those jobs (usually) because of their knowledge of the game.

It's like saying a 2nd grade math teach should get paid more than a professor, because they teach the fundamentals. Teaching the fundamentals is much easier, and is therefore not a rare skill.

Mar 3, 2010 at 2:13 PM

Joecool
Veteran
Posts: 70,984

I see it the other way around. I think it gets more and more difficult for a coach the higher the level he coaches.

POP coach: No stress. If a kid learns one step, the coach has done his job. Everyone plays and no stress to win. Players listen to him and may look up to him as long as he provides pizza after game days.

HS Coach: Only needs to teach simple basics and implement a simple playbook with not much extracurricular pressure on his job. He simply teaches a player one or two key attributes so that the player thinks less and reacts more. Smaller playbook to implement. The biggest factor is that the HS Players do as Coach says: little stress. All coach needs to do is some rah-rah speech and the players are so pumped that their excitement can provide a win over fundamentals.

College Coach: Oversees eff-ups who have everything handed to them making sure he covers up their tracks. Rah-rah still works at this level and if he's worked his ass off running around the Nation in the offseason in acquiring enough talent, then rah-rah can even produce wins but not as it did in HS. Now, one player alone doing things on the field you can only do in TechmoBowl can't get him the win but it sure can when you have 20 of those players. However, the stress and extracurricular responsibilities is troublesome. Key factor to job difficulty is the money that boosters and alumni have on the line while they breath down your ass. Vegas is in play and you can get kicked out next year if some effed up few players do not cover their tracks.

NFL: Highest level. Your assistants can worry about teaching fundamentals but you have to literally build the infrastructure from scratch along with developing and getting results out of players the guy who can fire you (GM) has brought in and expects to see perform well. Just one mistake in a game or gameplan during the week could be your career.

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Coaching: NFL vs College vs High School vs Pop Warner