ChiefSmoke

We had a good day at Turner yesterday for this camp. Appreciate my bosses and the administrators at Anderson Co. for letting us do this! Edmondson Supply sponsored the t-shirts.

Right now, most Head Football Coach positions in KY are pretty tough. How do you break the cycle of replacing your head coach, often? How does a coach find a place that he can stay and build a program? For the School: Look for a good football coach who will STAY/MOVE to your community. Often, if you can find a good young coach with a young family, he will want to raise his kids in one place. Or, find an old guy that is a good football coach who would want/be willing to stay or already lives pretty close to your school. Find a guy that LOVES football. Building & rebuilding a football program is like drinking water from a fire hose on full blast. To do all the things you have to do and do them well, you have to love it. If it is WORK....you are in trouble. If you can't find this guy....KEEP LOOKING. If you have to, raise the stipend, diminish the teaching duties, etc. You will be glad that you kept looking to get the RIGHT/BEST available candidate. Word of caution: Blue Blood programs have some EXCELLENT young coaches! No question!! But, if you can find a guy that has been part of BUILDING a program, he is not going to get as frustrated as quickly. And, he will be familiar with the obstacles a struggling program will face. For the New Coach: Once you are probably going to be offered the job, spend an extended time with your new administration to make sure you are on the same page. Divide up who will handle each area and what has to happen to begin the process. At Anderson, we did this and it was very effective after a very long meeting of details that had to be addressed.... I made a google doc and shared it with my Superintendent and AD. We color coded who would do what. For about a year and half, we kept up and documented when each item would be completed. Now, we don't even refer to it anymore. My bosses did what they said they would do. I did what I told them I would do. The results have not been very impressive yet. But, the improvement has been significant. And, the foundation is being set for success now and into the future as well. At Mason, Fred Hester interviewed me all day before offering the job to make sure we would fit. To get this piece right, it takes time, effort & paying attention to details. Does this mean you will win a state title in 5 years? NO. But, it is your BEST shot to make your program the very best it can be in the shortest amount of time. And, getting the right pieces in place will give your school, community and kids their best chance at winning a state title down the road. Hope this can help someone. Of course, I want to see the Bearcats win a state title. BUT, my Dad was on the first football team at London HS in 1958. He coached at both Boyle & Mercer. KY HS Football has been a life changer for me and my sons. I really want to see KY HS FOOTBALL be the best it can be for all kids across the board. Best wishes to all the coaches, players and administrators that love their community, kids and football!

They have had some good young players. I like their admin / game support people from our game last fall. Wish them the best.

When we redid our weightroom, we added a landmine attachment to all ten racks. The middle is open and we have good space to use them. Has been really good for us. Especially for our young guys. Kids just don't bend as well when we get them, initially. They get better. But, the start for most of them has been rough going back the last several years.

My Dad told me a story on this .... said something had happened, early 70's, the Mercer admin got mad at WHIR and they were not going to let them in the pressbox. When my Dad went to Mercer, he got it worked out that WHIR could be back in the pressbox. Guess you guys were on top of the press box, not in it. Lol

Just heard Coach Dungy's comments on the Super Bowl Pregame show. He was critical of the changes made by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in their process. He also said that as a member, they all take an oath not to disclose their vote or the conversations/debate on the voting.

Tough lessons are often the best ones, and that is what I am counting on. While Bearcat Football continues to improve, the results have been disappointing. And, as is the case when you are the head coach, the first place to look when the results are not what you want, is in the mirror. My two biggest mistakes going back to April of 2023: 1- I overestimated how much offense we could handle. 2- I underestimated how much structure we needed. We are restructuring our offense to be simpler and to build off the things we do well and fit our skill set. We put together program standards for the weightroom, classroom, workouts, practices & pregame. I realized in October of this season both mistakes I had made. We didn't wait until 2026 to start to address them. We started taking steps immediately and we are already better for it. Coach Mike Kirschner, formerly of Warren Central HS in Indianapolis, gave me some great feedback on our standards and we think they will really help our guys. One of the best things we have done, especially considering the snow that has hit us, SQR before Christmas. Stack Quality Reps. We got over 18,000 reps of basic fundamentals knocked out at the end of 2025. Recruit Night went well and we are hoping to get 20 freshmen for 2026. Our freshmen have won the conference the last two seasons. Recruiting for HS guys has never been tougher. Instead of competing against other 18-19 year olds, HS guys are now competing against guys, 18 - 25. And, most of those older guys have collegiate reps and video. But, we are continuing to fight the good fight. And, we may start going the California JUCO route for guys that really want to play college football but have few other options. We are continuing our camps with the 5th & 6th graders. It will take time for the dividends of these efforts to show up on Friday night, but they will come. The Truck Stick route / Feed The Cats has been really good for us in regards to Strength & Conditioning. Our brand new weightroom is barely a year old. Already, the ability to incorporate more landmine exercises is paying off for us. We can bend better, flip our hips better, and generate more explosiveness & power. Player Development(more skill/fundamentals reps) workouts will continue through the end of February. Spring football will begin immediately after basketball season. 2026, our roster should be around 75 guys again. Our depth, experience & talent level should be improved. If I think too much about the results, it wears on me, bad. But, when I think about our "one day/rep at a time" process and the people I work with (players, staff, Bosses, community) not sure anyone has a better job than the one I have coaching the Bearcats. If you want to jump in a time machine, come to Bob Ware Field this fall. Old School environment. We play on Bermuda grass. No track. The bleachers/fans are right on top of the field. Very cool place. If you do show up, holler at me in the pregame. We take the field a little after 6:30 every Friday night for specialties. My first time on that field was with my Dad. Boyle at Anderson, 1971. Was a great place 55 years ago and Friday Nights are still very special at Bob Ware Field.

Didn't you guys bring like 7 pep busses or something like that in 93? You had a ton of people there. That was a GREAT game. After we played you in 1996, I thought the winner of you and Beechwood would be the Class A State Champ. We were 2-0 going into the 96 game. That Monday, right before practice, my entire team is standing on the back line of the endzone on the practice field, backs to the gamefield. Remember it like yesterday. I told my Mason County guys.... "this Dayton team is a tough bunch. Not a bunch of choir boys." One of my kids, raised his hand and says, "Coach, we're all in the choir." I said, "Well, we better get to work."

I got to visit with Coach Duffy once when he was at Highlands and he made reference to this team and the season. Keith Morgan was his QB and Jimmy Baughman was his main RB and they were running a one-back scheme. He told me that he stayed concerned all season about scheme questions and adjustments because it was a different style of offense. He said when he was in his 3 back set, he could sleep at night because he already knew all the answers and adjustments he would need to know.

Saw Mike Harmon (1982 Rebels RB) at dinner last night. Offered him a job coaching at Anderson Co. He turned me down. But, always good to see Mike. He could play some football and the 1982 Rebels were a good football team. I THINK you were in the radio booth for that Boyle-Mercer game at our place. You and Steve Bertram.

We played the 93 team at Paris in the first round of the playoffs. They were 5-5 but had played a tough schedule. We won but they were physical and gave us everything we wanted... and we had a good team. My first loss as HFC @ Mason Co. in 1996 was at Dayton. That was a really good football team. Impressive. Dan Ridder did a super job with that football program.

We talked to Coach Josh Abell for our podcast after he resigned from Fern Creek. He was very complimentary of the Fern Creek Administration. Chuck asked hm why there are so many open HFC jobs in JCPS. He said JCPS is plagued w/ solving the problems of Louisville. And...."starts w/ better leadership and more support for athletics as a whole." Coach Abell is looking to get into administration. Would love to see him in a JCPS role where he could impact HS football across the city. He is knowledgeable, experienced and genuinely cares about the kids. I am choosing to be optimistic about the future of JCPS football.

Thank you for including this information. I am very proud of Cory and excited for the Greyhounds. We only had about 27-28 guys when Cory played. On a rare day we are getting to work a back up offense, Cory jumps down to play Noseguard on Scout Team Defense. I look at him and say, “What are you doing?!” He says, “Coach , I can do it. “ I respond, “I know you CAN do it but you are NOT going to do it!” The guy LOVES football!

Cory Dumphord is the new head football coach of the Greyhounds! Congratulations to my old QB! Cory knows how to win, loves the Greyhounds, and has a high football IQ. Excellent hire!

Looking for a guy that wants to teach/coach & eventually wants to be a head football coach….Like myself, Jack Robertson & Chuck Smith were in 1986 when we worked for Larry French. Love kids. Love Football. Strong work ethic & character. Not easy. Not much money. It is a CALLING. Anderson Co. HS is a great place to coach HS football. This community loves their kids and Bearcat Football. When you hear the old guys talking about how much they loved playing football in HS, you will understand where they are coming from when you are coaching at Bob Ware Field. This is an old school football program that values the guys before us and wants to leave it better for the ones that will wear the scarlet & navy in the future. Email me at : [email protected] if you are interested.

Our Tough Topic for this Thursday comes from @Colonels_Wear_Blue. Excellent question. No room for a cookie cutter answer. Our numbers are booming. BluegrassPreps is a big reason that is happening. Your content and questions are exceptional. You guys are also my cheat sheet.... @DevilMayCare can write me off on his taxes this year as a dependent. Thank you all and especially , @theguru !

Duggins was 1999, 2000 (may be the best football team I have ever seen) & 2001. Brandon Smith was 2002 & 2003.

Do you think if he gets a Power 4 offer, he is Mr. Football? I coached Zane's Dad in HS at Mason County, Jordan Johnson, and have worked with Zane going back almost 10 years. I am admittedly biased! I also think he has some special intangibles. One thing I would say is pretty close to a dead heat, Seneca Driver and Zane Johnson both make the people around them, much better. That is a great intangible to bring to a football program. Both are elite football players.

No one knows better than @DevilMayCare. This is his arena. I would think the two leaders right now are Seneca Driver & Zane Johnson. Seneca may have the best shot of all seniors to play on Sundays. Zane may lead his team to 4 state titles in 4 seasons as the starting QB... has anyone else ever done that? Best wishes to all the young men in this conversation. Enjoy that last season of Friday Night HS football!

I met Terry when he was HFC at Pendleton. We had a QB workout there. Super young man. Congratulations Coach!!

Our QB has the green light to keep the ball any time he wants to do so when he realizes they are ignoring him on the backside. I just tell him to be "certain"... don't guess. If he has to think about it, the answer is NO. It is usually risky to run the ball in a way that you have no blocking. But, that makes it even a better call in this situation. Newport was really good in 1999. We were about to upset them. Called a bootleg pass with the intention that our QB(Harry Lewis) would keep it on a 3rd & medium. Harry goes to throw the ball. I yell, "No, Harry NO!" Seth Faulkner catches the ball, TD. "Yes, Harry, YES!" Good players always trump coaching. We ended up winning by a couple TDs. By far was the best team we had beat at Mason up to that point (1996 through 1999).

Best wishes to Coach Payne & the Warriors!

I appreciate you going to the trouble to share this. It is tough for me to understand.. in each case, they thought blowing it up and starting over was better than trying to work through the problems, take advantage of the continuity and fix what needed to be fix. Generally speaking, blowing things up and starting over is not my preference. Heard Steve Klonne (Moeller) at a clinic one year. Even just in running an offense... He said to never throw it all out and start at zero. He said to take where you are and tweak it in the direction you want to go. I never forgot that advice and thought it had alot of wisdom.