TCU Dan (1 Viewer)

I always looked forward to his insights and learned something new everytime he posted. I hope he is doing well coaching in Europe or whatever he is currently doing. Class act in every way!
 
Well I guess this is why he never posts any longer. Man, I always loved his posts. Guess it's hard to be a saints fan when you're a head coach of a team. Man, with his resume he should be hired at least in college football. Not to mention the NFL
 
Dan still finds time to watch the Saints. Just about a year ago, shortly after accepting the job in Florence, he came on here and gave a detailed analysis of the Saints. It was a very good read. He was last on the site in September of this year but did not post.
If you still talk to him tell him I'm pulling for him. I really miss his posts.
 
Hey guys, I'm around. Been lurking from time to time lately, always happy to answer questions.

21 Personnel = 2 backs, 1 TE. Also called "pro set" if you want to use oldschool verbiage.

Personnel groupings are 1st number = RBs, 2nd number = TEs.

10 Personnel = 1 back, 0 TEs (4 WR set)
11 Personnel = 1RB, 1 TE (3 WR set)
and it goes on from there 12, 13, 20, 21, 22, etc.

I'll look back at some of the other questions and try to answer.


I miss your instruction. I have never really played much football so I get confused on some terms. What is 21 personnel and other personnel concepts. Routes. What is a rub route and a dig route and so forth. On defense you have 2 lb's compared to 3. Can you please clear these things up for me. Give me the football lessons I never got. Thanks bro.
 
The number of LBs on the field is usually about personnel matchups. So if you're a base 4-3 defense (4 DL, 3 LBs) but the other team is coming out in 11 or 10 personnel, you'll usually go to a nickel set (take a LB or DL off the field) to match up with the speed of their personnel.

Same goes for down/distance (3rd and long vs 3rd and short).
 
Gaps count from the center outward, mirrored in both directions.

A gap = betw C & G
B gap = betw G & T
C gap = betw T & TE (or off tackle if there is no TE)
D gap = alley
E gap = wide

Coaches rarely say "D gap" or "E gap"... we'll say "alley" or "wide/numbers/sideline" etc.

same boat as you. like i hear a gap, b gap and stuff. im not quite sure what that all means.
 
Worst interview hahaha. Roger called me on the phone and we shot the sheet for an hour and then he type it all up from memory and misquoted me on a few things.

Italian league was canceled this year. I'm fielding offers for next season, but have focused more on writing during the pandemic and also did some virtual clinics (spoke at the LHSCA convention) and consulted with some teams in different countries that did play this season.

Actually enjoyed the year off from the stress of being a HC.

TCUDan has been coaching internationally for many years now. I have tried to keep up with his career. The latest I have on him is he was signed as the head coach for Firenze Guelfi in Italy.

Below is a link to an article from October of last year with an interview with Dan. He has quite the resume'. I don't know if the league was active this year or not. Maybe our European members can help out on that.

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Gaps count from the center outward, mirrored in both directions.

A gap = betw C & G
B gap = betw G & T
C gap = betw T & TE (or off tackle if there is no TE)
D gap = alley
E gap = wide

Coaches rarely say "D gap" or "E gap"... we'll say "alley" or "wide/numbers/sideline" etc.

Good to see you around!
 
Man. I didn't know he was a coach. Why isn't he in the NFL or even college. He's so knowledgeable.
I was briefly a college OC but honestly, I love traveling and have been able to have a pretty successful overseas career. I love it. The coaching lifestyle (college and pro) is a serious life commitment, and I think it gets lost on people the amount of personal sacrifice it requires. I figured out pretty quickly that that wasn't the direction for me.
 
As far as route trees, those kind of depend on the system/coach and can vary. There is the classic route tree which I think has been shown on here. And they can also vary whether you're talking about a perimeter WR, a slot, a TE/H-back, a RB, etc.

With the prevalence of spread offenses, a lot of coaches/coordinators bypass route trees and focus more on concepts. I teach everything in concepts... so you're talking about Curl/flat, Post/dig, slant/arrow, Snag, Stick, etc. The only times you'll have those isolated routes is on with your backside X in a 3x1 or 2x1 formation, where the coach or the QB can tag it.

Those routes adhere more to a traditional route tree. Everything else is concepts.
 
Thanks brother, good to see you too. And everyone else. I'll try to get on here more, especially if I get tagged to answer some questions.

Appreciated your response about the difficulty of the life of a coach. It's the reason I opted to not pursue scouting as a full time job but instead look into sports journalism. What a lot of these men and women dedicate in terms of time in a single season is more than most realize. You'll have field scouts out of town 150+ days of the year sometimes doing 10-12 hour days. It's a heck of a grind to get into this sport.

With the prevalence of spread offenses, a lot of coaches/coordinators bypass route trees and focus more on concepts. I teach everything in concepts... so you're talking about Curl/flat, Post/dig, slant/arrow, Snag, Stick, etc. The only times you'll have those isolated routes is on with your backside X in a 3x1 or 2x1 formation, where the coach or the QB can tag it.

Those routes adhere more to a traditional route tree. Everything else is concepts.

Also really love this post. While concepts are made up of the basic route tree, it varies. Ex: you run 4 verts differently from 3x1 vs 2x2 but it's still 4 verticals. (Your inside Flex/WR will essentially run a post route as his landmark of the hash stays the same no matter what side of the field he's on). When teams are making playcalls they're calling out concepts.

Game is complicated!
 

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