Building a championship football team

by Paul W. Bryant

ASSISTANT COACH: TYPE OF MAN

There are many characteristics I am seeking in an assistant coach. I shall not attempt to list them in the order of importance because I think they all belong at the top of the list. Briefly, the desirable traits and characteristics I am seeking in an assistant are as follows:

1. He should be dedicated to the game of football.

2. He should be willing to work hard and to make personal sacrifices.

3. He should be an honest person.

4. He should have a sound knowledge of football.

5. He should have a great deal of initiative.

6. He should be a sound thinker.

7. He should be tough mentally.

A Dedicated Person, Hard Worker, Loyal

The first trait, “Be dedicated to the game of football,” is a must for all coaches, assistants as well as head coaches. Don’t ever try to fool yourself or anyone else. If you are not truly dedicated to your work, and you dread spending many hours every day working and planning on building a good football team, then you are in the wrong business. I’ll guarantee there is no easy way to develop a winning team. If it were an easy task, all of us would be undefeated and “Coach of the Year.” Unfortunately one team generally wins and the other loses, and if it is the latter it doesn’t make a coach’s job any easier. If you will look at the consistent winners, you will find behind them a group of coaches who are dedicated 100% to their work.

Regardless of whether it’s the college or high school level of competition, there are coaches and teams that win year after year. The real reason for this success, other than good material, is the coaches of these particular teams are dedicated to the extent that they “want” to do what is necessary to win. There is a big difference between “wanting to” and “willing to” do something to be a winner. Frankly, I don’t like the word “willing” in connection with an assistant coach. First, if the coaches are not willing, they should not be coaching. Coaching is not an 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. job. The assistant who is “willing” to work a little extra is not the one I want on my staff. The assistant who “wants” to do what is necessary in order to get the team ready to play, regardless of the time element involved, is the man whom I want to assist me.

A head coach cannot expect his assistants to be dedicated to their work, unless he leads by example. The head coach must work harder, longer, and be more dedicated to his work than any of his assistants, if he expects to have a good, hard-working staff and winners.

Another qualification I consider a must for all assistant coaches is their 100% loyalty to the head coach’s plan. It is very important for a coach and his staff to know they have mutual trust and loyalty to each other. These characteristics are obvious, and an assistant coach who does not possess them commits professional suicide.

Initiative and Ambition

An assistant coach should have a great deal of initiative and ambition. I prefer to have my assistants study the game all ways and always. They should constantly try to improve themselves. There is no corner on the brain market and a person advances in his field through hard work and his own initiative.

It is a must that all coaches be good “mixers.” They must be able to get along with each other, the head coach, the players, and the people in the community. On the college level a coach must know how to recruit, and most of the time the successful recruiter is a good mixer. He must sell your product—the school, the team, the coaching staff, etc.—to athletes and their parents, and his job will be easier if he has this type of personality.

Honesty and Integrity

It is an absolute must that all coaches be honest with themselves, the people for whom they work, and the others with whom they come in contact. If I cannot trust a person, I do not want him around. Along this same line, we like our coaches to be active in their church work. We emphasize to our players the value of attending church, and we like our coaches to set a good example for everyone.

A Sound Thinker With a Good Understanding of the Game

In order for a coach to be competent, he must be a sound thinker and possess a good knowledge of the game of football. I have mentioned this previously. I expect my assistants to study, plan, discuss and try to come up with ideas that might aid us in winning a football game. We are going to toss around all ideas in our staff meetings before we adopt any of them, but your brand of football can become stale and unprogressive if the coaches do not study the game.