With the 2015 season in the books, and a fresh 2016 season on the horizon, many coaches and their staffs have spent the last few months, and will spend the next several months, hitting various clinics and visiting with other coaching staffs to find an edge on offense or defense.
Some programs will be looking to change schemes on offense or defense, and that's where some advice from new NC State offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz may come in handy. Drinkwitz's pedigree working as a coordinator or co-coordinator under offensive minds like Gus Malzahn (at Arkansas State) and Bryan Harsin (at Boise State) gives him a unique perspective.
Drinkwitz, who arrives in Raleigh after serving as an assistant at Boise State the past two seasons, most recently as the offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach, is bringing a new offense with him to the Wolf Pack, and spring ball is going to be the first opportunity that he has to get everyone (coaches included) up to speed on the new system and terminology.
With just about a week left until spring practices kick off, Drinkwitz sat down for a Q&A with the Orlando Sentinel, and in it he lays out his focus for the next several days before practices begin.
"I told our offensive staff that you get one chance to make a first impression. So for the next 10 days our goal is to make sure we have – our staff - organized and detailed so that when we present the plan to the players on March 1 that they’re able to play fast and they know as a staff that we’re on the same page and that we know what we’re doing and that our drills our detailed and organized – we take the grey out." Drinkwitz explained.
"That’s our goal. We’re going to present a clear and concise plan to our players and they know what our expectations are and we’re going to go out there and coach our butts off for two hours and make sure those guys make sure they meet our standards and if they don’t, we’ll watch the film and make sure we correct it. We’re going to repeat that process the next 15 days."
If you're a new staff coming in, or simply changing some things on offense or defense, "taking the grey out," for your players and presenting a clear, direct, unified plan seems like something that should certainly be at the top of your list of goals.