For the first time since 2019, FootballScoop was in the room for the AFCA graduate assistant career forum. For those unaware, the event begins at 8 a.m. on Monday morning. This is by design. In a conference room that seats roughly a thousand, maybe half the seats were full, so the attendees were winning simply by walking through the door.
With that said, here were this year's panelists.
-- UTSA offensive coordinator Justin Burke
-- Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham
-- Marshall head coach Charles Huff
-- Florida A&M offensive coordinator Joe Henry, Jr.
The panel was moderated by Alabama A&M running backs coach/recruiting coordinator Fred T. Farrier.
The conversation has been edited for length.
What's the best way to break into college football?
Dillingham: I coached high school for six and a half, seven years. One day I went to a practice and shook Mike Norvell's hand, I don't know that I've ever been so nervous. After that I showed up to every spring ball meeting to sit in the corner. You've got to commit to being unseen. Everyone wants to put the coolest logo and job title on Twitter. It's not about that, it's about the people. Don't chase a job, chase people.
Burke: One of the things that was big for me was to do a great job in a job that you have. Make sure you coach with a humble spirit. You have no idea where the people in your building will be five years from now. I probably missed out on opportunities because of the way I treated people early in my career, being too focused on the work and being an expert in my craft.
Henry: You evaluate someone's character first. As I'm digging, I'm going to try to find a connection I have to you that's not on your resume. It's not who you know, it's who do I know that knows you, someone that I trust. At our level, you've got to have some initiative. You've got to be able to recruit, but can you fix the copier if it's broken on a Saturday and the IT staff is off?
On the importance of working camps:
Huff: If you want to work for Coach Huff, I've got to know you. Someone on my staff has to know you. How do you get on staff? Get a job the way I did: work camp. Three summers in a row I drove from Nashville to Baltimore to work Maryland's camp. At every camp, the staff gets the A group and the visiting coaches get the C group. I coached the C group like it was the A group. Can you solve problems before they get to me? If our starting D-tackle doesn't like going to class, can you find a way to get him to class?
I want to work with guys that don't have a shot clock mentality. Guys with a shot clock mentality think that just because they volunteer for a year, they get the O-line job when it opens.
Farrier: Working camps is so important. I've worked every 1-day camp in the MAC at least 10 times. That's how you get to know the staff.
If you're a high school coach, one of the best ways to stand out is to give honest, spot-on evaluations. If you know a kid can't fit at this level, I need to know that. I don't need a guy that needs a chance, I need guys that can help me win. I don't want a call a high school coach and say, "This guy got in trouble for this" and hear, "Man, he did the same thing with us." Why didn't I know that ahead of time?
On what coaches look for in the hiring process:
Huff: For me, I could give a crap about your resume. When it's 11 p.m. on Tuesday night and we're looking at 1st and 2nd down pass pro, I don't need a resume. When we have a GA opening, I go to the coordinator first. Who do you know for this job? The coordinator goes to the position coaches, and they go to the GAs. When you come to the convention, hang out with the other GAs.
Dillingham: You have to have a presence about yourself, to let coaches know you can handle 18-to-23 year olds. You're the bridge between the players and the coaches.
Henry: A can-do attitude. Someone who can identify problems before they arrive. If we only have three sheets of card stock, you go put in another ream. No one's going to know you did that, but eventually they'll notice we never run out of card stock. My best ability was my availability. I tried to be the first person in the office every day, because if the head coach texts me what he wants to do that day, I don't want him to wait 20 minutes for me to drive in. His time is more valuable than mine.
Burke: To be a really good coach, you have to have a great way with players.
Farrier: The other day I was previewing a dorm room before I showed it to a recruit and his parents and the toilet was dirty. I got some Lysol and some gloves and cleaned the toilet. We have recruiting weekends, I'm walking around Party City with a shopping cart. I want people who want to hop up and do that. When a lightbulb goes off in the O-line coach's head at 10:15 to look up when 93 puts his left hand on the ground instead of his right hand, you need to be there and find the clips.
On what not to say in an interview:
Huff: Let's talk about words not to use in interviews. I don't want to interview anyone that wants to come in and learn. I want people to come in and work and create value for the organization. This is not a summer course in Rome. Learning is a by product of the work you're going to do. Create value for yourself through your work. Learning is for someone who's going to be here for two days.
Dillingham: If every time you interview for a job the person above you convinces you not to take it, don't work for them. The only way to be successful is to make the people around you better. When I started, the only thing I cared about was making the tight ends coach better. If he got opportunities, I got opportunities. Now I want people below me to get opportunities. If they get opportunities, I got better.
Burke: I interviewed for a Division II quarterbacks job once. I didn't understand at that time that every job is a great job because you get to coach ball. I turned it down and I absolutely should not have. We talked about learning, you learn by doing. I should have gone and run a room at a younger age.
On how to become a great recruiter:
Dillingham: You get hired by recruiting. How do you become a great recruiter? You work hard and you're a good person. I got hired at Memphis because I signed six dudes. Make the person above you the Recruiter of the Year in your conference.
Burke: It shows a lot that you as a high school coach bring kids to camp. He was an assistant at North Shore High School that brought kids to camp, got hired as our director of player personnel, now he's our wide receivers coach.
Huff: You've got to be relentless at it. Anybody can develop a relationship. Anybody can slide in DMs and say, "What's up, bro? Can't wait to see you." "Hey Coach, I just talked to him and he said it's between us and Arizona State and being close to home is important." I need to know that. I need to know if he likes Jordan or Adidas. GAs and QCs feed me concerns that Mom and Dad are saying, so when I sit down with them I'm debunking concerns and they don't even know why. I've swept the field of snow so you can see the logo from the press box where we're having dinner. I've salted more walkways than I can count. I've mapped it out so when Mom and Dad get out of the car to the facility and they don't have to smell the exhaust fumes. Everything matters.
Farrier: When I go to a high school, I make sure to talk to the janitor and the lunch lady. Everyone (at the high school) will tell you he can play and he just needs a chance. The lunch lady will tell you, "Oh, he's a good one" or "You would not believe how rude he is."
Final thoughts:
Burke: You want to learn? Figure out who knows what they're talking about, shut up and learn. That sounds harsh but it's true. When I was an analyst it was during covid. I hopped on Zoom and didn't say a word for two to three months.
If you're willing to learn special teams, there's opportunity. You get to coach the entire roster and take something they may not care about and teach them.
Henry: Lean from your failure.
Huff: The first thing you've got to have is perspective. Your wife has to be on board. Her level of commitment will tell you how man layers you're able to chase this thing. You have to remember, you married her, too. The people you work for have to understand your situation. If your position coach doesn't care about his family, he isn't going to care about your family. You're not going to be the head coach at Arizona State tomorrow, so don't tell (your wife) that. The flip side is, you've got to understand you married her, too. If she's not on board with going to Wyoming, you're not going to Wyoming.
Dillingham: It's not my job to hire you, it's your job to make me hire you. Create so much value that the only way I can keep you is to hire you.