Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins.

Show notes

• 1:15 How the beginning of the season is different compared to the rest of the year.
• 3:14  The importance of setting the tone to start the season and building a theme
• 6:12  Why setting a weekly theme specific to your opponent is helpful
• 7:46  What your message should be to your team during Week 1
• 11:25  How to approach the pregame speech
• 14:56  How to plan out the halftime talk
• 17:40  Why you should test props beforehand if you use them in a speech
• 19:19  How to get upperclassmen to encourage underclassmen before games
• 22:39  Coach Shea relates his experience working with Bill Walsh and scripting opening games
• 28:30   Why you should call an explosive play early in the game
• 30:06   In-game adjustments you can make
• 31:19  How to collaborate with your staff to script the game’s beginning
• 32:26  Establishing “an aura of confidence”

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