We made the switch from a base 4-3 to a 3-3-5 in the off season. Needless to say, we did not know what to expect and there were some players thinking the same. We decided to do something different to give our guys some ownership of the new defense, to help ease the transition, and most importantly, to buy into what we were going to be doing this year.
“Bad Company”
Every year, coaches come up with a theme or slogan for that year’s team. On the defensive side of the ball, we did something a little different. In the off-season, I sat down with our defensive captains and seniors to come up with an identity or theme for this year’s unit. After two weeks of deliberation, they came up with the term “Bad Company”. Background on ‘Bad Company’ (also known in the military world as Bravo Company) includes that it is a Marine unit that is year-in and year-out sent to do the missions that no one else wants. They are highly-respected, never out-worked, never out-prepared in their detail. They thrive in the least ideal circumstances and are, of course, taught to never back down and never give in no matter how bad the situation appears. This unit has been used for decades and is still operating to this day.
The players took this name and the identity and ran with it. Why? Because it was theirs, they created it. It was something that they could invest in throughout the off-season and something they could talk about. It was something that was more than just each individual player and position. It took away the doubt of changing many things that they have been accustomed to, learning a new alignment, a new run fit. The term Bad Company took the emphasis off “me” and put it on “we”. It became more than just a name, slogan or theme for the players but a mindset that they became accustomed to throughout the season. It was something they could hang their hat on day in and day out and especially each Saturday when they entered their own battle together.
The Code
From the start of camp, we began every installation meeting with a player getting up to talk about one part of the “Code” and what it meant to them. There were nine points that our players thought were vital to our success as a unit. We handed out T-shirts with the Bad Company logo printed on the front. As simple as it sounds, they took pride in showing off the camouflage T-shirt around campus. The upperclassmen decided to hold off on giving the freshmen their T-shirts until the end of camp. The upper classmen believed becoming a member of the Bad Company should be earned, not given. This code was something that the guys lived by each week. It is not your normal goal such as keeping your opponent under 100 yards rushing per game or 200 yards passing. These were things the players thought were important factors in building a team defense. Without going through each one on the list, I think it is important to discuss a few and how we helped as a coaching staff to implement them every day.
1. Border Between Cocky and Confidence – Respect your opponent enough to never be cocky and under-prepared, yet be confident enough that you believe when stepping on the field that no one will stop you from succeeding. To some players, this comes naturally. For others, it needs to be instilled. As everyone knows, confidence comes from practice and preparation. When you plan your script each day for team and pass skel periods, I was always told to put your defense in the worst possible situation so you are prepared for Saturday “just in case.”
Although we put our guys in those situations every week, we also put our athletes in places where we know they will succeed. For example, if we are making an adjustment or an on-the-field check to a base coverage vs. a certain formation or WR set for the week, I will make sure the scout team runs the play we expect our opponent to run in that situation, thus putting our defenders in the best position to make an outstanding play. This not only adds to confidence during the week, but also helps the players buy into and believe in what the coaches are installing and teaching for that week. In turn, they buy into the system that we have set in place and have confidence in themselves as well as the coaching staff. This confidence and understanding of the team’s strengths as players and as a team defines your success. You don’t have to be the most athletic player on the field, but if you know your opponent and your game plan inside out, you can then perform at the highest level.
2. Take What’s Theirs – This is our way of saying - create turnovers. For most defensive coaches this is a high priority. There are countless drills to teach turnovers and all are very effective. We like to incorporate creating turnovers every day in our team, 7-on-7, inside and 1-on-1 periods. To get our players accustomed to attacking the ball with a strip/punch or interception while executing their assigned run fit or pass drop, we implemented a turnover competition every day in practice. As a unit, we must force five turnovers each practice. If we do not get our goal of five, each group will run 50 yards while doing an up-down every five yards consecutively. The group will run one 50-yard sprint for every turnover under the goal of five. Getting used to doing these things on a daily basis becomes a habit. Since implementing this competition in 2010, we have broken school records for total turnovers (32) and interceptions (27) in consecutive years. This made the guys accountable for the turnovers and constantly made them think about wanting to create turnovers. The rules of competition include:
Turnover Competition Rules
7-on-7 – interception
Inside Period – forced fumble and recovery
Team Period – interceptions or forced fumble and recovery
WR/DB 1-on-1s – 2 interceptions = 1 turnover
WR/DB 1-on-1s – 2 strip/punch balls = 1 turnover
Red Zone/Goal Line/2 Minute – each turnover will count as 2
Coaches Choice – some practices, if the unit forces more than 5 turnovers, they can carry over the number into the next practice. This is up to the coaching staff.
3. Fight or Flight - This code was tested early and often this past year. In our first game we had four consecutive stops from a first and goal at the 8-yard line with 30 seconds left to hold onto a 12-7 win. We then lost three starting linebackers before the third and biggest game of the season. Later in the season, we blocked two field goals including one in overtime to help win a huge conference game.
We also played the majority of the season with our 260 pound starting defensive end playing linebacker and our third string, 180-pound safety playing linebacker as well. Yet our philosophy never changed - we wanted to strive in adverse situations, never back down and never give up. It all came back to the players having a sense of ownership in the defense. Every team needs to find their leaders and giving those players a sense of ownership keeps them accountable for what happens in practice, in the weight room and in adverse situations on game day. Those players had every opportunity to let down, to mentally shut down, and lose hope for the season. The code was something they could look back to and lean on knowing that each person on this unit bought into and decided in pre-season camp to follow, no matter what the situation.
4. Violent Technician – As a defensive coach, I am always the guy in our staff meeting asking for more individual time. There is never enough time for all the techniques that need to be taught and reinforced on a daily basis. There are two things that our head coach stresses every day and constantly reminds us of - you beat a team with great technique and by being the most physical team on the field. I base everything I do as a coordinator of those two things. In the long run, maybe the best thing that happened to us was losing all those starters early in the year. It forced us to go back to the basics and reinforce them.
5. Have Fun with Each Other and Show it – For coaches, football is our job, it is our lifeblood, and it is our passion. Every Saturday seems to be a life and death moment for everyone closely involved in our program. We try to stress the importance of having fun and enjoying the time together as a unit. Encouraging excitement and enthusiasm when a big play is made is something we work at every day. We stress to our guys to treat all big plays in practice as if they were in a game.
Momentum is a huge factor in a game and the only way momentum is created is by excitement and energy. Our turnover competition is a big factor in creating excitement and enthusiasm in practice. I can’t count how many times we are on our last few plays of team period and we still need one turnover to reach five. If we got it, our sideline would go wild. This carries over to game day. Having been on both sides of the won/loss column, I know there is nothing more deflating and discouraging to an opponent then watching a team celebrate a big play together. This does not include taunting, but making sure all 11 players are involved in congratulating a teammate on a big play which can add to building momentum. We do not discourage any player from showing emotion during the game. We want them to be excited about playing the game they love.
I believe the most important thing our coaching staff learned this year was not how to adjust your Xs and Os when changing over to a new scheme, but how to get your players to buy into the system and what you are trying to teach them. Making sure they not only buy into what you are teaching them from a technique and scheme standpoint, but more importantly, what you are trying to get them to be – mentally stronger, a cohesive unit and team leaders in the process. This must include not just your starters, but everyone in the locker room. The Bad Company led us there. The code is something we lived by each and every week. It was something that brought us together as a unit, as a coaching staff and as a team. Hopefully, our players will take the lessons learned as part of Bad Company and apply it to their life some day after they stop playing football.
About the Author: Mike Fox completed his fourth season last fall as head of the St. John Fisher defense, He is a 2005 graduate of Fisher, a four-year starter at linebacker and two-time All-American inside linebacker. Fox’s 478 career tackles ranks third in NCAA Division III history.