By R.J. Anderson
After defeating the University of Michigan in one of the greatest upsets in the history of college athletics, Appalachian State University Head Football Coach Jerry Moore and his school have become household names. At the end of last season—before Moore's face was plastered on every newspaper and television highlight show—he sat down and talked with our sister publication, Coaching Management, about his coaching philosophy, building a championship program, and his approach to scheduling NCAA Division I-A opponents.
Advertisement
During spring practice that year, Moore replaced the Power-I offense the Mountaineers had used for the better part of 16 years with a no-huddle, one-back spread offense. The team experienced some initial growing pains in 2004, finishing 6-5, but rebounded strongly in 2005, winning the first of two consecutive national championships.
Entering his 19th season at ASU, Moore has quietly built one of the top programs in college football. Under Moore, Appalachian State has posted a record of 140-67, and the team will take a 27-game home winning streak into the 2007 campaign. Along the way, the Mountaineers have made Kidd Brewer Stadium the place to be on Saturdays in Boone, N.C.
Prior to his arrival at ASU, Moore served as Head Coach at North Texas (1979-1980), then at Texas Tech (1981-1985). He also spent 14 seasons as an assistant to coaching legends Hayden Fry at Southern Methodist University and Tom Osborne at the University of Nebraska. In this interview, Moore talks about his approaches to walk-ons and recruiting, scheduling I-A opponents, and coaching in a small town.
CM: How did the change in offensive philosophy in 2003 contribute to your team’s success the last two years?
Moore: It played a big part. We wanted to change our tempo, so we went to a no-huddle, more open offense. Before the change, our offensive package contained a lot of formations, and we ran a lot of different plays. This offense is much simpler and has fewer plays. Since putting in the new offense, I feel like I wasted 40 years of coaching because what we’re doing now is so much more fun. It’s an exciting offense to run, and we as coaches have been learning right along with the players.
You don’t have a designated offensive coordinator. Why not?
I’ve never had one. It goes back to when I was at Nebraska under Coach Osborne—we didn’t have one then. I like it because it lets every offensive coach feel more important. It brings out the best in them because they all know that their responsibilities and input are crucial to our success.
Who calls the plays?
We have five or six offensive coaches who are all hooked up on headsets. Our quarterbacks coach will make the initial call and our offensive line coach might say, ‘No, no, we want to run …’ Then our running backs coach might chime in. In that mix of discussions we come up with a play, but I usually make the final decision. It’s not as gobble-wobble as I make it sound because we’ve already talked about what we want to run in certain situations.
What are the keys to making that system work during games?
Since we don’t huddle, we’ve got more time to come up with plays than most people think. We all know when to talk, and we all know when to listen. We don’t try to put on a clinic between each play.
What has made your program so popular with students and the community?
A lot of it is the way our new administration has embraced our program. They’ve worked hard to make sure that Saturdays here are an event. It’s a fun place to play and a fun place to watch a ballgame. No matter what the weather is like, the stadium is packed and it’s so loud you can’t hear yourself think on the sideline.
As we were walking off the field after winning a home playoff game last season, the other team’s quarterback said to me, ‘Coach, this is a heck of a place to play.’ That was a great compliment to our school, our students, and everybody who supports us.
How important is having a positive public presence, especially in a small town like Boone?
We run the whole gamut of engagements. Last year, I spoke at preschools and also to groups of 2,000 to 3,000 people in Charlotte. I don’t think of it as work—it’s what I’m here for and I enjoy it. I like to talk about our team, I like to talk about our school, and I like to talk about our town.
It’s been a lot of fun to do those things, and I believe I’m doing it for a great school and a great community. We’ve got that small mountain town feel. You can go to church, Wal-Mart, or a service station and people are talking about our players. That’s fun. I like that I have a little bit to do with it. It’s a great atmosphere to coach in and to live in.
What do you tell your players about off-the-field behavior?
Because we’re in a small town, anywhere our guys go, like the mall or a restaurant, everybody knows who they are. I tell them, “You never know who’s watching you or who’s listening to what you say.” Consequently, our players are pretty good role models.
How have you cultivated a family atmosphere in your program?
I was told a long time ago that if you have a good football program, your kids will hang around the facility and around the coaches. I keep a big ol’ basket of candy in my office and whether I’m in there or not, they can come in and get themselves a little Snickers bar. They know that door is always open, and they know we can talk about anything. It doesn’t have to be football—it can be about a girlfriend, mom and dad, car trouble, or anything else.
What did you learn as an assistant coach that sticks with you today?
Hayden Fry was an innovator who wasn’t afraid to take chances. He was ahead of his time, and I try to follow that lead. Under Coach Osborne, I really learned about professionalism. It was fun to watch him work and always do things the right way.
I also picked up my approach to using walk-ons at Nebraska. We had an offensive line coach who told me, “You’ll never hear a Nebraska coach say, ‘That kid will never play.’” I’ve always remembered that. We’ve got guys playing here now who wouldn’t have been given a shot by most people two or three years ago. Last year, Zach Johnson was a senior walk-on receiver for us. He caught six balls for 110 yards in the national championship game. He was here for three years before his talent began to surface. If I hadn’t been around Tom all those years at Nebraska, I don’t think I would have had the patience to allow that to happen.
What is your approach to walk-ons?
If a guy comes in and works hard, he’ll surface as a player at some position. Generally, it begins by earning a spot on special teams, then before you know it, he’s splitting time with a position player. Next thing you know, he’s out there as a starter. For instance, our center is as good as any in the country and he’s 5-foot-10. He was a walk-on who came in as a fullback. We didn’t need a fullback in our offense, so one day we tried him at center and it clicked.
What’s your advice for young coaches looking to climb the coaching ladder?
Number one, they have to know what they want to do. Number two, they have to be tireless workers. We don’t watch the clock here—we are all people who will do whatever it takes to get the job done. Our guys are smart, hard working, and they care about our players. Those are the traits I look for in an assistant coach.
Do you ever think about giving I-A another shot?
If I hadn’t already been at Texas Tech, North Texas, Nebraska, and Arkansas, I might want to. But we’ve got great kids and a terrific staff here. We’ve been together a long time, and we don’t see much turnover. There’s a lot of harmony and the entire staff pulls for one another.
What’s your philosophy on scheduling I-A opponents?
We want one on the schedule every year, and we’d like to play them early. We only want to play one per year because it’s hard to compete numbers-wise. Some players get beat up and the next thing you know you’ve got guys missing two or three big ballgames.
However, two years ago we faced two—LSU and Kansas. The schedule got re-worked, and we ended up playing LSU late in the season. Even though we lost, I think keeping the score close gave us a big boost going into the next ballgame and helped jump-start our championship run.
Are the bigger schools shying away from playing you now?
A little bit, and I understand why. There were times they were beating down our door to play us, but they seem a little reluctant to schedule us now because everybody needs six wins to qualify for a bowl game, and they really can’t afford to play a I-AA team that has the potential to beat them. It makes scheduling a lot more difficult, but we take it as a compliment.
What do you want your players to remember you for?
That’s something we talk about a lot here. I’m always asking our players, “What do you want to be remembered for?”
I want to be remembered as a role model, and I want every player to walk away saying, “They were fair to me, and I got coached as hard as I could be coached. They got as much out of me as they could.” It’s sad when a kid’s eligibility is completed and he thinks, “I probably could have been a little better.”
All comments will be reviewed before they are posted.