Trust me -- who you follow on twitter makes a difference! It has become an invaluable resource for me. One of the guys I benefit from so much is Fran Fraschilla. While he has retired from coaching to work in the broadcast booth he certainly hasn't forgotten us that still teach -- constantly posting invaluable material to make us better.
Yesterday was no different when he tweeted this:
The article was outstanding and touched on so many things pertinent.
1. The importance of of being ready to go at a moments notice.
2. The basic necessity for intentional preparation.
3. The need for retired coached to still be around and part of the game.
The basis of the story was the relationship between Hall of Fame Coach Bill Parcells and a high school quarterback that was coached by his son-in-law. That high school quarterback is now the third-string passer for the New England Patriots, Jacoby Brissett. The same Jacoby Brissett that came of the bench for injured Jimmy Garoppolo (filling in for suspended Tom Brady) and help guide the Patriots to 31-24 victory over Miami.
Parcells has been mentoring Brissett since his high school playing days and during the Patriots camp this fall he would constantly text Brissett the phrase "One Snap." Meaning you are just one snap away for your opportunity.
The article was written by Jenny Vrentas for Monday Morning Quarterback on SI.com and you can read it in it's entirety here.
Here are some great take aways:
On Parcells using the tag “One Snap”:
Bill Parcells has known Jacoby Brissett since the Patriots rookie quarterback was a Florida teen just old enough to drive. But for the past five months, Parcells hasn’t addressed Brissett by his first name. No, when they exchange text messages, the legendary coach calls Brissett a nickname, of sorts: “One Snap.”
Yes, that’s right. “Hey, One Snap,” sounds kind of funny, but don’t tell that to Parcells.
“Oh, no. No. We are not making light of that,” Parcells said in a scolding tone during a phone conversation Monday. “That’s a message. He understood it. I was trying to put his ears up like a German Shepherd. Put your ears up; you are only one snap from playing. Sure enough, it happened.”
Great stuff on preparation:
“I certainly wish he had more time to ingest the material,” Parcells said. “The keys are always the same keys. Do your work. Do your preparation. Try to comprehend the plan of attack that the coaches have laid out for you and make sure that you have an understanding, to the best of your ability on a short week and your first time around the league and not much experience playing, to give yourself the best chance to be successful, knowing full well it probably won’t go smoothly right away.”
On the type of mindset Parcells want to instill into Brissett:
The fact that Bill Belichick, Parcells’ defensive coordinator on his two Giants championship teams, used his No. 91 draft pick on a player his old boss has known for seven or eight years is no accident. But far be it from either one to share the details of those conversations. Before Belichick even got Brissett in the building, Parcells had already instilled in him a similar way of thinking. No commercials, no trade shows, Parcells told him. Your only job is to learn the offense.
On Parcells still wanting to be around the game:
Parcells was at the Giants-Saints game at MetLife Stadium on Sunday when on a nearby TV he caught a glimpse of Brissett taking the field for New England. As hard as it might be to imagine Parcells saying this, he immediately felt like an “expectant father.” The Hall of Fame coach is something of an NFL godfather for Brissett and a line of pro-caliber football players to come out of Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Parcells spends the winters in nearby Jupiter, and the pro at his golf club is the father-in-law of Dwyer’s football coach, Jack Daniels. Or, as Parcells explains it, “I am a football guy, so I like football, so I go around where football is.”
