Posted by: Chris Vannini on May 14, 2013

As NFL media got a look at Chip Kelly's practice on Monday, they realized the hype around the speed and tempo was as advertised.

Kelly spoke with the media and gave insight into why he does what he does.

Simply, it all comes down to efficiency. So while practices can be short, they can be more valuable. It's not about how long you work, it's how well you work. He explained his methodology goes back to his time as an assistant at New Hampshire from 1994-2006.

"It started when we were at New Hampshire, and as we moved to Oregon," Kelly said. "It was a little different when I was a coordinator and changed more when I was a head coach. We want to be efficient with our time. We don't want to be on the field for a long time. We want to maximize our time we're on the field.

"You see us go from tempo periods to teach periods. There's a rhyme or reason to what we're doing. Time on task versus time on teaching, I think there's a good balance of that. We want to get them in and get them out, but we also have to get a certain amount of work in."

Kelly blares music at practice and says there's plenty of science behind the distractions it provides, though he didn't get into the details. It's something he's done for a while.

With that maximization of time on the field comes working in short bursts. Instead of simply running the players ragged, Kelly practices his players in short bursts, because that's how games are played.

"There's a lot that goes into that," Kelly said. "Obviously we know we can't practice full-speed for the entire time we're out there, so it's got to be short bursts, but the game of football is short bursts. It's really an anaerobic sport, when you look at it, because you're going hard for five to six seconds, and then you're taking a break. That's what we're trying to get accomplished with these guys."

Do shorter practices limit the evaluations coaches can do of players? Kelly says no, and that everything is filmed, which is the basis for those evaluations.

With rookies getting to work, former USC quarterback Matt Barkley said he's working to be the starter. Kelly was asked if he takes Barkley's statement seriously, and the coach said Barkley better be thinking that way.

"I hope so," Kelly said. "I would hope that anybody that comes into this place isn't sitting here saying, 'I'm going to be a solid backup.' I want our guys to come in here and show us everything they can do. Our job as a coaching staff is to put the best guys on the field in the first game against Washington that will help us win.

"If that's Matt, then that's Matt. We'll see how that goes. If anybody came in here and said they're vying for a backup job, then they'll probably be on the bus down (the road) real quick."

You can watch Kelly's press conference by clicking here.

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Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com

Posted by: Pete Roussel on Tuesday May 14, 2013

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Offensive coordinators invest significant time preparing and practicing red zone offensive schemes.

In the red zone, passing windows tighten.  The ability to run the football becomes even more important.  Penalties are difficult to overcome, while turnovers are devastating.

Games, sometimes even seasons, hinge upon to the ability to score touchdowns in the red zone. On the biggest stage, settling for field goals will likely get you beat.

Today, we look at the programs that have experienced the most success of scoring touchdowns in the red zone over the last three years.

A couple of observations:

- 32 teams rank ahead of Alabama.

- The style of offense appears irrelevant to the touchdown percentage success.  You can have as much success operating primarily out of shotgun '10 personnel' packages as you can by lining up primarily in heavy-personnel packages.  Would you ever have guessed that Lincoln Riley's offense at East Carolina would rank 3rd nationally in red zone touchdown percentage over the last three years?

- Over the last two years, Kliff Kingsbury's offenses have scored touchdowns 70% of trip into the red zone.  Over the last three years, Texas Tech scored touchdowns 69% of red zone opportunities under Neal Brown, while Dana Holgorsen's offenses have scored touchdowns 67% of red zone opportunities.

- Earlier this week, I did a 6-study on key elements of the Stanford offense.  Another reason for the success is a 69% touchdown percentage in the red zone.  Only seven teams ranked higher.

- Boston College (42%), Colorado State (47%), and Rutgers (49%) are the only three teams in the country to score touchdowns less than 50% of red zone opportunities.

I think the following chart does not illustrate the most productive red zone offenses because it does not account for red zone possessions that end without points.  While field goals are not always the goal, it's better to come away with 3 points than none.

This chart illustrates the teams with the highest touchdown percentage once inside the red zone.

The bottom:

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Pete Roussel is a valuable resource for coaches, athletic directors, NFL front-office personnel, and college football enthusiasts. A former college football coach, Roussel shares insight on coaches 365 days a year and is recognized as the most trusted expert on coaching transactions. Follow @CoachingSearch on twitter and send your feedback to pete@coachingsearch.com

Posted by: Chris Vannini on May 14, 2013

When summer comes, teams are doing well if they aren't making headlines.

Summer news usually means players getting in trouble, and the fact that coaches can rarely come in contact with them doesn't help.

While on the Pac-12 coaches teleconference a few weeks ago, Mike Leach said it didn't make sense that coaches are responsible for more than a hundred players, but they can't be in contact with them. While on SiriusXM College Sports Nation, Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe echoed those same thoughts.

"It's the craziest thing," Grobe said. "We spend as much time as we can trying to get them ready, and then basically we have no contact with them all summer long until we come back in August. It's a long time not having the ability to work with these guys. I'm not talking just football. Just being around them is something that's important to you as a coach.

"You just hope your kids do the right things and hope they work out hard and all those things that you need them to do if you're going to win."

Many players come from homes with tough family situations, and even those with stable homes rely on that family relationship. Aside from football, Grobe wishes coaches had more time to build those relationships with players.

"These kids, it seems like kids today really need a relationship with their coaches," Grobe said. "They come from families where most of the kids we get at Wake Forest have really strong ties to their families and they expect to have that here at the school.

"In the summer, we can't even walk by the weight room. We can't walk by their workouts on the field. We can't even watch them or comment. It seems kind of crazy that we do it that way. I think the kids would like to have us involved more."

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Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com