Efficient Practice and Game Day Analytics. Brian Flinn - Wide Receivers Coach, Villanova University

Summary: The guest on today’s USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Brian Flinn, wide receivers coach at Villanova University. Flinn is in his 13th season at Villanova and 12th as the team’s wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. During his time, Flinn has mentored several all-conference receivers at Villanova and helped wide receiver Matt Szczur to be the Colonial Athletic Association offensive player of the year in 2009. Szczur was also named the Most Outstanding Player in Villanova’s FCS national championship game win, as well as being a consensus first-team All-American. Prior to Villanova, Flinn made multiple stops in his coaching journey. He started by spending four seasons at Eastern Illinois as an assistant coach for wide receivers and tight ends. He also was the recruiting coordinator while at EIU. Before EIU, Flinn worked one season at Drake University in 2000 before becoming a graduate assistant at the University of Maryland from 2001-02. Flinn graduated from the University of Mount Union (Ohio) in 1997 and was a part of two NCAA Division III National Championship teams as a player. After college, Flinn returned to Mount Union for two seasons. First, he worked as a wide receivers coach in 1998, then the linebackers coach the next season. On today’s show, Flinn and host Keith Grabowski talk about Flinn’s experience in coaching, using efficient practice techniques and incorporating analytics to situational management. Show Notes 1:07 From working insurance to coaching 4:15 Lessons from experience at Mount Union 8:26 Earning your way through the coaching ranks 12:21 Being able to communicate with players effectively 14:15 Learning from previous coaching positions 17:48 Why stay at one school for a long period of time 20:36 How wide receivers coaches can help their players 25:29 Developing technique with younger players 29:34 Building efficient drills in a time crunch 34:54 Getting the most out of your players 37:47 The Winning Edge 44:34 Using analytics systems in situation management 47:29 Integrated situational analysis with analytics in practice 51:10 Being mentally able to use analytics during the game