#79 Barry Odom

Barry Odom is the head football coach at Purdue University and someone I’ve had the privilege of knowing since his playing days at Missouri, where he was part of building something truly special. A proven leader at the highest level of college football, Barry has built his career on toughness, accountability, and developing men both on and off the field. From growing up in Ada, Oklahoma to leading major programs across the country, his journey is rooted in competition, character, and community. More importantly, he’s a great friend and someone who truly understands what it means to lead with purpose. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Coaches and athletic directors, it's Corbin Smith with MTTS Sports Group. Let me ask you a quick question. What are the biggest challenges that you face when it comes to leadership development and culture sustainability? At MTTS Sports Group, we have created a system through leadership speaking and training, staff alignment seminars, as well as culture seminars that address those issues. We also offer a six-hour fully immersive leadership stress test for your teams called the Tour Crucible. If you are interested at all, go to www.mttssportsgroup.com and let us know how we can help. Enjoy the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Sorry for the delay and finally getting this connected.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

No, no, I just appreciate you jumping on. So I'm excited. Yeah, gosh, Barry, I think you're number 80. Um, I don't know if you're gonna be episode 79 or 80, but yeah, I've done a lot of these in a year or so. So thanks for coming on. I'll introduce you real quick. Barry Odom, head football coach at Purdue University, and uh been fortunate enough to watch watch watch you grow since you were a high school kid and I wasn't much older, but going to Missouri and then following your coaching career, and um you're a special man, so I appreciate you coming on, dude. How are things going?

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Awesome, man. Great to see you. And um I I think you look at what the what coaching is, and if I had to go back looking at from from every level that I had a chance as a young kid to to play baseball and run track and and play football, I always had influential coaches. And but none more influential than than my college coach and coach Smith. And the the I I believe that we all are placed exactly where we're supposed to be. And uh it took a lot of different twists and turns for me to end up at the University of Missouri at that time. Um and I had, you know, the coach that came in uh in our high school and and really found me late, and then for how I'd aligned, and it was like the exact thing that I was searching for. And I think that's that's one of the reasons uh that I'm in coaching today is because the impact that a number of guys uh like yourself and like Coach Smith had on my life, and uh I I never can give the game back enough uh on what it gave me. And and it's probably more people than the actual game. Um, but I'm I'm happy to join you today, man, and a lot of respect for what you're doing. Yeah, I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Hey, um, I want to ask you because just so people know, so you uh you went to Ada, Ada High School in Ada, Oklahoma, um, small little town just south of Oklahoma City. But um, you know, I remember recruiting there, and it was just you guys were on a different level. Everything about it was just different. And and a lot of people, a lot of coaches, you know, that that coach in bigger cities don't really understand just the influence a community really has in your upbringing and you as a as an individual, but also as an athlete and a suit and stuff like that. How much how much did growing up in ADA and playing football at ADA, because you were a linebacker, you know, in high school and played running back in college and and excuse me, played running back also, but in college, you played linebacker. How much influence do you think growing up in a in a smaller community had um with just your your values and and your work ethic?

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Yeah, I think um at the time, I I don't know that I really understood the impact of of what I had the opportunity to do because the in the entire town and community, and and coach, it didn't matter if it was our football team or if it was the band or the show choir. I mean, the the alignment with um the administrators, with the coaches, with the leaders of the community, they understood that you know our most important commodity are are people. And they poured absolutely everything into the the extracurricular activities and the programs. And then academically, they always I think did a really good job. They, you know, the the entire K through 12, um, they call it the system. And, you know, I think you look at really what was that, it it was a system because there was a a really deliberate approach all the way up from elementary school all the way up of the development of kids, which really it I didn't know it while you're there, but I mean they they allowed you to to fail, right? Uh, but supported you on on how to get it right. But also, man, they made us so competitive. In everything we did, it was there was a competition. And some people look at that, they well, is that healthy? I absolutely it is, and I think we need more of it because life is hard. Um but I but I thought that you know we won, I think Ada has won at least 20 state championships in the sport of football. And you just look at every year, that was the expectation. That was like, okay, if you don't you don't win at all, then you then it was a failure. Um But I think you look at everything that it provided, and it it opened up another world for me when I looked at what is out there, because there were guys ahead of me in school that went on and they were college football players. Uh Blake Shelton, the music artist, was a classmate of mine. I mean, there's so many. Jeremy Shockey was a great tight end that that was there. I mean, there's so many people, but that was kind of there were people there before me or and and then after that that they were having great success, and it opened up my eyes. Like, man, you can you can go do that. You can go do something if you if you set your mind to it. And I think a lot of that was just systematic how it was built into the school and from the community that support.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Well, you you bring up an important word, and that's competition. And and and I know I've had Brock on here, um, I've had Damani on here. Um, and they all talked about it's specifically Brock, right? Because you guys, you know, one of the first classes to come through there, and you guys are responsible for turning that around and laying the foundation that later led to basically where it is today. And I'm convinced of that. And um, you know, the I think you guys were the most competitive groups, man. Every day, it didn't matter what you were doing, classroom, weight room, you know, eating at the training table or on the field. You there was always this competition um, you know, mechanism that was in place without coaches having to really instill that. Um, and you were fortunate to be around to really have two mentors, in my opinion, that were probably two of the greatest competitors, and that's you know, Larry Smith and Gary Pinkle. And um, you know, I've seen your practices at UNLV, I've been in your staff rooms, um, been in your team meeting rooms, and you seem to always innately be pushing the competition piece. Um in a day and age where guys are wanting to sit out because they're getting paid a lot of money or whatever, how do you keep that competition piece at the forefront of everything that you do?

SPEAKER_00 8:09

Yeah, I think there's a lot of levels to that, and I and I think number one, um you better have the right person in your program from a recruiting standpoint. Because at the end of the day, the three and a half hours that guys are on that platform every Saturday in that world of competition, in my opinion, if you haven't trained or prepared uh yourself through the process of what that looks like, you have no chance on Saturday afternoon. So every single thing that we're trying to do, and I learned this from Coach when I was a player. I mean, on put it on full display, whether it's inside run for 25 minutes or the one-on-one tackle and drill, whatever it is, you know, there was always the thought there's there's a winner and a loser in absolutely everything we do. And that's that's in life, that's in the classroom. Um I want to be able to try to influence our team on is if you come to school here, you are going to graduate in the world of leaving and going somewhere every year. Um, I want to be able to develop, guys, but also in the in the context, coach, spiritually, socially, academically, obviously athletically, and as a man, I want them to walk out of our program that they're prepared for life. And I I want us, I want us all to play in the NFL. Every single one of them, I want to go play in the NFL. Um, but the game of football, in, in my opinion, if if if we could take what our locker room looks like right now and make our society look like that, man, it's gonna be a much better world.

unknown 10:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Because the game of football, when you step on the field, it does not matter uh how much money you do or don't have, it does not matter the color of your skin, it does not matter what kind of music you listen to. Right. Um, it's it's as real as it can get. And when you can get the locker room galvanized, that they really care and love each other, um, then the competitive nature and the DNA start showing up on what it is. And I I just believe that's an everyday process. Um, because as soon as you relax, there's somebody waiting around the corner to knock you out. And um, I want my guys, whenever football is over, that they've got a degree, I've put them in position to be able to network with enough people that when they go stand in line to to get that job, that they know and they're prepared more than anybody else trying to go get it. And and it's the same thing with being a husband, and if they get a chance to be a dad, that man, I want them to be the best. And the way you do that is you you have to compete your tail off every single day.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Um it's funny because you know, we anybody that's ever played been in that that locker room, and and and I go back to my high school days, and I know you do too, and we both went to high schools that were special high schools, right? Loyal to high school, a to high school. Um, but people that that haven't experienced that, um it's so important because you know, all athletic programs kind of talk about family, right? But it goes beyond that because, like you said, when you're in that locker room, it doesn't matter um where you came from, your culture, the color of your skin, how much money you do or don't have. If both your parents, you know, were together for for your whole life or or whatever. Um you have arguments, you have disagreements, sometimes you have fights. I mean, it it happens, but it also happens in family, and you know this being you know, not the only boy in your in your house growing up. Yeah, um, and I know it being a father of three boys too, but um, it's so important. I wish our society could really experience that. And um, you know, that kind of goes into my next question about culture, because I know we've had a uh quite a few talks about this previously about in today's day and age of of college athletics, um, it used to be like when you were playing, when I was playing, the older guys would would would instill the culture, right? They would implement it. If you did something as a young player that didn't fit, they would say that's not what we do here. This is how we do it. So straighten up. Um with all the turnover because of NIL, because of the transfer portal, which is what we live in. Um how much is your culture affected year after year from the standpoint of are you are you consistently having to rebuild the culture or reinstall the culture every six months, every year?

SPEAKER_00 13:08

I think number one, it goes back to who you invite in your program. Okay, are they made up of the right stuff? Do they fit the the Purdue way uh on the things that we talk about, the foundational building blocks of what your culture looks like. If you walk into our building, not not anywhere do we have the word family up or culture or any I want I want people to see it. We don't have to go promote it. I and and I've got to own this. Um I did not do a very good job on last year's team. When I got the job, we ended up, you know, in last year, and I'm not making excuses, Corby, but it it's it's the facts. We signed 87 new guys, and then 46 of them were after spring practice last year. I I failed on getting us um as close as I could. And then it it showed in the fall we we lost three one-score games right at the end of the game. There's a number of things. One, we didn't do a good enough job coaching. Two, we weren't close enough as a team and um you know made a lot of difficult decisions that I think will prove to be long-term successful for us. Right. But it was all based around culture. As soon as that last game was over, uh, we've been very, very deliberate on on this teaching, on this is exactly how we're gonna do it, what it's gonna look like, how we embrace it, the workouts, the togetherness. We've we've done more team building exercises since January 12th until today than than maybe I have in the last five years combined. Because I I wanted guys to care about their teammates. I wanted them to care about Purdue, and for them to understand that we represent something so much bigger than ourselves. And it's never you run out of time, but I know this the more we just continue to pour into the relationships, those always take time and effort, more you pour into this is the standard and the expectation, and what it looks like, eventually the culture takes over and fast forward to where we are today from where we were last year this time. Uh it's a completely different program. But it's but it's taken alignment, it's taken vision, alignment, and then everybody making sure that they understand and hold each other accountable. We we don't have a very big senior class this year, we've only got 15 guys. Um so I'm challenged, we've got leadership classes and a leadership council set up. Um, and then we've done a number of things that just try to blend the team together, but also the ability to lead and and call out in a healthy standpoint. Hey, that's not that's not a winning habit. That's not the standard. So it's not necessarily like it was, you know, years ago with a the seniors, they sit at the front of the room and they they lead and then everybody else follows, but there is a pretty good blend of trying to get back to some of those things that that helped us have success when we were together.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

Yeah, I I think you know you hit on a on a key thing there. So the intentionality of it all, right? You got to be intentional and and being able to um do team building, do team bonding, you know, and consistently. Because I think I know a lot of high school coaches listen to this, and we haven't talked about my my business, the MTTS sports group, but um basically from from the from the leadership and character development standpoint and culture, I still use that word because that's what everybody uses. But the reality is, you know, everybody talks words and action, like, like you said, right? You want people to step in to to your facilities, go watch the team, be around your your players and your coaches and and the staff and feel it. And you know, the fact of the matter is most high school coaches are dealing with problems every day, you deal with it every day. And as coaches, we find solutions. And that's great. But the reality is the problems are words, the solutions are words, and unless you have a system in place, um, that's where the action takes place, is a system. And and how important do you think it is? Because that's that's one of the things. I've created systems for leadership development, uh, for character development and culture development that are based around systems that they can install their solutions in. Um that's a pretty important thing for coaches, isn't it? Don't you think?

SPEAKER_00 17:47

You gotta have it in in my belief. But if not, uh it can't just be the flavor of the day, right? You've got to have a plan on how you're gonna go attack it. You've got to have a plan on, okay, this is and every team's different. I mean, every every single year you get a different team and what it looks like. But if systematically on the approach on on how you're going to attack uh becoming a great team, what does that look like? I mean, is it a group of 12 guys? Is it 20? And then how do you teach that material? How do you get them then to be the voice in the locker room? If you if that's not really, in my opinion, on paper, okay, week by week, this is what it really needs to look like, then there's gonna be there's gonna be some areas that that probably you come up short in. And um, you know, I I just think there's there's so many the window of time that we have, just like in high school coaching, the window of time that you have with a guy is not very long. Okay, are we are we more concerned with how we're running the field pressure, or can we spend a little bit of time on making sure that uh we care a little bit more about each other? Because at the end of the day, yeah, we're gonna be able to teach the X's and O's, but um when it gets down to crunch time, you better be connected and the team better care about each other.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

Yeah. Before I ask you about community, because I know that's big, but um what are some of the standards or pillars that you guys have implemented since you've been there that you, you know, you expect those kids to to live every excuse me, men to live every single day?

SPEAKER_00 19:26

Yeah, I think number one, it it starts with what we're talking about, the locker room. And we've got 115 guys, respect the cultural differences uh in in the locker room and respect all uh the golden rule, treat every single person in this building and on campus like you want to be treated. And if you do that, it's gonna be a pretty darn good place. Um you talk about just the work ethic and the consistency on what it looks like. You know, we strive high in the classroom to, you know, at Purdue University, it's one of the greatest academic institutions in in college football right now and and has been for a number of years, but but we're carrying a GPA that's that's never even been thought about having here. So it's about going to class, it's about doing the things you're supposed to do. Can your teammates count on you with those? Um the work ethic in the weight room. Okay, we've got three different lifting groups going on now that the spring practice is over, and we challenge each other to PR uh in the weight room, you know, set standards on what that looks like. And then more than anything, the ability um to put the team first and showing examples of that on what it's supposed to look like. And, you know, in in team meetings that we have, you know, I spend more time talking about life lessons than I do on uh what the practice plan looks like. Um and then we've got great examples from the spring of of guys really genuinely being happy and excited when their teammate makes a play and showing those things. And we've got a marker of of how hard you play when on offense when you don't have the ball in your hands, you know, and showing those things, uh, the grit that it takes to play six seconds at a time. Um, those are all fun things to point out because I think those small details, those eventually will break down the wall and and will result in wins.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Yeah. Um staff, your staff. I mean, you've always put together really strong staffs with with good men and good people. Um again, for the high school level, I think that's something that that's difficult to do for a lot of head coaches. Um, they don't have, you know, the the the assistant coaches that you bring in, the staff that you bring in. I mean, it's it's there's a lot of green guys, there's a lot of guys that you know are stuck in their ways, you know, live within their egos. What would you, I mean, just just from your perspective when you put together staffs or have to replace a coach or something like that, um, what are the core principles that you could that kind of guide you through that process of of hiring people?

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Yeah. That's a a a great question. Um because it's so hard and and we all learn from our experiences. And and you know I a little bit of a vulnerable moment. You know, I got fired as a head coach at the University of Missouri. And you look back and man that was that was really hard. And you think, okay, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, learn from your things you did well, learn from things that you got to look in the mirror and and know you didn't do well and fix them because the opportunity will come up again that you can apply those apply those things, uh those lessons. I think early on coach in my career as as a head coach, I was too hard headed thinking I had to do everything. I had to be the defensive coordinator. I had to run the recruiting department. I was given all my advice on marketing on what that needs to look like. And at the end of the day, you know, you lose out on some of the cultural development that you should be doing with your team. And at the end of the day you're thinking oh my gosh I didn't get to this and this and this and this. But then I I've just I just thought I could still do it all. So then I, you know, I did I just didn't do it very well. So you look at okay how do you fix that? You surround yourself with really really good people. And number one, if if I have an opportunity to to hire a coach or a staff member, number one, I want a great person um in that role. Number two, I want them to be able to to be a great communicator and be able to uh teach because if they can communicate to kids if they've got the ability to teach the information and they're a good person if we recruit right the skill set's going to take over anyway. Schematics that's important but it's way down the list in my book. And then the those that are in leadership positions, it's my job to empower those guys, gals, and provide a platform that when they drive into work every day, man, they're fired up to get there and they can't wait to get around the kids. They've got energy and enthusiasm and they love teaching. And then you know are we running a 4-3 or an odd stack or what that that's going to come. But I've also I think we all if we'll admit it we've all got blind spots on some things that maybe you're not really good at I I certainly have a lot of them. Yeah um hire people in those spots if you can that are really good in those areas. And I joked all the time I mean I think I know enough about offensive football but I just go in I just draw up touchdowns and you know and hand it to the offensive coordinator and um if it doesn't work punt the ball it's not that hard. And then uh but I but I learned coach you know and just stay in my lane and do do what I do well and just keep doing it and then allow the people in the organization to do their job and build them up and give them the opportunities to do what they do well.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

Yeah empowering your empowering the people that work for you work around you work with all that kind of stuff super important. And I know you know you brought up teaching and I bring it up all the time and and um you know the listeners have heard my stories about teaching multiple times but I think you know I know even coaching at that level um when I was when I was there it it there were a lot of really good coaches that were great motivators and great with the with the players but didn't know how to teach. And you could see it. I mean it was evident the guys that could teach and the guys that that were just you know really good maybe schematically and and and all that kind of stuff but didn't know how to teach and still I go back to Curtis Curtis Jones Coach Jones at Missouri I I still you know I kind of chuckle and you know still talk to Gwen every once in a while but he was a great teacher he that that guy knew how to communicate he almost overcommunicated but he knew how to teach you know whatever position he was coaching whether it was running backs or or defensive line um and so that's that's kind of the advice I give to all high school coaches is like hire guys that know how to teach.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Yeah you know um well you got to think about everybody learns differently I mean everybody I I've got it still as a as a player I had if we got an install sheet on what we were running I needed to draw it myself I needed to walk through it I needed to see it on film and then physically I had to go do it until I till I got it. That's just the way I learn so to me or our coaches you've got to find out okay how does your how does your team your room how do they learn how do they retain information and then I mean you got to be a great teacher.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Yeah it was it was for me you know like in the tight end room at Missouri I mean what six seven guys and it was funny because I would you know you'd put something new in you get up on the board you teach it you go through it and then I would always look back and there were six guys in that room three of them would be like shaking their head they understood the other three would be like what you end up teaching the same thing three or four different ways so everybody understands it. And that's super important. From a community standpoint because I know you're huge on on the community and I know you know what you're like at Missouri UNLV you kind of took it to a different level because of of Vegas and and and bull riding and doing all kinds of stuff um what dude you're getting old you better be careful you're gonna tear a hamstring or pop your bicep or something I don't care how much you work out.

SPEAKER_00 28:22

From a community standpoint there in West Lafayette what what have you guys what are you what are you trying to do to to make sure the community gets involved but even more so to make sure your you know your organization your program is involved within the community yeah you look at how important that is at at every level and and every stop that we've been and really coach I learned that I mean I learned that not only growing up in Ada because of the community support we had there but then watching uh Coach Smith and Cheryl on what they did in the community at Columbia in Columbia that spread then statewide region wide I mean you go back to the food bank on some of the things there the food drive and all those we we continued that going when I was there we did it in in Vegas we're we're doing something similar there. I think I think it's important number one I'm really fortunate because my wife Tia um she saw that as well because we dated in college so she lived that world uh then as well so she is just about on every non-forprofit board there is uh it's amazing because of I know it's so important that I want them I I know it's a results driven business. I I get that I mean I get it clearly uh but it's also the impact that we have in the vehicle through the game of football that we have to impact thousands um it's our job and I look at it in some context and I and I'm certainly you know this could be controversial saying it but it it's almost like a ministry on I've got a window of time here with this platform to to try to do good and not only for the 115 guys I've got but my organization but then also all the that one there are many things about Purdue that are special but the people of this area are unbelievable. Unmatched support uh they care deeply about our sports programs they're hungry for us to get back to winning ways uh but also at the end of the day um the core group of what this region of the country is um they they want involvement they want to feel like it's their program and to me the only way you do that you you get out you get out in the street so to speak uh and you and you make as many connections as you can in as many different avenues as you can through the elementary schools uh uh reading foundation sending sending our team to elementary schools to read giving mentorship opportunities for that uh there's so many ways that through this great game that we can impact others uh it's part of the responsibility that not only I have but but my wife and our family has as well yeah is it um you know because at the high school level I mean you know we always made it mandatory our community service events or or you know every time we did something we we involved the community whether it was a fundraiser or or spring practice or you know game nights we had a theme every night um um or we did community service is that something where the players are required to to um complete a certain many hours or is it just kind of like hey this is highly encouraged and we you know we have a number of different opportunities that are set up um in part of the structure of the way we have set up our NIL uh or revenue share um there's some component of social responsibility and giving back that goes along with that and I'm really fortunate right now because we've got a group of guys that a portion of the money that they have have earned through NIL uh they're finding ways to give back to their communities and their high school teams and um you know there's a there's a lot of narrative about paying players um and and I'm I'm all for it I want to educate them okay here's this extra sum of money you had no idea you're gonna get or what to do with let's make sure that we're responsible in the way that we're handling business and it'll go back to what our locker room is like right now we've got a number of guys again some of them have you know it's it's been reported and some of them they don't want any attention at all about that. But we've got a big group of guys high percentage that are giving back in some way financially um and that's pretty cool to see.

SPEAKER_01 33:04

Yeah that's that's I've I've and and I think I've my thinking my thought process has has transformed over the the years and I think more so specifically when I got out of coaching for a couple years and then got back in was you know I mean we're we're like you said we we have a vehicle and we're we have a platform and I I know for me personally as a coach you know it's it's a service model. Like I'm there to serve you know when I was coaching and that's what I'm trying to do now is just still serve so I can help others be better um live a better life uh be better at a skill just be better people and um you know you with all the NIL talk and like you're saying I mean for for these young men to to be in a position to to serve in a way of giving back is is that's pretty big.

SPEAKER_00 33:58

Pretty big yeah it you know what it it it means they're starting to get it you know yeah and um so I think the messaging there um they see the impact they can have and uh they also know that not long ago they were in those shoes yeah on dreaming to try to get to this level and um that's been a lot of fun for me to see this team kind of take that initiative on how impactful they can be in a lot of different ways.

SPEAKER_01 34:28

Yeah so okay two more questions for you first one um talked to a lot of coaches obviously and it's funny how for me when I became a head coach like instantly I was like okay you know obviously I had my father-in-law was a head high school coach for 40 years and so he was a mentor my former brother-in-law was a head coach um so he was a mentor but I quickly you know gravitated towards people that I knew that could help me and like you said you're talking about blind spots and if you haven't been a head coach before you don't know what you don't know it's like being a parent people can prepare you for it but until you're in that position you you don't know how you're gonna react you don't know what you're gonna do. There's a lot of high school coaches out there that that I think understand um that they need mentors but don't understand the importance of it. And and like I said when we started off I mean I really believe and I know you've had a lot of mentors but I think probably the two most influential ones are Coach Pinkle and and Larry Smith and and both great men um do you still have I mean do you still talk to Coach Pinkle and and or other mentors that you have and how important is that to your own growth and how it can positively impact you know where you're at in the program at Purdue.

SPEAKER_00 35:46

One of one of our foundational pieces in our program for for players and and then even more direct for that is is growth in every area. And I think that that that is a pursuit that we all should have as as leaders and educators. I've been really really fortunate that I've always been around great people and good people and people that are willing to share and and help you you know and help me along the way uh I I do stay in very close contact with with Coach Pinkle um and then there's a number of other guys in the business over the years but also for me I've been lucky that the connections through the game of football have put me in touch with a number of different leaders in the world of business in a number of ways. And you know when I was at um Memphis as a defensive coordinator one of my players his dad was the CEO and founder of FedEx and this by timing again you know Fred passed away uh a few months ago but he opened up his door Fred Smith opened up his door for me and and the amount of information that he this provided as a leader you know my three years there I mean I can't I can't put a value on that there's another guy there that was president of the university for a while and was in in um uh government in in a number of different levels Brad Martin maybe one of the most impactful leaders in in my time uh across the country in every board that he's set on or taken over he's transformed their company and he's got ways of communicating but also applying the knowledge he had whether it's through sport or business it helped me as a leader. And so there's so many guys that I that I'll fortunately have a chance I can reach out to and I can ask and they're gonna give me um basically the cold hard truth through their experience. And sometimes it's not what I want to hear um but that's exactly what I need. And uh I'm this really really and I'm and I'm trying to do that for my staff Corby that that you know reach a point um man I I want if they want I want my coordinators to become head coaches. How can I help them get there? Assistant coach if they want to become coordinator the next step you know we've got a number of guys in our in our building now the way that college football is structured that that used to be GAs and and then how everybody got the job now the these staffs are enormous and and we've got all these assistant position coaches. Okay how do I help them provide them the knowledge they need to go take that next step. So I used to get mad when I'd have a coach you know I had a tight ends coach that at Missouri that left and went to Texas AM and I just took it so personal. But it was like they doubled his salary his family was from 50 miles from there and I was just so angry at him you know and then like finally light bulb went off and took a step back. It's like that's what guys are supposed to do if it's if it's better for them and their family then then that's my job to try to help them get there. Now I want I want to keep everybody but also if it's a chance to grow in the profession then that's that's got to be part of my job as well.

SPEAKER_01 39:09

Yeah I'm glad you said that because I was going to specifically ask you about that because as a as a head coach again um you know at the high school level it was I felt like it was my responsibility responsibility to do exactly what you said and to you know and I would find out early on like what's your goal in coaching I want to go to the next level and go so everything I would do for a coach was to to to help educate them and prepare them for where they wanted to get to it but it's a hard thing to do. And I'm I you know so I got this book in publishing or excuse me in editing right now with a publisher and uh it's called More than the scoreboard anyway there's 16 chapters and the last chapter is remember my dad's coaching beliefs and organizations that whole thing he would give his coaches um I kind of kind of adjusted that for the high school uh situation so the last chapter the 16th chapter is that but every chapter before that has a principle that it's that it's based off leadership you know unbreakable teams and strong cultures um it hits one of those one of those main principles but there's a personal story in each one and for the 15th chapter it talks about the leadership pipeline and developing leaders and the example the story that I use was Hayden Fry and I was very fortunate and I saw my dad do it but I also saw Coach Fry do it when I played for him very I started to to compile this list of of guys that had coached for him or played for him. It's incredible and it's not just who everybody knows you know the the stoops and and and you know all them you know the Brett Vilma's and and all that kind of stuff it's the it's the guys that I've had on the show that I played with that are now high school coaches all over the country. And I think that's probably the one of the greatest testaments to his legacy is the instilling that love for being a servant and teaching and and coaching. So that's good to hear. I I last thing I want to ask you and not to get too personal but but you know I again I I've seen you grow you've been a father for years and years and years you've been a you've been a husband for even longer um how in what do you take from being being a husband um being a father that that you find that there's this correlation between being a father and a husband and being a head football coach of 115 men.

SPEAKER_00 41:50

What's that crossover like uh I could not do it um if it wasn't right at home right and I'm so fortunate that my wife has been uh a champion for a for a long long time there are times as you know uh in that world that um she raises the family and makes it go and uh very thankful for that um our our how our house is very Christ centered and always has been and um I'm fortunate that the messaging that we're able to talk to at home if we ever get my two sons back in the house and where they're 21 and 20 and then our daughter's 10, um you know to watch them spiritually grow in some of the influence that we have had at the house but also them uh reaching out and learning on their own and what that looks like now today um to have those conversations that means more to me than than about anything. And if I ever get a chance, you know, when we get the chance that all five of us are in the house together those moments are a little more fewer and far between but man I take advantage of every single one of them because how special that is. On the way you want to script it. But if I'll coach every single kid just like he's my son then at the end of the day I knew that I did right by them. And when I've been able to do that I can I can lay down tonight and that there's plenty of things that have come across The desk and I got to get solved. But if I take that approach, then I'm going to coach them just like they're my son. I'm going to pour into them in every single way. And I'm going to love them and mentor them, then things are going to work out. And I know that I did everything I possibly could from my soul for those guys. Amen to that.

SPEAKER_01 44:21

Perfect. Barry, busy man. I really appreciate you. Thanks, Coach. More than you know. Love you. Love your family. Please tell them hello. Okay. But thank you again. Thanks, Coach. A lot of respect. Hang on for a quick sec, okay? All right.