Football's West Coast Offense - Frank Henderson and Mel Olson

Football's West Coast Offense

by Frank Henderson and Mel Olson

NEW, 192 pages

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About Football's West Coast Offense

Since the 1980s, football teams have used the West Coast Offense to win championships. From Bill Walsh's San Francisco 49ers juggernaut, to Brigham Young University's record-smashing Cougars, to the 1997 Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, this passing attack is a proven winner. Now you can learn the secrets of this system, no matter what level you coach.

This how-to book comes packed with 244 Xs and Os diagrams and explains the pro-style attack in simple and clear language. The authors, both former coaches on the BYU staff, explain how to tailor the system to suit your personnel, whether it's for ball control or big-play needs. They also include a mini-playbook that shows you how to attack various defensive coverages.

Football's West Coast Offense provides position-specific skill instruction that addresses:

• fundamentals of each offensive position,
• passing concepts,
• protection,
• plays, and
• reading or attacking coverages.

The book explains each pass pattern and shows how to use each pattern against various coverages. And if you're on the other side of ball, the book shows what to expect and how to defend this high-octane attack.

About Frank Henderson and Mel Olson

Authors Frank Henderson and Mel Olson coached football at Brigham Young University (BYU), where over the years head coach LaVell Edwards has revolutionized the passing game. Henderson was a graduate assistant coach for BYU and has more than 20 years of coaching experience. Olson was BYU's offensive line coach for 20 years.

After serving on the BYU staff, Frank Henderson went on to success in the high school ranks in Utah. He served as defensive coordinator at Layton High School, helping that school win league and state championships. At Provo High School (Utah) during his 11 years as head coach, Henderson directed his pass-oriented teams to 89 wins against only 39 losses ennroute to six league titles and a Utah state championship. Henderson was selected Utah High School Coach of the Year by the state football coaches association.

A student of the game, Henderson has spent many hours studying BYU game film and has learned some of the finer points of the pass offense from such luminaries as Bill Walsh, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, and Ted Tollner.

Henderson has authored articles for Scholastic Coach magazine. He earned an MS degree from Brigham Young University in 1977. A secondary school teacher, Henderson is a recipient of a Golden Apple Teaching Award from the Provo High School PTA.

He, his wife Nina, and their three children—Dane, Nicholas, and Kadee—live in Orem, Utah. His favorite leisure time activities include reading, weight training, and enjoying various sports with his family.

Mel Olson was offensive line coach for Brigham Young University for 20 years, during which BYU won 13 Western Athletic Conference titles and a national championship in 1984. During these years, BYU regularly led the nation in passing offense. In 1983 BYU's Cougars led all NCAA Division I teams with 584 yards offense per game. During Olson's tenure, BYU produced such quarterbacking stars as Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Marc Wilson, Giff Nielsen, and Ty Detmer. Olson coached future NFL all-pro lineman Bart Oates and Outland Trophy winner (for the nation's outstanding offensive lineman) Mohammed Elewonibi.

Olson turned in a sparkling football career as a player at BYU. A three-year starter, he had the rare distinction of being named all-conference on both sides of the ball—as a linebacker and as an offensive center.

Olson is a member of the American Football Coaches Association. He also is an instructor for the American Sport Education Program (ASEP). He holds an EdD from Brigham Young.

Olson serves as vice president of sports in the Southwest District of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). He also is on an AAPHERD committee to promote national coaching standards, and the National Advisory Committee for the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) to help set national coaching standards.

Olson and his wife Susan live in Orem, Utah. They have five children: Michael, Kristen, Melissa, Tresa, and Chad. His favorite leisure time activities are golf, fishing, and hiking.

Reviews of this Book

"This book is a complete and detailed explanation of a pro-style passing game: it covers not only philosophy, but also individual techniques for all levels of play."
Jim Fassel
Head Coach
New York Giants

"Coach Henderson and Coach Olson have done a marvelous job organizing and detailing the West Coast Offense. They really have taken a very complex passing attack and broken it down into a simple form. What a practical, useful book. Their efforts are to be commended."
Andy Reid
Quarterback Coach
Green Bay Packers

About American Football

American football, known in the United States as football, is a sport played between two teams of eleven. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. The ball can be advanced by running with it or throwing it to a teammate. Points can be scored by carrying the ball over the opponent's goal line, catching a pass thrown over that goal line, kicking the ball through the opponent's goal posts or tackling an opposing ball carrier in his own end zone.

In the United States, high school football, college football and professional football are played under slightly different rules. High school football is governed by the National Federation of State High School Associations, college football by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, while the major professional league is the NFL.

The sport is also played in Europe, Japan and Mexico. The International Federation of American Football acts as an international governing body for the sport. American football is closely related to Canadian football but with some differences in rules and the field.

Because the game stops after every down, giving teams a chance to call a new play, strategy plays a major role in football. Each team has a playbook of dozens to hundreds of plays. Ideally, each play is a scripted, strategically sound team-coordinated endeavor. Some plays are very safe; they are likely to get only a few yards. Other plays have the potential for long gains but at a greater risk of a loss of yardage or a turnover.

Generally speaking, rushing plays are less risky than passing plays. However, there are relatively safe passing plays and risky running plays. To deceive the other team, some passing plays are designed to resemble running plays and vice versa. These are referred to as play-action passes and draws, respectively. There are many trick or gadget plays, such as when a team lines up as if it intends to punt and then tries to run or pass for a first down. Such high-risk plays are a great thrill to the fans when they work. However, they can spell disaster if the opposing team realizes the deception and acts accordingly.

The defense also plans plays in response to expectations of what the offense will do. For example, a "blitz" (using linebackers or defensive backs to charge the quarterback) is often attempted when the team on defense expects a pass. A blitz makes downfield passing more difficult but exposes the defense to big gains if the offensive line stems the rush.

Many hours of preparation and strategizing, including film review by both players and coaches, go into the days between football games. This, along with the demanding physicality of football (see below), is why teams typically play at most one game per week.

Football's West Coast Offense