Offseason Tasks: What Every Coach Needs to Get Done Before Next Season

The offseason isn’t a vacation, it’s an opportunity. The teams that maximize these months are the ones that hit the ground running in the fall. The ones that don’t? They’re the ones scrambling midseason, trying to fix problems that should have been addressed long before camp even started. If you want to set your team up for success, the work starts now. Here’s what every coach needs to accomplish in the offseason to ensure their team is prepared, organized, and ready to dominate when the season kicks off.

Self-Scout: Know Who You Are

Before you start planning for next season, take a hard, honest look at last season. What did your team do well? What concepts gave you the most success? On the flip side, where did you struggle? Was it an execution issue or a scheme issue? Maybe there were plays you loved but didn’t call enough, or maybe you leaned too heavily on a concept that defenses figured out.

This is also the time to evaluate your personnel. Who’s coming back, and how does that impact your scheme? If you’re returning an experienced offensive line, it might be time to build more around your run game. If you’re losing your deep-threat receiver, your passing game may need to evolve. The best coaches don’t just analyze film, they extract key takeaways that shape the next season. If you don’t self-scout now, you’re setting yourself up for the same mistakes later.

Research: Find Solutions & Adapt

Every team had something that gave them trouble last season. Whether it was struggling against odd fronts, failing to pick up blitz pressures, or getting exposed in coverage, the offseason is the time to find answers. Watch your film, identify the problem areas, and start looking for solutions.

This is where great coaches separate themselves. Study successful programs, watch clinics, and talk to other coaches. Find new wrinkles to add to your system, but don’t just copy and paste, make sure whatever you install fits your personnel. Your system should evolve every offseason, but it should still be your system. If you’re running something just because Ohio State or the Eagles do it, and it doesn’t fit your team, it’s a wasted install.

Invest in Your Players

Football is more than Xs and Os. The best teams have strong cultures, and that starts with relationships. One of the most impactful things a coach can do in the offseason is simply spending time with their players. Go watch them compete in basketball or track, they’ll remember that you showed up.

Beyond that, build structured activities into the offseason. Whether it’s short, focused film sessions twice a week with a snack or leadership meetings, these moments build trust and engagement. The best programs make football a year-round priority without making it feel like a chore. Most importantly, be present. A quick conversation in the hallway, a simple “How’s your day going?”, those things matter more than any scheme. Players don’t commit to a program. They commit to people. Make sure you’re investing in them before you ask them to invest in you.

Take a Break

Football never truly stops, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. The season is a grind, and if you don’t take time to reset, the game will take it from you. Step away for a bit, clear your mind, and spend time with your family. They sacrifice all year for your coaching career, make sure they get your full attention in the offseason.

Beyond just resting, use this time for personal reflection. What did you learn as a coach last year? What could you do better in your leadership, game management, or team-building approach? Growth doesn’t just happen on the field. The best coaches evolve in every area of their program, and that starts with self-awareness.

Evaluate & Refine Your Drills

The best teams drill with purpose. Every drill you run should have a direct connection to in-game performance. If it doesn’t, why are you doing it? Take the time to review all of your position drills and ask yourself: Is this simulating real game movements? Is it addressing our weaknesses?

If your defense struggled with tackling last year, are you adding more tackling circuits? If your offense had too many turnovers, how are you drilling ball security? This is also a great time to refine how you structure individual periods in practice. Make sure every rep your players take has a purpose and translates to game-day execution.

Refine Your Installs

One of the biggest mistakes coaches make is assuming their install process is fine just because it worked in the past. Every year, your team changes, and your install process should change with it. Look at how you teach your schemes, does the order make sense? Are you layering concepts efficiently? A well-structured install plan makes camp smoother and prevents information overload for your players.

Additionally, if you’re adding new concepts to your scheme, where do they fit within your install progression? Don’t just slap them in randomly. Make sure they build off existing concepts so your players can grasp them faster. A well-thought-out install schedule doesn’t just make teaching easier, it makes execution better when the season starts.

Fine-Tune Your Practice Plans

A great practice structure is a competitive advantage. Don’t wait until camp to figure it out. Now is the time to plan your weekly template, how many full-pad days, when you’re in shells, what your film schedule looks like, and how you structure pre-practice periods.

Are you maximizing your crossover periods between offense and defense? Should you allocate more time to situational work? These are the details that separate teams in crunch time. If you struggled in certain areas last season, adjust your practice structure to put more emphasis on fixing those weaknesses. Efficiency in practice leads to execution in games.

Situational Mastery: Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

Games are won and lost in situational football. The best teams don’t wait until Week 6 to install their two-minute offense or their backed-up punt plan. Your staff should take the time to go through every game situation before the season starts, two-minute drill, four-minute offense, Hail Mary defense, two-point conversions, backed-up offense, and sudden change defense.

But it’s not just about coaches knowing these situations, your players need to know them too. Have they walked through them? Have they repped them in some capacity? The worst time to teach a critical situation is when it’s actually happening in a game. Get it installed early so when the moment comes, your players execute with confidence.

Final Thoughts

Championships aren’t won in December, they’re built in the offseason. The best programs don’t see January through July as downtime; they see it as an opportunity to sharpen every aspect of their team.

Self-scout with ruthless honesty so you know exactly what needs fixing. Research with a purpose and adapt your system, but make sure it fits your personnel. Invest in your players, because relationships matter more than scheme. Take care of yourself, because burnt-out coaches don’t win games. And most importantly, refine the details, drills, installs, practice plans, and situational football, so when the season rolls around, you’re not playing catch-up.

Teams that attack the offseason the right way don’t just show up in August. They show up prepared, organized, and ready to dominate.