Gators' Single- Wing spread offense catching on in the NFL

By Chris Harry
Sentinel staff writer
June 25, 2009

GAINESVILLE - Urban Meyer took a steno pad from the reporter sitting on his office couch and began scribbling away. With two diagrams, the University of Florida coach explained the concepts behind his base offensive formations: the spread and the single wing.

"I'm kind of giving you everything we do here," he said.

Hardly everything, but a brief lesson cracked open a window into Meyer's fascinating world of X's and O's. It's a place that's become a sought-after destination among his peers these days, but that's no revelation given Meyer's astonishing run of championships since arriving in Gainesville.

Some of the folks requesting offseason audiences, however, might come as a surprise.

"Right now, we've been contacted by a minimum of three NFL teams who want to implement a spread element," Meyer said last month. "They're going to do it."

Meyer, of course, wouldn't say which teams, but the general interest in the Gators' playbook has an ironic rub.

In April, one of the hot story lines heading into the NFL draft was how difficult it's become for pro scouts and personnel types to project players from a college spread scheme — with its wider linemen splits, flanked tight ends, bubble-screens and near-exclusive shotgun alignment — to more conventional NFL sets.

Apparently, one of the ways to make that transition smoother is to spread the spread to the NFL.

"It's already here," said Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski, head coach at Boston College the last two seasons. "A lot of teams have it."

Not that many have used it.

Maybe more need to, given what the New England Patriots — be it with maestro Tom Brady or super-sub Matt Cassel — have done with the spread passing game since Bill Belichick began making annual offseason treks to Gainesville (and Meyer to Foxboro, Mass.) the last three years.

And it's probably safe to say more will use it, considering all the Sunday cameos of the so-called "Wildcat" formation — with the same base power off-tackle play Tim Tebow runs so magnificently — made around the league last season, especially with the Miami Dolphins.

"Everyone knows how I feel about Bill Belichick," Meyer said. "How is it that Tom Brady and this guy [Cassel] who never even started a game in college can make it work? Because Bill Belichick adapts. ... And the Miami Dolphins were 0-and-whatever [in '07] and they adapted to what they had. All of a sudden, the running back was taking snaps and they were winning games."


White puts Miami ahead of game
Look for the Dolphins to expand that facet of their offense this season after drafting West Virginia quarterback Pat White, a holy terror in the spread option for the Mountaineers. Tailback Ronnie Brown may have taken the bulk of Wildcat snaps at OTAs and minicamp, while White has struggled. But it's early.

"I think as we get on with this, he'll have some good days," Dolphins Coach Tony Sparano said.

Better than good. Don't be surprised if the Wildcat becomes the "Wild-Pat" once White, who unlike Brown or Ricky Williams brings a legitimate threat to throw the football, gets comfortable back there.

"Now you'd have real double jeopardy," Buccaneers defensive coordinator Jim Bates said.

The Bucs play the Dolphins in 2009. The Patriots, too. It's no coincidence that Bates has several days blocked off in the coming weeks to hole up with his staff and break down the league's latest trend.

Bates is no different than any other defensive coordinator in the NFL. It's no secret that rookies Percy Harvin in Minnesota and Knowshon Moreno in Denver, plus second-year man Felix Jones in Dallas and veteran pro bowler Larry Johnson, have made like Brown during offseason workouts.

Better be ready.



Orlando Sentinel




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Herd's Gibson, Wetzel into Single Wing Hall

Herd's Gibson, Wetzel into Single Wing hall
June 23, 2009 @ 12:00 AM


The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON -- Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame members Don Gibson and Marvin Wetzel are being inducted into the National Single Wing Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Gibson and Wetzel, who is deceased, both coached the single-wing style of football at New Mexico Highlands in Las Vegas, N.M., during the 1950s.

Single-wing football used a formation devised by legendary coach Pop Warner early in the 1900s. The single wing featured a set of four backs (tailback, fullback, quarterback, wingback) and an unbalanced line. A direct snap similar to what is used today in shotgun formations usually went to the tailback or fullback. The quarterback was used mostly as a lead blocker.

The "Wildcat" offense gaining popularity today also uses single-win principles.

Hall of Fame inductions are June 27 during the National Single Wing Symposium in Edwardsville, Ill.

Gibson, captain of the 1946 Marshall team, went to Highlands in 1953 as its head football coach, but he also served as the head basketball coach and athletic director.

He was named as the Frontier Conference football coach of the year in 1960 when his team shared the league title with a 6-2-1 record. He was also the conference basketball coach of the year in 1960 when his team advanced to the NAIA quarterfinals.

Gibson is retired and living in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Wetzel, nicknamed "Bear," played all 11 offensive positions at Marshall. In 1947 he was the nation's third-leading scorer with 108 points. He was offered an NFL contract by the Philadelphia Eagles, but a knee injury ended his playing career.

Gibson hired Wetzel in 1958 as his assistant coach for football and basketball and head track coach.

Wetzel later became head football coach at Trinidad State (Colo.) Junior College.

He retired in Denver where he passed away.

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Cowboys unveil "Wildcat" offense with new name

CARROLLTON -- The Dallas Cowboys unveiled the "Wildcat" offense during organized team activities Thursday at Standridge Stadium.

Except for one thing: they don’t call it the "Wildcat", they call it the "Razorback" in Dallas in paying homage to running back Felix Jones, who helped make the offense famous in college as a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Wildcat or Razorback is a variation of the single wing offense that features an unbalanced line. Receiver Patrick Crayton served as the quarterback in the Cowboys’ version of the Razorback, recalling his roots as an option quarterback at Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Jones, however, will be the team’s primary weapon in the Razorback as it offers them another way to get him the ball and use his speed on the edge.

"Man, it was great," Jones said. "It brought back old memories. It's just the first day. I believe we can get a lot better at it. You'll see a lot more of it, I'm hoping, when the time comes."

The Cowboys are not going to do too much of anything that takes ball out of the hands of Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo, Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said.

But he allowed that the off-season is the time to experiment and see if it’s something the Cowboys can use or defend, considering the number of team’s who have implemented the formation.

"We want to look at that and be prepared for it defensively and offensively and maybe have some options in that area," Phillips said. “We will see if it goes any further than that. It depends on what we can do. If we feel like we can utilize and do some things from it and still help our offense or at least look at it defensively and come up with some schemes to stop it, this is the time to work at it."




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Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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Aldrich was more than just a coach

Wednesday, June 3, 2009 12:01 PM CDT


By JIM SULLIVAN, jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com
CEDAR FALLS --- John Aldrich, Sr., played many roles during his 85 years --- teacher, coach, athlete, author, friend, mentor, husband and parent.

The people who knew Aldrich agree on one thing --- he was a singular man.

Aldrich, a legendary sports fixture in the Cedar Valley for over a half-century, died Monday at home from natural causes. He was 85 years old.

"He was a class act and a classic act," said his daughter, Deborah Hodge.

"He was one of a kind," said Pat Mitchell, a friend of Aldrich and the head football coach at Cedar Falls High School. "It's the passing of a legend - I'll tell you that. He was larger than life."

Bob Lee was a student teacher under Aldrich at NU High in 1971. He worked with him as a faculty member and fellow coach for the Panthers over the ensuing 15 years.

"There's a hole in the athletic world," said Lee, the former track and cross country coach at NU and now an instructor at Northern Iowa. "Whether anyone can fill that, I doubt it."

A native of Providence, R.I, Aldrich played football and basketball at the University of Rhode Island. In fact, he competed in the 1944 National Invitational Tournament with his alma mater.

Eleven years later, Aldrich landed in Cedar Falls, becoming NU's head football coach and a physical education instructor.

He remained there for 31 years, retiring in 1986. Along the way, he also led the Panthers' tennis, track and baseball programs and worked as athletic director. A boys' track meet, the Aldrich Relays, is named in his honor.

Aldrich's work on the gridiron brought him national attention - as a writer. Aldrich was the author of "Single Wing Offense with the Spinning Fullback," published in 1983. Sports Illustrated mentioned the book in a 2008 story that chronicled the formation's rebirth.

"He was truly a dyed-in-the-wool single-wing coach," Mitchell said. "In his mind, there was no other way."

A member of the Iowa High School Coaches Hall of Fame, Aldrich posted a 120-49 record from 1955 to 1976 on the football field His sons, Steve and John, played for him.

"Dad was just very competitive," Steve Aldrich said. "He played the ballgame the way you should."

John Aldrich, Jr. recalled that his father/coach played it seven days a week. Sunday nights, his young assistant coaches, most of whom were football players at Northern Iowa, would drop by. Down to the basement they went to work on the game plan.

"Those are great memories," said Aldrich, Jr.

John Aldrich's son also said his father had perspective on his role.

"People always said what a great coach he was and this and that," said John Aldrich, Jr. "My dad's reply was, 'It's not the coach who makes the kids, it's the kids who make the coach.' He looked forward every day to getting up and going over to work with youth. He loved it. He just loved it when he coached."

Aldrich touched people in many ways beyond Xs and Os, touchdowns and match points.

Lee can remember walking into NU High early on a school day and hearing Aldrich singing.

"A lot of people didn't know that side of John," Lee said. "He was so big and gruff on the outside. Inside, he had a heart of gold".

And a personality that glittered.

"He just had a way," Mitchell said. "When he walked in a room, you knew the coach was there.

"Everybody from NU High to UNI people to Cedar Falls people knew him and liked him. He was an unbelievable personality and an unbelievable sports figure."

Services for John Aldrich, Sr. are scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday at Nazareth Lutheran Church.


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Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Waterloo, IA,
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