February 20, 2024 • 36 mins
In this enlightening episode of Demand Excellence, Coach Brad Waggoner, the venerable Head Football Coach at Gatlinburg Pittman, delves into his praiseworthy career journey, starting from Georgia and leading all the way to Tennessee. With a rich professional background including a stint as the assistant director of player personnel at Georgia Tech, Waggoner imparts invaluable insights into the world of football coaching, sharing his philosophies and strategies that have contributed to his impressive success.
He emphasizes the importance of perseverance, organization, and making significant impacts on players' lives. His insights into effective coaching strategy, complemented by his vast experience and track record of success, make this podcast a must-listen requisite for football aspirants and enthusiasts alike.
This episode also takes you through Waggoner's highs and lows of his coaching career, sharing how he has used each opportunity to reignite passion and energy amidst challenging situations. The coach elaborates on the success and challenges he faced during his tenure, including winning regional championships and a state championship in 2018.
Waggoner's comprehensive approach to coaching football is underlined by his stress on flexibility, balance, and the need to adapt based on diverse situations and the unique strengths of his players. Towards the end, Wagner gives insights into his team’s preparation for the 2024 football season, emphasizing his philosophy of relentless victory through disciplined gameplay.
Outside the game, Coach Brad also underscores the role of discipline and commitment in shaping his student-athletes for life beyond football. Through living out his Christian faith, he exemplifies respect, diligence, and the drive to outwork everyone, thereby setting an exemplary standard for his players in both field and life. This inspiring episode is not just a treat for football fans, but a source of motivation and inspiration for anyone striving for appreciation and a taste of winning against the challenges of life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Okay, everybody, I am back once again for another episode of Demand Excellence.
And today I have Coach Brad Wagner with you.
Many of you in Georgia might remember him when he was the assistant director
of player personnel at Georgia Tech.
And then he also worked at Elbert County for a year. But now he is in Tennessee.
(00:21):
And currently he's the head football coach at Gatlinburg Pittman.
Two years going 11-2. I really have enjoyed some of the stuff he's been putting out on social media.
And so I asked him to do a podcast to kind of learn from him.
Coach, first of all, thank you for being on the show. And kind of when I study
you, you know, you had a college experience in the coaching world before you
(00:47):
got into high school coaching.
Talk a little bit about your progression as a coach. coach?
Well, you know, I think just like anybody, you know, growing up as a young kid, I loved sports.
And if you had asked me in high school what I wanted to do when I grew up,
I would have told you I wanted to be a football coach.
So there was never a question of what I wanted to do in life.
(01:08):
You know, I just had the opportunity. I got to start out in the college setting.
And then I would say it came back to the high school setting.
But, you know, my most influenced influenced person growing
up i guess they influenced me growing up was my
high school coach bill thorne i went to landmark christian i
went to a small single-a high school and that was
(01:28):
probably where you know coach thorne
kind of influenced me to where that's who i wanted to grow up and be like and
i wanted to you know give back and find a way to to help kids be successful
in life but at the same time you know being a part of a team being being in
a competitive sport Sport is, you know, coaching is what I love doing.
(01:50):
And I'm just, you know, like I said, I'm kind of I lead God's plan for my life.
And I'm just very thankful I get to do what I do. Yeah, absolutely.
Coach, you started off as a G.A. for Alabama at some point early in your career.
What was that like for you? What did you learn while you were there that you
(02:13):
could still implement today?
You know, just doing what you're supposed to do and doing the best of your ability.
You know, when you're a graduate assistant, you know, when I started out as
a graduate assistant at Alabama, I was in the weight room.
I helped Jeff Rousey, who at the time was a linebacker coach,
kind of helped him at nighttime, time drawing up scout
(02:34):
cards and i mean honestly doing
a lot of work when it would very little pay
you know i think back then you didn't get what the graduates didn't get today
and you got 500 a month and uh they paid for your graduate school so i think
i took just from looking back now i mean that kind of taught me what hard work
(02:54):
was about you know you just got to do the job that that you've been given, do the best you can.
And just take each day with the mentality that you're going to do that job the
best you can and to be better today than you were yesterday.
Yeah. You know, part of my objective in doing this podcast is,
one, A, what can I learn from people?
(03:16):
How can I get better? But then there's a lot of young coaches out there that
listen to the podcast as well.
And what you just said, you could talk a little bit more about it.
When you were a GA at Alabama, you learned just to do everything.
I think sometimes we're ready for a leadership role right at 23 or 24 or 25,
(03:37):
but we think we're ready for it, but we're not.
Talk a little bit about how that prepared you for your next steps.
You know, I think, you know, it's no, I mean, I know young coaches,
it's a different world today.
I mean, it can be kind of social media has changed a lot of different things.
The way you progress at the ladder has changed a lot of different things.
But I think the biggest difference was back when I started was,
(04:00):
you know, nobody cared about the title you had.
I mean, you just kind of, I mean, I mean, I was a graduate assistant.
To be honest with you, probably half the people didn't even know I worked in the building there.
But it was my job to make sure that whatever I was tasked, whatever I was given
to do, that I needed to do the best of my ability.
And I think so many times today, you know, coaches get so much caught up in what title you have.
(04:25):
Instead of just taking the job that you've been given, be the best you can at that job.
And if you do that, then I think it'll make a name for yourself.
And, you know, I just believe in hard work.
I believe in, you know, making sure that whatever task I've been given,
I want to be able to make sure that when I finish that task,
(04:48):
they say that whoever did that task did a really good job in it and did the
best they could at that job.
Yeah, that's very good. I was reading a book this weekend. It was about the success of Nordstrom.
And basically, their philosophy was customer service, obviously,
and they were going to go hire nice, caring people and teach them the business
(05:09):
instead of hiring business people who weren't nice and caring.
Bottom line is, they found those people who fit their core values and they helped
them become what they wanted them to become. come.
And so in the coaching profession, hey, if you'll work hard and line the fields
right or put the pads out right, you're going to get promoted because you can be trusted.
(05:32):
Coach, talk a little bit about your time there at Georgia Tech as the assistant
director of player personnel, what you learned and how that impacted you as a coach.
Well, I was fortunate to get hired by Paul Johnson. I had no connection to him.
I played late at Georgia Tech in the early 90s but you
(05:53):
know obviously Coach Johnson wasn't there at the time and I
was a high school coach at the time when Coach Johnson hired me
I think he just got tired of hearing from me I kept on
trying and trying trying to get on with him at Georgia Tech and so when he first
hired me he hired me very little play I actually took pay cut coming back going
from high school back to college even though I was going to Georgia Tech but
(06:13):
a lot of people didn't know that I was taking a pay cut when I went there but
you know what I learned the most I I think what really helped me,
because I had been a head hockey coach for 10 years before Coach Johnson hired
me at Georgia Tech back in 2014. And I think the –.
The biggest thing I learned working for Coach Johnson was just the organization
(06:34):
of how being – I've always been an organized person, but learning how to be
organized to be more efficient in what you're doing.
I think so many times in high school, I know back when I was in high school.
Back in the 90s with Coach Thorne, you'd practice for three or four hours a day.
And I think that I remember back when I first started coaching in high school
(06:57):
that you'd have those long practices.
But I learned from the fact where a lot of those practices were long because
we weren't really efficient at what we were trying to get accomplished.
And so I think that just the organizational standpoint in the college setting
really helped me as a coach to learn from that standpoint.
Obviously, there were so many guys on that staff at Georgia Tech.
(07:18):
You had Mike Seawalk. You had Andy McCollum. You had Ted Roof.
There were the guys that I – I mean, Mike Pelton. and there was guys that I
really leaned on and looked up to that I was trying to learn as much as I could from those guys.
And, you know, those guys were brilliant with X and Os, but it still comes back
to relationships and how you can relate to your players.
(07:39):
And that was something that Coach Johnson always talked about was the fact that
it doesn't matter what you know, it depends on what you can get those players to know.
And, you know, so I was able to learn a lot, you know, even though I was dealing
mainly with recruiting then.
I mean, it was a time of where I was able to learn a lot and it really helped
(08:00):
me be a better high school coach when I came back to coaching high school.
Absolutely. Coach, when you talk about practice organization and you talk about
Coach Thorne used to practice three or four hours and you did as well when you
first started and then what you learned from Paul Johnson,
and break that down a little bit for me.
Like how did – so obviously you could trim practice. So how can you practice
(08:25):
shorter and still be more efficient?
I think you got to coach on the run. I think that's something that I've learned over the years that –.
So many times that, you know, I think Coach Johnson was big on the fact was
we don't go to the next thing if we can't master what we're trying to get a comment to start with.
(08:46):
So many times you want to – you got on your script where you want to put in
three different plays a day.
Well, if you can't get the first play down right, then there's no reason to go to that second play.
So we – I guess what I've learned over here, we do a good job of making sure
that when we meet as a staff, we're going to meet as a staff and we're going
to discuss our practice plan and our script and how we're going to teach it
(09:10):
and how we're going to coach it.
And then we're going to meet with our players and we're going to teach them
in those meetings and we're going to walk through in those meetings.
And then so when we go on that field, we've already taught it to them on the
board and we've taught them through the walkthrough.
So that way they know exactly what we're fixing to do on the field.
And so then obviously you're going to have to correct things on the field as well.
(09:31):
But I think that you've got to have a plan in place. I'm sure I'm like most coaches.
We have five-minute intervals in our period during practice every day,
so our kids kind of know what to expect when we start practice every day and
kind of know how to format a practice.
But we're really teaching in our offensive groups.
(09:52):
We're going to have a 15-minute period today where we're going to maybe teach
this particular play, especially during spring practice.
We're going to teach this particular play, and so we're going to have the offensive
linemen. are going to be working on their certain things on their gap blocks
or whatever the run blocks are or pass block is.
But our quarterbacks are going to be working on their footwork,
(10:15):
their steps, how they're carrying the fake off of it, and our bats are going
to be working on their steps.
So everybody's working on their details. So when we come together as a group
and we're coming together as a team, then those kids understand exactly what
we're trying to do instead of just trying to just you know, just,
make up a play on the run at practice-wise. So I think everything we do,
(10:36):
I think, is thought out, is taught, it is coached, it is detailed in meeting
rooms and coaches to the players way before we ever get on the field.
And so that's been the biggest difference and change back from when I was in high school.
You didn't have a chance to meet the kids. I mean, sometimes you just go out
to practice right after school and there was no meeting time.
And so it's a bit different back then than it is now. but we take advantage
(11:01):
of all the opportunities we've got with our kids to be able to get things coached
up way before we ever get on the field.
Absolutely. So I'm going to come back to that when we talk offense.
But my first question for you, you know, kind of to where you are right now at Gatlinburg Pittman,
you know, when you left Georgia Tech and you went, I think I'm correct here,
(11:23):
but you went from Trussdale or
Truesdale to Elbert to South Pittsburgh and
now you're at Gatlinburg Pittman and when I kind of read
over that and was reading about you I had
talked to Justin Rogers last week and he
was at you know he just won the state championship at Thomas County Central
and so he had gone from Jones County and then he goes to Colquitt and then boom
(11:44):
he really hit his stride as a coach from a women's state championship standpoint
there at Thomas County Central and he kept talking about fit fit, right?
The timing and fit, like that's a big part of coaching.
And a lot of times we're successful because of timing and fit,
kind of like Andy Reid with the Chiefs.
(12:04):
Perfect timing, perfect fit, obviously got the perfect quarterback.
Talk about between Georgia Tech and the different schools that you've been at,
and now you're at Gatlinburg Pittman where you're having a lot of success.
Talk about what you've learned, why you've moved, and what you're doing different
now at Gatlinburg Pittman through what you've learned.
(12:24):
When I left Georgia Tech to go to Trousdale, Trousdale is a place that had won
10 state championships, a place that at the time had just come off two seasons
in a row where they weren't very good.
They were just down for whatever reason at the time.
And so when I kind of walked into that situation, they were looking for someone
(12:45):
to maybe try to get a jump starter back.
It had just been down for their standards, maybe not for the outside standards,
but just for their standards. And so, you know, I was able to walk into a place
where it had a lot of tradition, where there was a work ethic that had been
established by some great coaches there.
And but, you know, the big thing
was, was just getting those kids to get that fire back in those kids.
(13:08):
And, you know, we were able to win the region my first year there.
And then we played for the state championship in 2018 there.
And, you know, when I look back and you kind of look at things,
well, maybe I should have left there. And, you know, it was just,
it was a long ways away from my family and my wife's family.
So we came back to Georgia because I had most all my years of experience had
(13:28):
mainly been in Georgia. And so I went to Elbert County.
Elbert County is a great place, great people.
And, you know, we went to, I followed Sid Fritz, who was a great football coach.
He had been a great coach in the state of Georgia. We were at the playoffs my very first year there.
You know, we had, we had a good team coming back, but that's when COVID hit.
And that company kind of changed a little bit of everything,
(13:51):
kind of changed my thinking a lot of different ways.
You know, during that time when they closed down the schools,
we kind of moved back to where my wife's from the other side of the state of
Georgia, in Somerville, Georgia.
And so we went back there to spend time with her family.
And during that time, we did so much uncertainty. You didn't know what was going
to happen with football or school or anything at that time.
We decided to move back closer to family, to where her family was,
(14:14):
and South Pittsburgh High School, which is in the state of Tennessee,
which is right over the Georgia line near Chattanooga, was a place that they had to open them.
And so we felt that it had been safe just to be in that area.
It's all the uncertainty in the world at the time. And so we went there and
we played for the state championship.
I was the defense coordinator, which was a step back, but it allowed me,
(14:37):
to be honest with you, to learn from Dick Grider, who was the head coach there
at the time, in the Hall of Fame, State of Tennessee, won over 300-something games.
It allowed me to learn from a great football coach and someone that I have a
whole lot of respect for today. But we played for the state championship in 2020.
And, you know, from there, I knew I wanted to be a head coach again.
(14:59):
That's when things kind of settled down.
But honestly, I knew nothing about Gatlinburg Pippen. I knew nothing about this place at all.
All I knew was he came on vacation, and that's all I knew about it, to be honest with you.
But Yadner Pimple, a place that's got lots of tradition.
They had a head coach named Benny Hammonds, who was a head coach here for over
40 years. He's in the Hall of Fame in the state of Tennessee.
(15:21):
I mean, he's a fantastic guy. I'm just lucky to be able to carry on the tradition that was here.
But it was a place that they had won games. They've been very successful in the playoffs.
But, you know, when they hired me, Maybe we'll just bring in someone with a fresh new face.
So when I came in, we just kind of had the motto where we're going to take the
(15:43):
tradition that's been set here and we're going to try to make it better.
And, you know, over the last three years, we've won like 29 games.
Over the last two years, we've gone 22-4.
We just had two players sign Power 5 here, which is the first time that's happened
here in a single season here in a long time.
And so we're really excited about it. But, you know, when you go back and you're
(16:03):
talking about fence, you know, You know, I think that, you know,
it was just a good fit for me here.
You know, it was a good fit for my family. I've got a son that's in sixth grade.
Well, actually, he's in fifth grade. He's going to be in sixth grade next year.
My wife's a school counselor. So it was just, I think God opens doors at the right time for you.
You know, looking back, it was probably, I probably moved too many times back
(16:26):
early in my career, but I was one of those coaches that was really motivated.
I had a vision of what I wanted to do.
But, you know, I think it's a little bit different now that,
you know, that guy's son that, you know, he's fixing to start junior high.
And so it's a little bit different now from that standpoint because when you
make moves now, you're thinking about how is it going to affect him and so forth.
But, like I said, I'm blessed to be here at Gatlinburg-Pittman.
(16:49):
It's a great place, and we've got great players. I've got great staff,
and it's a great community sport as well.
Yeah, Coach, I mean, I'm kind of jealous. I love Gatlinburg.
I would go broke, though.
I just took my son and his friend to Gatlinburg. this past weekend,
and I think I just blew like $1,000 on nothing.
Like I'm talking the arcade. I mean, it's all crazy what you end up spending money on.
(17:14):
But, man, I definitely love it and definitely think it's probably one of the
best places to coach Gatlinburg Pittman right there at Gatlinburg.
So, Coach, you're a defensive coach. You were the defensive coordinator.
Have you always been a defensive coach?
You know, you had your success there. South Pittsburgh, I know,
as a defense coordinator. Is that where you hang your hat as a head coach?
(17:36):
You know, what's crazy is I made my mark on defense. I mean,
that's what got me my first head job back 20-something years ago.
But since, I guess, probably since 2010, I've been on the offensive side ever since.
I just got to a point where I had a defensive guy on the defensive side that
(17:57):
I felt really comfortable with, that they could call a defense.
And I'm just not one of those characters at this point in my career.
I mean, you know, I'm getting old, but I'm not to the point where I don't want
to just be a CEO overlooker. I mean, I want to coach a position.
So I want to coach, you know, and so that's why I do offense.
I call all the plays here on offense.
(18:19):
You know, when I was at Troutdale, I coached the offensive line and called the offense.
Here I kind of work with the running backs and the quarterbacks.
You know, I've got a really good quarterback coach here also.
But I love the game plan part of it. I love coming up with the strategies on
how to get after people on Friday nights.
But now my name is aside. My name is cornered to tell you here.
(18:40):
I got a great one here, Jimmy Rowland.
But he has to deal with me a lot because of the fact that I still got certain
ways I like to do things on defense that me and him will meet long and hard
on Saturday, go over everything.
But the longer I've been here, obviously the more I trust him.
And he's done a fantastic job. Bobby had a great year this past year,
(19:01):
and a big reason for that was because of what he did on defense for us.
So as an offensive coach, you've been on the defensive side of the ball,
so you have studied offenses.
You've seen all the different types of offenses, so you know what causes you
the most problems as a defensive coach.
You work with Paul Johnson. So I'm curious to ask, what offense do you run,
(19:24):
and what are some of your core philosophical things that you do offensively?
Well, you know, here we're more of a – I mean, I don't want to use the word
wing T. Everybody thinks wing T, you're under symbol.
I mean, we're a spread – more of a spread look team here.
We do play with a tight end a lot. You know, we'll get a lot of different spread
(19:46):
formations with a tight end, but we'll spread you out.
I mean, we'll spread you out with no tight ends, and we use an H back a lot.
So it's more of a – it's more kind of what Gaston Malzahn ran when he was at Auburn.
It's kind of a spread wing T look, but we're going to – You know,
from a running game standpoint, we're going to run power.
We're going to run buck. We're going to run counter.
(20:08):
There's three things that we always hang our hat on. But we're going to do a
lot of different motions, a lot of different shifts.
A lot of people call it eye candy. But we're going to try to do a lot of different
things to get – so those linebackers can't just read our guards or can't read
the H-back because I think that those are keys that if I'm a defense coach,
those are things I'm going to be looking for.
(20:29):
But, you know, I think in this world, if I talk about all the RPOs and stuff,
and the RPOs, that definitely added a dimension to our offense.
I mean, there's no question about that.
But, you know, I think that depending on what type of quarterback you have,
like this year, my quarterback was more of a runner.
But when I had this past year, the side of a VMI, he was more of a thrower.
(20:50):
So, well, we threw the ball for over 3,000 yards, but we had a running back
that had right at 2,000 yards rushing as well. So we were very balanced.
But I think that any time you've got a quarterback, they can do both.
I mean, I think that when you throw an option in the game, people don't like
to talk about an option because they apologize to a lot of problems and grudges
(21:11):
about that. But a lot of people had a hard time stopping it as well.
And so – but I think you've got to figure out, you know, we're going – I mean,
we're going to be – I think we feel our philosophy is we have got You've got
to be able to run the ball.
And to win the playoffs, you've got to be able to run the ball.
But you've also got to be able to throw the ball as well. You can't be just one-dimensional.
(21:31):
But, you know, as you know, I mean, you've played the state championships.
When you get late in the playoffs and it gets cold, you better be able to run
the ball on those nights.
And so that's kind of how we hang our hat on here. I think we kind of changed.
I mean, we don't have it set in stone. I mean, we've got to do what our players can do.
But just from our philosophy standpoint, those are what we base our things off of.
(21:55):
Absolutely. So speaking of defense, you know, you say you have some strong opinions.
You and I sound a lot alike.
But what are those things on defense that are kind of non-negotiables for you?
You know, I'm big on playing assignment football. I mean, what I tell those
(22:16):
guys all the time, I want to make
sure we are playing assignment football where we are reading our keys.
I believe in keeping your shoulders square to the last scrimmage.
I think that everyone has got their job to do. But, you know,
on defense, you've got to have guys that are going to be willing to run to the football.
I mean, we want to be a team that's going to be physical.
(22:36):
And if you don't have guys that can run to the football, you're going to have problems.
And so it doesn't matter what scheme, whether you run a 3-4,
whether you run a 4-3, or you run a 3-3 stack, you've still got to be able to
play assignment football, and you've got to have guys that are going to be willing
to play their assignments.
And, you know, because defensive lineman-wise, you can play your assignment,
(22:58):
and you might not make the tackle, but you may be doing your job,
and your linebacker's making the tackle.
If your job is to squeeze, then you've got to squeeze.
If your job is to spill, then you've got to spill.
And because that linebacker may be getting all the tackles in the staff,
but I know as a coach, if that defense is not squeezing or that defense is not
(23:19):
spilling, then we're not making a play and they're not going to make plays against us.
And so I think I'm just big on making sure we teach them from a fundamental
standpoint what we want fundamentally and be fundamentally sound.
I mean, I love when I see on offense, I love when I see, you know,
You get these big old monster pre-tech leagues or just running upfield,
(23:41):
then we're going to trap them to death.
I mean, if they're going to run upfield, I might not be able to block it one-on-one,
but if you're going to run upfield, I'm going to be able to run underneath you.
And so, yeah, I think when you get that big old guy that's going to pull a very
disciplined, then it makes it very hard for you on offense.
Absolutely. Yeah, I agree. You know, assignment, I say alignment and assignment
(24:03):
are absolutely the most critical things on defense. Thanks for watching!
Coach, it's February of 2024. What are you guys doing right now in the offseason
to get ready for the season,
the football season in 2024, and what are your team goals for football season in 2024?
(24:27):
Well, you know, our team goals are pretty much the same every year.
I know that's weird to say, but, you know, our team goal is always to – So,
our team goal every year is to win the region.
Because if you don't win the region, as long as you win the region,
you're going to have home playoff advantage for a while at least.
Our second goal is always we want to make sure we win that first round playoffs
because you can't get the second round unless you win the first round.
(24:50):
Our third goal is to be playing on Thanksgiving weekend. In Tennessee,
that's hard because in Tennessee, to play on Thanksgiving weekend,
you've got to be in the semifinals because we start playoffs a week earlier
here than they do in Georgia. Wow, yeah. Yeah.
And then obviously our fourth main goal is to win a state championship.
I mean, and those are our four goals that sit on our board. I mean,
that's year in, year out.
(25:12):
Those are goals that our kids can name off and they know that every year.
But as our all-season goals, and obviously our all-season goals,
right now we are big in our weight room right now.
We've got our kids in the fourth block every day. So we are hard at it.
We're an all-season program where we're trying to get stronger.
We're trying to get faster.
(25:33):
We also meet two days a week with our skill guys.
They're those small position groups that you're allowed to do.
Our quarterbacks will come in early, and they'll work on fundamental techniques
with our quarterback coach.
Our lineman was giving their four or five person groups and work on that standpoint.
We're busier right now than we are. I feel like I'm busier right now than I
(25:55):
am during the season, to be honest with you, sometimes.
We got kids constantly. when we got some kids that might be playing another
sport right now they're coming in before school to get their lift in and then
we have all other players that are in fourth block.
But we're big right now, you know, I mean, obviously on the squat cleans and
the benches are our three main lifts.
But we've been able to, it's really helped us. We've been incorporating a lot
(26:20):
of our agilities and our speed training.
We're working with bands. We're working on any way possible to get faster,
to get quicker and doing it where we can that it's going to help us to be successful in the fall.
And so it takes kids that are willing to do that. And our kids have really bought
into what we're trying to do here.
(26:40):
Our kids know that the standards have been set high by some of the classes we've had before them.
And so I guess I'm really proud of our kids right now.
We've got a young team coming back, a team that's talented, but they're young.
We lost some really good senior players this past year.
But like I tell them all the time here, it's our job as a program just to be
(27:02):
able to reload every year. and we've got new guys, new faces,
new names. It's their time to step up.
Absolutely. Coach, you said something during the interview.
When you got to Gatlinburg-Pittman, they had already been successful,
had a really good coach, so they had a great tradition.
And so you said that your goal was come in there, take the tradition that has
(27:24):
been there, and make it better.
I think a big mistake a lot of coaches make is they go in somewhere And if it's
not broke, they try to fix it anyways.
They try to change the tradition and they try to put their flavor on it or almost
try to make it completely theirs instead of just building upon and making it
(27:44):
better what was already there.
What are some of the things that you tried to do to make it better?
Well, I think when I first got here, you know, there's not going to be another
Benny Hammonds here. I mean, he was here 40-something years.
I mean, first of all, I won't be alive in 40 years probably.
But I think the biggest thing was when I first got here, I wanted to meet as
(28:07):
many people as I could that had been a part of the tradition here.
There are certain traditions here that I want to make sure that I didn't change
any of the traditions that I did here.
My big thing was to Coach Hammonds and a lot of his former players.
I've got some former players that are on my staff here that played here.
I want to make sure that we took those traditions they had and make sure we
(28:29):
kept those traditions, especially some of the traditions that they do throughout the year.
I want to make sure we kept those because those are part of this school and
part of this program. There's always going to be them out.
But I want to make sure, so when I told them when they hired me here,
I wanted to do whatever I could to take the tradition and the standards that
(28:50):
Coach Hammond set here, and I want to make them better. It's not about Brad Wagner.
I've lost that ego a long time ago. The ego I have is I want to win.
I want to be successful in what we do.
I take pride in what we do. That's the only ego I have. It has nothing to do
about what Brad Wagner gets.
It's all about what I can do to help Gatlinburg Pittman be successful and what
(29:13):
I can do to help these kids be successful because if I can do what I can do
to help these kids and if this school will be successful, then I feel like I'm winning.
And so I just think that whatever decision I make on how we do the offseason
program or what we do on offense, what we'll do on defense, or how we do our
junior high program or how we do the youth league program,
(29:34):
whatever we do, we got to do it in the alignment of what are we doing to making
sure that Yadmer Pittman is going to be successful for not now,
but for 10 years down the road.
And so you got to look at it from that standpoint. You can't look at how you feel right now.
You got to look at it from a, what are you going to do to help this place be
(29:56):
successful long after I go?
But at the same time, have success now.
But I think the more success you have now, it's going to create more success
later as well if you do it the right way.
Absolutely. Absolutely. So coach, how has your faith in Christ,
being a Christian, helped you coach?
(30:17):
I had somebody ask me, what has been your biggest influence as a coach?
Talking about me personally.
And I said, the Bible. The Bible has been my biggest influence more than anybody else.
Now, that doesn't mean that people haven't influenced me greatly,
but the Word of God God influences me.
So that's my, how has being a Christian influenced you as a coach early in your career?
(30:40):
And even now, as you've grown, grown older?
Well, I think that, you know, early in my career, you know,
you're always trying to move around to get one step higher.
I was already coaching in college, and so I'd take this job to get to this job
to hopefully I could get to that college job.
And what I learned through all that was my timing and God's timing are two different things.
(31:05):
And I think that my faith in Christ, if that's not number one,
if I don't have a priority, is that number one, and then nothing else is going
to fall into place at the right time.
You know, I think that going back when I was in high school,
when I went to Landmark Christian, you know, and kind of my dad was one of the
(31:26):
founders of Landmark Christian.
And when they started that school, you know, kind of the motto was to make an
impact on kids' lives so that they can go on and make impact on other kids' lives for Jesus Christ.
And so, you know, I don't want to – I love being a football coach,
But I don't want to be identified as just being a football coach.
(31:46):
I want them to be able to see Christ in how I do things.
You know, they may not agree with how I coach. They may not agree how I do this.
But I want them to be able to say that there's no question that Coach Wagner's
faith is what drives him.
But, you know, as I've gotten older, I think that, you know,
not that I didn't rely on Christ to start with.
But I think you have to rely on God even more as you get older.
(32:08):
I think, you know, you make tough decisions.
Decisions there's decisions you have to make that i make daily
that i can't make them alone i mean i have
to i'll pray about it and i just keep praying about it
and sometimes there are tough decisions i mean being a head coach what
people don't understand that you gotta make decisions sometimes they're tough
that affect a lot more than just one person and and so i just want to be the
(32:30):
type of leader that that i want to see christ in everything i do because obviously
i'm thankful that I'm able to do the job that I get to do every day.
You know, there's not a single day that I go to work where I sit there and say,
man, I dread going to work today.
I mean, I've got the best job in the world. I mean, I love being able to go
to work and working with kids and doing what I do every day.
(32:52):
But I know that if Christ is not the center of my life, if He's not the center
of what I do every day, then I'm not going to be successful at it.
Absolutely. Coach, as we end, I always like to ask this question,
and I usually don't tell people I'm going to ask it, but what are two things,
kind of two creeds, or two things you stand on besides Christ,
(33:15):
just as a football coach,
that you think are very impactful to your success?
I think that, yeah, I use this hashtag all the time, it's Outwork Everybody.
I think that I probably worry more about it than, my wife tells me I'm crazy,
but I want to make sure that we are outworking everybody. everybody. It starts with me.
(33:37):
I'm the leader of the program. I want to make sure that every day I wake up, I have a plan for that day.
To get better, to make sure these kids are getting better, to make sure our
program gets better, to make sure whether it's being where we're better in the
academic part, whether we're better in the strength and training part,
are we better as a football part, are we better as an organizational part.
(33:59):
I want to make sure that every day that no one is outworking us.
And, you know, I mean, that's just my motto every day.
I mean, that's kind of like the creed I go on every day. I want to make sure
that we are outworking everybody every single day to making sure that we can be the best we can be.
And then my other, I guess my other motto and creed is, I want to make sure
(34:22):
that when people look at our program, they see our program is,
you know, from a tough standpoint, that we are a very disciplined and committed program.
Not just on the field of football, but we are disciplined and committed on how
our kids act outside our football program, how our kids are acting in that school
building over there, how we are in the classroom.
(34:43):
Because I think as a coach, you know, if you really want to judge yourself as
a coach, I tell this all the time.
I remember my high school coach telling me this, but if you really want to judge
yourself as a coach, you know, in like 10 years from now and you've got kids
that have graduated for 10 years, when they come back to you, how do they turn out?
And I know because, you know, as coaches, I treat those kids the same way I
(35:06):
would do my own kids. And I think you're around those kids all the time.
I want those kids to be able to go and be successful. And I want to be able
to do whatever I can to help them, whether it be, you know, this one commitment
or whether it be to help them, you know, make tough decisions or whatever it may be.
I want them to be able to come back in 10 years from now and say.
(35:27):
Your program, the school, your coaching staff, y'all played some part in helping
me to get where I am today.
And so I think that's where you really feel like you win as a coach.
Absolutely. Coach, if you just do that, number one, outwork everybody and you strive for that daily.
And number two, a disciplined and committed program in all aspects of life,
(35:50):
like you described, that is a full-time job all day, every day for you.
I mean, you do it well, Well, Coach, Coach, really appreciate you being on the
show as we end it. Would you mind if I pray for you? Yes, sir.
Lord, we come before you today. I just want to praise and thank you for Coach
Wagner and all that he represents. It's been a pleasure to talk with him.
(36:11):
And Lord, just praise and thank you for his love of Christ and his desire for
people to see Christ in him.
And Lord, just praise and thank you for the positive impact that he's having
at Gatlinburg Pittman and the influence that he's having there at that school.
Lord, I pray that you would just continue to bless him, bless his family, bless his program.
(36:32):
And Lord, may you be glorified. And Lord, 10 years, 20 years,
30 years after these boys graduate from playing for him, may they come back
and just give him raving reviews of what he did for them.
Lord, we lovingly praise you in Jesus name. Amen. Appreciate it, coach.
Yes, sir. Thank you. Have a good day. Sir, you too.
Okay, everybody, I am back once again for another episode of Demand Excellence.
And today I have Coach Brad Wagner with you.
Many of you in Georgia might remember him when he was the assistant director
of player personnel at Georgia Tech.
And then he also worked at Elbert County for a year. But now he is in Tennessee.
(00:21):
And currently he's the head football coach at Gatlinburg Pittman.
Two years going 11-2. I really have enjoyed some of the stuff he's been putting out on social media.
And so I asked him to do a podcast to kind of learn from him.
Coach, first of all, thank you for being on the show. And kind of when I study
you, you know, you had a college experience in the coaching world before you
(00:47):
got into high school coaching.
Talk a little bit about your progression as a coach. coach?
Well, you know, I think just like anybody, you know, growing up as a young kid, I loved sports.
And if you had asked me in high school what I wanted to do when I grew up,
I would have told you I wanted to be a football coach.
So there was never a question of what I wanted to do in life.
(01:08):
You know, I just had the opportunity. I got to start out in the college setting.
And then I would say it came back to the high school setting.
But, you know, my most influenced influenced person growing
up i guess they influenced me growing up was my
high school coach bill thorne i went to landmark christian i
went to a small single-a high school and that was
(01:28):
probably where you know coach thorne
kind of influenced me to where that's who i wanted to grow up and be like and
i wanted to you know give back and find a way to to help kids be successful
in life but at the same time you know being a part of a team being being in
a competitive sport Sport is, you know, coaching is what I love doing.
(01:50):
And I'm just, you know, like I said, I'm kind of I lead God's plan for my life.
And I'm just very thankful I get to do what I do. Yeah, absolutely.
Coach, you started off as a G.A. for Alabama at some point early in your career.
What was that like for you? What did you learn while you were there that you
(02:13):
could still implement today?
You know, just doing what you're supposed to do and doing the best of your ability.
You know, when you're a graduate assistant, you know, when I started out as
a graduate assistant at Alabama, I was in the weight room.
I helped Jeff Rousey, who at the time was a linebacker coach,
kind of helped him at nighttime, time drawing up scout
(02:34):
cards and i mean honestly doing
a lot of work when it would very little pay
you know i think back then you didn't get what the graduates didn't get today
and you got 500 a month and uh they paid for your graduate school so i think
i took just from looking back now i mean that kind of taught me what hard work
(02:54):
was about you know you just got to do the job that that you've been given, do the best you can.
And just take each day with the mentality that you're going to do that job the
best you can and to be better today than you were yesterday.
Yeah. You know, part of my objective in doing this podcast is,
one, A, what can I learn from people?
(03:16):
How can I get better? But then there's a lot of young coaches out there that
listen to the podcast as well.
And what you just said, you could talk a little bit more about it.
When you were a GA at Alabama, you learned just to do everything.
I think sometimes we're ready for a leadership role right at 23 or 24 or 25,
(03:37):
but we think we're ready for it, but we're not.
Talk a little bit about how that prepared you for your next steps.
You know, I think, you know, it's no, I mean, I know young coaches,
it's a different world today.
I mean, it can be kind of social media has changed a lot of different things.
The way you progress at the ladder has changed a lot of different things.
But I think the biggest difference was back when I started was,
(04:00):
you know, nobody cared about the title you had.
I mean, you just kind of, I mean, I mean, I was a graduate assistant.
To be honest with you, probably half the people didn't even know I worked in the building there.
But it was my job to make sure that whatever I was tasked, whatever I was given
to do, that I needed to do the best of my ability.
And I think so many times today, you know, coaches get so much caught up in what title you have.
(04:25):
Instead of just taking the job that you've been given, be the best you can at that job.
And if you do that, then I think it'll make a name for yourself.
And, you know, I just believe in hard work.
I believe in, you know, making sure that whatever task I've been given,
I want to be able to make sure that when I finish that task,
(04:48):
they say that whoever did that task did a really good job in it and did the
best they could at that job.
Yeah, that's very good. I was reading a book this weekend. It was about the success of Nordstrom.
And basically, their philosophy was customer service, obviously,
and they were going to go hire nice, caring people and teach them the business
(05:09):
instead of hiring business people who weren't nice and caring.
Bottom line is, they found those people who fit their core values and they helped
them become what they wanted them to become. come.
And so in the coaching profession, hey, if you'll work hard and line the fields
right or put the pads out right, you're going to get promoted because you can be trusted.
(05:32):
Coach, talk a little bit about your time there at Georgia Tech as the assistant
director of player personnel, what you learned and how that impacted you as a coach.
Well, I was fortunate to get hired by Paul Johnson. I had no connection to him.
I played late at Georgia Tech in the early 90s but you
(05:53):
know obviously Coach Johnson wasn't there at the time and I
was a high school coach at the time when Coach Johnson hired me
I think he just got tired of hearing from me I kept on
trying and trying trying to get on with him at Georgia Tech and so when he first
hired me he hired me very little play I actually took pay cut coming back going
from high school back to college even though I was going to Georgia Tech but
(06:13):
a lot of people didn't know that I was taking a pay cut when I went there but
you know what I learned the most I I think what really helped me,
because I had been a head hockey coach for 10 years before Coach Johnson hired
me at Georgia Tech back in 2014. And I think the –.
The biggest thing I learned working for Coach Johnson was just the organization
(06:34):
of how being – I've always been an organized person, but learning how to be
organized to be more efficient in what you're doing.
I think so many times in high school, I know back when I was in high school.
Back in the 90s with Coach Thorne, you'd practice for three or four hours a day.
And I think that I remember back when I first started coaching in high school
(06:57):
that you'd have those long practices.
But I learned from the fact where a lot of those practices were long because
we weren't really efficient at what we were trying to get accomplished.
And so I think that just the organizational standpoint in the college setting
really helped me as a coach to learn from that standpoint.
Obviously, there were so many guys on that staff at Georgia Tech.
(07:18):
You had Mike Seawalk. You had Andy McCollum. You had Ted Roof.
There were the guys that I – I mean, Mike Pelton. and there was guys that I
really leaned on and looked up to that I was trying to learn as much as I could from those guys.
And, you know, those guys were brilliant with X and Os, but it still comes back
to relationships and how you can relate to your players.
(07:39):
And that was something that Coach Johnson always talked about was the fact that
it doesn't matter what you know, it depends on what you can get those players to know.
And, you know, so I was able to learn a lot, you know, even though I was dealing
mainly with recruiting then.
I mean, it was a time of where I was able to learn a lot and it really helped
(08:00):
me be a better high school coach when I came back to coaching high school.
Absolutely. Coach, when you talk about practice organization and you talk about
Coach Thorne used to practice three or four hours and you did as well when you
first started and then what you learned from Paul Johnson,
and break that down a little bit for me.
Like how did – so obviously you could trim practice. So how can you practice
(08:25):
shorter and still be more efficient?
I think you got to coach on the run. I think that's something that I've learned over the years that –.
So many times that, you know, I think Coach Johnson was big on the fact was
we don't go to the next thing if we can't master what we're trying to get a comment to start with.
(08:46):
So many times you want to – you got on your script where you want to put in
three different plays a day.
Well, if you can't get the first play down right, then there's no reason to go to that second play.
So we – I guess what I've learned over here, we do a good job of making sure
that when we meet as a staff, we're going to meet as a staff and we're going
to discuss our practice plan and our script and how we're going to teach it
(09:10):
and how we're going to coach it.
And then we're going to meet with our players and we're going to teach them
in those meetings and we're going to walk through in those meetings.
And then so when we go on that field, we've already taught it to them on the
board and we've taught them through the walkthrough.
So that way they know exactly what we're fixing to do on the field.
And so then obviously you're going to have to correct things on the field as well.
(09:31):
But I think that you've got to have a plan in place. I'm sure I'm like most coaches.
We have five-minute intervals in our period during practice every day,
so our kids kind of know what to expect when we start practice every day and
kind of know how to format a practice.
But we're really teaching in our offensive groups.
(09:52):
We're going to have a 15-minute period today where we're going to maybe teach
this particular play, especially during spring practice.
We're going to teach this particular play, and so we're going to have the offensive
linemen. are going to be working on their certain things on their gap blocks
or whatever the run blocks are or pass block is.
But our quarterbacks are going to be working on their footwork,
(10:15):
their steps, how they're carrying the fake off of it, and our bats are going
to be working on their steps.
So everybody's working on their details. So when we come together as a group
and we're coming together as a team, then those kids understand exactly what
we're trying to do instead of just trying to just you know, just,
make up a play on the run at practice-wise. So I think everything we do,
(10:36):
I think, is thought out, is taught, it is coached, it is detailed in meeting
rooms and coaches to the players way before we ever get on the field.
And so that's been the biggest difference and change back from when I was in high school.
You didn't have a chance to meet the kids. I mean, sometimes you just go out
to practice right after school and there was no meeting time.
And so it's a bit different back then than it is now. but we take advantage
(11:01):
of all the opportunities we've got with our kids to be able to get things coached
up way before we ever get on the field.
Absolutely. So I'm going to come back to that when we talk offense.
But my first question for you, you know, kind of to where you are right now at Gatlinburg Pittman,
you know, when you left Georgia Tech and you went, I think I'm correct here,
(11:23):
but you went from Trussdale or
Truesdale to Elbert to South Pittsburgh and
now you're at Gatlinburg Pittman and when I kind of read
over that and was reading about you I had
talked to Justin Rogers last week and he
was at you know he just won the state championship at Thomas County Central
and so he had gone from Jones County and then he goes to Colquitt and then boom
(11:44):
he really hit his stride as a coach from a women's state championship standpoint
there at Thomas County Central and he kept talking about fit fit, right?
The timing and fit, like that's a big part of coaching.
And a lot of times we're successful because of timing and fit,
kind of like Andy Reid with the Chiefs.
(12:04):
Perfect timing, perfect fit, obviously got the perfect quarterback.
Talk about between Georgia Tech and the different schools that you've been at,
and now you're at Gatlinburg Pittman where you're having a lot of success.
Talk about what you've learned, why you've moved, and what you're doing different
now at Gatlinburg Pittman through what you've learned.
(12:24):
When I left Georgia Tech to go to Trousdale, Trousdale is a place that had won
10 state championships, a place that at the time had just come off two seasons
in a row where they weren't very good.
They were just down for whatever reason at the time.
And so when I kind of walked into that situation, they were looking for someone
(12:45):
to maybe try to get a jump starter back.
It had just been down for their standards, maybe not for the outside standards,
but just for their standards. And so, you know, I was able to walk into a place
where it had a lot of tradition, where there was a work ethic that had been
established by some great coaches there.
And but, you know, the big thing
was, was just getting those kids to get that fire back in those kids.
(13:08):
And, you know, we were able to win the region my first year there.
And then we played for the state championship in 2018 there.
And, you know, when I look back and you kind of look at things,
well, maybe I should have left there. And, you know, it was just,
it was a long ways away from my family and my wife's family.
So we came back to Georgia because I had most all my years of experience had
(13:28):
mainly been in Georgia. And so I went to Elbert County.
Elbert County is a great place, great people.
And, you know, we went to, I followed Sid Fritz, who was a great football coach.
He had been a great coach in the state of Georgia. We were at the playoffs my very first year there.
You know, we had, we had a good team coming back, but that's when COVID hit.
And that company kind of changed a little bit of everything,
(13:51):
kind of changed my thinking a lot of different ways.
You know, during that time when they closed down the schools,
we kind of moved back to where my wife's from the other side of the state of
Georgia, in Somerville, Georgia.
And so we went back there to spend time with her family.
And during that time, we did so much uncertainty. You didn't know what was going
to happen with football or school or anything at that time.
We decided to move back closer to family, to where her family was,
(14:14):
and South Pittsburgh High School, which is in the state of Tennessee,
which is right over the Georgia line near Chattanooga, was a place that they had to open them.
And so we felt that it had been safe just to be in that area.
It's all the uncertainty in the world at the time. And so we went there and
we played for the state championship.
I was the defense coordinator, which was a step back, but it allowed me,
(14:37):
to be honest with you, to learn from Dick Grider, who was the head coach there
at the time, in the Hall of Fame, State of Tennessee, won over 300-something games.
It allowed me to learn from a great football coach and someone that I have a
whole lot of respect for today. But we played for the state championship in 2020.
And, you know, from there, I knew I wanted to be a head coach again.
(14:59):
That's when things kind of settled down.
But honestly, I knew nothing about Gatlinburg Pippen. I knew nothing about this place at all.
All I knew was he came on vacation, and that's all I knew about it, to be honest with you.
But Yadner Pimple, a place that's got lots of tradition.
They had a head coach named Benny Hammonds, who was a head coach here for over
40 years. He's in the Hall of Fame in the state of Tennessee.
(15:21):
I mean, he's a fantastic guy. I'm just lucky to be able to carry on the tradition that was here.
But it was a place that they had won games. They've been very successful in the playoffs.
But, you know, when they hired me, Maybe we'll just bring in someone with a fresh new face.
So when I came in, we just kind of had the motto where we're going to take the
(15:43):
tradition that's been set here and we're going to try to make it better.
And, you know, over the last three years, we've won like 29 games.
Over the last two years, we've gone 22-4.
We just had two players sign Power 5 here, which is the first time that's happened
here in a single season here in a long time.
And so we're really excited about it. But, you know, when you go back and you're
(16:03):
talking about fence, you know, You know, I think that, you know,
it was just a good fit for me here.
You know, it was a good fit for my family. I've got a son that's in sixth grade.
Well, actually, he's in fifth grade. He's going to be in sixth grade next year.
My wife's a school counselor. So it was just, I think God opens doors at the right time for you.
You know, looking back, it was probably, I probably moved too many times back
(16:26):
early in my career, but I was one of those coaches that was really motivated.
I had a vision of what I wanted to do.
But, you know, I think it's a little bit different now that,
you know, that guy's son that, you know, he's fixing to start junior high.
And so it's a little bit different now from that standpoint because when you
make moves now, you're thinking about how is it going to affect him and so forth.
But, like I said, I'm blessed to be here at Gatlinburg-Pittman.
(16:49):
It's a great place, and we've got great players. I've got great staff,
and it's a great community sport as well.
Yeah, Coach, I mean, I'm kind of jealous. I love Gatlinburg.
I would go broke, though.
I just took my son and his friend to Gatlinburg. this past weekend,
and I think I just blew like $1,000 on nothing.
Like I'm talking the arcade. I mean, it's all crazy what you end up spending money on.
(17:14):
But, man, I definitely love it and definitely think it's probably one of the
best places to coach Gatlinburg Pittman right there at Gatlinburg.
So, Coach, you're a defensive coach. You were the defensive coordinator.
Have you always been a defensive coach?
You know, you had your success there. South Pittsburgh, I know,
as a defense coordinator. Is that where you hang your hat as a head coach?
(17:36):
You know, what's crazy is I made my mark on defense. I mean,
that's what got me my first head job back 20-something years ago.
But since, I guess, probably since 2010, I've been on the offensive side ever since.
I just got to a point where I had a defensive guy on the defensive side that
(17:57):
I felt really comfortable with, that they could call a defense.
And I'm just not one of those characters at this point in my career.
I mean, you know, I'm getting old, but I'm not to the point where I don't want
to just be a CEO overlooker. I mean, I want to coach a position.
So I want to coach, you know, and so that's why I do offense.
I call all the plays here on offense.
(18:19):
You know, when I was at Troutdale, I coached the offensive line and called the offense.
Here I kind of work with the running backs and the quarterbacks.
You know, I've got a really good quarterback coach here also.
But I love the game plan part of it. I love coming up with the strategies on
how to get after people on Friday nights.
But now my name is aside. My name is cornered to tell you here.
(18:40):
I got a great one here, Jimmy Rowland.
But he has to deal with me a lot because of the fact that I still got certain
ways I like to do things on defense that me and him will meet long and hard
on Saturday, go over everything.
But the longer I've been here, obviously the more I trust him.
And he's done a fantastic job. Bobby had a great year this past year,
(19:01):
and a big reason for that was because of what he did on defense for us.
So as an offensive coach, you've been on the defensive side of the ball,
so you have studied offenses.
You've seen all the different types of offenses, so you know what causes you
the most problems as a defensive coach.
You work with Paul Johnson. So I'm curious to ask, what offense do you run,
(19:24):
and what are some of your core philosophical things that you do offensively?
Well, you know, here we're more of a – I mean, I don't want to use the word
wing T. Everybody thinks wing T, you're under symbol.
I mean, we're a spread – more of a spread look team here.
We do play with a tight end a lot. You know, we'll get a lot of different spread
(19:46):
formations with a tight end, but we'll spread you out.
I mean, we'll spread you out with no tight ends, and we use an H back a lot.
So it's more of a – it's more kind of what Gaston Malzahn ran when he was at Auburn.
It's kind of a spread wing T look, but we're going to – You know,
from a running game standpoint, we're going to run power.
We're going to run buck. We're going to run counter.
(20:08):
There's three things that we always hang our hat on. But we're going to do a
lot of different motions, a lot of different shifts.
A lot of people call it eye candy. But we're going to try to do a lot of different
things to get – so those linebackers can't just read our guards or can't read
the H-back because I think that those are keys that if I'm a defense coach,
those are things I'm going to be looking for.
(20:29):
But, you know, I think in this world, if I talk about all the RPOs and stuff,
and the RPOs, that definitely added a dimension to our offense.
I mean, there's no question about that.
But, you know, I think that depending on what type of quarterback you have,
like this year, my quarterback was more of a runner.
But when I had this past year, the side of a VMI, he was more of a thrower.
(20:50):
So, well, we threw the ball for over 3,000 yards, but we had a running back
that had right at 2,000 yards rushing as well. So we were very balanced.
But I think that any time you've got a quarterback, they can do both.
I mean, I think that when you throw an option in the game, people don't like
to talk about an option because they apologize to a lot of problems and grudges
(21:11):
about that. But a lot of people had a hard time stopping it as well.
And so – but I think you've got to figure out, you know, we're going – I mean,
we're going to be – I think we feel our philosophy is we have got You've got
to be able to run the ball.
And to win the playoffs, you've got to be able to run the ball.
But you've also got to be able to throw the ball as well. You can't be just one-dimensional.
(21:31):
But, you know, as you know, I mean, you've played the state championships.
When you get late in the playoffs and it gets cold, you better be able to run
the ball on those nights.
And so that's kind of how we hang our hat on here. I think we kind of changed.
I mean, we don't have it set in stone. I mean, we've got to do what our players can do.
But just from our philosophy standpoint, those are what we base our things off of.
(21:55):
Absolutely. So speaking of defense, you know, you say you have some strong opinions.
You and I sound a lot alike.
But what are those things on defense that are kind of non-negotiables for you?
You know, I'm big on playing assignment football. I mean, what I tell those
(22:16):
guys all the time, I want to make
sure we are playing assignment football where we are reading our keys.
I believe in keeping your shoulders square to the last scrimmage.
I think that everyone has got their job to do. But, you know,
on defense, you've got to have guys that are going to be willing to run to the football.
I mean, we want to be a team that's going to be physical.
(22:36):
And if you don't have guys that can run to the football, you're going to have problems.
And so it doesn't matter what scheme, whether you run a 3-4,
whether you run a 4-3, or you run a 3-3 stack, you've still got to be able to
play assignment football, and you've got to have guys that are going to be willing
to play their assignments.
And, you know, because defensive lineman-wise, you can play your assignment,
(22:58):
and you might not make the tackle, but you may be doing your job,
and your linebacker's making the tackle.
If your job is to squeeze, then you've got to squeeze.
If your job is to spill, then you've got to spill.
And because that linebacker may be getting all the tackles in the staff,
but I know as a coach, if that defense is not squeezing or that defense is not
(23:19):
spilling, then we're not making a play and they're not going to make plays against us.
And so I think I'm just big on making sure we teach them from a fundamental
standpoint what we want fundamentally and be fundamentally sound.
I mean, I love when I see on offense, I love when I see, you know,
You get these big old monster pre-tech leagues or just running upfield,
(23:41):
then we're going to trap them to death.
I mean, if they're going to run upfield, I might not be able to block it one-on-one,
but if you're going to run upfield, I'm going to be able to run underneath you.
And so, yeah, I think when you get that big old guy that's going to pull a very
disciplined, then it makes it very hard for you on offense.
Absolutely. Yeah, I agree. You know, assignment, I say alignment and assignment
(24:03):
are absolutely the most critical things on defense. Thanks for watching!
Coach, it's February of 2024. What are you guys doing right now in the offseason
to get ready for the season,
the football season in 2024, and what are your team goals for football season in 2024?
(24:27):
Well, you know, our team goals are pretty much the same every year.
I know that's weird to say, but, you know, our team goal is always to – So,
our team goal every year is to win the region.
Because if you don't win the region, as long as you win the region,
you're going to have home playoff advantage for a while at least.
Our second goal is always we want to make sure we win that first round playoffs
because you can't get the second round unless you win the first round.
(24:50):
Our third goal is to be playing on Thanksgiving weekend. In Tennessee,
that's hard because in Tennessee, to play on Thanksgiving weekend,
you've got to be in the semifinals because we start playoffs a week earlier
here than they do in Georgia. Wow, yeah. Yeah.
And then obviously our fourth main goal is to win a state championship.
I mean, and those are our four goals that sit on our board. I mean,
that's year in, year out.
(25:12):
Those are goals that our kids can name off and they know that every year.
But as our all-season goals, and obviously our all-season goals,
right now we are big in our weight room right now.
We've got our kids in the fourth block every day. So we are hard at it.
We're an all-season program where we're trying to get stronger.
We're trying to get faster.
(25:33):
We also meet two days a week with our skill guys.
They're those small position groups that you're allowed to do.
Our quarterbacks will come in early, and they'll work on fundamental techniques
with our quarterback coach.
Our lineman was giving their four or five person groups and work on that standpoint.
We're busier right now than we are. I feel like I'm busier right now than I
(25:55):
am during the season, to be honest with you, sometimes.
We got kids constantly. when we got some kids that might be playing another
sport right now they're coming in before school to get their lift in and then
we have all other players that are in fourth block.
But we're big right now, you know, I mean, obviously on the squat cleans and
the benches are our three main lifts.
But we've been able to, it's really helped us. We've been incorporating a lot
(26:20):
of our agilities and our speed training.
We're working with bands. We're working on any way possible to get faster,
to get quicker and doing it where we can that it's going to help us to be successful in the fall.
And so it takes kids that are willing to do that. And our kids have really bought
into what we're trying to do here.
(26:40):
Our kids know that the standards have been set high by some of the classes we've had before them.
And so I guess I'm really proud of our kids right now.
We've got a young team coming back, a team that's talented, but they're young.
We lost some really good senior players this past year.
But like I tell them all the time here, it's our job as a program just to be
(27:02):
able to reload every year. and we've got new guys, new faces,
new names. It's their time to step up.
Absolutely. Coach, you said something during the interview.
When you got to Gatlinburg-Pittman, they had already been successful,
had a really good coach, so they had a great tradition.
And so you said that your goal was come in there, take the tradition that has
(27:24):
been there, and make it better.
I think a big mistake a lot of coaches make is they go in somewhere And if it's
not broke, they try to fix it anyways.
They try to change the tradition and they try to put their flavor on it or almost
try to make it completely theirs instead of just building upon and making it
(27:44):
better what was already there.
What are some of the things that you tried to do to make it better?
Well, I think when I first got here, you know, there's not going to be another
Benny Hammonds here. I mean, he was here 40-something years.
I mean, first of all, I won't be alive in 40 years probably.
But I think the biggest thing was when I first got here, I wanted to meet as
(28:07):
many people as I could that had been a part of the tradition here.
There are certain traditions here that I want to make sure that I didn't change
any of the traditions that I did here.
My big thing was to Coach Hammonds and a lot of his former players.
I've got some former players that are on my staff here that played here.
I want to make sure that we took those traditions they had and make sure we
(28:29):
kept those traditions, especially some of the traditions that they do throughout the year.
I want to make sure we kept those because those are part of this school and
part of this program. There's always going to be them out.
But I want to make sure, so when I told them when they hired me here,
I wanted to do whatever I could to take the tradition and the standards that
(28:50):
Coach Hammond set here, and I want to make them better. It's not about Brad Wagner.
I've lost that ego a long time ago. The ego I have is I want to win.
I want to be successful in what we do.
I take pride in what we do. That's the only ego I have. It has nothing to do
about what Brad Wagner gets.
It's all about what I can do to help Gatlinburg Pittman be successful and what
(29:13):
I can do to help these kids be successful because if I can do what I can do
to help these kids and if this school will be successful, then I feel like I'm winning.
And so I just think that whatever decision I make on how we do the offseason
program or what we do on offense, what we'll do on defense, or how we do our
junior high program or how we do the youth league program,
(29:34):
whatever we do, we got to do it in the alignment of what are we doing to making
sure that Yadmer Pittman is going to be successful for not now,
but for 10 years down the road.
And so you got to look at it from that standpoint. You can't look at how you feel right now.
You got to look at it from a, what are you going to do to help this place be
(29:56):
successful long after I go?
But at the same time, have success now.
But I think the more success you have now, it's going to create more success
later as well if you do it the right way.
Absolutely. Absolutely. So coach, how has your faith in Christ,
being a Christian, helped you coach?
(30:17):
I had somebody ask me, what has been your biggest influence as a coach?
Talking about me personally.
And I said, the Bible. The Bible has been my biggest influence more than anybody else.
Now, that doesn't mean that people haven't influenced me greatly,
but the Word of God God influences me.
So that's my, how has being a Christian influenced you as a coach early in your career?
(30:40):
And even now, as you've grown, grown older?
Well, I think that, you know, early in my career, you know,
you're always trying to move around to get one step higher.
I was already coaching in college, and so I'd take this job to get to this job
to hopefully I could get to that college job.
And what I learned through all that was my timing and God's timing are two different things.
(31:05):
And I think that my faith in Christ, if that's not number one,
if I don't have a priority, is that number one, and then nothing else is going
to fall into place at the right time.
You know, I think that going back when I was in high school,
when I went to Landmark Christian, you know, and kind of my dad was one of the
(31:26):
founders of Landmark Christian.
And when they started that school, you know, kind of the motto was to make an
impact on kids' lives so that they can go on and make impact on other kids' lives for Jesus Christ.
And so, you know, I don't want to – I love being a football coach,
But I don't want to be identified as just being a football coach.
(31:46):
I want them to be able to see Christ in how I do things.
You know, they may not agree with how I coach. They may not agree how I do this.
But I want them to be able to say that there's no question that Coach Wagner's
faith is what drives him.
But, you know, as I've gotten older, I think that, you know,
not that I didn't rely on Christ to start with.
But I think you have to rely on God even more as you get older.
(32:08):
I think, you know, you make tough decisions.
Decisions there's decisions you have to make that i make daily
that i can't make them alone i mean i have
to i'll pray about it and i just keep praying about it
and sometimes there are tough decisions i mean being a head coach what
people don't understand that you gotta make decisions sometimes they're tough
that affect a lot more than just one person and and so i just want to be the
(32:30):
type of leader that that i want to see christ in everything i do because obviously
i'm thankful that I'm able to do the job that I get to do every day.
You know, there's not a single day that I go to work where I sit there and say,
man, I dread going to work today.
I mean, I've got the best job in the world. I mean, I love being able to go
to work and working with kids and doing what I do every day.
(32:52):
But I know that if Christ is not the center of my life, if He's not the center
of what I do every day, then I'm not going to be successful at it.
Absolutely. Coach, as we end, I always like to ask this question,
and I usually don't tell people I'm going to ask it, but what are two things,
kind of two creeds, or two things you stand on besides Christ,
(33:15):
just as a football coach,
that you think are very impactful to your success?
I think that, yeah, I use this hashtag all the time, it's Outwork Everybody.
I think that I probably worry more about it than, my wife tells me I'm crazy,
but I want to make sure that we are outworking everybody. everybody. It starts with me.
(33:37):
I'm the leader of the program. I want to make sure that every day I wake up, I have a plan for that day.
To get better, to make sure these kids are getting better, to make sure our
program gets better, to make sure whether it's being where we're better in the
academic part, whether we're better in the strength and training part,
are we better as a football part, are we better as an organizational part.
(33:59):
I want to make sure that every day that no one is outworking us.
And, you know, I mean, that's just my motto every day.
I mean, that's kind of like the creed I go on every day. I want to make sure
that we are outworking everybody every single day to making sure that we can be the best we can be.
And then my other, I guess my other motto and creed is, I want to make sure
(34:22):
that when people look at our program, they see our program is,
you know, from a tough standpoint, that we are a very disciplined and committed program.
Not just on the field of football, but we are disciplined and committed on how
our kids act outside our football program, how our kids are acting in that school
building over there, how we are in the classroom.
(34:43):
Because I think as a coach, you know, if you really want to judge yourself as
a coach, I tell this all the time.
I remember my high school coach telling me this, but if you really want to judge
yourself as a coach, you know, in like 10 years from now and you've got kids
that have graduated for 10 years, when they come back to you, how do they turn out?
And I know because, you know, as coaches, I treat those kids the same way I
(35:06):
would do my own kids. And I think you're around those kids all the time.
I want those kids to be able to go and be successful. And I want to be able
to do whatever I can to help them, whether it be, you know, this one commitment
or whether it be to help them, you know, make tough decisions or whatever it may be.
I want them to be able to come back in 10 years from now and say.
(35:27):
Your program, the school, your coaching staff, y'all played some part in helping
me to get where I am today.
And so I think that's where you really feel like you win as a coach.
Absolutely. Coach, if you just do that, number one, outwork everybody and you strive for that daily.
And number two, a disciplined and committed program in all aspects of life,
(35:50):
like you described, that is a full-time job all day, every day for you.
I mean, you do it well, Well, Coach, Coach, really appreciate you being on the
show as we end it. Would you mind if I pray for you? Yes, sir.
Lord, we come before you today. I just want to praise and thank you for Coach
Wagner and all that he represents. It's been a pleasure to talk with him.
(36:11):
And Lord, just praise and thank you for his love of Christ and his desire for
people to see Christ in him.
And Lord, just praise and thank you for the positive impact that he's having
at Gatlinburg Pittman and the influence that he's having there at that school.
Lord, I pray that you would just continue to bless him, bless his family, bless his program.
(36:32):
And Lord, may you be glorified. And Lord, 10 years, 20 years,
30 years after these boys graduate from playing for him, may they come back
and just give him raving reviews of what he did for them.
Lord, we lovingly praise you in Jesus name. Amen. Appreciate it, coach.
Yes, sir. Thank you. Have a good day. Sir, you too.
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