Hi everyone, I'm Jillian and it's great to see you here on Real Life 101, the place
where you'll get the inside scoop on real jobs great career choices.
You'll be glad you tuned in as we've got a special show lined up for you.
Are you on your high school or college football team?
Do you dream about making it to the NFL, either as a player or a coach?
What are your chances, and what's the process, and what is life really like being in one
of these positions on an NFL team?
We'll wonder no more because today, we're bringing you to Miami, Florida, for a special
edition of Real Life 101, where we will focus the whole show on some highly sought after
careers in the NFL.
Gracie will talk with a coach and a professional player from the Miami Dolphins.
You'll learn what qualities are important to be a coach and a player, what the draft
processes like, the competition to get a position on the team, and more.
So grab a seat and sit back because you're in for a great show as Real Life 101 visits
the Miami Dolphins.
When you think of an NFL coach, usually the head coach for your favorite team comes to
mind.
But did you realize that the average NFL team has about 15 coaches?
There's your offensive and defensive coordinators, quarterback coach, strength and conditioning,
and more.
How does a person become an NFL coach, and what is it like when you get there?
Miami Dolphins assistant defensive line coach Charlie Bolin carves some time out of his
schedule to talk with Gracie and give her some insight into his busy career.
We're here with coach Charlie Bolin.
Coach, tell me what type of coach are you?
Well, I'm an assistant coach here with the Miami Dolphins, and I coach on defense, and
I work with the defensive line.
So my title is assistant D-line coach, and I work on defense with the D-line and the head
D-line coach Terrell Williams.
What made you want to become a coach?
I played the game since I was in third grade, so I always loved it as a player, and I knew
I wanted to coach eventually someday, but really I've always loved the game, and from
a scheme standpoint, the techniques, what it requires, the athleticism involved.
But the really probably the most important thing I liked about it is the interactions
with the people and the teammates.
It's one of the biggest team sports, probably is the biggest.
There's 22 players, 11 on offense, 11 on defense, there's 22 on a field at a time.
So when you look at the positions, there's big guys who do strong jobs, there's little
guys who need to be fast, so you get all types of different athletes and all types
of different people.
I was always drawn to that.
Are there training programs for coaches?
You know, really, I wouldn't say there's programs, and sometimes people ask me, you
know, "Younger coach," or "Younger than me," I guess relatively I'm young, but sometimes
young coaches will say, "What can I do, or what should I major in?"
Really, there's no answer, you know, everybody has a different degree, but for people who
do want to get into coaching, I would say getting involved with a team, whether it's
high school or college, you know, wherever you can, whether you're in college, you know,
try to work with a team where you're at, or if you're in high school, you can, you know,
work with a local high school, or even in your hometown, if there happens to be a college
or a pro team, you know, you can get involved that way.
For me, I got my start at the University of Iowa, at the college level, and then learn
from there, and then, you know, I've been doing it ever since.
Is there a difference between coaching in college and coaching for the pros?
In college, you know, they're usually between 18 to 22 years old, so sometimes, you know,
they're going through, you know, life changes at that time, you know, they're away from
home for the first time, and going through that.
So I'd say from a personal growth standpoint, the players in college, you know, have to
do as well as growing as players on the field, they're also growing as people, you know,
so whereas in the NFL, a lot of times, guys are in their 20s or half kids or homes, and
you know, they're a little bit more mature, you know, or sometimes have gotten through
the younger years of college, you know, and they're kind of their own people at that
point.
When it's all said and done, it still is really similar because it comes, the fundamentals
of playing the game are the same, and the schemes are the same, so really, whether there's
college or pro, it comes down to executing on the field, blocking, tackling, throwing
all those things.
So how many different types of coaches do you have for your team?
It's really just up to a team and how many coaches they want to hire and pay or employ,
but here at the Dolphins, each position has a head position coach, you know, O-line, D-line,
back, or safety's tight end, so every position has a coach, each side of the ball has a coordinator,
so offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, and then the head
coach, and then a couple positions have assistant position coaches, usually the positions that
have more players have an assistant position coach like myself, so it's Terrell Williams
is the D-line coach, I'm the assistant D-line coach, and there's four D-line in that playing
the game at a time, and we usually have between eight to 12 on the roster at a time, so relative
to the other positions, eight to 12 players is considered a lot, I guess, so that's why
we have two coaches, you know, and there's more, the college is just, for a long time
they dictated how many young entry level coaches you could have, and a lot of times they're
grad, graduate assistants, which is how I got started at Iowa, and they just expanded
that from two coaches to four, and then there's some other positions that they're creating
now, you know, like quality control coaches or that type of thing, so I would say since
I've gotten into coaching, I'm going on my ninth year, there's been even more openings
at the entry level part of things.
How interesting!
We'll have more of Coach Bullen's interview in a bit.
For now, we're going to take a break, and when we return, we'll get to see Gracie's interview
with the Miami Dolphins football player.
Our refresh?
Let's get back to the show.
Welcome back!
Let's return to the Miami Dolphins training facility, where Gracie met up with the Dolphins
defensive tackle Earl Mitchell.
Earl shared with her his journey of getting drafted and playing football on an NFL team,
and why having a good education is so important for players.
We're here with Miami Dolphins football player Earl Mitchell.
Earl, what position do you play here?
I play defensive tackle.
I play on the anterior line of scrimmage where basically we're trying to stop the run and
we're trying to do whatever we can to get to the quarterback.
So what made you want to become a pro football player?
Initially growing up when I was a kid, I really just wanted to be a professional anything.
I really wasn't interested in playing football until maybe I got to high school, and that's
when I thought that maybe I could have a future with this, and it was just a very fun
for me to play.
I just thought that after I got my college opportunity to play there, I just basically
got the opportunity to fulfill my dream, which is to play in the NFL.
When do they start looking at you?
There's different roles for everybody.
A lot of times it starts in college, and in college, some people gave away early.
I started getting later looks, more so when I moved to defense.
I moved to defense when I was at junior in college, and basically a lot of people didn't
really know much about me as far as how good I could be at the position.
So I ended up getting a late invite to the East West Shrine game, which is a game that's
hosted in Orlando, and around the same time, this is around my senior year, where I also
got invited to the NFL Combine, where a lot of players get scouted and evaluated, and
basically that was the role to really just getting drafted for me coming to the NFL.
What skills do you feel are important for your job?
For me, I think that once you get a lot of repetition, once you learn, you have to be
a good listener, you have to be ready to take criticism, because in this league you're going
to get constantly evaluated, constantly criticized, and that's just the part of being in the NFL.
I think the intangibles aren't important, where there be leadership, because where there be
during the recruiting process, or when you're in the league, you're being constantly evaluated
on what are the things that you do off the field, and that might separate you from certain
guides, especially when you're getting drafted, because as soon as you go through the Combine,
as soon as you go through the East West All-Star games, you want to make sure that you're doing
the right things off the field as well, because that can separate you from the guides that
are doing well, and the guys that aren't doing so well off the field.
So lots of kids want to be professional athletes.
What's the success rate?
How difficult is it to become a pro athlete?
It's actually very difficult.
There are so many players that are playing in high school right now, amongst the tens
of thousands, and then it just gets smaller, where there be high school seniors, and then
guys that end up going to colleges and coming freshman by the time you become a college
player, that's a senior, those numbers are so much smaller, and then especially when it
comes to the Combine, I believe there's only about 350 players amongst those tens of thousands
of kids that end up getting drafted.
So it's a very small window, it's a very small window of opportunity, so that's why a lot
of people that do get drafted, everyone's so gracious of the opportunity because everyone
knows how hard it is to get here, and everybody appreciates being here as a player.
I think it's more important that kids really just value their education.
I'm going into my six year plan, and I really thought it was important for me to go back
to school where I was able to complete my degree, and I know that there's such a short
window.
When I decided to go back to school, I wanted to make sure that I had my degree in order,
so I could maybe get into coaching, I could at least have an opportunity.
Right now my main focus is football, but at the same time I do have, there are certain
things that I've got into where there'd be job internships, or I've job shadowed football
coaches or anything else that I might want to get into, so it's important that I use
this platform to do so.
Well thank you so much, it's inspiring to hear your passion and how humble you are.
I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to talk to us.
No problem.
We have the over 1 million kids that play high school football less than 1/10 of 1% are drafted
into the NFL.
In other words, only about 254 new players enter the NFL every year.
Talk about competition.
Unlike other pro sports such as baseball, which drafts players from high school, football
players must play college football for at least three seasons, or be out of high school
for at least three years before being eligible to play in the NFL.
And as Earl has learned having a good education is imperative, after his playing career is
over, he'll be able to fall back on his education for life after football.
Hey guys, have you checked out the RealLife 101 website this season?
It has information about our upcoming shows and bios of our field reporters, along with
photos of all the fun they have shooting a show.
Well, I of course am stuck in the studio.
You'll also find a slew of resources, whether it's choosing a career or figuring out what
college to go to and how to pay for it.
In addition, there is information about jobs and internships you can pick up now to help
you get a jump on your future.
And while you're on the home page, connect with us on Facebook.
It's all here for you to check out at rl101.com.
We have more for you after this break.
The break is over, let's get back to the show.
We're back for more of Gracie's insightful interview with Coach Bolin.
What do you feel is the most challenging part of your job?
I would say trying to motivate different personalities because each NFL team has 53 players
and I think 10 practice squad guys.
So at 63 different people, different personalities at the D line position, we might have 12 guys
in a room or 8 that play in a game and everyone's different.
As a coach, just trying to be in tune with what each guy needs all the time can be a challenge.
It keeps you on your toes.
Fighting fatigue is a challenge because we don't sleep a lot during the season, but everyone
goes through it.
So you just got to figure it out.
The other thing is just the fact that it's the same schedule for 17 weeks in the regular
season.
So you really can't afford to have a bad day because you only get six days to prepare
for an opponent.
So if you have a bad day as a coach or you're fatigued or you miss connecting with a player,
that's one day of preparation down the drain and you don't have that many to get ready
for each opponent.
So you've got to fight fatigue and continue to identify what the players need to be successful.
Is getting into coaching within the NFL especially difficult, is it challenging?
Yes, it is.
It is very competitive.
And while there are job openings, while the job openings are growing more so in the last
couple of years than they ever have, it still is hard to get into because in the NFL, there's
only 32 teams in major college football, Division 1A, it changes every year, I think
it's probably around 120 now.
So compared to corporations, there's just less football programs out there than there
are companies in the United States.
So it is very competitive and that's why as much as anything, getting your foot in the
door is so huge because it can be hard to get in, but once you do get in, if you do
a good job, they always say you can rise quickly.
Coaches that recognize a good young coach will want to keep him around because they can
trust him to do a good job and then if you do a good job and continue to do it, you have
a chance at staying in it and moving up.
What particular skills do you feel are important?
I think you have to be, the number one thing is you have to have a good work ethic, the
hours are going to be long, you know that going into it.
So you have to be able to work, you have to be detailed, there's a lot of work, there's
a lot of different things going on at one time, you have to be flexible, you have to
be good with people because you're interacting with players and coaches all the time and
I think you need to be flexible yourself and patient because the learning process takes
a while and so you have to keep your eyes and ears open and stay patient because a lot
of times the young positions in coaching, you're not the main guy, I'm the assistant
position coach here, Terrell Williams is the head D-line coach so really at the end of
the day, we're going to do what he wants to do and until I get my opportunity, I just
have to be a good assistant.
So sometimes being a young guy can take a while to get your opportunity so I think patience
is huge and while you stay patient just try to take it all in, try to learn as much as
you can and prepare because it's really the only opportunity you have until you get your
shot.
Lastly, what advice would you give someone that's interested in a career in coaching?
I would say it's really getting a start is huge and like I said anywhere you can it will
help.
I started at the high school level and then continued at the college level at the University
of Iowa so getting in can be a challenge at times.
It's really no different than being a player or working a normal job.
Like ethic is huge especially when you're young and you're trying to prove yourself because
the coaches will teach you what you need to do to be a good coach or you'll learn that
or from having played you can have an idea of what you're going to need to coach but
while the older coaches are trying you out so to speak, they need to see that you can
work hard and do a good job and put the hours in.
That is one component and the other thing is being able to relate to people like I said
every player is different and they all have different needs so being able to connect with
people and be in tune to what their physical and emotional needs are is huge.
Well thank you so much coach I really appreciate your time and sharing more about what you do.
You're welcome.
I appreciate it.
If you are passionate about football and aspire to be an NFL coach you should learn everything
you can about the sport and pursue a college degree in a sports related field.
Experience and coaching is key.
When coach Bullen was at the University of Iowa he picked up the phone and called the
local high school coach to see about getting a job assisting.
He was able to put his volunteer experience with the high school team on his resume which
helped in getting his first coaching job.
There are also internships in the NFL available which will help you get your foot in the door.
You can check them out through the link on today's episode synopsis at rl101.com.
Don't touch that remote because we'll be right back.
Did you miss me?
Realize this back.
Whether you aspire to be an NFL player or just love the sport we hope you enjoyed and
we're inspired by today's show.
Next week we have three new careers to introduce you to along with our new field reporter Alexa
will meet the top recruiter for a large corporation.
She'll find out the qualities the company is looking for when hiring new employees
and interns.
Then we take you to a plastic surgeon's office and see what made him choose this specialty
of medicine.
We'll also introduce you to a lady who has a career making her busy clients lives a
lot less stressful by running their errands and helping keep them organized.
We'll see you back here on Real Life 101.
Next week where we'll show you some more great careers to consider.
Till then, think about it, it's your life.
What career will you choose?
Let's go.
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