This is what I expect in a head coach.
1. Players playing to and above their natural ability. They play with fire, emotion and strive to be their personal best. At all times. It comes from leadership, and that starts with the HC.
2. The players play smashmouth football. You may play us, even in our own home. You may even beat us. But you will never, ever take us lightly. You'll be more bruised after playing us than anybody else you face this year. You WILL respect us.
3. You keep the fans involved. Good media relations, open practices, and calls to us for more support even though we've given all we can. And we still find a way to give more.
4. Recruiting. This is ultimately the lifeblood of a program. It is if nothing else, an area that has a lot of emphasis put on it.
4a. Coaching. We may not get a class full of 4* and 5* players, but our players will get the best coaching in the country. i.e. -- our players will be contenders for All-American status, regardless of their high school star rating, because they will receive outstanding coaching. Player development is the second portion of recruiting. I don't care if you're a 5* HS athlete. Without good coaching, you won't progress. I expect our coaches to coach very, very well.
5. Win or lose (mostly wins), the fans like us have such an incredible game day experience, including the product on the field, that we're itching for more and all we can get. Nothing in life is better than gameday.
6. Never throw the student-athlete players under the bus. If they lose, it's because the other team was truly Top 10 or the coaches didn't get it done.
7. No excuses. None.