TicketsCINCINNATI - At a typical Bearcats football practice, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Denbrock isn't shy about pointing out mistakes.
"He's a tough guy on the field, but he's what we need," said quarterback Hayden Moore. "He tells us what we did wrong, he tells us where we should have gone, and then the next play it's over. He might get mad, but the next play it's done."
"He's not one of those guys that just yells at the quarterbacks," said tight end Tyler Cogswell. "He yells at everybody because he wants everybody to be great. If a wide receiver runs the wrong route he gets on them. If the tight ends run the wrong route or drop a ball he gets on us. If a running back does the wrong thing he gets on him. He really pushes everybody to be great. He'll yell at you at first, but then he'll love you up and explain what he wanted and what he really expects out of you."
That's precisely what head coach Luke Fickell is looking for.
"I want our coaches to push our guys," he said. "We create an atmosphere that's intense and I tell the guys that it's intentional. On game day we're not going to be in your face. That's not what I want because the pressure comes from the 40,000 people in the stands and the two million people watching on TV. The pressure is your family watching and everybody counting on you. So we have to create that atmosphere in practice as much as we can to make guys be able to handle that kind of stuff. When it gets to game time, it's their time. Then it's all about picking them up and being positive and making sure they're doing the things that they need to do."
Denbrock says that's especially important in coaching quarterbacks.
"I want them to be very tough and strong mentally," he told me. "I think at that position in particular with the ups and downs that can happen, you've got to be pretty even-keeled. As Coach Fickell tells them time and time again, the game is chaos. So being able to drown out the noise – even when it's the offensive coordinator in your ear – you've got to be able to do it to play the game effectively."
Denbrock's coaching style is reminiscent of former UC head coach Brian Kelly and perhaps that's no coincidence.
"We were roommates in 1987 if you can believe it," said Denbrock. "That's before a lot of your readers were even born. We were graduate assistants at Grand Valley State University together for Tom Beck who was the head coach at the time. Brian ended up staying and I ended up going to Michigan State."
When Kelly left Cincinnati for Notre Dame in 2010, Denbrock joined his staff as the tight ends coach. He eventually became offensive coordinator but decided to leave after seven years in South Bend to join Fickell's staff at UC.
"It started with understanding the proud tradition of Cincinnati football," said Denbrock. "Having been around the staff that had been here previously while I was working at Notre Dame, I got a lot of stories and information about the Cincinnati program and the type of kids that were here. Then you combine that with the opportunity to work with a quality person and coach like Luke Fickell and the rest of the staff that we've assembled and it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
"Brian (Kelly) is obviously an offensive mind and it was more his offense that I was running there. An opportunity to come here and kind of do my own thing was important to me."
So what does a Mike Denbrock offense look like?
"I think it's kind of a mixture of Brian Kelly's spread style and then I go back to my west coast roots when I was with Ty Willingham at Washington and how we used 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) and pounded the ball at people. It's really a mixture of both of those things and whatever is working best is what we're going to go with."
"He's a really smart guy," said Cogswell. "He knows how to pick apart a defense and really attack the weaknesses. You can tell in his play calls and the different route combinations that we run that it's really smart. Everything has a purpose."
Those occasionally harsh comments at practice have a purpose too.
"I love them and I hope they know that and I think they do," said Denbrock. "But I want them to have my enthusiasm for the game. I wouldn't say I'm hotheaded, but I'm very reactive to situations. But when we get into the meeting room and get the chance to sort it out, I make sure they get a hug."
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"He's a tough guy on the field, but he's what we need," said quarterback Hayden Moore. "He tells us what we did wrong, he tells us where we should have gone, and then the next play it's over. He might get mad, but the next play it's done."
"He's not one of those guys that just yells at the quarterbacks," said tight end Tyler Cogswell. "He yells at everybody because he wants everybody to be great. If a wide receiver runs the wrong route he gets on them. If the tight ends run the wrong route or drop a ball he gets on us. If a running back does the wrong thing he gets on him. He really pushes everybody to be great. He'll yell at you at first, but then he'll love you up and explain what he wanted and what he really expects out of you."
That's precisely what head coach Luke Fickell is looking for.
"I want our coaches to push our guys," he said. "We create an atmosphere that's intense and I tell the guys that it's intentional. On game day we're not going to be in your face. That's not what I want because the pressure comes from the 40,000 people in the stands and the two million people watching on TV. The pressure is your family watching and everybody counting on you. So we have to create that atmosphere in practice as much as we can to make guys be able to handle that kind of stuff. When it gets to game time, it's their time. Then it's all about picking them up and being positive and making sure they're doing the things that they need to do."
Denbrock says that's especially important in coaching quarterbacks.
"I want them to be very tough and strong mentally," he told me. "I think at that position in particular with the ups and downs that can happen, you've got to be pretty even-keeled. As Coach Fickell tells them time and time again, the game is chaos. So being able to drown out the noise – even when it's the offensive coordinator in your ear – you've got to be able to do it to play the game effectively."
Denbrock's coaching style is reminiscent of former UC head coach Brian Kelly and perhaps that's no coincidence.
"We were roommates in 1987 if you can believe it," said Denbrock. "That's before a lot of your readers were even born. We were graduate assistants at Grand Valley State University together for Tom Beck who was the head coach at the time. Brian ended up staying and I ended up going to Michigan State."
When Kelly left Cincinnati for Notre Dame in 2010, Denbrock joined his staff as the tight ends coach. He eventually became offensive coordinator but decided to leave after seven years in South Bend to join Fickell's staff at UC.
"It started with understanding the proud tradition of Cincinnati football," said Denbrock. "Having been around the staff that had been here previously while I was working at Notre Dame, I got a lot of stories and information about the Cincinnati program and the type of kids that were here. Then you combine that with the opportunity to work with a quality person and coach like Luke Fickell and the rest of the staff that we've assembled and it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
"Brian (Kelly) is obviously an offensive mind and it was more his offense that I was running there. An opportunity to come here and kind of do my own thing was important to me."
So what does a Mike Denbrock offense look like?
"I think it's kind of a mixture of Brian Kelly's spread style and then I go back to my west coast roots when I was with Ty Willingham at Washington and how we used 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) and pounded the ball at people. It's really a mixture of both of those things and whatever is working best is what we're going to go with."
"He's a really smart guy," said Cogswell. "He knows how to pick apart a defense and really attack the weaknesses. You can tell in his play calls and the different route combinations that we run that it's really smart. Everything has a purpose."
Those occasionally harsh comments at practice have a purpose too.
"I love them and I hope they know that and I think they do," said Denbrock. "But I want them to have my enthusiasm for the game. I wouldn't say I'm hotheaded, but I'm very reactive to situations. But when we get into the meeting room and get the chance to sort it out, I make sure they get a hug."
I'd love to hear from you at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.nfl.net
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