Coaches Corner: Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann meets Andy Reid

Bayern Munich has released a video entitled “Coaches Corner” featuring a discussion between our current coach Julian Nagelsmann and long time NFL head coach Andy Reid. The conversation is remarkable for its warmth and down-to-earth charm, with both men expressing mutual admiration and fascinating nuggets of their coaching philosophy.

For those not familiar with Reid, he has been an NFL head coach for over 20 years, first with the Philadelphia Eagles and now with the Kansas City Chiefs. He has won everything there is to win in the NFL, including a Super Bowl championship. In fact Julian seems more than a little covetous of the Super Bowl ring Reid is wearing.

The two men start off by comparing their completely opposite career paths. Reid worked his way up the football coaching food chain the hard way, starting as a graduate assistant at his alma mater BYU, through various college positions, into assistant positions with the Packers until he finally reached a head coaching position in Philly. Reid expresses genuine admiration for how quickly Nagelsmann has reached the pinnacle of his profession and comments on what that must mean about Julian’s talent and intelligence.

A discussion on coaching philosophy leads to a firm agreement that it is crucial for coaches not just to focus on the X’s and O’s but also to get to know their players as people. They emphasize that even top professional athletes are not machines and that the real key to getting the best out of a team is to support their players as people first.

Nagelsmann actually seems a bit jealous when the discussion turns to how game management and preparation works in the NFL. He clearly wishes he could build a play book and call plays the way an NFL coach can, admitting the dynamic nature of soccer makes that impossible. There seems to be even more wistfulness on Julian’s part when he hears how structured NFL practices are, and that they get a full week to prepare for each game.

Overall, Coaches Corner is an entertaining seven minutes or so, made all worth it when both men share the best coaching advice they ever received. You’ll have to watch the video to hear their answers.