Third in a series of interviews with Front Range football coaches during fall camp. Today, The Denver Post’s Air Force beat writer, Irv Moss, talks with first-year Falcons coach Troy Calhoun.
DP: Coaching is a high-pressure profession. What do you do to take a breath and relax?
Calhoun: I love coaching. I love recruiting. I’m extremely grateful to be part of the Air Force Academy. When you’re doing something you love, it’s not quite as laborious as sitting in the dentist chair. I make the most of my time with my family. My wife (Amanda) is the glue. She holds it together.
DP: Do you let Amanda call a play or two?
Calhoun: The problem with that is she likes to call more than one or two.
DP: Are you a golfer?
Calhoun: I play maybe eight, 10 times a year. I love playing. I’m bad, but I like to play. You play to get outside with a friend or a family member. You play with me, you’ll learn there are a few meanings to fore.
DP: With new systems on offense and defense, do you have enough practices to be ready for the first game?
Calhoun: The only way you really find out where you are is to go out and play against somebody else.
DP: Have the players picked up the new systems equally well on the offense and the defense?
Calhoun: What I’ve seen, especially in the last four or five practices, our players are starting to settle in. As coaches, you can come up with a lot of great ideas, but ultimately that means to execute aggressively. I see our guys getting a good grasp on what we’re doing. In the next two weeks, not one time can we use the word new.
DP: Are the coaches and players getting to know each other better?
Calhoun: I think so, both ways. One of the incredible aspects of coaching is the rapport that you build with players, fellow coaches and teammates. We’re always honest. Sometimes honesty stings a little bit, but deep down that’s what everybody appreciates.
DP: What intangibles are important for Air Force success in football?
Calhoun: We have to be a squad when it comes to guts and the best work ethic and having a ton of moxie and courage, there’s no limit. That has to be the Air Force Academy. Our edges have to be physical and mental toughness. One of the reasons to come here is to grow a little stronger backbone from the standpoint of leadership.
DP: How do you weigh a Mountain West Conference championship and the Commander-in- Chief’s Trophy games against Army and Navy in importance?
Calhoun: They’re both extremely meaningful. We’re grateful to play in a tremendous league. The service academy games are extremely meaningful to those who are on active duty and to the graduates.
DP: Air Force hasn’t had a winning football season in the past three years. Can it happen this year?
Calhoun: We get a special player in regards to how competitive they are, their work ethic, their unselfishness, their spirit and passion. Those character traits alone tell you that darn right, we can be a squad that can be quite successful. Can you peg an exact number of victories? That’s why you play it out. As a coach, you want to win. You aren’t going to come back here just to say you’re a head coach. You want to be part of winning football teams. That’s something we absolutely can do.
DP: What is the difference between coaching professional players and college players? You have coached at both levels.
Calhoun: In the pros, it’s a full-time occupation. You basically meet for 3 1/2 hours a day and you practice for a couple of hours. Here you meet for about 45 minutes a day and practice an hour and 50 minutes. The time is more condensed here. I get asked why would I leave the NFL. It’s such a fantastic league, but there’s a look in the eyes of a 20-year-old or 21-year-old here at the academy that’s something special.
DP: Air Force had lived on the triple option for 23 years under Fisher DeBerry. Can something else work?
Calhoun: I know the option will be a big part in the way we operate. But it can help us to have a more balanced attack. I see quality skill-wise that will allow us to be more balanced.
DP: What do you see in the future? You already have said you will involve all four classes in finding players.
Calhoun: Ultimately, we need to get to the point where we have 11 or 12 seniors, six or seven juniors and one or two underclassmen. Maybe that’s something we can achieve in four years. We have a much smaller team in overall numbers. We’ll recruit smaller classes and be more specific in our recruiting. It doesn’t make sense to have 120 players every year. The emphasis has to be on quality. Our job is to develop good leaders. When I think of leadership, I think of someone who is outstanding at what they do, and they’re able to make everybody else around them perform at a higher level.
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
