Subject: From the Lost & Found department
Date: August 27, 2026

I was sitting in my car outside the PetSmart. It was a Tuesday night, almost time to record the new Football Coaching Podcast, when I realized we were out of dog food.

Plus, I had a 1-on-1 call scheduled with a new JDFB member. I do those calls with every new member to learn about your team, and answer any questions.

Those calls help make sure you’re on the right track. But I get some great stuff out of them, too.

So there I am, scrambling to do too many things at once, and this coach hits me with a great question…

We lost four games by less than 6 points. What can we do to win those games?

It’s not an X’s and O’s question. It’s a Lost and Found question.

They LOST those games. How do they FIND a few points this season, to turn things around?

This team finished the year with a 3–7 record. It’s a killer because that record looks bad.

But you look back and think… how did this happen? We weren’t that bad!

Could’ve easily been 7-3.

It starts with the mindset. Fix that first.

One of the things we talked about was setting up this mentality in your Player Creed. Adding something like “Whatever it Takes” can become an identity for your team.

Close game? No problem.

Last season we talked about the Player Creed (stolen like an artist from Rick Stewart and Randy Jackson) on the Football Coaching Podcast:

Listen or Watch the Player Creed now >>

Fixing the X’s and O’s is one of them. Not changing them… not adding plays. Just one simple lever.

I’ve told the story before. Oklahoma State Championship coach (and Football Coaching Podcast guest) Lynn Shackleford’s staff did a deep dive on several seasons of film. They found a simple lever to win more games.

That deep dive study found that 70% of explosive plays were caused by one lever…

Alignment.

Simple as that. Kids standing in the wrong place. That accounted for SEVENTY PERCENT of touchdowns.

Would that win a few close games?

I talk about that lever more in-depth in Coach Simple, Volume 1: The Lost Letters.

Here is another one…

How many points could you FIND on Special Teams?

Improve your execution. No bad snaps.

Block a punt.

Steal a possession with a surprise onside kick. Or scrap the surprise and kick the onside every time.

In The Lost Letters, my brand new coaching manual, I share my 6 Rules for Special Teams. Those rules are the keys to Lost & Found points in the all-important third phase.

Want to get Coach Simple, Volume 1: The Lost Letters for pre-order now? Here’s the link:

Pre-Order the Lost Letters manual now >>

​~ Joe Daniel