The Most Important Football Drill for Coaching Safeties
Use this incredible drill to reinforce Alignment, Stance, Key Reads and Assignment for your Defensive Safeties in Individual Drills.
The Umbrella Drill teaches your Safeties how to key read and execute their run fits within the Umbrella Run Fits System. Safeties are responsible for Force and Alley in our 4-2-5 Defense System and 33 Stack Defense System.
OCTOBER 27, 2025
Written by Joe Daniel
Joe Daniel Football
There are a handful of football drills that every football team should run. They are the drills I would never give up.
On defense, there is one football drill to rule them all. The Umbrella Drill for coaching Safety run fits is at the top of the list of drills I will never give up.
This drill does it all. For coaching your overhang safeties (or outside linebackers) and the Free Safety in our defense there is none better. No matter what defense you run, the Umbrella Drill should be a part of Individual Drills for the Safeties.
The Umbrella Drill uses the principles from our Umbrella Run Fits System. This is the easiest way to teach run fits that I have found. I stole it directly from TCU's 4-2-5 Defense. Now thousands of our JDFB Premium Coaching Systems coaches are using it.
If your biggest problem on defense is not being able to set the edge, you need this. Install your Umbrella Run Fits. Follow the alignment we teach for Safeties inside JDFB Premium Coaching Systems. Then start running the drill with your force defenders every day in practice.
What Football Position is the Umbrella Drill For?
As it says in the title, this drill is the most important drill for Safeties. But terminology is different everywhere. This is the most important drill for safeties in our defensive football systems.
No matter what defense you coach, this drill is critical for your force and alley defenders. Not sure who those are? Read this breakdown of the Umbrella Run Fits first, then come back to this drill.
For our 4-2-5 Defense System, it is the Safety group. The Strong Safety and Weak Safety are the force defenders. The Free Safety is the Alley defender.
It doesn't matter what you call your positions. If you want to call your force defenders Outside Linebackers, that is who needs this drill. You must have well defined run fits, and the Umbrella Run Fits System is a great place to start.
You don’t need pads or special equipment to work your Safety Run Fits every day in practice. You can get over 20 reps in less than 10 minutes using this drill, too.
What Football Equipment Do You Need for the Umbrella Drill?
Not much. Most good drills do not need special equipment. The best drills do not even need pads. You can run this in the off-season, in the gym, with no problem.
When the TCU coaching staff taught this drill, it was in a hotel conference room. They used those uncomfortable hotel clinic chairs as the only equipment.
Get a stack of cheap cones from Amazon. This set of disc cones does the trick for me. (that is an affiliate link, I'll get about a nickel).
A football is nice to have. But do not throw it in the air at all. Even a football is not required.
You need 5 players. If you have more, we create spots for them so you don't have a lot of standing around. If you have less, a coach can step in as needed or you can adjust the drill. It is better if the coach is coaching, not living out your Quarterback dreams.
How to Set Up the Umbrella Drill
Set out your 5 cones, about two yards apart - two big steps. These cones represent the offensive line.
Set your Quarterback behind the center cone. He can hold the football in his hands, since we don't key the snap. When you start teaching the drill, it is easiest to do it from a 1-back alignment (pistol or under center).
The coach stands behind the defense. Use hand signals to tell the offense which 'play' to run. More on that coming up. Teaching hand signals is much faster than standing in a huddle using printed cards.
Align your three safeties. Two force defenders and one Alley defender. Once you have the depth chart established, start with your First Team.
That’s the basic alignment for single-high safety coverages like Cover 3 and Cover 1. But this drill works for two-high coverages, too.
All that is left to do is give them your defensive call, and we're ready to roll.
How to Run the Umbrella Drill for Success
You have a Quarterback and a Running back when you first install this. If you have extra players, line them up wherever the #2 Receivers or End Man on the Line of Scrimmage would be. Tight Ends and Slot Receivers help check the alignment rules of your safeties.
Standing behind the defense, the coach signals one of four offensive plays. Hold up the number, then point which direction to run it.
Play #1 in the Umbrella Run Fits is a basic off-tackle run like Outside Zone. The Safety on the play side is the Force. The Free Safety fills the Alley from inside-out. The backside Safety stays home for Counter-Bootleg-Reverse.
The four plays we teach from the beginning are:
Umbrella Drill Play #1: Outside Zone. This could be any off-tackle run play, but not a Toss play. In our Pistol Power Offense System, Outside Zone makes the most sense. You need something that runs at the Tight End or just outside of him.
This play teaches the core ball down, stays down key read for the Safeties. It teaches them to be patient (Don't Go Till You Know) and then explode to force the run (GO! When You Know). You want to run this about half the reps, because it is the most important read.
Umbrella Drill Play #2: Toss. This is the outside run play, the one that goes to the perimeter of the defense.
Why do we run an Outside Zone and a Toss? In our Safety Key Reads, we key the Quarterback for a ball-up, ball-down key. Outside Zone is a handoff, and it works the patience of our players to confirm the read and be patient.
Toss is an immediate run read. It's a trigger that fires them to force the run because the offense is trying to get to the perimeter right now.
Plus there is no Play Action threat when he sees toss. Could be a Toss Pass, but that is the job of the Stay-in-Coverage defender.
We do not run this much with only the Safeties group. When you bring the Cornerbacks over, this is a great play to work the Crack-Replace skill for them.
Umbrella Drill Play #3: Play Action. The Quarterback shows the Outside Zone, the pulls the ball and boots away for Play Action.
This reinforces the ball down, ball up read. The Quarterback key read shows run at first. We must be patient (DGTYK) and then explode to your pass responsibility when he brings the ball up.
The Play Action read also stresses the importance of the back side safety to stay home. He is the Counter-Reverse-Bootleg defender on run away.
Umbrella Drill Play #4: Pass. The Quarterback takes the snap (or moves the football) and brings the ball up to his chin in a throwing position.
The Ball Up read is an immediate pass read for the safeties. They go straight into their pass responsibility based on the call given at the start of the drill.
The four base plays to use in your Umbrella Drill for coaching Safety Run Fits. The coach stands behind the defense and signals which play, and the direction to run it. During the season you can progress to showing your opponent’s best plays.
How Many Reps Do You Need to Run?
In our 90 Minute Practice Plan, there is not much time for organization. The drill stays consistent. It progresses over time, which we'll get to, but the players know what to do.
Reps are fast. Then you reset. The pace you run the drill is going to determine how many reps you get.
It is better to get more reps, than to spend 5 minutes talking about what one player did wrong between reps. Learn to coach on the fly, giving quick coaching cues between reps to one or two players. Once they're lined back up, that is your cue to start the next rep.
Try to get three reps with your starters, then rotate and get two or three reps with your back-ups. That depends on how much action the back-ups get. If we have a third group, they usually get two reps then rotate back out.
My ideal Individual period is 8 minutes long, which you can see in the 90 Minute Practice Plan. That's two periods. You should be able to get 3 reps per minute, which means 10+ reps for the starters every day.
Don't throw the football on pass plays and play actions. This is not an interception drill or even a coverage drill. It is a key read drill. Chasing down dropped or overthrown footballs cheats players out of needed reps.
How Does the Umbrella Drill Progress During Football Season?
It is no secret. I hate the concept of "Every Day Drills."
EDD's don't progress. You show up and do the same thing every day. If it's working, your kids master it by week two or three then waste time repeating it all season long.
Why would you do a maintenance drill? Your players are young and they should be getting better every day. Maintenance is for old men. Coach, you can go to the gym and walk on the treadmill. Your players would be wasting their time.
The other side of EDDs is if you are working the same thing 6-8 weeks into the season and kids are still doing it wrong. You are still not seeing the drill translate to the field.
Then it's a crappy or poorly taught drill. But it is for sure not working. You need to make a change. Don't keep doing the same thing every day!
Drills need to progress. They need to evolve with the development of your players. The Umbrella Drill is no different.
Once the season starts, use the drill each week to show safeties the looks they will see in the game.
The Umbrella Drill translates to the field with your Umbrella Run Fits System. Oostburg High School (WI) led their conference in defense running our base 4-2-5 Defense System with a focus on Umbrella Run Fits.
Here’s three ways to progress your Umbrella Drill throughout the season…
Umbrella Drill Adjustment #1: Adjust for your opponent’s backfield alignment and top plays each week. Against a Triple Option team, focus the drill on working to the Pitch phase. For a heavy Bubble Screen team, add a blocker outside. Teach them to rip through the outside block on Bubble Screen reads.
Umbrella Drill Adjustment #2: Bring in other positions. I mentioned bringing over the Cornerbacks and working Crack-Replace off the toss drill. Bring the Defensive Ends to work on fighting a reach block by the end man. The Safeties learn how the Alley moves based on the spill defenders.
Umbrella Drill Adjustment #3: Teach your Scout Quarterback to emulate the opponent’s ball handling. Especially the play action timing. How long does your opponent hold the fake? How do they come out on the boot, or the keep pass? If I can do it, I’ll always have the back-up Quarterback study the opponent’s film and learn his action. Then we work it in this drill. Worst case scenario, I bring our starting Quarterback (if he does not play another defensive position) to run this drill so we are at least getting realistic backfield action.
Make it real. In my Complete Drill Guide, you find out all about the one-on-one game. Drills are a piece of the game.
Inside JDFB Premium Coaching Systems, you get access to the Defensive Drill System. That includes every drill you need to develop all your defensive positions. The drills are all fast paced. They focus on teaching the most important one-on-one games. And you need no special equipment (most do not even need pads).
Plus, the Defensive Drill System includes everything you need to learn and teach the drills. You'll get a printable Drill Manual you can share with your coaching staff. I share live install film of me teaching the drills on the field. And game film cut-ups show you how each drill translates to the field so players know the WHY.
JDFB Premium Coaching Systems includes access to: the 4-2-5 Defense System, 33 Stack Defensive System, 3-4 Defense System and 4-3 Defense System. And the Defensive Drill System. And a whole lot more. Here's the link to get access now:
click here to get access to JDFB Premium Coaching Systems now
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GET THE FREE DIGITAL GUIDE FOR BUILDING THE ULTIMATE FOOTBALL DEFENSE THAT WINS GAMES
Shut Down Any Opponent When Your Team Misses Fewer Tackles, Allows Fewer Big Plays, and Gives Up Fewer Points. Enter your best email address below, and I'll send you a FREE copy of our latest Football Coaching Guide titled "What You Need To Know To Build The Ultimate Defensive Football Coaching System"!
Your information is safe with us and will not be shared
Safeties Umbrella Drill FAQ
Q: What is the Umbrella Drill in football?
The Umbrella Drill is a defensive football drill designed to teach safeties how to key read and fit the run using the Umbrella Run Fits System. It reinforces the ASKA principles (Alignment, Stance, Key Read, and Assignment) while helping players understand their roles as Force and Alley defenders. The drill simulates common offensive plays so safeties can react correctly to run and pass keys, improving their ability to set the edge, fill the alley, and maintain proper run-fit responsibilities.
Q: Which football positions should use the Umbrella Drill?
The Umbrella Drill is for safeties, outside linebackers, or any defenders who are responsible for Force or Alley run fits. It helps these players understand how to set the edge and fit the run within your defensive coverage. No matter what defensive system you run, the drill applies to the players who handle Force and Alley responsibilities.
Q: What skills and techniques does the Umbrella Drill teach your football players?
The Umbrella Drill teaches players how to key read the quarterback, recognize run and pass reads, and react with proper timing. It reinforces the "Don't Go Till You Know" principle to build patience, followed by quick, aggressive movement once the read is confirmed. Players learn to set the edge as Force defenders, fill the Alley from inside out, and stay home for Counter, Bootleg, or Reverse on run away. It ties together the Alignment, Stance, Key Read, and Assignment principles for complete run-fit understanding.
Q: How do you use the Umbrella Drill in your football practices?
The Umbrella Drill can be used in individual periods to get fast, high-quality reps for your safeties and outside linebackers. You only need five cones, a quarterback, and a running back to simulate offensive looks. The coach signals one of four plays—Outside Zone, Toss, Play Action, or Pass—and the defenders react based on their keys. Run the drill at a quick pace to get 20 or more reps in less than 10 minutes, focusing on execution and key reads rather than chasing the football.
Q: How can you adapt the Umbrella Drill to prepare for your next opponent?
Once the season starts, the Umbrella Drill can be adjusted each week to match the opponent’s offensive tendencies. Change the backfield alignment and simulate their top run and play action looks. Add extra players to represent slot receivers, tight ends, or perimeter blockers if your opponent uses them. You can also have your scout quarterback practice the opponent’s ball-handling and play fakes to make the drill as realistic as possible.
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