Football's West Coast Offense

Since the 1980s, football teams have used the West Coast Offense to win championships. From Bill Walsh's San Francisco 49ers juggernaut, to Brigham Young University's record-smashing Cougars, to the 1997 Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, this passing attack is a proven winner. Now you can learn the secrets of this system, no matter what level you coach.

This how-to book comes packed with 244 Xs and Os diagrams and explains the pro-style attack in simple and clear language. The authors, both former coaches on the BYU staff, explain how to tailor the system to suit your personnel, whether it's for ball control or big-play needs. They also include a mini-playbook that shows you how to attack various defensive coverages.

Football's West Coast Offense provides position-specific skill instruction that addresses:

- fundamentals of each offensive position,
- passing concepts,
- protection,
- plays, and
- reading or attacking coverages.

The book explains each pass pattern and shows how to use each pattern against various coverages. And if you're on the other side of ball, the book shows what to expect and how to defend this high-octane attack.

Authors Frank Henderson and Mel Olson coached football at Brigham Young University (BYU), where over the years head coach LaVell Edwards has revolutionized the passing game. Henderson was a graduate assistant coach for BYU and has more than 20 years of coaching experience. Olson was BYU's offensive line coach for 20 years.

After serving on the BYU staff, Frank Henderson went on to success in the high school ranks in Utah. He served as defensive coordinator at Layton High School, helping that school win league and state championships. At Provo High School (Utah) during his 11 years as head coach, Henderson directed his pass-oriented teams to 89 wins against only 39 losses ennroute to six league titles and a Utah state championship. Henderson was selected Utah High School Coach of the Year by the state football coaches association.

A student of the game, Henderson has spent many hours studying BYU game film and has learned some of the finer points of the pass offense from such luminaries as Bill Walsh, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, and Ted Tollner.

Henderson has authored articles for Scholastic Coach magazine. He earned an MS degree from Brigham Young University in 1977. A secondary school teacher, Henderson is a recipient of a Golden Apple Teaching Award from the Provo High School PTA.

He, his wife Nina, and their three children―Dane, Nicholas, and Kadee―live in Orem, Utah. His favorite leisure time activities include reading, weight training, and enjoying various sports with his family.

Mel Olson was offensive line coach for Brigham Young University for 20 years, during which BYU won 13 Western Athletic Conference titles and a national championship in 1984. During these years, BYU regularly led the nation in passing offense. In 1983 BYU's Cougars led all NCAA Division I teams with 584 yards offense per game. During Olson's tenure, BYU produced such quarterbacking stars as Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Marc Wilson, Giff Nielsen, and Ty Detmer. Olson coached future NFL all-pro lineman Bart Oates and Outland Trophy winner (for the nation's outstanding offensive lineman) Mohammed Elewonibi.

Olson turned in a sparkling football career as a player at BYU. A three-year starter, he had the rare distinction of being named all-conference on both sides of the ball―as a linebacker and as an offensive center.

Olson is a member of the American Football Coaches Association. He also is an instructor for the American Sport Education Program (ASEP). He holds an EdD from Brigham Young.

Olson serves as vice president of sports in the Southwest District of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). He also is on an AAPHERD committee to promote national coaching standards, and the National Advisory Committee for the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) to help set national coaching standards.

Olson and his wife Susan live in Orem, Utah. They have five children: Michael, Kristen, Melissa, Tresa, and Chad. His favorite leisure time activities are golf, fishing, and hiking.