Flipping radio stations while stuck in traffic yesterday I came across an interview with a high school football coach.

Coach Kevin Kelley of the Pulaski Academy Bruins in Arkansas does things differently:

  • the Bruins do not punt
  • the Bruins always onside kick
  • the Bruins never try FGs
  • they ALWAYS go for it on 4th down regardless of field position

For Coach Kelly, it’s a numbers game, as he explains it to Sports Illustrated:

pulaski; as seen in SPorts IllustratedConsider the most extreme scenario, say, fourth-and-long near your own end zone. According to Kelley's data, when a team punts from that deep, the opponents will take possession inside the 40-yard line and will then score a touchdown 77% of the time. If they recover on downs inside the 10, they'll score a touchdown 92% of the time. "So [forsaking] a punt, you give your offense a chance to stay on the field. And if you miss, the odds of the other team scoring only increase 15 percent. It's like someone said, '[Punting] is what you do on fourth down,' and everyone did it without asking why." (my emphasis)

And it works for the Bruins, they are 68-13-1 with 2 state championships under Coach Kelly.

College coaches have seen this, and many believe Coach Kelly’s philosophy is sound, but they also know they will get fired if they changed to this unorthodox brand of football. Because Coach Kelley's secret—borrowing another gambling term—is that’s he’s all-in; he never wavers.

It might be hard to break all the rules and change your business strategy, but start here, now: what is equivalent to your business always punting on 4th down? Ask why do you have to do it.  --Doug Thomas