PREVIEWS & STRATEGIES

The NFL Head Coach is the guy on the sidelines. Sometimes you see him hurl his headset to the ground in frustration. Sometimes he's pumping his fist in the air in triumph. Sometimes you see him screaming at a player, white-knuckled fist wrapped around the face guard, steam billowing out of his mouth in the frigid weather. Even when the teams win, he's never the MVP, and a player usually takes the credit at the press conference. Who hasn't wanted to be a football coach?

Head Coach lets you step into the shoes of all those famous football geniuses who have gone before. Manage a draft, hire staff, call plays, make trades, in the end, it's all your responsibility. This time, when the guy on field fumbles the ball, you really can blame him. You weren't the guy running. You just told him what to do.

Start from scratch and build a winning organization with talent, strategy and guile. Oh, and money. You'll probably need some of that, too. Build a reputation as a coach, and watch it fall and rise with your successes. Sit behind the desk, admiring your trophy case. Stand on the sideline, sweating bullets in sudden-death. Beat your players into shape. It's your job. You're an NFL Head Coach.

• Build a team: Through drafts, free agency and trades, pick and choose your favorite players. Play to your strengths or eliminate your weaknesses by recruiting that one perfect player to bring everything together. Get them young and train them how you want, or shop around for the one skill your missing.
  
• Supervise a staff: Recruit and hire a full staff of assistants, coordinators and coaches. They might make you look good, but if they screw up, it's all gonna be your fault. So choose carefully.
  
• Call the shots: Build a playbook by creating new plays or adapting classics to your own style. Drill them into your players and roll them out in front of the competition. Go through every day of training camp drills, pre-season bumps, grueling practices, and triumphant games. This team looks to you to make every single call, and you'd better get it right. 

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