Are there any relatively quick ways to succeed?

[Chriswin4]

Just recently got into FOF9 and would like to know if there are any relatively quick ways to succeed. Having a bit of a problem making the Saints competitive, albeit due to their horrific cap situation.



Is there any set of coaching styles or playbooks that tend to lead to success? I've seen some teams QB getting 5800 passing yards in a season and I can never really get over 3800.



Also draft QBs all seem to be rather underwhelming, is there specific things to look out for when scouting offensive players in the draft? I tend to find stars on defense, but can't for the life of me get a hit on offensive players who aren't OL/OT.



Any other tips would be greatly appreciated, thank you

[ZappaPhreak]

I'm less than 10 seasons into my FOF9 experience, but based on my experience with lots of FOF8 single player, I'm rolling with the same general approach and that seems to be working:

• Get a smart quarterback with high "sense rush" and high "good decisions". (FOF8 didn't have "good decisions", but seems like it would make sense to have that high...)
• Prioritize receivers and offensive lines on offense. De-prioritize running backs (go with cheap free agents and late-round picks).
• On defense, I generally prioritize the line, but for me, that's not as important as getting the right guys on offense.

The engine seems to be tuned to high-powered air offenses. Much like the real-world NFL.

Using that approach in FOF8, I could usually count on winning a championship within ten seasons... and I think it was basically solving the quarterback puzzle that eventually leads to a title. For my initial FOF9 universe, the QB that won my first two titles is overall a 52 rating and I took him with the 10th overall pick in the draft. He was the 2nd QB on my draft board. I drafted him in the third season and won the titles in seasons five and six.

[garion333]

Keep playing. You'll get there.

Zappa has some good points. A good OL will help paper over some deficiencies in game planning.

[Chriswin4]

z This is all really helpful thank you. I find it easy to get good Offensive Linemen in the first three rounds of the draft. Should I be prioritising pass protection attributes if it is about air-offenses, what is the best coaching style for that?


Using that approach in FOF8, I could usually count on winning a championship within ten seasons... and I think it was basically solving the quarterback puzzle that eventually leads to a title. For my initial FOF9 universe, the QB that won my first two titles is overall a 52 rating and I took him with the 10th overall pick in the draft. He was the 2nd QB on my draft board. I drafted him in the third season and won the titles in seasons five and six.[/quote]

Originally Posted by ZappaPhreak

I'm less than 10 seasons into my FOF9 experience, but based on my experience with lots of FOF8 single player, I'm rolling with the same general approach and that seems to be working:

• Get a smart quarterback with high "sense rush" and high "good decisions". (FOF8 didn't have "good decisions", but seems like it would make sense to have that high...)
• Prioritize receivers and offensive lines on offense. De-prioritize running backs (go with cheap free agents and late-round picks).
• On defense, I generally prioritize the line, but for me, that's not as important as getting the right guys on offense.

The engine seems to be tuned to high-powered air offenses. Much like the real-world NFL.\


This is all really helpful thank you. I find it easy to get good Offensive Linemen in the first three rounds of the draft. Should I be prioritising pass protection attributes if it is about air-offenses, what is the best coaching style for that?


Using that approach in FOF8, I could usually count on winning a championship within ten seasons... and I think it was basically solving the quarterback puzzle that eventually leads to a title. For my initial FOF9 universe, the QB that won my first two titles is overall a 52 rating and I took him with the 10th overall pick in the draft. He was the 2nd QB on my draft board. I drafted him in the third season and won the titles in seasons five and six.

[garion333]

Originally Posted by Chriswin4

z This is all really helpful thank you. I find it easy to get good Offensive Linemen in the first three rounds of the draft. Should I be prioritising pass protection attributes if it is about air-offenses, what is the best coaching style for that?

Yes, the more you pass, the more important pass pro becomes. As does endurance. Don't skimp on that.

Also, cohesion of the OL used to be a factor. I can't guarantee it's still a significant factor, but I would imagine so. Anyway, don't change out your OL too often as you'll wreck their cohesion. The longer they play together, the better.

Spread is the best for tons of passing.

[Chriswin4]

I've heard that for FOF9 cohesion is now limited to QB and WR. Spread is better than the Air one that Andy Reid uses?

Originally Posted by garion333

Yes, the more you pass, the more important pass pro becomes. As does endurance. Don't skimp on that.

Also, cohesion of the OL used to be a factor. I can't guarantee it's still a significant factor, but I would imagine so. Anyway, don't change out your OL too often as you'll wreck their cohesion. The longer they play together, the better.

Spread is the best for tons of passing.

[Haiku]

Originally Posted by Chriswin4

I've heard that for FOF9 cohesion is now limited to QB and WR.

It is not. They are both separate features. One is cohesion which applies to the whole team and the different units and the other is the chemistry between QB and WR. I believe the latter is a constant and never changes. The Cohesion screen is accessible through League > Reports and Info > Team Cohesion Report. This improves with playing time and retaining the same roster with minimal changes as long as possible.

[ZappaPhreak]

Another OL tip is to look for a center with high strength and run-blocking skills. Seems to really improve the run game...

[Chriswin4]

What do coaches actually do? From what I can gather, the only important things are the coordinators as they decide how you play and do your playbook.

[Haiku]

Originally Posted by Chriswin4

What do coaches actually do? From what I can gather, the only important things are the coordinators as they decide how you play and do your playbook.

You can hover over these, and it will tell you what they do. Coaches influence the game in so many different ways. Picking up the best possible coaches gives you a boost in many areas that do not seem obvious, like player development, performance, penalties, scouting accuracy, etc.

[Chriswin4]

Thank you, does the scouting apply to draft rookies? Or is still the scouting for strategy things?

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by Chriswin4

What do coaches actually do? From what I can gather, the only important things are the coordinators as they decide how you play and do your playbook.

I thought I would direct you to the game manual, but guess what? It is now silent on these things!

I'd suggest reading the FOF8 manual, if it is still online. Otherwise, here's what I temember that is still working for me.

Player Dev-- Not young players sevelopment the OC effects offense, DC defense. the AC and HC also chip in (one of them is the kickers and punters).

Young Players is for Rookies and drifts off to PLAYER DEV at some point with the same emphasis by coach.

MOtivation and Discipline are soley controlled by the HC. Discipline is how many penalties you recieve. Motifation gives your team a boost in the 4th quarter.

The OC is the offensive play caller, the DC calls the defensive formations. The other guys don't matter.

the tool tip explains INT. So hover there.

Scouting runs a bit differently than in FOF8, but seems so far (based on my experience thus far) and the tool tips to match Player Development. By that I mean the OC scouts offensive talent, the DC scouts defensibe talent, and Interviews reslut in the OVERRATED/UNDERRATED comments, and possibley the width of the orange bars--still figuring that part out.

I hope others chime in, particularly with observatiosn on what is diffenrt now from FOF8

[Chriswin4]

Yeah I've gone through the manual extensively, but it seems to miss some things out, I appreciate the time taken to reply. I'm now running a system where i pick a head coach based on Interview, Scouting, Motivation and Discipline, with some interest in development. I then do my coordinators based on play calling, scouting and rookie dev. Assistant coach is hired purely based on player dev.



If your coordinators have high scouting, it seems like what you see with the blue bars prior to the draft will be accurate. If that's a low scouting rating then you can think someone will be good and they will have vastly lower ratings.

[ZappaPhreak]

Here's a copy/paste from the FOF8 manual:

Staff Member Information Screen

Use the Staff Member Information Screen to extend a coach or coordinator contract or view information about a staff member.

Coaches and coordinators may only be extended during the staff hiring period, which follows the Front Office Bowl. You may only extend staff members with one year remaining on their contracts.

A good coaching staff can improve a team, and keep players happy and ready to play. You can view a rough assessment of each coaching staff's abilities through this command.

Each team has a head coach, an offensive coordinator, a defensive coordinator, an assistant coach and a strength coordinator.

Each potential staff member also has an area of expertise. This is the position group they specialize in working with. Offensive Coordinators must specialize in working with an offensive position group. Defensive Coordinators must specialize in working with a defensive position group. Head coaches and assistant coaches can specialize anywhere but in strength training. Strength Coordinators must specialize in strength training.

The Reputation area of the screen shows the staff member's reputation for developing players. They are assigned a rating for each group of players.

Coaches are rated for their ability to develop players as well as their ability to develop young players. They are rated for their ability to motivate players, which is valuable only for head coaches during a game. They are rated for discipline, which is valuable only for head coaches and affects a team's propensity to commit penalties. They are rated for play calling, which is valuable only for offensive and defensive coordinators. They are rated for interviewing ability, which affects the accuracy of information gleaned from scouting combine interviews. They are rated for scouting, which affects the accuracy of scouting players.

Offensive coordinators have an offensive style. While they can call plays ideal for any offensive style, teams learn the plays a little better if the play is suited to the coordinator's style. They also have a playbook limit, which is the number of unique offensive plays they can teach a team in preparation for a game. You can still fill an offensive game plan with up to 150 plays (more than you'd ever really need), but any over the unique limit must be duplicates of already installed plays. See the sections on game planning for more information.

Defensive coordinators have a favored defensive front. Your defensive coordinator controls the front your team uses for the season. The only way to change the front you use is to hire a new defensive coordinator. See the sections on game planning for more information.

Your coaches and coordinators, with the exception of the strength coordinator, all develop players and scout players. The offensive coordinator plays a bigger role with offensive players. Your defensive coordinator plays a bigger role with defensive players and your assistant coach plays a bigger role with special teams players. When developing talent, having a head coach and/or an assistant coach that matches the position group of the player can often give the player a development boost.

Strength Coordinators are rated in strength training, which primarily helps with recovery from injuries. They are also rated in conditioning, which provides some help with recovery, and is mostly useful in helping players avoid injuries.

During the staff renegotiation period, staff members with one year left on their contracts will ask for a raise. Use the Give Raise button to make that salary offer to the staff member. You will be given an opportunity to confirm the offer. Coordinators typically work for less money than coaches.

If the staff member accepts an offer, and you refuse to confirm it, he will have a more negative attitude toward your team. If a staff member is eligible for a contract extension, and you let him continue without that extension, you will have to re-sign him through the staff draft the following year if you want to keep him. Depending on your draft position, he might no longer be available.

Your team's coaching expenses are the sum of the salaries of the coach and coordinators.

[garion333]

Originally Posted by Chriswin4

Thank you, does the scouting apply to draft rookies? Or is still the scouting for strategy things?

Draft

[loligag]

Importance Of Each Staff Rating: Correlations Of Staff Attributes To Suitability - Front Office Football Central


Ben linked this a while back and tells you exactly the importance of each stat for each type of coach.

[Buttons]

I will preface this by saying while I don't design (many) plays or gameplan I do sometimes control coaching, mostly the offense when the game is close and defense at critical moments (3rd and long, a score apart and clock ticking down).

Strategy: In general my offense tends to be pass heavy and involve multiple receivers, I don't tend to have a strong WR1 (current game my top 4 receivers are like 63, 57, 55, and 54 overall). I rely heavily on short passes with longer passes in extreme situations.

Teambuilding: As I mentioned I prefer a bunch of good receivers as opposed to one great receiver, in general the only positions where I focus on truly elite (65+) players are QB and OL, this helps keep costs down meaning I can often win bidding wars for the players I really like so my O-line often is something like 55, 65, 75, 60, 70 overall. For RBs I also go for mid level players, a nice stable of 45-55 RBs to cycle through and allow me a decent running game even if my RB1 is injured. I often go for older veterans on short contracts which lets me drop them when they fall off without significant cap hits.

Coaching: I like spread, air coryell, or west coast offenses, for defenses I generally get the best guy but I like 4-3 for having 4 guys blitz by default and decreasing the odds of having a random corner blits when you want to have something beyond a 3 person blitz. For traits for HC I lean about 80% to discipline, 15% towards morale, 5% towards player development and scouting, for OC and DC I almost always go for playcalling above everything. I like giving my HC a scheme fit with my OC or DC but I don't think it matters, but it seems thematically fitting. For discipline I find this is often what destroys me, especially in the playoffs, losing 10 or 15 yards isn't the end of the world, but in the playoffs it can easily decide a game and few things are more obnoxious than getting a first down and getting it called back.

Drafting: I like to fill all my gaps through free agency when able and thus with the draft I almost always go for BPA, with the best players forming the backbone of my team in the future. My strategy tends to be sorting by combine score, looking at exact ratings so I don't overvalue a WR with like 20 speed, and if ratings are good heavily weighting towards underrated and very underrated players (I never get overrated or very overrated players unless their ratings look like 2+ rounds above where I might draft them otherwise). The SOLE exception is getting a franchise QB. Look at the mock drafts, pick out the QB they like and trade up to get your guy if he looks unlikely to fall to you, I got a 63 overall through the draft who isn't great, he's decently mobile, throws a lot of picks, sort of Josh Allen type, but he's accurate until he throws picks.

Playcalling: I generally don't call plays, maybe like 2% of defensive plays and 10% of offensive plays, often when I realize there's a huge gap in my team or the enemy defense is weak in a specific way (enemy has great LBs and I am down to RB3 with a 38 overall? Yeah I won't run the ball until the 4th quarter when I'm ahead by two scores). The main times I call plays are 3rd and 4th down. I have found a lot of success from fake punts and fake field goals, maybe 0-4 times a game on average. Overall though the main point is to intervene when the AI is shitting the bed with its playcalling "3rd and 15 down by 7 in the 4th quarter with 3:54 left? Run it up the gut" or when you see the need to take aggressive or passive actions.

Worked well for me, took the Patriots to the super bowl in 2024 and won it in 2025 and 2026

[kcarr]

One of the biggest things is realize where you need studs and where you can find roll players.

Qb, as has been stated intelligence is big, and you need a pretty good player, it is easier if you have a stud for sure though.

Wr, the more studs the better. Most of the time a stud will require 1st or 2nd round picks though so this can be one of your biggest investments.

Oline, a stud LT is great and worth the investment but the other spots you should be able to fill with good enough guys 3rd round and later. Lot for strong pass blocking and endurance.

Te, I haven't seen as many studs in this new game and a stud can be worth it but you can also just find a decent pass catcher with decent routes and hands late and get by.

Rb, I tend to look at speed, strength, and vision and figure with late round picks you can piece it together. A nice pass catcher can be a weapon here though if you use him.

Line, I like having a stud here and usually spend on one but I do find it to be an easy position to find pass rush tech on the edge and run defense in the middle and get by. One stud anchor is nice though with those cheap productive guys around him.

Lb, I haven't seen as many studs here, especially not that fall at all in the draft, but you can piece it together with play recognition and run defense and a little coverage.

Cb, I usually look for decent coverage in 2 areas and draft a bunch of guys who fit that without really investing high.

S, if I find a stud here I might take a shot but they seem rare and competent players are everywhere so I go with that