Brad White explains why he wants to coach from sideline, not press box

Under defensive coordinator Brad White, the Kentucky Wildcats have been one of the better units in the country on that side of the field. Despite an underwhelming season overall, the defense stepped up in 2022 and performed like a top-15 unit all season.

Physicality and a bend-don’t-break attitude have become hallmarks of a White defense, and he credits part of his coaching ability to the fact that he stands and coaches from the sidelines during games rather than sitting up in the press boxes.

White is sort of unique as a DC who likes to call plays from the sidelines, but he sees it as an advantage for him personally. When asked in a sit-down interview with KSR’s Nick Roush and Adam Luckett why he prefers to coach and call plays that way, he said it’s a simple choice for him.

Take a look at White’s response here or read his comments just below:

Brad White explains why he prefers to coach from the sideline during games

“Alright well, that’s an easy answer and I can even tie it into Father’s Day, you know,” answered White. “You know, for me, it’s about being able to look in their eyes. You know, when you call a play, you can look whether they’re confident or not, you can look. If you’re on the sideline, you can feel their emotion, you can see it in their body language.”

White actually touted the advantages of sitting up in the box, but revealed that his own preference to be face-to-face with the players.

“Where, if you’re removed in the box, yes, it’s a much sort of slower game, it’s much more objective. It’s kind of like you’re playing with the 22. And I think you could you could make some really good adjustments, so there’s there’s some positives too obviously being in the box.

“I just don’t think for me personally that outweighs the ability to be down there and, like, I call games, I adjust games based off of how I feel on the sideline. Hey, what is their emotion if I say ‘hey guys, we’re going to do this’ and you can see in their eyes, like yes.”

There you have it from the UK DC. Brad White says he likes being around his guys and gauging their reactions to play calls before he makes them. However, he does admit there are certainly advantages to sitting with the birds.