Engstrand finds a new home in XFL’S interesting coaching lab

A San Diegan is playing a new kind of football chess the NFL may look into for itself.

Coaches in the XFL, a new pro league, are allowed a bigger role as the play clock ticks down.

They can chat to not just one player but a few of them, and for longer — via electronics — than in the NFL and college games.

“I really think it’s groundbreaking,” said DC Defenders offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, a former San Diego State quarterback who was the University of San Diego’s coordinator for five years.

In the NFL, as the play clocks runs down there’s less coaching to be done.

One coach can talk into the helmet of his quarterback or defensive signal-caller, and the electronic feed is shut off with 15 seconds left.

The XFL is a gabfest, in comparison.

“I really think it’s groundbreaking.” Tanner Engstrand • DC Defenders offensive coordinator, on the XFL allowing coaches to talk to players up until the ball is snapped on every play.

XFL coaches can chat with any skill player on offense, and up to six defenders. The headset-to-helmet feed stays open, so the coaching can go right down to the clock’s final second.

“It’s been a great experience,” Engstrand said. “It enables everybody to play a little faster.”

“The players may not always like it,” the coach added, laughing by phone from Washington. But Engstrand said XFL teams are finding a balance.

Troy Aikman, the lead NFL analyst for Fox Sports game telecasts, has said allowing more coach-player interaction as the XFL does make sense and would be good for the NFL.

Engstrand works from the press box, eyeing players on both teams and his play sheet.

As the 25-second clock dwindles, he may “chime in” to a player but directs most of his comments to head coach Pep Hamilton, who instructs quarterback Cardale Jones and calls the play.

The Defenders are 2-0 entering today’s road game against the L.A. Wildcats, and Jones leads the XFL with 511 passing yards.

His San Diego past, said Engstrand, is helping him in his first job in pro football.

He said he learned a lot under Jim Harbaugh, a Super Bowl head coach whose 2005 USD staff Engstrand joined as a graduate aide working for free.

He coached at USD for 13 years before joining Harbaugh’s University of Michigan staff as an offensive analyst in February 2018.

Following Hamilton from Ann Arbor to the XFL in April has exposed Engstrand to a faster game, one whose play clock is 15 seconds shorter than the NFL play clock.

“Also,” he said, “with a startup, there’s a lot of trouble-shooting that goes on, and you’re putting a playbook together from scratch. So, that’s all been really good.”

Evident in the Defenders designs are Harbaugh’s fondness of formations with multiple running backs or tight ends, an old-school wrinkle that’s differentiated the offense.

Football chess matters, but quarterback talent may matter more.

Engstrand, who logged fewer than 10 snaps with SDSU after starting for West Hills High and Grossmont College, lauded the play of Jones, a former Chargers backup who played well last summer in NFL preseason exhibitions.

For example, in his XFL opener, Jones turned a problem into a touchdown pass. Engstrand said Jones saw the coaches’ call didn’t match the defensive coverage, and made a deft read and throw.

The team’s next game brings Jones to his former Chargers home, the Carson soccer park.

Back east, meantime, San Diego’s warmth still reaches Engstrand, who earned degrees at both SDSU and USD.

“I’m holding an SDSU cup in my office,” he said.