Q&A with Broken Bow’s newest head coach, Maverick Lang
Lang returns to McCurtain County with great expectations for the 2024 Savages
With Bryce McKinnis
VYPE: Congratulations on being named Broken Bow’s next head football coach! How has the transition been?
Maverick Lang: Thank you! The transition has been great! I really appreciate Superintendent Carla Ellisor, Assistant Superintendent Luke Hanks and Athletic Director Kraig Sundburg for giving me the opportunity to be the head football coach at Broken Bow. The process happened fast; On a Friday, I informed my previous school [Meeker] I was leaving, and that following Monday I was at Broken Bow. With me getting hired in May, my first day on campus was actually our first day of spring football practice. I was extremely impressed with the coaches. We spent all day installing for both sides of the ball, and when practice started, you would have never known these guys woke up that morning not knowing about the scheme they were coaching that afternoon. A huge shout out to the players, from day one they have come with a great mindset and have caught on to what we are doing offensively and defensively really fast. These kids have a great attitude and work extremely hard.
VYPE: You recently led your first day of summer pride at Broken Bow. What were your first thoughts as you worked with your guys?
ML: My first takeaway was these kids will get after it in the weight room and outside with speed and agility. We have a really good group of upper class leaders that set a great example on how to do things the right way. Which is huge for us when we are creating our culture and setting the standard for the way we are going to do things within our program.
VYPE: Why was Broken Bow the right place for you?
ML: This place is a great football community! I was fortunate enough to start my coaching career here so I have an understanding of how passionate this community is about their Savage football. When I left here to go coach down in Texas, I told my wife that I really would like to come back here down the road and be the head football coach, and here we are! This is where I want my son to play high school football. I strongly believe that this football program is a sleeping giant.
VYPE: What does it mean to be a Broken Bow Savage?
ML: Tradition! It means that you are a part of something bigger than yourself. As a Broken Bow football player you get the opportunity to represent this football program, school and community. The four-year window that these kids get to play high school football here, they are given the opportunity to create and add to the rich tradition of Broken Bow Football.
VYPE: What is the greatest coaching lesson you learned at Meeker?
ML: The more that you invest in the human part of your players the better your team is going to be. Don’t get me wrong, coaching X’s and O’s is extremely important, but when you invest in your players, the scheme part of football will greatly benefit from it also. As a coach you have to create an environment where your players perform to not let you down rather than playing out of fear. Also, something that I have always believed in and during my time at Meeker, it held true — Your assistant coaches have to be kid magnets. Your players have to enjoy being around the coaches, we want the best part of their day to be when they come over to the fieldhouse. Throughout a football season the players spend more time around the coaches than their own families so it is important that you have coaches that care about the kids and can relate to all the different types of backgrounds that are in your locker room. You have to love football but you have to love the kids more.
VYPE: What are your expectations for your first year?
ML: We have high expectations for everything that we do in our program. I love the saying, ‘High expectations can not survive low standards.’ We are setting the standards of how we are going to do things within our football program. With everything being new schematically, it has been fun to watch the kids growth everyday throughout spring ball and 7-on-7s during the summer. Going into the season we have to be focused on what we can control, and that is making sure each player is getting better everyday. We expect our kids to do everything in their power to make sure the guys around them are successful. We will field a team that plays passionately for each other, the football program, and the community of Broken Bow. The players have a privilege and responsibility to protect the tradition of Broken Bow Football.
VYPE: Talk to me about your 2024 staff.
ML: There will be few new faces on the football staff this season. I will start with the two coaches that have been at Broken Bow: Duce Lee will be coaching defensive backs and running backs. Coach Lee is as good as they come, [an] extremely hard worker who has great knowledge for the game of football. He is great around the players and is a huge asset for us. Breyden Jackson will be coaching receivers and outside linebackers. Coach Jackson has great enthusiasm and the kids love being around him. He brings a great skill set to both positions he coaches and holds our kids accountable to be the best they can. Rick Lang will be the defensive coordinator. He was the head football coach at Porter. Coach Rick Lang brings over 34 years of coaching experience and 27 years of head coaching experience to our program. He has a great defensive mind and does a really good job of bringing out the best in players and creating high expectations on the defensive side of the ball. Derrick Hammer will be coaching defensive backs and receivers. He was the Defensive Coordinator at Dewey. Coach Hammer works great with kids and has a great coaching mind for both sides of the football. Gary Qualls will be coaching offensive and defensive line. He comes to us from North Lamar, Texas. Coach Qualls brings a lot of coaching experience to our program on both sides of the ball. He is very structured in how he coaches and prepares. We are also in the process of hiring another coach. Broken Bow football is very fortunate to have these guys as coaches, I have been extremely pleased with how they have gotten after it this spring and start of summer. This is a great group of men that care about the young men in our program and have high expectations for Broken Bow Football.
VYPE: Talk to me about your team — strategy, scheme, philosophy. What should we expect to see on the field this fall?
ML: Our main goal is to be the most physical football team on the field. Defensively we want to field 11 kids that will violently play the game of football. From an offensive standpoint, we are going to do a lot of different things scheme-wise, but at the end of the day we are going to have to establish a physical run game. Defensively, we will base out of the 4-2-5 with the ability to be multiple. We are going to allow our kids to fly around and make plays, and put an emphasis on stopping the run. After going through spring practices and team camp we have a good core group of kids that bring different skill sets to the table for both sides of the ball. We are excited to get these kids out on the field this fall!
VYPE: Why is it important for young men to pursue football or other sports?
ML: There is a long list of reasons why young men should play football. Football creates a family atmosphere that embodies life-long lessons. We are teaching these kids how to be great husbands and fathers. Right now, these kids have their teammates that are relying on them to be accountable, but in the near future they will have a wife and kids that are going to be looking to them to be a man of accountability and integrity. Another great reason young men should be playing football is because it is hard. We all know life is not easy, and lessons you learn from being in a football program can be used throughout the course of your life. I have seen many kids that after four years of being in the football program came out more mature, accountable, a better role model, and a better young man.
VYPE: What advice would you give to new coaches?
ML: Be the hardest worker in the room. There are a lot of job titles that fall under being a football coach. Never feel like you are too big to do even the smallest of jobs within the football program. When it comes to coaching, always invest in the person as much as you are investing in the football player. The saying “They don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care” is a true statement. If your players truly know that you care about them and have their best interest at heart, you will be able to coach them hard and get the best results out of them. You have a great platform to teach your players life lessons through the game of football. The average life expectancy is in the upper 70s. The four-year window where they are playing high school football is just a small portion of that, so you better be instilling lessons that they can carry with them far beyond the Friday night lights. The last thing: Always be yourself. High school kids are smart and can see through your act if you are trying to be someone you’re not.
VYPE: The Broken Bow community wants to know more about you? Tell us about your family, coaching background and playing career!
ML: My wife, Taylor, and I have a 4-year old son named Titan who will be in Pre-K this year, and he is excited to be a Broken Bow Savage. Taylor will be teaching Elementary P.E. My wife is as good of a coach’s wife as you can ask for. She is what allows me to invest so much time into the kids and program and has been a huge part in the success of the places I have been. This will be my 10th year coaching football. I started my coaching career here at Broken Bow coaching Quarterbacks and JV Offensive Coordinator. I then went to Community ISD down in Texas and coached varsity Quarterbacks and JV Offensive Coordinator. I had the opportunity to coach with my dad at Blackwell, OK where I was the varsity Offensive Coordinator. At Blackwell, we were able to accomplish many things that had not been done there in awhile. We had the first winning season in 25 years and hosted the first home playoff game in 32 years. The last two seasons at Blackwell our offense led our district in passing twice, rushing once, and the last season we led the district in both categories while having the district’s leading receiver both seasons. The last three seasons, I have been the Head Football Coach at Meeker. We were able to change the culture within the football program. This past season our defense created 15 turnovers and had 60 tackles for loss. While on the offensive side of the ball, we averaged 448 yards per game. On the season, we had 2,602 rushing yards, 2,746 passing yards, a total of 5,348 yards. I am very grateful for my time at Meeker. That place helped me grow as a coach, and I had the opportunity to coach a lot of great young men and work with great coaches during my time there. As I stated before, Broken Bow was always the place that I wanted to get back to, and my coaching career up to this point has helped prepare me to be the head football coach for the Savages!
