Flohr inherits keys to Bearcat offensive attack
JON DYKSTRA/DAILY FORUM
Northwest Missouri State University offensive coordinator Charlie Flohr shouts instructions to senior quarterback Zach Martin (17) and senior running back Jordan Grove (32) during Thursday’s practice at Bearcat Stadium.
When Adam Dorrel left the Northwest Missouri State University football team last winter and Rich Wright was promoted to head coach, it may have not been Wright whose day-to-day duties we altered the most on the coaching staff.
Wright is retaining his defensive coordinator responsibilities as well as the defensive line coaching job. The first-time head coach will still be allowed to focus on the Bearcat defense and he is allowed to do that thanks to the added responsibilities of his right-hand man Charlie Flohr.
“One thing that (Mel Tjeerdsma) was great at doing is hiring great people and then let them do their job,” Wright explained. “You can’t micro-manage. I trust Charlie. I’m so old that Charlie was once a player for me back in the day at Dakota State. I’ve know Charlie for years and it is his time.”
Flohr has been the team’s offensive coordinator for the past five seasons, but while working under an offensive-minded coach like Dorrel, Flohr has never had full reign of the Northwest Missouri State offense.
That will change this season.
“I have a great staff with coach (Joel) Osborn, and coach (Mike) Cunningham has brought in a lot of different ideas to our run-game, which we will be able to do,” Flohr said. “I worked with Coach Dorrel for 11 years and played for him. I’ve known Adam for a really long time and we had a good relationship and it was time for me to have my own deal and see what I can do … We have a lot of great kids and that is what makes it special. ”
Wright is pleased to be able to keep the continuity with the offense.
“He understands our offense completely,” Wright said. “I have complete faith in him, Joel and Mike to execute the things we need.”
Wright has repeatedly said he will continue to focus on the defense and allow Flohr to bring along the offense.
“We have talked a lot this summer and spring about different situations and how we want to handle it,” Flohr said of his relationship with Wright. “There are a lot of things that go on during the course of the game that we need to make sure we are on the same page with. It is an honor and a privilege for me that he allows me to make the decisions when we need to. If he needs to pipe in though, obviously he has the authority to do that.
“Coach Wright and I have gone back over 20 years and we’ve known each other a long time. The faith and trust he has in me makes it easier showing up to the office every single day.”
The team’s elite defense allows Flohr’s offense to be pushed everyday in practice.
“We’ve had the luxury for the 12 years I’ve been here and especially the last four years that we’ve had the No. 1 defense in the country,” Flohr said. “I talked to the guys about that, ‘You are going to have some ups and you are going to have some downs, maybe more downs than ups. But if we continue to move the chains and stay on schedule against what we feel is the best defense every single day, then we have a chance to be successful. It is hard because our kids are so ultra-competitive as well, but it is just a matter of being consistent when those bad plays happen and moving on to the next.”
Senior quarterback Jonathan Baker says the transition has been smooth.
“It has been cool to see his role,” Baker said. “For us quarterbacks, it has been cool to see how his demeanor hasn’t changed. He is still the same guy.”
