Why He Coaches: Andrew Janocko

Nestled in Central Pennsylvania right off of Interstate-80, 40 miles northeast of Penn State University, seven-year-old Andrew Janocko stood beside his father on the sidelines of Clearfield High School’s Bison Stadium, mimicking his every move and getting involved in every play he could.

Twenty-two years later, Janocko is still mimicking his father’s coaching style, except he is no longer standing beside him on the sidelines of Bison Stadium. Instead, he is working with Tony Sparano on the sidelines of U.S. Bank Stadium as the assistant offensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings.

“My dad’s my hero,” Janocko said. “He’s the type of person and type of coach I always aspire to be. There’s no coincidence that watching him is the reason that I coach."

There’s no coincidence that watching him is the reason that I coach.

Janocko got his start as a graduate assistant at Rutgers University in 2011 under head coach Greg Schiano after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh.

In 2012, Schiano got the job as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Janocko was named to his coaching staff and soon made his NFL debut.

“I remember walking out of the tunnel and coming out onto the practice field and there were thousands of people there just for a training camp practice,” Janocko said. “I think that was the first time I said ‘holy cow.’”

Janocko wasn’t a stranger to the crowds or the game. He started his football career when he was six years old playing flag football where parents would gather and watch in lawn chairs. He continued playing through elementary, middle and high school where he would play on Friday nights under his hometown lights. 

After high school, Janocko took the next step in his career when he signed to play collegiate football for the University of Pittsburgh, playing in front of sold out crowds at Heinz Field and Notre Dame Stadium. But seeing that many people at a practice was something Janocko never imagined.  

“I remember having butterflies,” Janocko said. “I’ve coached practices before, but people take their vacations to go to training camp practice.”

Two years later, the novelty of thousands of people at training camp practices wore off and the realities of coaching in the NFL kicked in. Schiano and his staff, including Janocko, were let go from the Buccaneers.

Janocko then made his way back to his home state and became the quarterback coach for Mercyhurst Univeristy. He was no longer coaching future hall of famers like Ronde Barber or Dallas Clark, but it was at that small college in Erie, Pennsylvania, that Janocko remembered his reason for coaching.

The Lakers were set to take on the no. 21 team in the nation, California University of Pennsylvania, on November 8. In the week leading up to the game Janocko worked with his quarterbacks to perfect one pass. He wanted them to throw the ball high, almost like they were throwing it over a defender’s head.

Not only did that pass help the Lakers come away with the upset, but it also helped quarterback Brendan Boylan break every single-game passing record in Mercyhurst history. It also reminded Janocko why he loves coaching.

“I coach because I love helping people,” Janocko said. “I love seeing players develop, I love seeing something that you teach on a blackboard and then you watch on film show up and help make a guy make a big play to win a game, and then to sing a big contract, and then to win a super bowl. That’s why I coach.”

That reason, knowing and watching players develop, has kept him coaching through the pressures and stress that come with being an NFL coach.  

“You have to be prepared,” Janocko said. “You have to be focused because you have to help the athletes, there are millions of dollars on the line every day. The players need to be able to trust you and feel that you can help them.”

At the end of the day... you're still apart of the greatest game ever invented.

But, it was his love for the game and his inability to imagine his life without it that kept him around when things got tough in college and when he got let go in Tampa Bay.

“I don’t ever remember thinking that I want to do anything else because honestly I don’t know what else I could do, I don’t know what else I would want to do,” Janocko said. “I think I would be miserable doing anything else. There is stress, but I think the stress and the pressure to win only makes things more fun and makes winning all the better.”

At the end of the day, whether he is standing beside his dad at Bison Stadium or coaching Kyle Rudolph at U.S. Bank Stadium and celebrating clinching the division championship at Lambo Field, Janocko is just thankful that he is still able to be a part of the game.

“Obviously it’s easy to get caught up with the thousands and thousands of people, the TV, the fireworks, and all of the lights,” Janocko said. “But at the end of the day, whether you’re coaching at Clearfield high school or the Pittsburgh Steelers or Minnesota Vikings it’s still the same game, and that’s what great about the game. You’re still apart of the greatest game ever invented.”