Burrell football coach Shawn Liotta authors ‘No Huddle, No Mercy’

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Monday, March 9, 2020 | 5:33 PM


When Burrell football coach Shawn Liotta speaks at coaching clinics across the country, he always seems to get asked a certain question.

“Someone will always come up to me and ask ‘Coach, how do you play so fast?’ and there are definitely little secrets to that,” Liotta said.

So, to answer that question, Liotta wrote, “No Huddle, No Mercy,” a 126-page book about installing a no-huddle, run-and-shoot offense.

Liotta said the book has chapters on philosophy, keys to success, how to codify your current offense, how the no-huddle offense affects the defense and several other topics, including problems Liotta has encountered in his coaching career.

“I’m a guy that loves to think outside the box, and I’m not afraid to come up with some different ideas and learn and grow from them,” Liotta said. “That’s basically what this book is. It’s a collection of 22 years of experience in doing this type of stuff.”

The idea came to Liotta during time as offensive coordinator at Clairton in 2014, when the Bears scored a PIAA-record 958 points and went 15-1, with their only loss in the state championship.

That year’s team averaged just under 60 points and never scored below 54 points in a regular-season game.

The term “No Huddle, No Mercy” quickly caught on among fans, and from there, Liotta’s offensive philosophy gained popularity.

“They made T-shirts. They made banners. They made signs, and they started calling it ‘No Huddle, No Mercy,’ ” Liotta said. “It was kind of the mantra we adapted there, and it just grew.”

Since his book was published two weeks ago, Liotta said he has received a tremendous amount of support from coaches across the country at different levels.

Slippery Rock offensive coordinator Adam Neugebauer, who helped The Rock put up record-breaking numbers this past season, sent a tweet asking how to get a copy. Liotta said the feedback has been humbling.

“The response has been amazing,” Liotta said. “There are guys from all over the country buying it. From Division I coaches to high school coaches to youth coaches. There has just been a lot of interest in it, and I’ve gotten a lot of really good feedback, as well. It makes me happy to help other coaches. It’s a very positive thing because as coaches, I think we should try and do everything we can to grow the game of football.”

Throughout the book, Liotta gives away a lot of tips and tricks that have helped him over the years, but he’s not divulging all his secrets.

“There are some things you can’t give away,” Liotta said with a laugh.

The book is available at nohuddlenomercy.com.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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