How Coaching Candidates Evaluate Your Culture

SPECIAL GUEST POST FROM DAN CHRISTENSEN 

Almost every athletic department says it has a good culture.

You hear words like collaborative, supportive, family-oriented, student-centered, and close-knit in job postings and interviews all the time.

But when coaches are considering a job, what actually convinces them that the culture is healthy?

As part of our 2026 College Coaching Job Search Study, we asked more than 300 college coaches:

“Which signs most strongly suggest that an athletic department has a healthy culture?”

The top responses were:

• Coaches and staff tend to remain at the institution — 57.3%
• Coaches speak positively and honestly about the athletic director — 48.1%
• President and senior administration visibly support athletics — 43.0%
• Competitive expectations are realistic given available resources — 37.9%

The results point toward an important takeaway for athletic directors conducting a search.

Candidates are looking for evidence.

And much of that evidence is difficult to manufacture during an interview.

The strongest culture signal is whether people stay

Staff retention ranked first.

That makes sense because retention is something a candidate can observe.

You can tell a finalist that your department has a tremendous culture. But if six coaches have left in the last two years, the candidate is probably going to have questions.

On the other hand, when candidates meet coaches who have been at the institution for five, eight, or ten years, that communicates something.

It does not prove everything is perfect. People stay and leave jobs for all kinds of reasons.

But longevity can suggest that coaches feel supported, expectations are manageable, relationships are functional, and people see enough value in the environment to remain there.

This is also a reminder that culture is built long before the next search starts.

How you treat your current coaches today may affect your ability to recruit your next coach tomorrow.

Candidates are listening closely to what your coaches say about you

Nearly half of respondents selected coaches speaking positively and honestly about the athletic director as a sign of healthy culture.

The word honestly is important.

Candidates probably do not expect every coach they meet to say that everything is wonderful. In fact, an overly polished response can sometimes feel less believable.

They are listening for something more substantive.

Do coaches seem to trust the AD? Do they feel supported? Can they raise concerns? Do they believe they are treated fairly? Does the athletic director communicate? Would they choose to work for this person again?

That is one reason conversations with other coaches can be so valuable during a campus interview.

In another part of our study, 51.6% of coaches said conversations with other coaches and athletics staff would be among the most valuable parts of a finalist visit.

Those conversations are not just social opportunities.

Candidates are doing due diligence.

They are often learning as much about the AD from the coaching staff as they are from the AD directly.

Culture extends beyond the athletic department

The third-highest response was visible support from the president and senior administration.

That is particularly important at smaller colleges.

Candidates are trying to understand where athletics fits within the institution.

Does senior leadership understand athletics? Do they value what coaches contribute? Does the president attend athletic events? Does institutional leadership speak positively about athletics? Is the department viewed as an important part of enrollment, student experience, campus life, and institutional strategy?

Some of that may be outside the athletic director’s direct control.

But the relationship the AD builds with senior leadership matters.

And during a finalist visit, even a relatively brief interaction with a president, vice president, or other senior administrator can help a candidate understand how athletics is viewed across campus.

Realistic expectations are a culture issue

One of the more interesting findings was that 37.9% of respondents identified realistic competitive expectations relative to available resources as a sign of healthy culture.

That is not always what people think about when they hear the word culture.

But coaches apparently do.

A department can have friendly people, good communication, and team-building events and still create an unhealthy environment if coaches are consistently asked to accomplish things they do not have the resources to accomplish.

Candidates are comparing expectations with reality.

If you expect championships, what staffing, recruiting resources, scholarships, budget, facilities, and institutional support come with that expectation?

If a program needs rebuilding, how much time will the new coach actually receive?

If roster growth is important, does the admissions and financial-aid structure support that goal?

High expectations are not necessarily the problem.

Misaligned expectations are.

And finalists are trying to determine whether the athletic director understands the difference.

Candidates are watching more than you may realize

Other responses in the study included clear evaluation standards, taking student-athlete well-being seriously, coach collaboration, and consistent communication.

Individually, those ranked below the top five.

Collectively, they reinforce the same idea.

Candidates are watching how the department operates.

They notice how coaches interact with each other. They notice whether student-athletes appear supported. They notice whether people seem comfortable around the athletic director. They notice whether expectations are clear. They notice how administrators talk about coaches who are not in the room. They notice whether answers from different people seem consistent. And sometimes they notice what people avoid talking about.

A campus interview is not only an opportunity for you to evaluate a candidate.

It is also a window into your department.

You cannot manufacture culture for interview day

Athletic directors cannot control every impression a candidate forms.

You cannot control every reason a coach leaves.

You cannot completely control institutional finances, senior leadership decisions, or what every employee says during a campus visit.

But you have tremendous influence over many of the things candidates appear to value most.

The people you hire. The expectations you set. The way you communicate. Whether coaches feel heard. How you support people when things are difficult. Whether you advocate for athletics with senior leadership. And whether your actions over time give good people reasons to stay.

Those things eventually become visible.

Which is why the most effective way to “sell” a healthy culture during a coaching search may not be to talk about it more.

It may be to build a culture that your current coaches can describe honestly.

Let candidates see the culture for themselves

When finalists come to campus, do not spend the entire day telling them what the culture is like.

Give them opportunities to experience it.

Let them spend meaningful time with other coaches. Give them access to senior leadership when appropriate. Be candid about expectations and resources. Talk about why coaches have stayed.

If there has been significant turnover, be prepared to address it honestly rather than hoping the candidate does not ask.

And give them enough unscripted interaction with people around the department to draw their own conclusions.

Because serious candidates are going to evaluate your culture whether you design the process for it or not.

The study suggests they are asking some pretty straightforward questions:

Do people stay? Do coaches trust the AD? Does the institution support athletics? Are expectations reasonable?

Those questions provide a much more meaningful picture of culture than simply saying:

“We’re a family here.”

The strongest culture is not the one described most effectively during an interview.

It is the one candidates can see evidence of while they are there.