If you do something, do it right. If you do something, do it to the best of your ability.
Mike Snyder has embarked on a coaching journey that didn’t initially seem realistic, but now feels natural, normal, maybe even routine. Of course, he’s learned some things along the way, but he’s kept his head down, stayed humble, and always remained respectful.
The fact that he went to Cedar Crest High School and played football there certainly hasn’t hurt the process.
“I’m fortunate. I caught a break and got with a great organization, which is very hard to do,” said Snyder, a 2005 graduate of Cedar Crest. “But I started at the bottom. I kept working my way up. I was interested in football as a profession. It’s a matter of doing it the right way, working hard, and making connections.”
“Ultimately, when I decided this is what I wanted to do and make this my career, I wanted to get to the NFL,” he continued. “Everyone needs a support system, and I was willing to do whatever it took to get here. I was willing to work for it, sacrifice for it, and just embrace it. Whatever your passion is, find it and don’t accept ‘no.’ (Manheim Central graduate and current Kansas City Chief offensive coordinator) Matt Nagy always told me, ‘Persistence over resistance.’”
Snyder is in his first season as an offensive assistant coach with the Houston Texans. Snyder held similar offensive positions with the Atlanta Falcons from October 2022 to January 2024 and under Nagy, who was then the head coach, for four years prior to that in Chicago.
“My main duty is organizing the passing game,” said Snyder. “I draw all the plays in the passing game. If I have ideas, I’m not afraid to voice them. We’re all part of it; it’s like any business or company; we all have our jobs.
“We draw plays and then we get ready to present them to the players,” added Snyder. “We want everyone to speak the same language. We want everything to sound the same. Players don’t care who you are. If they think you can make them better, they’re going to listen to you. That’s how you earn their respect.”
Through 14 games this season, Houston had gone 9-5 and clinched the AFC South division championship. The Texans average 23.4 points per game, 212.8 passing yards an outing, and 111.4 yards rushing per contest.
“We’re probably not playing to the standard we want,” said Snyder of the Texans’ offense. “There have been times when we’ve been sloppy, but we’re dynamic. (Quarterback Stroud) C.J. can make every throw, he’s a leader, and he can extend plays. The offensive line competes and works hard. It’s a good group. They’re coachable. We have a good week of practice and they’re on it.”
“I think the season is going well,” he added. “We’re in the playoffs. Our last three games are going to be a good challenge to prepare us to make a run in the playoffs. We want to make a Super Bowl run. Everything is in front of us. But we’ve got to make sure we’re playing well.”
After graduating from Cedar Crest and Lebanon Valley College, Snyder was assisting Palmyra head football coach Chris Pope and Cedar Crest head baseball coach Chris Groff with their programs when he came to a decision to pursue coaching as a profession. But it may have been a handwritten letter to then-Indianapolis Colts’ assistant coach and Cedar Crest graduate Frank Reich that got Snyder’s career ball rolling.
“I was subbing at Cedar Crest, and I decided I wanted to make a career out of coaching,” said Snyder. “I researched it, started writing a bunch of letters, got my foot in the door, and learned it. I wrote a letter to Frank Reich, and he encouraged me to reach out (to his brother and Wingate coach head coach) Joe Reich.”
“Joe told me, ‘If you can get into grad school (at Wingate), I’ll make a spot for you,’” he added, “and I did. I left Lebanon County. This was a guy from my area. We knew some of the guys along the way. There was a comfort level.”
From Wingate, Snyder had a stop at Coastal Carolina before joining Nagy’s staff in 2018.
“It’s teaching; ultimately coaching is teaching,” said Snyder. “We’re teaching football. When I was at Cedar Crest, the coaches and teachers were so uplifting. It was so much fun. I decided, ‘This is what I want to do.’
“You watch other people. Hopefully, you’re around good people. You take notes. You’re not afraid to ask questions. Slowly, you gain experience. You’re never not learning something. The game is always evolving. The NFL is evolving. You can’t be afraid to evolve. If you do, you become stale, and you’re out.”
That endless pursuit of knowledge and this unquenchable thirst for more information makes Snyder a lifelong learner. It’s a character trait that may hold the key to his career goals.
“In the big picture, what’s the job I want?” said Snyder, a 38-year-old resident of Houston. “I want to be a playcaller. I know there’s a lot of pressure, a lot of scrutiny. That implies that you probably have to be an offensive coordinator. One of the things I learned is you need to be in a place where the team has success. That allows people to move up the food chain.
“It would be nice to be in a place and to have success, then things kind of take care of themselves,” concluded Snyder. “I don’t think it’s going to happen next year. But in three or four years, I think it comes into the realm of possibility. It can happen.”
If nothing else, Snyder has shown that he can make things happen.
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