These Fresh Franchise Updates in Madden NFL 26 Could Make It My New Favorite Mode

One of the best modes returning to


Madden NFL 26


is Franchise mode, where you can control every aspect of a professional football team, from its players to its marketing. During this mode, you manage a team for multiple seasons, taking on all responsibilities related to ownership to customize your organization from top to bottom. While already a detailed mode, the newest entry in the series creates even more ways for you to elevate your franchise.

Several bold
new features are coming to

Madden 26

, including things like new harsh weather environments and Wear & Tear for player exhaustion. These

mechanics increase the realism of seasons in Franchise mode

, where you have to plan around athlete management and upcoming game conditions. Even during the offseason, Franchise mode doesn’t take a break, requiring you to prepare your team for the next season.

Madden NFL 26 Will Have Coach Abilities In Franchise Mode

Head Coaches Have More Influence On Games

Madden 26

introduces a new Franchise mode feature called

Coach DNA

, a robust system where every Head Coach in the league has a more direct impact on a game. Using Coach DNA,

coaches can now use unique abilities to give athletes buffs during games

, allowing you to gain an advantage against your rivals. That being said, opposing coaches also have access to abilities, leading to a back and forth between team leaders.

Using coaching abilities in

Madden 26

‘s Franchise mode
is far more intricate than you might expect.

Using some abilities may trigger in-game scenarios, allowing you to gain an edge over an opponent

based on how they’ve been playing against you. One coaching ability could allow your defensive players to make more tackles for the rest of the game, while others might give your offensive linemen better preparation to stop blitzes.

Coach abilities are a reworked part of the Coach Suggestions system from past games, which would offer advice on what plays for you to do next during a game. While Coach Suggestions merely reflected one coach’s tendencies, they were a helpful way to suggest your next move.

Coach Suggestions have been replaced with Coach Speak

, a new system that has far more detail than just offering an idea.

Coach Speak offers detailed advice based on Coach DNA

, allowing your next plays to be crafted with the expertise of different professional coaches. For example, the advice you get through Coach Speak on third and long is reflective of how a specific Head Coach would approach that situation, rather than just telling you to pass.

You Can Even Level Up Your Coach In Madden 26

Scout Out Other Teams And Use Coaching Abilities To Grow

Coaches in Franchise mode even have a chance to evolve when you level them up over seasons.

Using coaching abilities multiple times to affect the outcomes of games will increase their experience

, letting your team leaders grow. Coaches who level up gain access to more abilities than just their signature skill, leading to more flexible adjustments for different situations.

This system is incredibly detailed, reminding me of an RPG where your character can grow into a defined role based on the XP you gain. For example, leveling up a Coach who specializes in defense could make your team capable of shutting down any offense in the league. This
improvement to

Madden 26

‘s systems
in Franchise extends to your opponents as well, keeping a good challenge as enemy coaches level up too.

Another way to improve your Head Coach is to create scouting reports of enemy teams prior to a game.

Coaches level up fast when you develop gameplans against specific teams after scouting them

in between games. The Coach Speak reflects the amount of preparation you’ve done for different teams, creating schemes to exploit an opponent’s weaknesses with your best players.

Likewise,

enemy teams can use their coaches to scout against your organization

, so you need to have an evolving gameplan that grows along with your leader. This level of detail is exciting, as it gives you ways to look at your own vulnerabilities and change them as your Coach levels up. With Realtime Coaching AI giving even CPU-controlled teams the ability to make adjustments based on coaching during games, leveling up your coach will be very important in Franchise mode.

More Customizable Coaches Should Make Franchise Mode More Fun

Creating Leaders Makes Your Team More Reflective Of Your Preferences

The idea of making coaches more customizable opens the door for extremely personalized organizations, to a much higher degree than what

Madden NFL

games have offered before. Unlike some
hidden features of

Madden NFL 25

,

this coaching system is front and center in Franchise mode, letting you finally make more detailed gameplans

to face off against specific teams.

Coaching abilities, experience, and scouting reports all give you more ways to prepare for games and adapt as time goes by.

Through customizable coaches, your gameplan at the beginning of a season could look completely different by the end of it

as you learn. With other teams evolving with you through the same systems, you have to constantly think about what works and what doesn’t, creating a dynamic experience that changes frequently.

The

new features behind coaching make the offseason more interesting

, emphasizing the analysis of upcoming teams for future games. Franchise mode in prior games sometimes made the games the only interesting part about it, with the planning in between being more optional than anything. Now, your custom coach has plenty to contribute during the time between games, giving you ways to invent strategies for your team.

The end result of customizable coaches is a higher dedication to seasonal games themselves, making them feel like a culmination of detailed planning. This adds a level of importance to each game, as you try to prove if your coaching strategies will work and progress your Franchise further in


Madden NFL 26


.