Shaughnessy assembled a competent coaching staff in line coach Phil Bengston and backfield coach Marchmont Schwartz. He also hired former Chicago Bears quarterback Bernie Masterson to mentor Frankie Albert. Shaughnessy's version of the T formation relied on motion and deception, and therefore differed from its earlier 19th-century incarnations, such as that used by Amos Alonzo Stagg at the University of Chicago, which emphasized power. In contrast to the single-wing, the new T did not use massed blocking formations for the ball-carrier. Instead, it utilized "brush blocking", where the linemen would only need to block a defender for one or two seconds. This scheme greatly reduced the disadvantage of an undersized line. Also different from the single-wing, the direct snap and position of the backs in the T formation shielded the ball from the view of defenders. This allowed for far more effective deception. Shaughnessy reportedly drew inspiration for his strategy from the "Panzer" tactics of "Wehrmacht" general Heinz Guderian.