Before getting to the 10 Football Books Every Leader Needs To Read This Fall (Whether You’re A Sports Fan Or Not), I want to make sure you take advantage of a new complimentary resource.
During the 2019 college football season, fans were given a gift when legendary coach Urban Meyer joined Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff preview show as a studio analyst. As a three-time national championship head coach, Coach Meyer’s ability to deliver complex leadership principles with brevity and concise terminology created a compelling experience for educated and “smart” fans. Throughout the season, I captured Coach Meyer’s best leadership quotes from this weekly show. I wanted to make them available to you in this new complimentary resource Urban Meyer 2019 Fox Sports Big Noon Kickoff Ebook.
The contents includes Winning Cultures, 3 Types of Teams, Strategy and Competition, Recruiting, Rivalry Games, Personal Performance, and much, much more. Click HERE to get your complimentary copy today! Trust me – this resource will make you a better leader.
The following are 10 Football Books Every Leader Needs To Read This Fall (Whether You’re A Sports Fan Or Not):
- The Dynasty by Jeff Benedict – Every leader should read Jeff Benedict’s new book. For example, the first 50 pages on how Robert Kraft was able to purchase the New England Patriots should be taught in every business school. By tracing the team’s epic run through the perspectives of Kraft, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady—each of whom was interviewed for the book—the author provides a wealth of new insight into the complex human beings most responsible for the Patriots’ success. We watch the NFL’s savviest owner treat Brady like a son, empower Belichick to cut and trade beloved players, and spend sleepless nights figuring out diplomatic ways to keep Brady and Belichick together for two decades. We come to understand how a genius head coach keeps his players at an emotional distance and blocks out anything that gets in the way of winning. And we experience the relentless drive, ferocious competitive nature, and emotional sensitivity that allows Brady to continue playing football into his forties. The result is an intimate portrait that captures the human drama of the dynasty’s three key characters while also revealing the secrets behind their success. This is perhaps the most compelling and illuminating book that will ever be written about the greatest professional sports team of our time.
- Gridiron Genius: A Master Class in Building Teams and Winning at the Highest Level by Michael Lombardi – If you are looking to build a winning organizational culture, this is one the best books ever written on the subject! Lombardi is the only person who has worked under the legendary leadership of Al Davis, Bill Walsh, and Bill Belichick. In addition, he has worked with Nick Saban. Lombardi provides the blueprint that makes a successful organization click and win–and the mistakes unsuccessful organizations make that keep them on the losing side time and again. In reality, very few coaches understand the philosophies, attention to detail, and massive commitment that defined NFL juggernauts like the 49ers and the Patriots. The best organizations are not just employing players, they are building something bigger. Gridiron Genius will explain how the best leaders evaluate, acquire, and utilize personnel in ways other professional minds, football and otherwise, won’t even contemplate.
- The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership by Bill Walsh – This is one of the Top 5 leadership books I have ever read regardless of the genre. Walsh is a towering figure in the history of the NFL. His advanced leadership transformed the San Francisco 49ers from the worst franchise in sports to a legendary dynasty. In the process, he changed the way football is played. Prior to his death, Walsh granted a series of exclusive interviews to bestselling author Steve Jamison. These became his ultimate lecture on leadership. For a sample from this book click The 17 Principles of Bill Walsh’s Standard of Performance.
- Payton and Brees: The Men Who Built the Greatest Offense in NFL History by Jeff Duncan – Coming out on October 13th, I’m reading this book to learn about innovation and collaboration. Together, Sean Payton and Drew Brees joined forces and transformed the Saints from laughingstock to juggernaut. Payton’s bold play-calling proved the perfect match for Brees, who threw a league-leading and franchise record 4,418 passing yards as the Saints advanced to the NFC championship game. Three seasons later, the Saints were Super Bowl champions. Payton and Brees is the definitive account of how this dynamic duo transformed a team, a city, and the game of football.
- Kingdom: How Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and the Kansas City Chiefs Returned to Super Bowl Gloryby Adam Teicher. I am infinitely fascinated by how championship teams are formed. Releasing this week, I hope to gain some additional answers to those questions. Teicher expertly retraces the team’s unforgettable championship season as well as the moves and moments that made it all possible—the hiring of head coach Andy Reid in 2013, drafting future-MVP Patrick Mahomes, the heart-wrenching AFC Championship loss to the Patriots in 2019 that lingered in the mind of every player, and more. Teicher captures the mood of the team week by week, every step of the way, profiling numerous players, coaches, and key figures.
- Flip the Script: Lessons Learned on the Road to a Championship by Ed Orgeron. Once agin, this is about a championship team, the 2019 LSU Tigers. I was on the fence about this book until I heard the fantastic college football writher Bruce Feldman was involved in the project. He calls it the follow to his classic recruiting book Meat Market. Releasing on October 27th, I’m in big time!!! Telling the story of his own journey that culminated in the Cinderella season, Orgeron highlights the traits he learned are necessary for success:
- an ability and willingness to learn from mistakes,
- the necessity of perseverance,
- recognizing and focusing on what you’re truly good at,
- building unity, and
- overcoming hardship.
- The Q Factor: The Elusive Search for the Next Great NFL Quarterback by Brian Billick – There is no greater leadership intensive position in sports than that of a professional NFL quarterback. n THE Q FACTOR, former NFL coach Billick takes the highly promising 2018 NFL quarterback Draft class and measures the top five quarterback picks to gauge how, why, and if they succeed. They are all first rounders, all with sterling college credentials, all talented athletes, all taken by teams betting their futures. One or maybe two could go on to greatness. But which ones, and why? Could the prediction process be better? Are the “experts” looking at the wrong factors? How do we find the best of the best? That’s what THE Q FACTOR explores…and finally explains.
- 4th and Goal Every Day by Phil Savage – This is the best book I have read for unpacking the elements of Alabama Crimson Tide’s head coach Nick Saban’s legendary “The Process”. Savage details Coach Saban’s year-round preparation, his willingness to adjust and his belief in “complimentary football.” The book offers a close look at their player development and practice habits and gives a glimpse of the Crimson Tide’s approach of playing every single down like it’s 4th and goal.
- Coaching Confidential: Inside the Fraternity of NFL Coaches by Gary Myers – Gary is known for other books but I think this is his best work. This book gives you the behind-the-scenes details of some of the most important stories in NFL history. Myers chronicles a year in the life of at least 20 current and former head coaches (including Super Bowl winners such as Bill Parcells, Tom Coughlin, Jimmy Johnson, Tony Dungy, Sean Payton, Mike Shanahan, Dick Vermeil, Mike Holmgren, Brian Billick, and Joe Gibbs), taking us through the professional and personal challenges of the job. This book covers the draft, free agency, big trades, training camp, family crisis, player troubles, coaching relationships with members of the staff, coach-owner dynamics, rivalries, Xs and Os, the playoffs–all the way to the Super Bowl. An absolute classic!!!
- You Win in the Locker Room First: The 7 C’s to Build a Winning Team in Business, Sports, and Life by Jon Gordon – Similar to Gary Myers, Jon is known for a number of other books but I think this is his best work. The Atlanta Falcons were one play away from going to Super Bowl XVLII and the next year head coach Mike Smith was fired. What happened? Step by step, the authors outline a strategy for building a thriving organization and provide a practical framework that give leaders the tools they need to create a great culture, lead with the right mindset, create strong relationships, improve teamwork, execute at a higher level, and avoid the pitfalls that sabotage far too many leaders and organizations. In addition to sharing what went right with the Falcons, Smith also transparently shares what went wrong his last two seasons and provides invaluable lessons leaders can take away from his victories, success, failures and mistakes. For more on this book, read 91 Lessons On Developing A Winning Culture At Your Church or Business from an event they spoke at.
- ***BONUS*** Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty by Jeff Pearlman – Trust me, this is not a football book but releasing September 22nd, every leader should read this book about the Kobe, Shaq, and Phil Jackson era. I only have one word – WOW!!! You will never, and I mean never, look at these men the same again. Jeff was kind enough to send me an advanced copy. Unbelievably well-researched. Let me tell you and I am not being hyperbolic, there is one chapter in particular which is the most compelling and disturbing chapter I have read in any book. Once again, trust me… Get this book!
#CommissionsEarned
During the 2019 college football season, fans were given a gift when legendary coach Urban Meyer joined Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff preview show as a studio analyst. As a three-time national championship head coach, Coach Meyer’s ability to deliver complex leadership principles with brevity and concise terminology created a compelling experience for educated and “smart” fans. Throughout the season, I captured Coach Meyer’s best leadership quotes from this weekly show. I wanted to make them available to you in this new complimentary resource Urban Meyer 2019 Fox Sports Big Noon Kickoff Ebook.
The contents includes Winning Cultures, 3 Types of Teams, Strategy and Competition, Recruiting, Rivalry Games, Personal Performance, and much, much more. Click HERE to get your complimentary copy today! Trust me – this resource will make you a better leader.