Training camp opens in full force for many NFL teams this week. To help fans and leaders prepare for the coming season, below are 15 books you should put on your reading list.
The first group of 10 are books previously released. These will be listed in alphabetical order by author with the exception of the first two which I consider two of finest leadership books I have ever read regardless of genre.
The second group of 5 are books will released over the next two months. I will be purchasing each and highly recommend you do as well. Let’s learn together!
10 Books Previously Released. If you don’t have these please click the links below and purchase today!
- The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership by Bill Walsh – This is one of Top 3 leadership books I have ever read. Bill 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.
- Gridiron Genius: A Master Class in Building Teams and Winning at the Highest Level by Michael Lombardi – To my knowledge, only one person has worked under Bill Walsh, Al Davis, Bill Belichick and served alongside Nick Saban, his name is Michael Lombardi. Football dynasties are built through massive attention to detail and unwavering commitment. From how to build a team, to how to watch a game, to understanding the essential qualities of great leaders, Gridiron Genius gives football fans the knowledge to be the smartest person in the room every Sunday. His next book Football Done Right releases on September 5th and is listed below. I will be getting that book as well.
- The Dynasty by Jeff Benedict – Jeff starting with the Drew Bledsoe injury and what subsequently happened at the hospital is the most compelling introduction of a book you will ever read. How was the Patriots dynasty built? And how did it last for two decades? In The Dynasty, acclaimed journalist Jeff Benedict provides richly reported answers in a sweeping account based on exclusive interviews with more than two hundred insiders—including team executives, coaches, players, players’ wives, team doctors, lawyers, and more—as well as never-before-seen recordings, documents, and electronic communications.
- Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion by Pete Carroll and Yogi Roth – Carroll developed his unique coaching style by trial and error over his career. He learned that you get better results by teaching instead of screaming, and by helping players grow as people, not just on the field. He learned that an upbeat, energetic atmosphere in the locker room can coexist with an unstoppable competitive drive. He learned why you should stop worrying about your opponents, why you should always act as if the whole world is watching, and many other contrarian insights. Carroll shows us how the Win Forever philosophy really works, both in NCAA Division I competition and in the NFL. He reveals how his recruiting strategies, training routines, and game-day rituals preserve a team’s culture year after year, during championship seasons and disappointing seasons alike.
- A Giant Win: Inside the New York Giants’ Historic Upset over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII by Tom Coughlin – Super Bowl XLII was the greatest upset in NFL history. In A GIANT WIN, Coach Tom Coughlin recounts the strategies and people that made it possible. Coach Coughlin reveals the intricacies of the game, revealing details only a coach would know. He also details, more than ever before, his relationships with some of the greatest, most iconic players of those Giants teams, like Eli Manning and Michael Strahan.
- Guts and Genius: The Story of Three Unlikely Coaches Who Came to Dominate the NFL in the 80’s by Bob Glauber – Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells dominated what may go down as the greatest decade in pro football history, leading their teams to a combined eight championships and developing some of the most gifted players of all time in the process. Walsh, Gibbs and Parcells developed such NFL stars as Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor, Jerry Rice, Art Monk and Darrell Green. They resurrected the careers of players like John Riggins, Joe Theismann, Doug Williams, Everson Walls and Hacksaw Reynolds. They did so with a combination of guts and genius, built championship teams in their own likeness, and revolutionized pro football like few others. Their influence is still evident in today’s game, with coaches who either worked directly for them or are part of their coaching trees now winning Super Bowls and using strategy the three men devised and perfected. In interviews with more than 150 players, coaches, family members and friends, GUTS AND GENIUS digs into the careers of three men who overcame their own insecurities and doubts to build Hall of Fame legacies that transformed their generation and continue to impact today’s NFL.
- Swagger: Super Bowls, Brass Balls, and Footballs – A Memoir by Jimmy Johnson – Hall of Fame football coach Jimmy Johnson’s house isn’t on the way to anything. Yet, his private sanctuary on the Florida Keys’ Islamorada islands is a popular destination to which college and professional coaches, general managers, and team owners regularly trek to seek advice—how to build a positive team culture, draft elite players, balance work and family life, and lead a team to win. Why? Because Jimmy Johnson has done it all—rising through the college coaching ranks to lead the University of Miami Hurricanes to a national championship, winning two consecutive Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, and handling public triumphs while dealing with private adversity. Now, in Swagger, written with veteran sports journalist Dave Hyde, Johnson shares a candid account of his life experiences that have turned him into a legend in the coaching world.
- What It Takes To Be #1: Vince Lombardi on Leadership by Vince Lombardi Jr. – Leadership continues to be one of the most written-about and most trained-for qualities in business today. And no figure so fully embodies the leadership qualities managers hope to cultivate in their professional and personal lives as the late Vince Lombardi, the greatest NFL coach of all time. The exalted place Lombardi holds in American culture has never been clearer than it is today, as evidenced by the enormous success of the 1999 bestseller, When Pride Still Mattered, as well as the vast popularity of the coach’s son, Vince Lombardi, Jr., America’s most sought-after motivational speaker. In What It Takes to Be #1, Vince Lombardi, Jr. explores his father’s leadership philosophy, and extracts powerful lessons about what it takes to be an effective leader.
- Coaching Confidential: Inside the Fraternity of NFL Coaches by Gary Myers – Coaching Confidential chronicles a year in the life of an NFL head coach. But not just one head coach. A composite portrait is drawn through interviews with 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.
- The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban: How Alabama’s Coach Became the Greatest Ever by John Talty – In The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban, senior sports editor and SEC Insider for Alabama Media Group, John Talty, highlights the keys to Saban’s winning strategy and offers readers a blueprint for paving their own paths to success using the esteemed coach’s leadership lessons. Through original interviews and never-before-heard anecdotes, Talty charts Saban’s journey to college football’s mountaintop and reveals some of the magic behind what keeps him atop it. You’ll get an inside look at what it’s like to work or play for Coach Saban, including the mottos and motivation strategies he uses to inspire his organization.
- ***BONUS*** 2021 The Year In Leadership: The Stories of Faith, Athletics, and Business Which Inspired Us All by Brian Dodd – Do you feel ill-equipped to handle the leadership challenges of a pandemic and post-pandemic world? If so, you no longer have to. In 2021, author, speaker, consultant, and podcaster Brian Dodd (that’s me) helped equip countless leaders across world through his content. Over 80 of his most popular articles make up the pages of 2021- The Year In Leadership: The Stories of Faith, Athletics, Business, and Life Which Inspired Us All. Each chapter is filled with wisdom and insights from the leaders who succeeded and struggled during 2021. Brian takes these lessons from all walks of life and gives you practical steps on how to best use them in your own leadership.
5 Soon-To-Be Released Books listed by release date
- Stay Sane in an Insane World: How To Control the Controllables and Thrive by Greg Harden – Releases August 15th. Greg Harden changes lives. This is why hundreds of world-class athletes, doctors, lawyers, teachers, business leaders, college students, and professionals from all walks of life have come to him for advice and direction — including 7-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady, 23-time Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps, Heisman Trophy winners Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson, CEOs of major companies, and championship coaching staffs from all over the world. Champions aren’t born. They’re built. Greg Harden spent over 30 years building them at the University of Michigan, including 400 future professional athletes, 50 NFL first-round draft picks, and 120 Olympians from over 20 countries. He gained national recognition when 60 Minutes Sports profiled him as “Michigan’s Secret Weapon.” Now, in his first book, Greg Harden is reaching out to help anyone who wants to live their best life by offering powerful and practical advice.
- Football Done Right: Setting the Record Straight on the Coaches, Players, and History of the NFLby Michael Lombardi – Releasing September 5th, Lombardi tackles all aspects of the sport, discussing the best of the best. He channels his 35+ years of experience with the NFL into an all-encompassing celebration of the game. More than just ranking the giants of the league, Lombardi shows how and why each affected the game. Mixing first-person, in-the-locker-room experience with little known history and hard stats, Lombardi makes a definitive case for the most influential coaches and the best players, and also offers an insider look to how drafts and trades operate behind the scenes and honoring the sportscasters who played an essential role in popularizing the sport. Both a full history of the sport and a comprehensive re-imagining of the Football Hall of Fame to honor every deserving athlete and coach, Football Done Right will change the way you watch, discuss, and debate the gridiron.
- Tomlin: The Soul of a Football Coach by John Harris – A veteran journalist who covered Tomlin’s hiring for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Harris works to pull back the curtain on the mystique behind this “coaching unicorn.” Beginning with his days as a wide receiver at William & Mary, his several years in the college coaching ranks, to getting hired by Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy with the Buccaneers and his single season with the Vikings, Tomlin shares how a young man from Hampton, Virginia, was able to establish himself as a leader of men in a business with so much turnover, earned the respect from his peers and players, and has continued to be someone that is looked up to by so many in the league.
- Red Brick Magic: Sean McVay, John Harbaugh and Miami University’s Cradle of Coaches by Terrence Moore – In Red Brick Magic: Sean McVay, John Harbaugh and Miami University’s Cradle of Coaches, Miami Ohio alum and pioneering sports journalist Terence Moore explores this unparalleled sports leadership legacy, from Weeb Ewbank, Paul Brown, Ara Parseghian, and Bo Schembechler to John McVay, John Harbaugh, Sean McVay, and everyone in between. Highlighted by Sean McVay’s Super Bowl LVI win with the Los Angeles Rams – the record fourth NFL championship captured by a team coached by a Miami Ohio alum – Moore tells the inside story of how a mid-major sports school in the Mid-American Conference has evolved into an industry trailblazer, and a true powerhouse when it comes to producing leaders and thinkers helping shape the past, present, and future of the sports world.
- Sideline CEO: Leadership Principles from Championship Coaches by Marty Smith – From ESPN’s authentic, popular, and intrepid correspondent Marty Smith—SIDELINE CEO details key leadership principles Marty has learned from championship coaches he’s interviewed over the past two decades. Also releasing September 26th, SIDELINE CEO delves into the unique psychology and daily preparation and gameplan execution of some of America’s most respected leaders—the coaches who have led hugely successful programs to win it all. Included among the legends whom Marty interviewed for SIDELINE CEO are: Nick Saban, Mack Brown, Kim Mulkey, Doc Rivers, John Calipari, Tim Corbin, Roy Williams, Tom Izzo, Patty Gasso, Dabo Swinney, Frank Beamer, and many others.
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