The Power of Pillars Principles

Author Patrick McCaskey

Pillars of the NFL  by Patrick McCaskey is about the top 10 coaches in NFL history. A study on the great men of the NFL is a worthwhile exercise. Great ideas came and continue to come from NFL thought leaders. Here are five personal principles (paraphrased in some cases) culled from NFL legends that coaches/trainers should help instill in their “players.” These are general principles that should be of interest to people in every walk of life.

1.    “Never go to bed a loser”—George “Papa Bear” Halas

George Halas's Chicago Bears became a premier sports enterprise and this little principle was his way to promote great effort every day. The Bears were the Monsters of the Midway and Halas knew the importance of good self esteem. He could be tough on is players, but he appreciated their efforts.  He wanted his players to be healthy people and this principle was a personal one that made sense to him.

2.    Treat everyone with kindness, but never let anyone mistake kindness for weakness—Art Rooney, Sr.

Rooney was a boxer, baseball player, and a sports promoter whose family continues to play a leading role in professional sports ownership along with many philanthropic causes. He loved his family and his players, but he was always looking for the proper expression of manhood and motivation from those he worked with in Pittsburgh. He was charitable, but he was no fool. 

3.    Love and respect all, but fear no one.—Wellington Mara

Wellington Mara owned the New York Giants football team and he was one of the most advanced thinking owners. His family became wealthy, but he worked tirelessly to improve the NFL--at times he sacrificed time to the League that might have been spent on the team. But it was necessary.  Sometimes people criticized him for ridiculous reasons and he famously fought back on occasion. Sometimes it takes courage to go to battle over something important where you are in the limelight because he know chances are the press will not always be fair. 

4.    You don’t necessarily have to like your players, but as a leader you must love them—Vince Lombardi

School-teacher Lombardi was a legendary motivator who focused on basics and preparation. Shades of meaning were important to him. He was tuned into emotions like no other coach. You could understand how Lombardi might not like some of his men, but he loved them all. He wanted them to excel, to be the best. 

5.    Focus on your job—focus on what you do and do it right—Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick runs the tightest of organizations. He can often be heard in key situations telling a player, “just do your job.” He wants focus rather than everyone worrying about what other people are going to do. Players worrying about what others are doing are hurting the organization and the team. 


Principles are often short and sweet, but have a deeper meaning for people as they consider their implications. 

Copyright Sporting Chance Press

Pillars to Notre Dame Post

Chicago Lithograph Image of Notre Dame-Library of Congress

This Post is taken from Pillars of the NFL: Coaches Who Have Won Three or More Championships. 

Chicago Bears Training Camp at Notre Dame, 1933 Season

George Halas picked up Notre Dame graduates early and often in his career coaching and managing the Chicago Bears.   In another post, we discussed Hunk Anderson and George Trafton.  In 1933, Halas had a very good team and he held the Bears Training at Notre Dame in 1933.  That year the Bears won the West Division with a 10–2–1 record and played the Giants in the first scheduled championship game. It turned out to be the most spectacular game of the season featuring a trick play by the Giants early on and one by the Bears late in the game. It would also feature six lead changes.   

On a damp cool foggy December 17, 26,000 fans showed up at Wrigley Field to see the championship battle. In the early goings, the Giants center Mel Hein reported as an eligible receiver. Harry Newman took the ball under center from Hein and handed it right back to him with a slight of hand. While the defense watched Newman fall back as if he was going to pass, Hein hid the ball under his jersey and quietly started to make his way up field. Not a particularly good actor, Hein got anxious and began to run. The Bears tackled him on the 15-yard line and although the play worked beautifully, the Bears held and the Giants did not score on that series.

The contest swung back and forth and late in the game the Bears found themselves behind 21–16.  It was time for the Bears’ trick play.  Fullback Bronko Nagurski faked a run and threw a 14-yard jump pass to Bill Hewitt who was attracting Giants.  Hewitt lateraled to Bill Karr who then made his way to the end zone.  The Bears won 23–21 to take top honors in 1933. 

Chamberlin’s Big Day at Notre Dame, Knute Rockne

In at least one way, the Notre Dame connections to the Pillars of the NFL even predated the NFL! 

Perhaps the most obscure Pillar is Guy Chamberlin.  Chamberlin came off a Nebraska farm and played tremendous football for two Nebraska schools –Nebraska Wesleyan for his first two years and then the University of Nebraska to finish off his college years.  In the 1915 season, Chamberlin and the Huskers started out strong by clobbering Drake, Kansas State, and Washburn on their way to a showdown with a strong Notre Dame team coached by Jesse Harper.  On staff for Notre Dame was Assistant Coach Knute Rockne who would go on to a legendary head coaching career starting in 1918.  Rockne had famously scouted the Huskers.  Notre Dame’s defense was instructed on apparent weaknesses in Chamberlin’s running game that Rockne had discovered.  Rockne also noted that Chamberlin licked his fingers before any passing play.  Rockne’s scouting report did not help—Chamberlin displayed no weaknesses at all.  Long after the game, Rockne laughed when he recalled his predictions on Chamberlin’s play.  Chamberlin joked that he licked his fingers regardless of what he was going to do with the ball, but on that day, he fingered a wet sponge that he somehow affixed to his uniform to fight off the dryness. The Nebraska-Notre Dame game was a tight match from beginning to end, but Nebraska prevailed 20–19.  

During the game, Nebraska fans across the state gathered at railroad stations to hear the latest game news read by telegraph operators coming over the wires while the contest was being played.  Chamberlin scored on two end-around plays and he passed for another touchdown.  Notre Dame missed two extra points while Nebraska made two of three.

Chamberlin moved on as a player-coach in the pro ranks where he won two championships with the Canton Bulldogs and one with the Cleveland Bulldogs, and one more with the Frankford Yellow Jackets—all in the 1920s.  None of Chamberlin’s teams have survived into the modern era, which may be why most modern sports analysts rarely mention him in debates about the greatest coaches. 

Copyright Sporting Chance Press

You will like Pillars of the NFL, a book that provides a lot of NFL history with historic photos, illustrations of the coaches by Bill Potter, and a great resource that should be in your library. The book is also sale priced on Amazon right now (August 2017). Pillars of the NFL: Coaches Who Have Won Three or More Championships is published by Sporting Chance Press and written by Chicago Bears Senior Director Patrick McCaskey.  The Pillars are the greatest coaches in NFL history--determined strictly by the number of championships.  Ten coaches have won three or more championships: George Halas, Guy Chamberlin, Curly Lambeau, Paul Brown, Weeb Ewbank, Vince Lombardi, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs, and Bill Belichick.  

Winning Ways, A Football eBook on Papa Bear

A Look at Papa Bear

As we are coming up to the 2017 football season, it's a good time to remind readers that we have a small book that has tremendous value for kids that we have available as an eBook on Kindle. It is called Papa Bear and the Chicago Bears’ Winning Ways by Patrick McCaskey. “Papa Bear” George Halas was the owner of the Chicago Bears and one of the founders of the National Football League. He was also the author's grandfather. This is a short book about how he successfully managed the Bears during the 20^th Century. It’s also a book that focuses on some of George Halas’s sayings or “winning ways” that may help you and your children.  

Papa Bear and the Chicago Bears Winning Ways discusses some historical events that affected George Halas and many others. When we do this, we put certain words in italics and then we explain them for the reader in the Glossary in the back of the book. It's a simple easy to read book that kids will like.