Whether
you are a football coach, journalist, or fan, Pillars of the NFL: Coaches WhoHave Won Three or More Championships is a football lovers bible that offers
biographies that examine the football lives of the greatest coaches in
NFL history.
And Amazon has it on sale now!
These
are the game's 10 greatest legends who outsmarted the field, time and time
again. It is not a book of strategies and drills, it's a book about the
greatest coaches and their players. It a priceless book for those closest to
the game.
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 themselves 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.
1.
George Halas was a great man and great coach, but every once in a while he
recharged his batteries and stepped back and watched others coach. He was a
master at so many things, but he never felt like he knew everything and was
always learning. He would bring college coaches into his camp and would pay
attention to their ideas. He was very competitive and made it through some very
tough times by tightening his belt.
2.
Curly Lambeau was a fine judge of character and he was able to recruit players
to his club. His training and demands were tough. He saw the passing game as something to be developed
even before the rules were created that would allow for much of it in the
league. He kept in touch with his former coach at Notre Dame, Knute Rockne, and
they shared ideas and discussed players.
3.
Guy Chamberlin was a Nebraska farmer, but he knew the way the game was played.
He played both defense and offense. He
saw football as great escape for a few years from the farm and the dry spells
that happened. He loved the game and he would have expected his players to show
the same passion.
4.
Paul Brown father was a railroad man with a watch--he learned to use his time
wisely. Brown scripted his practices and made the most of the time he spent on
the field. His players were skilled and he had classroom sessions and
playbooks. He wanted smart players who were focused on learning and bringing
discipline to the game. The color of a man's skin was irrelevant.
5.
Weeb Ewbank was a small man who loved working with men. He never let his ego
get in the way of creating a winning environment. Whether teaching players,
handling salary relations, or negotiating a player's return, he kept his wits
and his sense of humor. He succeeded in different played with different teams
and he was at his best building a team.
6.
Vince Lombardi has been hailed as a disciplinarian. His methods were considered
old fashioned and not workable for the modern player until he made them work
for championship after championship. He learned high school and college
coaching before the pro game. He was middle aged before he led the Packers. He
grilled his players on plays until they became perfect at executing them. He came very close to pushing them too hard
and having a revolt, but he learned to back off at just the right time. Once his methods were successful on the
football field his team was practically invincible.
7.
Chuck Noll brought in critical players who would act as change-makers on his
Steelers. These players would not accept poor play from their teammates. He
started with Mean Joe Greene and was often working with black schools
recruiting players that most teams would
have over looked. He created a mindset with his team that only
exceptional hard-nosed play would be present. They all worked to win
championships and to make their teammates Hall of Fame players.
8.
Bill Walsh was primed to be a head coach, but didn't get his chance until long
after he thought it was due. And Walsh perhaps more than any other of the
greatest coaches, had times where he suffered from a personal humiliation
because of failure. Other times where he could walk out on a field and the
opposing coach would worry so much about what Walsh's moves were going to be,
he could not execute his own. Walsh seemed like he was a couple steps away from
the abyss and a short leap to glory. He was hard to please and spend endless
hour in preparation. While he looked
like a Physics teacher or a golf pro, he was a pugilist at heart--a former
boxer with a passion for social justice.
9.
Joe Gibbs learned from every coach he worked with in football. He had a tough
life as a child and then achieved a level of financial success that was almost
unheard in both coaching and owning Joe Gibbs Racing. Gibbs was also a coach
who played his hand as it came. He had certain ambitions when he started his
NFL career, but he decided to create game plans to match his personnel not his
own wishes. He relied on a core group of
coaches who he retained and he was considered especially brilliant at making
half time adjustments. Like facing Bill Walsh, opposing coaches knew they had
to be at their best to win against Gibbs.
10.
Today's football fans know Bill Belichick's mantra: "just do your
job." And that goes for everyone connected to the team. Players are better
prepared, they are trained in multiple positions, teammates and coaches are
constantly reviewing their performance, everyone is expected to
"man-up" and accept criticism. Players on the practice field get
coached on their play under a myriad of game situations. The Patriots are a
proud organization and each year the rest of the NFL can never take them for
granted. Rarely are they not at the best at season end. Rarely does Bill
Belichick get out-coached.
Pillars
of the NFL is a coaching tool, a football researchers handbook, and an NFL
fan's guide to the history of the game.
