By Budd Bailey
Even in the highly competitive world of pro football, there are some coaches who figure out a way to find that edge that helps them win games consistently.They might not be smarter than everyone else, although brainpower doesn’t hurt, but they mix it with a strong work ethic and good organizational abilities.
Michael Lombardi has worked with two of those “geniuses” in Bill Walsh and Bill Belichick. You could argue that he also spent time employed by a third, Al Davis – who certainly is proof that the word unique describes someone who is one of a kind.
Lombardi, who had a number of jobs in pro football including a stint as general manager of the Cleveland Browns, was smart enough to take notes along the way. Now he’s put together a book on why those football men were successful. He’s called it “Gridiron Genius” – and no, it’s not an autobiography.
Lombardi (no relation to that fellow who did pretty well with the Green Bay Packers) rips through the various parts of a football organization, chapter by chapter. The chapter headings are: The Organization, the Coach, Team Building, Special Teams, Offense, Defense, Game Planning, While I Have You (my biggest peeves), WWBD, and Fearless Forecast.
If there’s one point that gets hammered home, it’s that the best head coaches are prepared for just about anything to happen in a game. That’s not by chance; it’s because the staff covers just about every possible contingency before a game. You want to know why football coaches are legendary for sleeping in their office? It’s because there’s always something to do. Belichick would do things like assign a staff member to full break down each player on an opposing team, looking for tendencies and facts that might be helpful. There are some good stories told along the way, like the one about how Malcolm Butler happened to be in the right place in the right time to make the most famous interceptions in Super Bowl history.
A couple of interesting points come out right away in this book, which mixes general observations with personal experiences. Let’s look at one that covers my part of the football world, the Buffalo Bills. Lombardi was assigned to come up with a tentative list of people who might be good picks to be a head coach if a team decided to make the change. He eventually discovered that the best coaches often had been somewhere else first. Someone like Bill Parcells had some success, while Belichick’s record in Cleveland was mixed. But the odds improve with a good coach who has learned lessons along the way.
Interestingly, this was a list made up in the 1990s – and one of the names on the list was Chan Gailey. Bills’ fans might remember that Gailey came on as head coach, and left after a rather undistinguished run in Buffalo. Perhaps he wasn’t up to the job, or perhaps he wasn’t able to push the organization as a whole in the right direction. Judging by the team’s play in that era of the early 2000s, the latter may be more likely. By the way, Lombardi is quite critical of the Bills’ hiring of Rex Ryan, saying that his research indicates that coaches who specialize on one side of the ball usually fail. Ryan might be the poster boy for that type of philosophy.
Speaking of coaches, Lombardi’s chapter on the coach has a long, long list of interview questions for potential coaches. The one that made me laugh was “What do you do with fat guys?” But most are very serious, and all touch on a wide variety of aspects – from discipline to salary cap structure to time for the media. The pay to be an NFL head coach is good, but do you really want to try it? You have to be obsessed with it, apparently.
Lombardi might do his best work in going over the Patriots’ run-up to a playoff game. The Baltimore Ravens were coming to town, and the author takes us through the day-by-day preparation of the Pats as Belichick stresses certain aspects of the game. Of course, nothing ever goes completely to plan during a football game – as they say about warfare, plans get thrown out when the bullets start flying – but Belichick and company figure out a way to get it done.
Lombardi obviously had a vision for this book when he started writing it. It’s fair to say he fulfilled it. Maybe the bigger question about it is, will you want to read it?
That’s a tougher one. The book certainly has the ring of authenticity to it. But it’s tough to say if this book will appeal to those who are rather casual about their support of their favorite football team. It’s not a dull book for the most part, but it has its dry spots. For those who want an true “inside look” at the NFL and a couple of its best coaches, this will do nicely. A friend of mine who knows sports well said he learned more about football from this book than any other title. So, dive in if you fit the demographic. Just be warned that it’s not for a general audience.
(Follow Budd on Twitter @WDX2BB).
Leave a Reply