Donald T. Phillips has done an outstanding job of bringing together the philosophy of leadership of a man who was the force behind the civil rights movement in America. Phillips is an outstanding writer who has penned other excellent books on Leadership. I’ve also read and enjoyed Lincoln on Leadership which delves into the leadership style of arguably our greatest President. Phillips also wrote Run To Win which outlines the leadership of one of the greatest football coaches of all time: Vince Lombardi. Phillips does a great job on these books as well as Martin Luther King Jr. on Leadership.

Phillips disuses King’s approach to leadership:

1. Set goals and create a plan of action. King never rushed into things but his actions were always well thought out. He knew weapons wouldn’t change the hearts of men.
2. Create alliances.  King formed alliances with other civil rights and political leaders.
3. Involve people. – He held mass community meetings. Involvement leads to commitment.
4. Seek dialogue and negotiation – He felt growth comes through pain and struggle; it’s not an easy road.
5. Innovate – During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, he arranged for car pools and other means of transportation so they could still earn money. He clearly thought outside the box

Plato said “Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it” Martin Luther King Jr. was a man dedicated to his cause, he had no hidden agendas. He did not seek riches, fame nor power. He was about persuading through non-violence and was a devoted follower of the greatest leader in history: Jesus Christ. He felt non-violence would weaken his opponent’s morale and win his understanding. He could never do this with force. Above all King always preached: ”Never let them take your spirit”.

Some other great points I got from this outstanding book were:

1. Care about those you lead. I always asked myself about a player:  is he really benefitting from the program?  Am I adding to hi development? People don’t follow leaders who don’t care about them.
2. Lead from the moral high ground. Have courage regardless of the consequences. Courage is contagious.
3. Listen without an agenda.
4. Set goals, establish a detailed plan and then take action.
5. Learn from setbacks and then move forward. Have faith and be optimistic.
6. Practice what you preach.
7. Get many short-term victories to create momentum. Every coach knows this also builds confidence.
8. Always look to do better. There is always room for improvement.
9. Build a team by building relationships.
10. Be the best person you can be regardless of the situation. Always improve yourself first.
11. Leadership must be principled and value-based.

Martin Luther King Jr. will always be an example of a leader who led without an official position, who put his cause above himself and truly made a difference.

This book is filled with many great examples of Dr. King’s principles of leadership. Phillips does a great job of simplifying many of the thoughts Dr. King used in breaking through the amour of racism in the United States. This is a book will not only benefit coaches but also teachers, business leaders, parents and just about everyone. I strongly recommend this book, I know you’ll benefit from it.

David Maraniss has done a great job of bringing Vincent Thomas Lombardi’s trials and tribulations to life in an easy to read portrait of a special man. Maraniss says Lombardi symbolized the quest of the working class man in America, he was their hero.

Lombardi’s childhood was dominated by the church. Vince was a devout Catholic and even thought about becoming a priest. He learned in his early years the value of hard work and discipline, two of the ingredients that forged the Lombardi Philosophy.

Lombardi played guard at Fordham University and was one of the “seven blocks of granite” that were the heart of the Rams success. Vince was coached by Sleepy Jim Crowley one of Knute Rockne’s famed Four Horsemen who won the National Championship at Notre Dame in 1924. So Lombardi had a great teacher who was a direct link to another coaching legend Knute Rockne, who many believe to be the greatest college football coach of all time. Crowley built his team on quickness, toughness and precision. Lombardi also embraced this football style and also the Jesuit style discipline.
After graduating from Fordham, Lombardi started his coaching career in Englewood, New Jersey coaching The Saints of St. Cecilia, a small catholic high school. Vince took over a good team but in three years he lost only one game. Repetition was the secret of Vince’s success. He drove the Saints relentlessly and they won big. But now he wanted to move to the college ranks so he applied everywhere but there were no takers. But he finally got a chance at his alma mater as the freshman coach.

Lombardi lasted two years at Fordham and then was let go by the head coach because of personality conflicts. His career was in jeopardy but was saved by an old teammate, Wellington Mara, who recommended him to another coaching legend Earl “Red” Blaik of West Point.

Coaching under Blaik was like going to coaching school and Vince was a sponge. Blaik was about organization, structure and discipline. Blaik made attention to detail an art form. Blaik was also the master of the game plan. Blaik was about making the game plan as simple as possible. There was never a wasted play in Blaik’s game plan. Lombardi took Blaik’s principles and they became the very foundation of Vince’s Philosophy. Blaik also taught Lombardi to tame his ferocious temper.

Lombardi’s next stop was to become offensive coordinator of the New York Giants a team owned by the Mara family. The defensive coordinator was a pretty good coach as well, Tom Landry. The players were not impressed with Lombardi at the beginning but his knowledge eventually won them over. He studied the pro game and wasn’t afraid to listen to the players’ suggestions.

In 1955 Lombardi tried for numerous college head coaching positions including West Point but never even got an interview. Mara wanted Vince to stay after a successful 7-5 year in 1954, so Vince stayed with the Giants. The Giants won the NFL Championship in 1956 but still no interviews for Vince.

Finally in 1959, after the Giants lost the greatest NFL game of all time to the Colts, Lombardi got his shot at a head coaching position. He was hired as Head Coach and General Manager of the Green Bay Packers. The Packers were the epitome of ineptitude. In 1958 they finished the season 1-10-1. Lombardi got his chance and wasn’t about to blow it.
Lombardi traded his star wide receiver to build his defense. It also sent a message that no one was safe. Lombardi declared the “Discipline was the foundation of learning” and went about instilling discipline into the Packers. He installed the Power Sweep which came to symbolize the Green Bay Packers under Vince Lombardi. The Packers learned Lombardi was a master teacher and taught the logic behind every play. He was also a stickler for details. His attention to the little things was a new concept to the boys of Green Bay, but he pounded it into them. He preached that “Repetition was the road to excellence” and he used repetition as his way to build his team.

Lombardi turned the Packers around immediately and had a 7-5 record in 1959 and was voted NFL Coach of the Year. But that was only the beginning in 1960 The Pack went 8-4 and lost in the NFL title game on the last play of the game. That was the only time Lombardi would lose a championship game. His record was 9-1 in Championship games.

Lombardi won his first championship by steamrolling the Giants 37-0 in 1961 only in his third season with the Packers. The Packers won again over the Giants in 1962. In nine years as head coach of the Packers they won five NFL titles. This is all the more amazing considering that The Packers were mired in mediocrity for decades.

Vince Lombardi was more than NFL titles and Super Bowl Trophies. Vince Lombardi was about an ideal, a philosophy that if you worked hard and dedicated yourself to excellence you could succeed in sports, business and in life. He wasn’t a saint nor was he a savior but he was an inspiring man and David Maraniss captures this inspirational story in the book When Pride Still Mattered.

This book is a must read for any coach or leader. If faced with a turnaround situation; it is a how to book. If you are a football fan or just a fan of the American dream you’ll love this book.

Todd G. Gongwer has written an inspirational parable that you will not be able to put down. A parable is an interesting genre for getting your point across. Patrick Lencioni wrote a popular business parable that I also reviewed The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (I would also re-recommend that book). Gongwer has hit a home run with his book as well.

Lead for God’s Sake is the story of an ambitious high school basketball coach whose team is really under-achieving and he can’t figure out why. He felt his team had no heart and tried to punish them into developing the mental toughness he was looking for. The coach had plans for a great career as a basketball coach and these kids were ruining everything.

The turning point comes when he confides in the school custodian. He told the custodian everything that was wrong with the team – they were selfish, and they had no leader. Even when his team won they looked bad.

Things continue to topple and punishment is not working. The coach was out of possible solutions and was ready to listen to the janitor’s advice. The custodian didn’t give advice on basketball strategy or how to run the pick and roll; he told the coach how to deal with people and how to truly become the team’s leader. One of the greatest lines from the janitor was “you must change your heart before you can change someone else’s”. You have to ask yourself “Why am I coaching?” That’s the key – “why?” What’s your purpose? This is a question every coach, young or old, should ask themselves. If your purpose is to help others then you are on the right track.

As a young coach, I had the opportunity to be a head college football coach at 25 years old. I got on the right track almost by accident. I got great advice from an elderly trainer everyone called JB. “TD, just look after the boys” was the advice from JB. My goal was to give my players the best possible chance at success on the field and in the classroom. I also started getting the players into community service. I felt that if the total person was developed, then winning would be a by-product. Fortunately I had outstanding players who survived a young coach’s mistakes and taught me as much as I taught them. The key was that I truly cared for those players as men not just players. They knew it and we won two championships in four years. It was not about Xs and Os – it was about caring and developing relationships based upon mutual respect. Those men from that team have since gone on to accomplish great things in their lives. I’ve been the Head Coach of three other college football teams and I used the same formula at the other schools as well. The results were similar – winning games, graduating players and success after graduation.

The high school coach in Todd Gongwer’s parable also learns the lessons of purpose and caring. He learns the lesson of being the person he wants his players to be. When you put your focus on your players; you become a better coach. Be the example. I always get a good laugh when I see coaches screaming at their players with their veins ready to burst that “we need more poise.” Remember “the best way to pass on the message is to be the message.”

I am not going to ruin the book by telling you the way that HS coach finished the season or what happened to the wise custodian but I strongly recommend this book. It’s a quick read because you won’t want to put it down. The story is not only insightful but also very entertaining. If you are in a leadership position of any kind then Lead for God’s Sake should be on your bookshelf.

By: Andrew O’Toole

The term “genius” is tossed around pretty lightly these days. If a coach has one good season some ESPN type is likely to tag the label “genius” to him. However, Paul Brown is truly worthy of that label. Brown literally re-invented professional football. He was so good they named the team after him. Andrew O’Toole does a great job of describing the rise, fall and legacy of Paul Brown.

Brown started out as a high school coach and built the Massillon High School football team to legendary heights compiling an amazing 80-8-2 record in 9 seasons. His 1940 team outscored the opposition 477 to 6 while averaging over 20,000 fans a game!

His success at Massillon led him to become the Head Coach at Ohio State at the tender age of 32. Brown led the Buckeyes to a 6-1-1 record in his first season and then an 8-1 record in his second year and was declared the National Champions. His final year at Ohio State was a very disappointing 3-6 year but many of his stars went off to fight in World War II.

Paul Brown then took the professional ranks by storm with the Cleveland franchise in The AAFC winning four straight championships. In 1950 The AAFC & the NFL merged and many thought Brown would be put in his place. But instead Brown won the Championship in 1950 the first year of the merger. The Browns went on to appear in the next 5 Championship games winning back to back championships in 1954 and 1955.

Paul Brown’s legacy was not just about gaudy statistics. Paul Brown’s legacy is about how he revolutionized the game. Brown was the first coach to use film to grade his players’ performance and also kept a film library to instruct his players how to run his plays. Brown also administered intelligence tests and used the classroom as well as the practice field to develop his squad. Paul Brown was also the first coach to take play calling duties away from his Quarterback by sending in plays with “messenger guards”. Paul Brown could also be called the father of the modern passing game. If Bill Walsh was the father of the West Coast Offense than Paul Brown was the Grandpa.

Brown left Cleveland after being fired by Art Modell (the same guy that later moved the team to Baltimore). The rift between Brown & Modell reached the breaking point over Brown’s refusal to play Ernie Davis who was diagnosed with leukemia. Brown’s Cleveland team had a run of winning 7 championships in 10 years, the Browns didn’t win another title under Brown after 1955.

Imitation is said to be the greatest form of flattery well the NFL copied many of Browns which made it tougher to win after 1955. Also the coming of Vince Lombardi the iconic coach from NY took over the Packers in 1959 and won back to back Championships in 1961 and 1962 did not make winning any easier for Brown. Modell had had enough second places and fired Brown in January, 1963.

For five years Brown was out of football until he returned to start the Cincinnati Bengals Franchise. Brown put his stamp on the Bengals immediately and made the respectable from the beginning. Pre-season was used to weed out the weak and establish discipline just as he had done at Massillon High School, Ohio State and the Cleveland Browns years before. The first time the Bengals met the Browns Paul Brown led his team to a 30-27 victory. Brown led the Bengals to the playoffs in only the third year of their franchise!

Paul Brown though a great coach and an innovator was far from a saint. His treatment of Bill Walsh was a classic example of Paul Brown’s value system. Andrew O’Toole does an outstanding job of presenting the real Paul Brown. This book is not a fluff piece nor is it a hatchet job, but rather a clear look into the life of a football coach who was successful on the high school, college and professional levels.

I would recommend this book to anyone who really takes the game of football seriously. The biography of Paul Brown is really the history of the modern NFL. He opened the game up with multiple wide receivers and a sophisticated passing attack which made it a natural sport for the television age. Andrew O’Toole packages this story into an easy to read biography of a complex man. 

Dweck’s basic premise is that there are two basic mindsets: a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. They have very different characteristics. Those with a fixed mindset are always trying to prove themselves “I must constantly prove that I’m worthy” while those with a growth mindset are always trying to improve themselves, they have a passion for stretching. These differences are most easily distinguished when things go wrong. Fixed mindset people consider themselves as losers and look to blame someone else. They yell at someone and never look in the mirror. Growth mindset people plan to fix the problem by working harder or taking a different approach. They look to improve the situation starting with them.

Those with a fixed mindset rarely look for challenges; they look for the sure-thing because they have attached their self-worth to their results. Those with a growth mindset people thrive on challenges are constantly moving out of their comfort zone to reach new levels of performance. We see this in how coaches schedule non-conference games. Fixed mindset coaches schedule cupcakes for their non-conference opponents while growth mindset coaches pick challenging opponents that force their teams to improve and elevate their level of play.

Dweck’s uses countless examples and offers different strategies for teaching and nurturing the growth mindset not only in your players and students but also in you.

Dweck is a great advocate in effort and work ethic. She quotes one of my favorite authors Malcolm Gladwell “we value your effortless accomplishment over achievement through effort” Our culture wants effortless achievement. Dweck also cites the Seabiscuit story about the combined effort of a horse, trainer and owner to produce a horse racing legend. Fixed mindset people buy into the illusion of “The Natural” they want peers to think they were born great and they view effort as reducing them. However, many great superstars developed late. Michael Jordan did not make his high school basketball team in eleventh grade yet through hard work and effort became arguably the greatest hoopster of all time.

Dweck says coaches/teachers should only praise effort not performance. If you only praise performance than your players are less likely to challenge themselves and risk a poor performance. By praising effort you are growing a growth mindset; you are making growth fun so the student works for growth and thus his performance naturally improves.
Dweck’s example of a mindset coach is one of my favorites – John Wooden. UCLA was a downtrodden program when Wooden came to Westwood. But Wooden instilled the mindset of total preparation and maximum effort to turn UCLA into the greatest college basketball dynasty of all time.

I was involved leading the turnaround of four college football programs and THE most important factor was establishing a growth mindset. It was important for the players to see improvement and growth. I used the Four A.C.E.S. system as a method of measuring growth so I didn’t have to depend on just wins for the players to see improvement. By rewarding the process the results naturally followed. We developed a collective growth mindset; the mindset that if we work hard and do the right things then good results will follow.

Carol Dweck’s book Mindset is a great read. It is well written and almost has “I can’t put it down” feel to it. This book though not written specifically for coaches is a must read for coaches. Nothing will grow your program faster than a growth mindset.

Banks played his college football at Kansas State University and after graduating he pursued a coaching career. He had many stops along the way. He had a successful stint as the Head Coach at South Carolina St. University posting a 44-27-2 record. But his experiences as an assistant coach under coaching legends Eddie Robinson at Grambling and Paul Dietzel at the University of South Carolina where he was the first full time black assistant football coach make him truly unique. Banks was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1995. So who better to write a book about historic black football coaches?

I grew up a fan of Jake Gaither the legendary coach of Florida A & M because I had a friend who played for him in the 60’s. The Rattlers were explosive & their offensive was light years ahead its time. When I became a coach one of the first football books I purchased was The Split Line T Offense by Jake Gaither. I learned the value of line splits which I used to help develop my philosophy of “smart splits”. So I was totally engrossed with The Trailblazers by Oree Banks.

Oree does a great job going into the history of some of the greatest football coaches never known. Eddie Robinson of Grambling heads the list. Of course Robinson eventually received his due after his record setting tenure at Grambling. Robinson was the first Black coach to become President of the AFCA. The thing I’ll never forget about Coach Robinson is that even after he had won over 300 games he attended lectures and sat in the front row taking notes. Coach Robinson won over 400 games and was a larger than life figure in college football.

Jake Gaither is also well covered by Banks. Coach Gaither is not as well known as Eddie Robinson but was no slouch as a head football coach. Coach Gaither’s record was an astonishing 204-36-4! WOW!

Banks also discusses some of the black players who pioneered the integration of Pro Football. Tank Younger was the NFL’s Jackie Robinson. He dominated Pro Football. He also talks about Willie Davis, Harry Carson and many others. These are players from Historically Black Universities that made it in the NFL.

The Trailblazers is a must read for anyone interested in the history of college football. There have been many innovations in football that have had their roots in Historically Black Universities. I personally benefited in the development of my own offensive philosophy from Jake Gaithers. Eddie Robinson was an inspiration to many. And guys like Harry Jefferson and Oree Banks helped pave the way for guys like Tony Dungy. The history of college football is incomplete without including The Trailblazers and Oree Banks does a wonderful job presenting their story.

Michael Lewis is an excellent writer who also penned The Blindside which was also made into a movie. The Blindside was about a football player but Moneyball is much more helpful to a football coach. This book is an easy entertaining read and would be a great companion on one of those bus trips.

Moneyball is the story of Billy Beane who never made it as a baseball player but as a General Manager revolutionized the way a baseball team operates. Beane was GM of the struggling Oakland A’s with very limited resource. He couldn’t compete financially with the big dollar teams for talent. The A’s had to find a way to compete in the American league with the lowest payroll in baseball.

Many football coaches are faced with the same dilemma. If you’re at a “have-not” how do you compete with the “Haves”? This book shows some things that you can use to level the playing field.

Beane realized the key point was HOW they spent their money was the key to their success. He had to think outside the box and do things differently than the rest of the league. There’s an old saying you have to either be better or different to succeed. Beane had to get bargains, rejects, or guys that didn’t fit other teams system. He instituted the policy of putting value on performance not potential. Beane wanted to emphasize stats over potential, but what stats were important?

Having a great system of evaluating performance is a critical part of the puzzle. I have written and spoken at clinics on “Meaningful stats” in football. What stats are important to winning? (Next month I’ll write about a system of evaluating individual performance called: The Four Aces). Beane turned to stat guru Bill James. The key stat in James’ universe was on base percentage. This is not a glamorous stat like homeruns but James feels to win baseball games – Don’t make outs. Everyone in the line -up is a leadoff hitter. Beane was about scouting measurable performance not potential. On base percentage was the most important stat he valued. Because on base percentage was not valued by the rest of the league he didn’t have to get in bidding wars with the big dollar guys, he was getting guys no one else wanted. Beane was getting the best players for what he valued at bargain prices.

The New England Pariots under Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick used a similar process to turn the Pats from a laughing stock to a dynasty. They put together a system of weighing price/production that put the Pats ahead of the NFL in salary cap management. This translated into Super Bowl victories.

As a Head Football coach, I was involved in 4 turnaround situations. We created a system of offense that featured the type of player that other schools were not interested in. We always used the option which allowed us to recruit smaller athletic offensive linemen. We also recruited small quick backs that were not a good fit in conventional systems. As a result we were able to make our dollars go further. We created greater depth and balance throughout our program.

Summing up the premise of Moneyball it would be the following:
1. Study what are the important factors that win games.
2. Create a system that emphasizes those areas.
3. Develop a unique system that is different than your competitors.
4. Have a system of evaluating performance.
5. Be better or be different. Or both.

I am only skimming the surface of this excellent book. Moneyball is a very worthwhile read that will stir your creative juices. It’s very informative, entertaining and hard to put down. I strongly recommend Moneyball especially if you are in an underdog situation. If you can’t get the book, take your wife to the movie.

But at UPENN I worked with a great bunch of coaches led by Harry Gamble. Coach Gamble taught me how to be a football coach. I knew how to coach football but Coach Gamble showed me how to BE a football coach. Harry Gamble later became C.E.O. and General Manager of the Philadelphia Eagles.

What does all this have to do with this wonderful book by Gordon Forbes? Well while I was learning the trade under Coach Gamble; Dick Vermeil was the Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles along with cheese steaks and soft pretzels are the pride of Philadelphia. In those days Vermeil would take the Eagles to Franklin Field (home of the Penn football team) for practice. So I studied every move that Coach Vermeil made. He was a whirling dervish of enthusiasm and positive energy. He was like Norman Vincent Peale on Red Bull. Wow – what a great learning atmosphere for a young football coach.

So when I saw this book by Gordon Forbes, I snatched it up and read it cover to cover. Forbes does a great job portraying Vermeil, and the book is a great read.

Vermeil took the Eagles job in 1976 after a successful stint as the Head Coach at UCLA. He won the Super Bowl with the Bruins and became a hot prospect. His mentor was John Ralston who also had an influence on Bill Walsh. Vermeil turned the UCLA team into Champs by out-working everyone. Long hours and sleepless nights put the Bruins into the Rose Bowl where they enjoyed a huge upset of Ohio State. This regimen was taken to the NFL.

The Eagles were in turmoil in 1976 and owner Leonard Tose chose Vermeil to right the ship. Vermeil’s first duty was to instill a strong work ethic in the program. However, The Eagles had no running back and thus couldn’t control the ball. Vermeil’s first season was 4-10. But he was setting the foundation of discipline and hard work.

Vermeil was searching for a QB and a running back to generate points. His second season ended up 5-9 and fans were getting impatient. Vermeil thought 1978 would be the breakthrough year. It wasn’t – the birds went 8-6. Vermeil’s positive attitude in the face of hostile Eagle fans was put to a test when his number one and two RBs were busted for selling drugs! But Dick persevered. In 1979 they went 11-5 and then in 1980, they made it to the Super Bowl. They were a reflection of their coach blue-collar scrappers with great work ethic and winning attitudes.

But the long hours took its toll on Vermeil and after the 1982 season he stepped down. His tenure as Head Coach of the eagles was 57 – 51. I was stunned. What happened? Where did all that energy go?

Then fifteen years later Vermeil stunned the football world when he became the Head Coach of The St.Louis Rams who had won a total of 36 games in 7 years. Vermeil struggled in season #1 finishing with a 5-11 record in 1997. In 1998 they were worse going 4-12.

!n 1999 Vermeil brought in Mike Martz to overhaul the Offense and added some key personnel. But the unlikely Hero was a free agent QB named Kurt Warner. Warner operated Martz’s offense in record setting fashion becoming “The Greatest Show on Turf”. The Rams won the Super bowl in dick’s third season. Vermeil retired from football.
Carl Peterson talked Vermeil into a comeback with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2001 and he coached 2 years going 14-18 and then retired for real.

Gordon Forbes captures the essence of Dick Vermeil and his greatest strength was also his greatest liability. His great work ethic was unsustainable by all except Clark Kent. I strongly recommend Dick Vermeil, it’s a great read and a great lesson for every coach.