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The Game Plan: The Art of Building a Winning Football Team
As one of the most successful general managers and team presidents in NFL history, few people understand how to create the blueprint for a winning football team like Bill Polian. After building the Buffalo Bills team that went to four consecutive Super Bowls and taking the expansion Carolina Panthers to the NFC Championship just two years after the team’s creation, he was responsible for the Indianapolis Colts drafting Peyton Manning with the first overall pick in 1998 and oversaw the team’s victory in Super Bowl XLI. Now, Polian shares his blueprint for building a successful football team in The Game Plan. He details the decisions both a team needs to make in the regular season and the offseason to bring teams to the postseason and the NFL’s ultimate test of a well-built the Super Bowl.
- GenresSportsFootballNonfiction
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
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December 12, 2016
Everyone in the sports world will recognize Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Joe DiMaggio. We all also know they played for some of the greatest dynasties in sports, the bulls of the 90s, the New England Patriots of the last ten years, and the Yankees of the 30s. But the names that many fans don’t recognize are Jerry Krause, Robert Kraft, and Ed Barrow. They are the men that deserve all the credit but never get any of it. They are the teams’ general managers. What a general manager does is basically build the team. They decide who to draft, who to trade for, what free agents to sign, and how much to pay everyone. Many general managers have different strategies, but the goal is always the same, to build a winning team. Bill Polian is a general manager name that is more familiar to the ear than many others. Bill was the general manager of the Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, and Indianapolis Colts. During his career he won executive of the year six times as well as one Super Bowl ring. The reason his name is familiar, on top of his illustrious management career, is because he decided to do what many don’t and be a public figure. After his management career he became an ESPN analyst in order to share his insight into the game with the public. On top of sharing his insight through his broadcasting, he also wrote a book titled The Game Plan: The Art of Building a Winning Football Team. The book, in my opinion is very significant in a key way, it is the first of its kind to provide insight into the behind the scenes world of football, coming from one of the best to ever do it.
The book follows his journey through football. Like me, one would expect this book to depict how to build a football team, (like, it even says so right in the title) and it delivers that by giving you insight regarding salary management, the importance of schematic fit, and how to choose a coach. But, what the book also does is share stories one would not expect, like conversations with players, coaches, as well as a good portion of the book dedicated to his personal climb to the general position. The later being a pleasant surprise I was not expecting but enjoyed reading. These are exchanges and details that no other book has provided. You hear of coaches and management moving up the ranks of teams and earning their stripes. But an actual account of how one got their and the actual steps that were taken is in my opinion, something long overdue and eye opening.
The book begins with Polian’s time spent with the Bills, describing his time spent there, and the moves on to his time with the Colts, again illustrating his time with that franchise. He began with the Bills as the director of player personnel. From there he moved on to general manager. This section of the book, as a matter of fact this whole book, can be dry to one that doesn’t enjoy football and its inner workings. He goes into depth about how he the dealings went with players, both salary discussion and otherwise. Otherwise being a big thing with the Bills, being they are located in frigid Buffalo, New York, not many players want to be there. So it takes a crafty and wise GM such as Bill to lure players to this frozen wasteland (my words not his). From his time in Buffalo it leads to his tenure as the GM of the Colts. Anyone who enjoys sports in general, I believe, really enjoy reading and climb into power as well as how he made things work.
While Polian spent a great deal of time in Indiana, as well a Championship run, he did not spend as much of his book on this era as one would expect. What would turn out to be the most pivotal moment of his career he did spend a lot of time on however. Two star quarterbacks, Ryan Leaf, quarterback of the Washington State Cougars and Peyton Manning, Quarterback of the Tennessee Volunteers, headlined the 1998 draft, and the Colts had the first pick. Leading up to the draft no one knew what the colts would do. The colts didn’t even know what they would do, at first that is. When it came time to meet with players Peyton came prepared with questions for the staff and was an absolute star in the meeting room. Leaf failed to even show up to the interview. With so little separating the two on film, this became the deciding factor. And boy did it ever lead to a good decision. Peyton played a unheard of 17 years in the league and is now regarded as one of, if not the greatest quarterback ever, someone who revolutionized the game and mastered the no huddle offense before anyone even knew what that was. Ryan Leaf is well known too, as one of the biggest draft busts of all time and was out of the league in no more than four years. This decision of choosing Peyton from the two is described from a point of view you can get from no where better, it comes straight from the mouth of the man who made it happen. Again, this decision making process has never been described to the public, as it is here, before. Which is something, I think, everyone should be able to appreciate and enjoy.
He continues to gush about his time in Indiana. Peyton Manning is accreted to the book even for his help he gave Bill while writing the book. Following the moves he made in building his Super Bowl Champion team is fascinating. It gives the reader incite into the life of someone who is literally being the best at what they do and every step they took to do it. Which, in my opinion, is hard to come by and even if you aren’t a fan of the sport is fascinating.
I may be a bit bias, being a huge football fan, but I enjoyed the content of the book more than any other I have read. What this book lacked however was fluidity. You could tell throughout that Bill was not a seasoned writer. Which is to be expected and one who would be turned off by such a thing would not be reading this book in the first place in my opinion. One thing left out of the book as well which I found a bit odd his Bill’s actual life. Little was discussed about his family life or what he did outside of football. This missing piece would be of great help in my opinion by adding a dynamic to the book so the reader could connect to Bill more. So, if you’re looking for an autobiography, look somewhere else. Lastly, for one who does not really enjoy diving into the technical aspects of football, this may be a bore at parts. But, for one who enjoys diving into the technical aspects of football, this is a great read.
Overall a great read. I have read a few sports books in my time and this by far is my favorite. I am a self proclaimed geek for this kind of stuff, but nevertheless a good book. Anyone who enjoys the game off football and ever wondered how that team of 53 players actually gets there will enjoy the time spent reading this book. But I also think this books appeal goes beyond that. Bill Polian’s The Game Plan: The Art of Building a Winning Football Team, Is a one of a kind. Its point of view is one never before provided, sports rule modern day pop culture and they generate billions of dollars each year, this book is the only read you can find that describes to you, as well as gives you an outline, of what it takes to make that happen.
The book follows his journey through football. Like me, one would expect this book to depict how to build a football team, (like, it even says so right in the title) and it delivers that by giving you insight regarding salary management, the importance of schematic fit, and how to choose a coach. But, what the book also does is share stories one would not expect, like conversations with players, coaches, as well as a good portion of the book dedicated to his personal climb to the general position. The later being a pleasant surprise I was not expecting but enjoyed reading. These are exchanges and details that no other book has provided. You hear of coaches and management moving up the ranks of teams and earning their stripes. But an actual account of how one got their and the actual steps that were taken is in my opinion, something long overdue and eye opening.
The book begins with Polian’s time spent with the Bills, describing his time spent there, and the moves on to his time with the Colts, again illustrating his time with that franchise. He began with the Bills as the director of player personnel. From there he moved on to general manager. This section of the book, as a matter of fact this whole book, can be dry to one that doesn’t enjoy football and its inner workings. He goes into depth about how he the dealings went with players, both salary discussion and otherwise. Otherwise being a big thing with the Bills, being they are located in frigid Buffalo, New York, not many players want to be there. So it takes a crafty and wise GM such as Bill to lure players to this frozen wasteland (my words not his). From his time in Buffalo it leads to his tenure as the GM of the Colts. Anyone who enjoys sports in general, I believe, really enjoy reading and climb into power as well as how he made things work.
While Polian spent a great deal of time in Indiana, as well a Championship run, he did not spend as much of his book on this era as one would expect. What would turn out to be the most pivotal moment of his career he did spend a lot of time on however. Two star quarterbacks, Ryan Leaf, quarterback of the Washington State Cougars and Peyton Manning, Quarterback of the Tennessee Volunteers, headlined the 1998 draft, and the Colts had the first pick. Leading up to the draft no one knew what the colts would do. The colts didn’t even know what they would do, at first that is. When it came time to meet with players Peyton came prepared with questions for the staff and was an absolute star in the meeting room. Leaf failed to even show up to the interview. With so little separating the two on film, this became the deciding factor. And boy did it ever lead to a good decision. Peyton played a unheard of 17 years in the league and is now regarded as one of, if not the greatest quarterback ever, someone who revolutionized the game and mastered the no huddle offense before anyone even knew what that was. Ryan Leaf is well known too, as one of the biggest draft busts of all time and was out of the league in no more than four years. This decision of choosing Peyton from the two is described from a point of view you can get from no where better, it comes straight from the mouth of the man who made it happen. Again, this decision making process has never been described to the public, as it is here, before. Which is something, I think, everyone should be able to appreciate and enjoy.
He continues to gush about his time in Indiana. Peyton Manning is accreted to the book even for his help he gave Bill while writing the book. Following the moves he made in building his Super Bowl Champion team is fascinating. It gives the reader incite into the life of someone who is literally being the best at what they do and every step they took to do it. Which, in my opinion, is hard to come by and even if you aren’t a fan of the sport is fascinating.
I may be a bit bias, being a huge football fan, but I enjoyed the content of the book more than any other I have read. What this book lacked however was fluidity. You could tell throughout that Bill was not a seasoned writer. Which is to be expected and one who would be turned off by such a thing would not be reading this book in the first place in my opinion. One thing left out of the book as well which I found a bit odd his Bill’s actual life. Little was discussed about his family life or what he did outside of football. This missing piece would be of great help in my opinion by adding a dynamic to the book so the reader could connect to Bill more. So, if you’re looking for an autobiography, look somewhere else. Lastly, for one who does not really enjoy diving into the technical aspects of football, this may be a bore at parts. But, for one who enjoys diving into the technical aspects of football, this is a great read.
Overall a great read. I have read a few sports books in my time and this by far is my favorite. I am a self proclaimed geek for this kind of stuff, but nevertheless a good book. Anyone who enjoys the game off football and ever wondered how that team of 53 players actually gets there will enjoy the time spent reading this book. But I also think this books appeal goes beyond that. Bill Polian’s The Game Plan: The Art of Building a Winning Football Team, Is a one of a kind. Its point of view is one never before provided, sports rule modern day pop culture and they generate billions of dollars each year, this book is the only read you can find that describes to you, as well as gives you an outline, of what it takes to make that happen.
October 6, 2014
The number of football executives - and let's exclude coaches from that description - who have been become relatively well-known for their work to the sport's public at large is extremely small. The names of general managers may pop up frequently in hometown stories, but few make the jump to national figures.
There are only a few exceptions, and the biggest is Bill Polian. Football writers have awarded the NFL Executive of the Year title since 1993, and Polian has won it four times. Only a couple of others have won the award more than once.
Mix that fact with the fact that Polian currently works as an analyst with ESPN, and you have a nationally known figure on the sports stage. Even though he might not be done working for a team, this seems like a good time for him to write a book. Apparently even Polian agreed, as he has written a book on his football experiences called "The Game Plan."
The story essentially concentrates on the football portions of Polian's career. Don't look for many stories about his family, because they aren't there. While there are references to Polian's career before he arrived in Buffalo, the story essentially begins there. But there are, naturally, plenty of references to football philosophy - as promised by the subtitle - along the way.
As an example, Polian outlines what he wanted when he went searching for a head coach. The needed skills include organization, leadership, communication, emotional stability, vision, strategy, flexibility, ability to judge talent, public relations, earning player respect, and character. That's a long list, and Polian adds plenty of related questions under each area. But you've have to say the formula works for him. He did pick Marv Levy and Tony Dungy, among others. Levy is in the Hall of Fame and Dungy probably will be.
There are other insights into building a football team here. There are some good examples at how important it is to find players who fit into specific systems, and how salary cap management is far more important than many would have thought. For example, quarterbacks can make staggering amounts of money in a given year, particularly a veteran like Peyton Manning. They are worth it, but sometimes a team gets lucky with a young and thus cheaper quarterback. Think of Russell Wilson of the Seahawks, who surprised everyone with his play. Wilson isn't making superstar money yet, and thus Seattle had extra dollars to spread around the rest of the roster. That was crucial in its Super Bowl season of 2013-14, and will be helpful until Wilson starts to get the paydays he no doubt deserves.
Still, football fans want to read behind-the-scenes stories about their favorite game, and Polian has plenty of them here. A good portion of the book (more than expected, really) is devoted to his time in Buffalo. If there had been an executive of the year award back then, Polian certainly would have added to his hardware collection for his work with the Bills. He tells about working his way into the general manager's job in 1985, when the franchise was in even worse shape than most thought, and putting together the pieces for the team that went on to appear in an unmatched four straight Super Bowls.
It's great fun to reach at length about negotiations with Jim Kelly, the Hall of Fame quarterback who had started his career in the United States Football League. Kelly wasn't anxious to come to Buffalo, and the talks were difficult. But eventually the quarterback landed with the Bills and went on to 10 great years there. There's also some good details about the trade for Cornelius Bennett, part of a three-way swap that sent Erik Dickerson to the Colts. Polian got one look at Bennett at a practice upon the linebacker's arrival in Buffalo, and told a friend that Bennett was "Mickey Mantle in football cleats."
The Bills never did reach their final goal of being Super Bowl champions, but Polian certainly writes as if he loved the building process immensely. He hands out plenty of credit to other staff members in the Bills' organization along the way - names that will be remembered in Buffalo but in few other places. Just as an example, Kay Stephenson is not exactly an icon because he took over as head coach just after Chuck Knox had left after the 1982 season and the team was headed into a serious decline. Polian joined the Buffalo front office, and he credits Stephenson for some lessons he learned along the way - including one that says it's always correct to do what's best for the franchise, even if it's not strictly in your best interests.
After an unexpected departure from Buffalo - Polian admits he could have handled the internal politics better there - it was on to a brief stop in the NFL office and then to start up the Carolina Panthers franchise. That team decided to try to be respectable in a hurry, and it succeeded in part because it could attract quality free agents.
Then it was on to Indianapolis. Considering Polian's time with the Colts was long and successful, the stories in the book are a little underplayed. However, the most fateful decision in recent football history is well covered. That's when the Colts had the top overall draft choice and needed a quarterback. The decision came down to Peyton Manning vs. Ryan Leaf. Polian and his staff got that one right, as Manning became an all-time great and Leaf washed out in no time. In the initial interviews, Manning arrived with a number of questions for the Colts' staff. Leaf didn't even show up.
The book can be a little technical in a few spots, and it's easy to wonder why the departures from Carolina and Indianapolis are reviewed so briefly. Still, Polian comes off as an interesting and gracious character thoroughout. You can see why he was so good at what he did.
I was looking forward to reading this even before my old friend Vic Carucci came back to Buffalo to be a co-worker with me at The Buffalo News. I won't give this a rating here now because of that connection. Still, I believe most football fans will find what's between the covers of "The Game Plan" to be quite a interesting peak behind the curtain of how a football team is really run. And if you followed the Bills during the glory years when Polian was running the team, you'll be riveted.
There are only a few exceptions, and the biggest is Bill Polian. Football writers have awarded the NFL Executive of the Year title since 1993, and Polian has won it four times. Only a couple of others have won the award more than once.
Mix that fact with the fact that Polian currently works as an analyst with ESPN, and you have a nationally known figure on the sports stage. Even though he might not be done working for a team, this seems like a good time for him to write a book. Apparently even Polian agreed, as he has written a book on his football experiences called "The Game Plan."
The story essentially concentrates on the football portions of Polian's career. Don't look for many stories about his family, because they aren't there. While there are references to Polian's career before he arrived in Buffalo, the story essentially begins there. But there are, naturally, plenty of references to football philosophy - as promised by the subtitle - along the way.
As an example, Polian outlines what he wanted when he went searching for a head coach. The needed skills include organization, leadership, communication, emotional stability, vision, strategy, flexibility, ability to judge talent, public relations, earning player respect, and character. That's a long list, and Polian adds plenty of related questions under each area. But you've have to say the formula works for him. He did pick Marv Levy and Tony Dungy, among others. Levy is in the Hall of Fame and Dungy probably will be.
There are other insights into building a football team here. There are some good examples at how important it is to find players who fit into specific systems, and how salary cap management is far more important than many would have thought. For example, quarterbacks can make staggering amounts of money in a given year, particularly a veteran like Peyton Manning. They are worth it, but sometimes a team gets lucky with a young and thus cheaper quarterback. Think of Russell Wilson of the Seahawks, who surprised everyone with his play. Wilson isn't making superstar money yet, and thus Seattle had extra dollars to spread around the rest of the roster. That was crucial in its Super Bowl season of 2013-14, and will be helpful until Wilson starts to get the paydays he no doubt deserves.
Still, football fans want to read behind-the-scenes stories about their favorite game, and Polian has plenty of them here. A good portion of the book (more than expected, really) is devoted to his time in Buffalo. If there had been an executive of the year award back then, Polian certainly would have added to his hardware collection for his work with the Bills. He tells about working his way into the general manager's job in 1985, when the franchise was in even worse shape than most thought, and putting together the pieces for the team that went on to appear in an unmatched four straight Super Bowls.
It's great fun to reach at length about negotiations with Jim Kelly, the Hall of Fame quarterback who had started his career in the United States Football League. Kelly wasn't anxious to come to Buffalo, and the talks were difficult. But eventually the quarterback landed with the Bills and went on to 10 great years there. There's also some good details about the trade for Cornelius Bennett, part of a three-way swap that sent Erik Dickerson to the Colts. Polian got one look at Bennett at a practice upon the linebacker's arrival in Buffalo, and told a friend that Bennett was "Mickey Mantle in football cleats."
The Bills never did reach their final goal of being Super Bowl champions, but Polian certainly writes as if he loved the building process immensely. He hands out plenty of credit to other staff members in the Bills' organization along the way - names that will be remembered in Buffalo but in few other places. Just as an example, Kay Stephenson is not exactly an icon because he took over as head coach just after Chuck Knox had left after the 1982 season and the team was headed into a serious decline. Polian joined the Buffalo front office, and he credits Stephenson for some lessons he learned along the way - including one that says it's always correct to do what's best for the franchise, even if it's not strictly in your best interests.
After an unexpected departure from Buffalo - Polian admits he could have handled the internal politics better there - it was on to a brief stop in the NFL office and then to start up the Carolina Panthers franchise. That team decided to try to be respectable in a hurry, and it succeeded in part because it could attract quality free agents.
Then it was on to Indianapolis. Considering Polian's time with the Colts was long and successful, the stories in the book are a little underplayed. However, the most fateful decision in recent football history is well covered. That's when the Colts had the top overall draft choice and needed a quarterback. The decision came down to Peyton Manning vs. Ryan Leaf. Polian and his staff got that one right, as Manning became an all-time great and Leaf washed out in no time. In the initial interviews, Manning arrived with a number of questions for the Colts' staff. Leaf didn't even show up.
The book can be a little technical in a few spots, and it's easy to wonder why the departures from Carolina and Indianapolis are reviewed so briefly. Still, Polian comes off as an interesting and gracious character thoroughout. You can see why he was so good at what he did.
I was looking forward to reading this even before my old friend Vic Carucci came back to Buffalo to be a co-worker with me at The Buffalo News. I won't give this a rating here now because of that connection. Still, I believe most football fans will find what's between the covers of "The Game Plan" to be quite a interesting peak behind the curtain of how a football team is really run. And if you followed the Bills during the glory years when Polian was running the team, you'll be riveted.
February 7, 2022
If you are football fan this will be a great book for you to read. It gives a look behind the curtain and what it takes to run an NFL team from the viewpoint of Bill Polian a man who has had experience in the CFL, USFL and of course the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts.
It briefly takes a look at schemes and situations on the field but the majority deals with building a team. It covers the qualities he and his owners were looking for in a head coach and the process they went through to pick one. It also gives you a look at how they set up the draft board, evaluate players and make their picks and what took place in various drafts. Did you ever wonder what lead them to picking Peyton Manning over Phillip Rivers it goes over their experience. How did they put together the Buffalo team that went to four straight Superbowl's? There is a deep discussion on this also. Like I said at the top if you are a fan this is good read without being to techinical. I would definitely reccommend this book.
It briefly takes a look at schemes and situations on the field but the majority deals with building a team. It covers the qualities he and his owners were looking for in a head coach and the process they went through to pick one. It also gives you a look at how they set up the draft board, evaluate players and make their picks and what took place in various drafts. Did you ever wonder what lead them to picking Peyton Manning over Phillip Rivers it goes over their experience. How did they put together the Buffalo team that went to four straight Superbowl's? There is a deep discussion on this also. Like I said at the top if you are a fan this is good read without being to techinical. I would definitely reccommend this book.
May 26, 2017
If you have ever wondered what a NFL general manager does, this is the book to read. The book includes many fascinating insights into a GM's world.
If you have ever wondered about any of the following ...
- How big a deal is the salary cap to a GM?
- What is the role of the coach vs the GM on draft day?
- What does the GM do when he is not drafting or negotiating with players?
- What defense scheme do you institute when you have salary cap problem?
- What is the magic formula to have a power house defense and offense at the same time (hint – this is almost impossible to achieve and when you do it is always short lived)?
- What was the behind the scene story of Peyton Manning exit from the Colts?
... then I recommend Bill Polian's book The Game Plan.
If you have ever wondered about any of the following ...
- How big a deal is the salary cap to a GM?
- What is the role of the coach vs the GM on draft day?
- What does the GM do when he is not drafting or negotiating with players?
- What defense scheme do you institute when you have salary cap problem?
- What is the magic formula to have a power house defense and offense at the same time (hint – this is almost impossible to achieve and when you do it is always short lived)?
- What was the behind the scene story of Peyton Manning exit from the Colts?
... then I recommend Bill Polian's book The Game Plan.
June 28, 2023
As far as FB books go, and I have read a ton, this was fun. I don't recall getting a GM's perspective before. It was nice to find out what "really" happened behind the scenes. Ex: I remember the drafting of Edgerrin James and trading of Marshal Faulk and all the analysts who poo poo'd it. They didn't report what Faulks contract situation was and his $ demands vs. a rookie like James. With the information I had at the time, I poo poo'd it too. But with my additional info, I get it now and would have traded Faulk also.
May 12, 2020
excellent inside look at one of the great football front office execs of all time.
July 12, 2020
Great book
A really great book about the inside of the NFL. Love learning how NFL teams are built. Lessons you can use for life.
A really great book about the inside of the NFL. Love learning how NFL teams are built. Lessons you can use for life.
June 16, 2015
This book gets four stars because the first 2/3rds of the book consists of feel-good stories about the glory years of the Buffalo Bills, which will always get 8 out of 5 stars from me. One wonders whether that's because the co-author is a long-time Buffalo sportswriter, whether Polian found his 10 years with the Bills that much more interesting and exciting than his 14 years with the Colts, or whether, from a book marketing perspective, there just aren't as many life-long Indianapolis Colts fans as life-long Buffalo Bills fans.
Non-life long Bills fans would be generous to give it three stars. There is some "art of building a winning football team," (psychological tests, football temperament, and the effect of the salary cap on what type of defense you can play being the most interesting), but not enough, and there was not nearly enough discussion of decisions that didn't pan out well and why they were made. Also, the narrative includes attempts at recreating dialog that would never have occurred between two living, breathing human beings, which is just painful to read.
Non-life long Bills fans would be generous to give it three stars. There is some "art of building a winning football team," (psychological tests, football temperament, and the effect of the salary cap on what type of defense you can play being the most interesting), but not enough, and there was not nearly enough discussion of decisions that didn't pan out well and why they were made. Also, the narrative includes attempts at recreating dialog that would never have occurred between two living, breathing human beings, which is just painful to read.
December 27, 2014
Great read!
For pro football fans this book is a no-brainer. It provides insight into building and sustaining winning pro football programs from the USFL vs NFL era of the mid 1980s, to the unforgettable Buffalo Bills of the 1990s,to the information age that we currently live in, and points in between.
I have a feeling that anyone looking for names being named and bridges being burned will be disappointed, but anyone interested in a great football story should get right on it.
For pro football fans this book is a no-brainer. It provides insight into building and sustaining winning pro football programs from the USFL vs NFL era of the mid 1980s, to the unforgettable Buffalo Bills of the 1990s,to the information age that we currently live in, and points in between.
I have a feeling that anyone looking for names being named and bridges being burned will be disappointed, but anyone interested in a great football story should get right on it.
January 15, 2015
My rating may not show it, but this is the best behind-the-scenes pro football book I've found. Polain shared insights into Pro Football drafting, League difficulties, and rules/ mantras he lives by. Interesting how he explains pro football as an entertainment business and the setup, work, and formula(s) he uses for success. He did talk a lot about his career in the "I" thought, "I" did form, which was too much for me.
October 11, 2014
Maybe not the greatest book, technically speaking, but a really enjoyable read for me as an NFL football fan in general, and an Indianapolis Colts fan specifically. I met Mr. Polian at a local book signing and found him to be engaging and gracious. My major "complaint" about the book was that too much space was spent on his years with the Buffalo Bills and not enough on his time with the Colts.
November 12, 2014
Not quite the smooth read that some sports books are, but it's interesting. I was a bit disappointed with some subjects that he glazed over or didn't go into detail on, the Jim mora firing fur example.
December 14, 2014
A conversational, chronological memoir of a longtime pro football executive. The best parts feature an insider's perspective on drafting, but there isn't much of this. More introspection might have been interesting--more on concussions, or race, or labor strife, or something.
May 24, 2015
Good Read
I like sports and love football, so this book was a no-brainer for me to purchase. It's good, the anecdotes are interesting, and I love the inspirational quotes throughout.
I like sports and love football, so this book was a no-brainer for me to purchase. It's good, the anecdotes are interesting, and I love the inspirational quotes throughout.
October 26, 2014
A great book about life in the National Football League. Fantastic stories about the glory years of the Buffalo Bills!!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews