A Coach in Progress: Marshall Football - A Story of Survival and Revival

by Red Dawson, Bobby Bowden (Foreword), Fred Biletnikoff (Foreword)

A Coach in Progress depicts the catastrophe of the Southern Airways flight that crashed en route to Huntington, West Virginia, in 1970, killing all seventy-five passengers on players, coaches, and boosters of the Marshall University football team, as well as the flight crew. From this tragedy, the foundation of the Marshall football program was laid, and it has thrived ever since, culminating with the Thundering Herd being the winningest team in the NCAA Division I program in the 1990s, portrayed in the hit movie We Are Marshall , and currently under the direction of head coach Doc Holliday.

This book is written from the viewpoint of Red Dawson, a former Marshall assistant football coach, who was one of the few team members not on the plane. Still suffering from survivor’s guilt decades after the crash, Red has recovered enough to finally discuss the disaster in full. What’s more, Red helped build a team with mostly freshmen and walk-ons in 1971, and thus was recognized as bridging “the gap from tragedy to rebirth” of the Marshall football program.

Red also reveals what he previously would not the seemingly insurmountable obstacles he faced prior to the plane crash and the difficulties that followed the tragedy, like the heated tension that persisted between school administrators and a harassed and confused Red as they all attempted to rebuild the devastated program.

This book is the story of Red Dawson’s involvement with Marshall football during the last near half century spent living with the memories of the worst sports-related air tragedy in history.

Genres: Sports

260 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2015

Reviews

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

2021 Book Hoarders Challenge Bonus #5 Non-Fiction

November 14, 1970, is a date Red Dawson will never forget: he was the assistant coach at Marshall University and a plane crashed that evening, killing a total of 75 people, including most of the Marshall football team. For years, he suffered and wrestled with the memories.

This is the story of Dawson's career and his life, both before and after the crash. He has insight into how his lifee changed and what happened.

I'd recommend the story for anyone. It is gut-wrenching, it is redemptive, and it told from the perspective of a man who still remains an honored member of Marshall athletics.

Humbling

[Dale Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine that you are sitting across the table from Coach Red Dawson, drinking coffee and listening to him talk about his football playing days, his coaching career (including his time at Marshall University during the plane crash tragedy), and the lessons he has learned through all of this. This is exactly what you get when you read his book. This is an excellent book wherein Coach Dawson opens up about the trials and triumphs of his life. It is a book that also makes you think as you ponder the lessons he learned and realize that these lessons apply to you as well. A good book that is highly recommended.

[Woody Woodrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can feel the raw emotion from a coach at Marshall University who drove home the night 75 persons were killed coming back to Huntington, W.Va. from a game at East Carolina on the Marshall Football Charter. Red Dawson was at Marshall for NCAA probation, breaking a 27-game non-winning streak, the worst disaster in American Sports History and the rebuilding of the "Young" Thundering Herd in 1971. If you liked the movie, get the true story from Red Dawson in his book, A Coach in Progress: Marshall Football-A Story of Survival and Revival.

[Larry Launstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Dawson talks about his own experiences as a player, coach, and the pain he felt following the 1970 plane crash. A must read for any Marshall or general sports fan.