GM

by Tom Callahan

In the summer of 2006, the NFL's most senior general manager, Ernie Accorsi, invited Tom Callahan "inside" the Giants organization to experience a season-Accorsi'slast-from the front office, the locker room, the sidelines, and the tunnel. Tom made no promises, except that he'd bring to the project the same fairness and thoroughness that characterized hisacclaimed Unitas biography, "Johnny U." The result is a remarkable book that is at once a chronicle of a tumultuous season and the story of the NFL over the last three and a half decades, told through theeyes of a man who has dedicated his life to football. The Giants started the season with high expectations, hoping to ride the talent of players like Eli Manning, Jeremy Shockey, and Tiki Barber to theSuper Bowl, but the team quickly fell apart due to injuries. "The GM" goes far beyond the specifics of a single season, though. In a marriage of two great raconteurs, one lobbingstories and the other neatly catching them, Callahan and Accorsi-writer and subject--show how the pro game (and the league that showcases it) really works, and the peculiar role of today'sgeneral manager, who must be part seer, part accountant, balancing psyches and salary caps. At its essence, "The GM" is the story of the job-of what it means to be the guy whomakes the decisions . . . who's second-guessed by fans and the media . . . who must deal with endless-and sometimes impossible--expectations. Filled with the vivid anecdotesand storytelling that made "Johnny U" a surprise bestseller, "The GM" doesn't just illuminate. It inspires with its portrait of a consummate football-personnel strategist who, over the course of decades, gave everything to the game he loved. "From the Hardcover edition."

Genres: Sports, Football, Nonfiction, Biography, Business

Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2007

Reviews

[Matt Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Topic, not the best writing

I absolutely loved the topic. As a football fanatic and an aspiring GM this was the perfect book. However, for me, I need to only give it 3 stars. I think the author could have gone into more detail of the work of Accorsi and what it’s like to be a GM. Also, the author often rambles in writing or seems to get away from his point. This is a great book on the 2006 NY Giants and Accorsi, but just an OK book on being a GM.

[C Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being the General Manger of a National Football League team has to be one of the most fascinating and unique jobs. I suspect if you did a story on all 32 General Managers (some of which are also the head coach, some of which have a different title) you would end up with 32 fairly unique stories with similarity in themes. This particular book focuses on Ernie Accorsi, recently retired GM of the New York Giants.

I love reading about professional football because it is fascinating to me so I did really enjoy this book, for the most part, but frankly the book is somewhat of mess. It seems the author had a lot of material and didn't quite know how to put it together.

This book really is a mini-mini biography of Ernie Accorsi and a recap of the New York Giants 2006 season. The title is very misleading. It is not about "the inside story of a dream job" because it really does not give us a lot of inside stories about being a GM. There is really very little about the real nuts and bolts of being a GM, from player evaluation, hiring and firing head coaches, managing up (the owners) and managing down (coaches and players), trade and personnel strategy, drafting strategy, et cetera. There is, of course, a little bit on these things, but noting in-depth nor particularly enlightening. It's simply a book about Accorsi and the Giants 2006 season.

The book is also somewhat disjointed, jumping around in time or topics without a nice, steady flow. In fact, while the book follows the 2006 Giants season, the drama of it beyond player, coach, and Accorsi comments gets somewhat lost.

The good thing about this book is it is an inside story of the players and coaches and Accorsi but nothing in the book is particularly revealing for surprising. For football fans, however, it's always great to get the story straight from the people involved without the manipulations of the print and electronic media that try to make controversy where none exists.

But, in the end, I would have to rate this book as below average for its misleading title and somewhat disjointed organization.

And a note for the copyeditor - John Hannah is a Hall of Fame guard of the New England Patriots, not a tackle.

[Charlie Francuz · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.7

This book was a brutal read. The first chapter is quite honestly the worst I’ve ever come across. Just confusing, overloaded with like 25+ irrelevant names, and has no clear topic.

The author constantly drops names out of nowhere, making it even more difficult to follow. The entire book is written with excessive quotations, making it impossible to track who’s speaking with all the different names being thrown around.

Chapter 11 feels entirely irrelevant to the book’s supposed focus. How does an entire chapter about Wellington Mara and Ronnie the equipment manager have anything to do with the life of a GM?

Overall, this was an awful book, it was just a mess. It had nothing to do with the life of a GM or the behind the scenes work of a GM. It was merely about the Giants 2006 season where they went 8-8 and lost in the first round of the playoffs…

[Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rated on the high side as Callahan wanders a lot in telling the story of Accorsi's life as General Manager of the Colts and Giants. The theme of the book is his last season with stories woven in about people and events from the past. Uneven details and you are often wondering what is the relarionship and who is talking, the author or Accorsi?
Probably of more interest to a Giant fan.
Interestingly the only mention of Accorsi's family is the last paragraph in the book that talks about his children.

[Grant Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good "year in the life" book about one of the great guys in football. The GM is not someone the average couch sitting, football fan will know well, but he is the guy who truly has to get the players, get the coaches, and keep the whole team on the same page. Ernie Accorsi is truly one of the last great guys to fill this role.

[Patrick Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this book, don't think it will be much excitement to the non-giants fans though and the book is slightly misleading in the sense that it is more a story about the Giants 2006 season rather than the inside and outs of the GM job.

[Brixton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a good story that gives an inside look on a job that is one of the hardest in pro sports. A good book for any football fan to read.

[Brandon Kopceuch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m a Giants fan and I was bored by this. I can’t imagine a non-Giants fan grinding their way through this.

[David Jenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, would highly recommend. Really enjoyed reading it.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Concerns New York football Giants' general manager Ernie Accorsi. Author followed him around during the last season of his long career. Game stories from that season are interspersed with recollections of other athletes Accorsi knew, big decisions he had made (e.g., the blockbuster draft day trade to get Eli Manning for the Giants), his tepid relationship with coach Tom Coughlin, etc.

I'm a big Redskins fan and was re-traumatized reading about Tiki Barber's last game when he ran roughshod over us. But for the most part it was just sort of boring. Not really in-depth about anything technical (e.g., salary cap management), and too many predictable stories (that Joe Paterno was really something; watching Willie Mays play baseball was exciting) and opinions (injuries hurt the team's chances in playoffs......).

Might have worked well as an audio book. The style fits the format of someone's telling you anecdotes that you can sample a few minutes at a time in the car or walking to the train or something.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of "behind the scenes" books, especially about sports. I'm always curious to get a taste of how the many aspects (especially the business side) that I never get to see work. You probably like watching "Hard Knocks," so you're probably more like me than you know. When I first saw this book, that's what I expected. It's a little unfortunately that it isn't what I got, however. This book was less a behind the scenes look at being an NFL GM than a biography of Ernie Accorsi. That's not necessarily a bad thing-Accorsi seems like a great man, and it was definitely still an interesting book-just not what I expected. Still good, but a little disappointing for me...for you, for me, for you, for me, for you... (copyright Randy Jackson).

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm no Giants fan, but I did enjoy the book. It tends to meander at times, getting wrapped up in the backstory of every new character introduced. I think what takes away from the book most of all is the immense assault of names thrown at the reader. I am a huge sports fan and know plenty of history, and often times I'd find myself struggling to remember who is who, or why this person is important. Callahan seems to take joy in showing off how many historical figures he can cram into a single page at times, and that is a major detraction. The subject matter itself is great, and Accorsi is a living legend in the NFL and worth reading about. Just be prepared to learn a lot of names you'll never hear again.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not much of a Giants' fan. For that fact, since I moved to New York from Seattle, I haven't been much of a pro football fan at all. But, when the Giants made their Super Bowl run and beat the perfect New England Patriots, I was transfixed.

This is a chronicle of the year before, Tiki Barber's last season and GM, Ernie Accorsi's last. Moreso, this is a story of the history of the NFL in the later half of the 20th Century. Long before we had players regularly being suspenede for codes of conduct and behavior that is harmful to the game. This is a story about a man's love affair with sports and his job.

A really good book for any football fan.

[Kruunch · Rating 3 out of 5]

The GM is fairly interesting if you're a Giants/Colts fan and somewhat interesting from a football fan view point in general.

I don't think it gave particularly great insight into what it is like to be a GM in the NFL, nor any great insight into Ernie Accorsi himself (past the fact that he loves QBs and hates the Eagles).

The prose is a bit rambling, often confusing the reader as to who is expressing a particular thought as the author jumps into first person narrative with whomever he's addressing (including himself).

It was an enjoyable book (I'm a Giants fan) but didn't give me the depth I was looking for. Still worth the read though.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

The GM is Moneyball for Football. Not in the sense that it looks at statistical analysis being applied to sport, but in the way it chronicles the thoughts and methods of a General Manager as he builds his team. A very well-written look at everything that goes on behind the scenes at a professional sports franchise, although given that the author and his subject (former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi) were close friends, at times it felt like the shining portrait of Accorsi and his talents might be a bit overstated. Overall an interesting read, probably a great read for Giants fans (who suck).

[Mike Angelillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part of the book is when the tales are told of evaluatiing and drafting QBs. Elway, Kosar, Eli Manning - Accorsi's involvement with all three make for good reading. Perhaps the most surprising story was how close Brett Farve came to being a Jet (they were all set to take him but Atlanta grabed him one pick before them in the second round).

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Giants fan would love this book, which means none of my friends should read it. Except maybe for you, Casey. It seems very similar to something someone might write about Carl Peterson (without the success, of course. Hah!). Great inside info, all made a little better by the fact that their devotion to the players involved pays off the next season when they won the Super Bowl.

[Noel · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was very blah. the passages about ernie accorsi's childhood were some of the most unstimulating written words I have read in quite some time - that the man grew up in Hershey, Pennsylvania should start and stop all discussion of his childhood right there. The only parts I enjoyed were Ernie's scouting notes on players that crept into the book. He was right on with Eli Manning

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though this books purports to tell us how a football General Manager works, it really is nothing more than a biography of the New York Giants General Manager Ernie Akorski. I wanted more in-depth everyday details on what a GM does, how he does it, not a running biography of the last year before a GM retires.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun insider's perspective on what it's like to be the GM of an NFL team. Ernie Accorsi is a great subject because he allows amazing access, is candid in his assessment of players and coaches, and has a wealth of anecdotes from his 40 years in sports.

I would have loved having more numbers and less sentiment, but I suspect I am in the minority in that.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book mostly because it was about the Giants so I was familiar with many of the names that were mentioned throughout the book. Had this been about another NFL team, I would have stopped reading it. I don't like books that mention soooo many names it becomes confusing. And the book goes back and forth from the present to the past and not in a smooth way.

[Cristobal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably enjoyed it more than it deserved because I'm a New York Giants fan. It does have some interesting insights into what the job of a General Manager in the NFL entails, although it also lacks an engaging thread. The real shame about it is that it was written one year before the Giants magical 2007 championship.

[Grant Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good "year in the life" book about one of the great guys in football. The GM is not someone the average couch sitting, football fan will know well, but he is the guy who truly has to get the players, get the coaches, and keep the whole team on the same page. Ernie Accorsi is truly one of the last great guys to fill this role.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good, solid look inside the mind of a GM. I can't say I've read better because I haven't read any other books about sports GMs. This is a lot better for Giants fans but I think general football fans can appreciate Ernie Accorsi's knowledge and perspective.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written book and an interesting read, but the title is misleading. I was hoping for insight into the decision-making process of an NFL GM...this was more like a memoir of the Giants 2006 season.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, but I won't say it was one of my favorites as an inside look. Ernie Accorsi is a true lover of football and all sports, and I did appreciate the candor of the book and his willingness to speak on the record about his own players and those he was happy to leave behind in the draft, etc.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in the NFL and like to hear interesting stories from old guys that have been around the business for many years than this is a good book. Otherwise you might not find it all that interesting.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh... if I wasn't a Giants fan I probably would pass. In the genre of sports books that follows the script of "behind the scenes" or "a season with" it wasn't bad. Better than Feinstein. That doesn't say much.

[Edward · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the parts about the season and skimmed a lot of the history and backstory. I remember some of the highlights and lowlights of the season, and it was interesting to read the behind-the-scenes stuff.

[Scott Dobrosielsky]

For a Giants fan this book is indispensible. This is a work of old-school sports reporting that any NFL or sports fan would enjoy.