Fergasun Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 I just finished this book. Picked it up at CostCo last week. Hard to know if it's more for the football or the insights on life and witness to his own life. It really put a lot of things in perspective for me, not only as far as being a fan of football is concerned, but other things too. I also enjoy a few of the insider stories he tells... basically it focuses on his coaching experiences and building a winning football team as well as his life. Reading the chapter on his son was really emotional. Since I'm < 30 I didn't realize he played for the Steelers and was a QB coming out of college, didn't realize he was under Chuck Knoll, didn't realize he played for Bill Walsh for a year. His words after the Super Bowl caught my ear, and I think this book illuminates some of what he thinks is "Coaching the right way." There are few Redskin-related tidbits in there... talking about the 1999 playoff game (I didn't realize the Turner Redskins had a propensity for talking trash)... as well as Dungy commenting on Marty Schottenheimer's coaching style (while with the Chiefs and Chargers). It was interesting to see Dungy talk about the ownership philosophies of Rooney, Hunt, the Glazer's and Irsay, and I thought about Snyder. It's hard to see the heart of people... but I hope Snyder has thought about his vision and goals for the franchise as it means to the whole Washington community, and not just about enriching himself and the NFL. I'm actually ashamed that I never thought about reading Joe Gibbs' book... I'll probably pick that one up and read it sometime in the near future... there's a lot you can learn from the wisdom of coaches... we always think of these guys as Xs and Os people, but it's more about dealing with people successfully and treating them well and relationships... I don't think we are taught that enough in this day and age. I'll have to say that he mentions his Christian faith a bit, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwasm Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 You've convinced me. I just ordered a copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfan51 Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 I'm actually ashamed that I never thought about reading Joe Gibbs' book... I'll probably pick that one up and read it sometime in the near future... there's a lot you can learn from the wisdom of coaches... we always think of these guys as Xs and Os people, but it's more about dealing with people successfully and treating them well and relationships... I don't think we are taught that enough in this day and age. Great review! Coach Gibbs's book is excellent. I actually wrote him a person letter after I read it to thank him for it. It helped me in my life. I'll have to get Dungy's book. I really admire him as a coach. I'll have to say that he mentions his Christian faith a bit, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. I expected this since his Christian faith is the foundation of all his success. He's a great testimony to what true Christianity can do for a person who is not ashamed to stand up for God and moral purity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMac Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 One of the best books I have ever read!! I highly recommend it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsD Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Wow I love Tony but never considered his book. I'll go get a copy today. Thanks for the recommendation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Sounds good, I might go check it out. Hope this doesn't delve into a Christian bashing thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Sounds good, I might go check it out. Hope this doesn't delve into a Christian bashing thread. people bash christians here? no one is safe! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwasm Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Well, Fergusan, I read the book and it is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is quite an amazing man. I can't even put into words how great this book is. But, SI.com's Peter King sums up the book pretty well here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/10/28/mmqb/5.html When you hear a book is all the rage at Christian bookstores and you're not much of a Christian, you automatically steer clear of the book. Right? And when you're not much of a sports fan and you hear a football coach has written a book, you automatically steer clear of the book. Right? This book really should not be labeled for either constituency. It has insightful stories about life, death and football, and how all of the above have combined to make Dungy's life so compelling. I met with Dungy on Saturday afternoon at the Colts' hotel and told him I was impressed that he addressed the issue that many of us who have covered him over the years couldn't bring ourselves to ask him about in the wake of the 2005 suicide of his son James. "Here I am,'' he writes, "a spokesman for the All Pro Dad program, helping others be better parents, and my child took his own life. I figured this would wipe out any credibility I might have had. But then cards and letters started to roll in again. Many who wrote were parents who had been there, who had felt the same pain, loss, grief and hopelessness I was feeling. Parents who, like us, were retracing their every step, trying to figure out what went wrong and what they could have done differently.'' Dungy learned suicide thoughts were far more prevalent in the youth of today than yesterday and, as difficult as it was, he learned to accept what his son did. One insightful football part of the book detailed his first meeting with Manning after being named coach in 2002. Manning, Dungy wrote, "was concerned because he perceived that I might want to be conservative and not score points. He'd seen many Buccaneers games in which my teams scored very few points. 'I like points,' I told him. 'I like mainly having more points than the other team when the game ends. What I want to teach our offense is how to avoid turning over the ball and putting our defense in a bad position... If we're going to win, you're going to have to trust me. You're going to have to trust that as we add defensive talent, it's part of a strategy to build a complete team so we can win...' Peyton nodded, but I'm not certain he really believed it... I promoted this philosophy for about a year and a half before I felt that everyone, including Peyton, really believed in it.' '' Interesting. I never sensed that around Manning when Dungy arrived, but he'd never let the outside world see that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwasm Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Well, Fergusan, I read the book and it is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is quite an amazing man. I can't even put into words how great this book is. But, SI.com's Peter King sums up the book pretty well here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/10/28/mmqb/5.html When you hear a book is all the rage at Christian bookstores and you're not much of a Christian, you automatically steer clear of the book. Right? And when you're not much of a sports fan and you hear a football coach has written a book, you automatically steer clear of the book. Right? This book really should not be labeled for either constituency. It has insightful stories about life, death and football, and how all of the above have combined to make Dungy's life so compelling. I met with Dungy on Saturday afternoon at the Colts' hotel and told him I was impressed that he addressed the issue that many of us who have covered him over the years couldn't bring ourselves to ask him about in the wake of the 2005 suicide of his son James. "Here I am,'' he writes, "a spokesman for the All Pro Dad program, helping others be better parents, and my child took his own life. I figured this would wipe out any credibility I might have had. But then cards and letters started to roll in again. Many who wrote were parents who had been there, who had felt the same pain, loss, grief and hopelessness I was feeling. Parents who, like us, were retracing their every step, trying to figure out what went wrong and what they could have done differently.'' Dungy learned suicide thoughts were far more prevalent in the youth of today than yesterday and, as difficult as it was, he learned to accept what his son did. One insightful football part of the book detailed his first meeting with Manning after being named coach in 2002. Manning, Dungy wrote, "was concerned because he perceived that I might want to be conservative and not score points. He'd seen many Buccaneers games in which my teams scored very few points. 'I like points,' I told him. 'I like mainly having more points than the other team when the game ends. What I want to teach our offense is how to avoid turning over the ball and putting our defense in a bad position... If we're going to win, you're going to have to trust me. You're going to have to trust that as we add defensive talent, it's part of a strategy to build a complete team so we can win...' Peyton nodded, but I'm not certain he really believed it... I promoted this philosophy for about a year and a half before I felt that everyone, including Peyton, really believed in it.' '' Interesting. I never sensed that around Manning when Dungy arrived, but he'd never let the outside world see that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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