While on vacation this past week, I bought two books for my downtime. It turns out that I didn’t have much downtime while in Belgium so I only managed to read The Education of a Coach, David Halberstam’s profile of New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick.
Going into it, I had preconceived notions about Belichick as a coach and as a human being. Obviously, part of my prejudice was colored by my hatred of all things Boston and part of it was influenced by the recent “Cameragate” scandal. I have to say that I came away with a newfound respect for Belichick after reading the book.
Although Halberstam lays it on a little thick at times, glossing over Belichick’s faults as a petty, stubborn, and dogmatic individual, the book does capture the essence of Belichick as a coach with very little in the way of pretension or artifice. He’s a hard worker in a profession full of hard workers, but he’s also the son of a coach (Steve Belichick) who invented modern scouting and taught his son the value of meticulous preparation and intense film study. This book really gave me an appreciation for Belichick’s coaching philosophy and his impeccable work ethic.
What I came away with is a better sense of my own feelings toward the man. I always straddled the line between grudging respect and total hatred but the book has made me understand Belichick’s place among the game’s best coaches. I don’t believe he is a genius, however. Belichick is very good at his job and is something of a visionary in the way he has approached salary cap management and free agent procurement. That being said, true genius is reserved only for those that change the game; Belichick has merely exploited and maximized his great aptitude for coaching without actually doing anything differently than any of the coaches that have come before him.
I highly recommend the book to anyone that loves football and to those who can be objective enough to read about a man they might’ve otherwise disliked or discounted. At 275 pages, it’s a quick read and was helpful in my coming to terms with who I think Belichick is.
Going into it, I had preconceived notions about Belichick as a coach and as a human being. Obviously, part of my prejudice was colored by my hatred of all things Boston and part of it was influenced by the recent “Cameragate” scandal. I have to say that I came away with a newfound respect for Belichick after reading the book.
Although Halberstam lays it on a little thick at times, glossing over Belichick’s faults as a petty, stubborn, and dogmatic individual, the book does capture the essence of Belichick as a coach with very little in the way of pretension or artifice. He’s a hard worker in a profession full of hard workers, but he’s also the son of a coach (Steve Belichick) who invented modern scouting and taught his son the value of meticulous preparation and intense film study. This book really gave me an appreciation for Belichick’s coaching philosophy and his impeccable work ethic.
What I came away with is a better sense of my own feelings toward the man. I always straddled the line between grudging respect and total hatred but the book has made me understand Belichick’s place among the game’s best coaches. I don’t believe he is a genius, however. Belichick is very good at his job and is something of a visionary in the way he has approached salary cap management and free agent procurement. That being said, true genius is reserved only for those that change the game; Belichick has merely exploited and maximized his great aptitude for coaching without actually doing anything differently than any of the coaches that have come before him.
I highly recommend the book to anyone that loves football and to those who can be objective enough to read about a man they might’ve otherwise disliked or discounted. At 275 pages, it’s a quick read and was helpful in my coming to terms with who I think Belichick is.
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