Barnes & NobleGuts and Genius- The Story of Three Unlikely Coaches Who Came to Dominate the NFL in the '80s by Bob Glauber

An analysis of three unforgettable head coaches

𝙂𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨 analyzed three head coaches who won a combined seven Super Bowls in the 1980s in Bill Walsh (3), Joe Gibbs (2), and Bill Parcells (1). Even though all three of those coaches received their fair share of praise, glory, and everything else that comes with success in the 1980s and in the early 1990s, this book will help you appreciate what those three men accomplished when they were in their primes. 𝙂𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨 and you have to totally give author Bob Glauber credit for this and it's that the book was well researched, the interviews that he gathered for the book helped drive the narrative about the three head coaches, and overall, this book just had some very good writing. Glauber used to be a writer for the 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨𝙙𝙖𝙮 newspaper where he covered the New York Giants and the New York Jets among other NFL teams back in the 1980s and early 1990s. What all that means is that he had a front row seat or intimate view of the subjects that he covered in this book, which in turn makes for an in-depth book with coupled with good writing. I appreciated the coverage or attention he gave to each head coach with individual chapters about them which included their ups and downs on the field from the early 1980s to around the time they retired. The book began with a chapter about Walsh which included him at one of the lowest points of his career (when he got passed over for the Cincinnati Bengals head coaching job in the late 1970s) and the beginning stages of his San Francisco 49ers head coaching career. That chapter helped give you some thoughts on the struggles that Walsh endured to get to where he eventually got, which was the Mount Rushmore of NFL Head Coaches. Later in the book there was a chapter on Parcells that started on page 45 and in that chapter, I learned that one of his main influences in his coaching career never coached a down of football on any level in former Indiana Hoosiers head basketball coach Bobby Knight. Both of them were short tempered perfectionists so it made sense that knew each other and bonded over the 1970s, 1980s and after. As I was reading that chapter I was like, no wonder why Parcells had that well known temper of his that you saw on NFL Films videos from the 80s and 90s when he was coaching or when he was dealing with the media. Of course, Parcells was born with that temper of his but hanging around men like Knight helped sort of shape or tinker with that temper. I learned in this book how emotional and self-battling Walsh was. That man may be the best offensive mind whoever lived in NFL history, and he was certainly one of the most successful head coaches in NFL history, but that man was suffering mentally inside during every season that he coached the 49ers, even the seasons when they were highly successful (winning 11 or more games, NFC West titles, NFC Championships, and Super Bowls). I bet historical 49ers fans would love to read this book especially the Walsh chapters. Glauber really did his research on Walsh from a psychological standpoint with his own grown-man analysis of Walsh, with interviews from people who knew him like his son Craig, former players, and more. To me one of the best parts of this book was Glauber's psychological analysis of Walsh. You'll see what I mean when you read page 164 as there were two paragraphs on that page that will make you look at Walsh and the 1980s 49ers in a different way than you ever did. Like I said before, Glauber put some interesting quotes in this book that really made you think hard or deep about the teams that Walsh, Gibbs, and Parcells coached. Like on page 182 where Glauber included a quote from 1985 where former Dallas Cowboys safety Dexter Clinkscales said this, "The myth is that Phil Simms is a great quarterback, which he isn't." He continues. "He has no special gifts like Joe Montana, Dan Marino, or even Joe Theismann." I was just a toddler in 1985 but through decades of watching NFL football, I know darn well that Clinkscales was right. Phil Simms was a good quarterback for the Giants in the 1980s and part of the 1990s, I mean the man won a Super Bowl MVP in 1986 (Super Bowl XXI), but he was not anywhere near a great quarterback even in his prime. Giants defenses which included the incomparable Lawrence Taylor and sufficient offensive talent around Simms in the 1980s and early 1990s helped him reach heights that NFL quarterbacks dream of. Meanwhile, pages 192 to 193 had quotes and writing by Glauber that gave you a darn good lead up to the Giants' great 1986 season. Read those two pages and you'll see what I mean. Another example of good writing by Glauber took place on pages 225 and near the halfway point of page 226, where he explained the contradictions of Walsh as a coach and human being. I beg you to read those pages because it will really help you understand what time it was with Walsh from 1981 to 1988. Glauber closed the book with a chapter about Gibbs called Something Had to Give. That chapter was one of the chapters in this book that stood out to me. With all the success that Gibbs achieved in the 1980s it came with a price, and Glauber made sure you knew what those prices were in that closing chapter. I implore any historical Washington Redskins (I know what their current mascot is thank you) fan to read that chapter. Pros of 𝙂𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨: The analysis of how Walsh, Gibbs, and Parcells rose from the ashes to the mountaintop of the 1980s NFL was well documented in this book. Glauber made you feel the pain that Gibbs felt when he went 0-5 in the first five games of his debut season in 1981. The author made you feel the pain of Walsh getting passed over for that Bengals head coaching job in the 1970s. He made you feel the pain of that 1983 season that nearly got Parcells fired. This book was more than a chronicling of three great head coaches; it was also a psychological study of how hard it is to achieve consistent success in the NFL. The NFL is a grind no matter what decade you're in, and Glauber made you understand that through his writing style in this book. Cons of 𝙂𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨: I wish Glauber would have included how Gibbs dealt with defensive end Dexter Manley and running back Timmy Smith's successes and declines because that would have made for some interesting reading. Those players were barely mentioned in this book. Maybe those two's drug and money spending problems didn't fit the narrative for this book in Glauber's eyes. In closing, Glauber covered the NFL in the 1980s and 1990s and he was smart enough to write a book about what he saw in those years he covered the league with 𝙂𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨. The book was informative, had a psychological spin to it, and more. You can't come away from this book and not appreciate what Walsh, Gibbs, and Parcells went through to get to the top of their profession. I would recommend this book to any historical NFL fan who wants to know about how the book's subjects got to the top in the 1980s.