The GM: The Inside Story of a Dream Job and the Nightmares that Go with It 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’s last—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 his acclaimed 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 the eyes of a man who has dedicated his life to football.
Fooball Ain't Easy
Monday, October 22, 2007 at 02:59PM Football is a simple game, but it ain't easy.
-George Welsh
Pg 34
Play Your Own Game
Monday, October 22, 2007 at 03:00PM As I was pulling away from Penn State, Paterno gave me a pep talk. Here I am, moving out of this tower of morality into this den of thieves, and Joe tells me, "You're swimming with the real sharks now, Ernie. If you try to play their game, you'll be eaten alive. Just be the way you are. Vince Lombardi and Art Rooney prove that you don't have to join 'em to beat 'em. And don't ever forget, these people are just as afraid of us as we are of them. They can't handle honesty and integrity, either. That's not the game they play. Play your own game, Ernie. You can be successful playing your own game."
Pg 50
There Are More Important Things Than Football, Just Not During Games
Friday, October 26, 2007 at 02:37PM Look, I realize that there are more important things in life than football. But when I played, nothing was more important to me. If a big game was coming up, nothing- not my father, who I love, not my family, not curing cancer, not world peace- meant more to me than the game. I'm sorry.
-Bernie Kosar
Pg 67
Coaching
Friday, October 26, 2007 at 02:40PM Coaching is making players do what they don't want to do so that they can become what they want to become.
-Tom Coughlin
Pg 100
Jobs
Friday, October 26, 2007 at 02:47PM Just because you want a job doesn't mean you're ready for it.
-Charlie Weis
Pg 109
Injuries
Thursday, November 8, 2007 at 12:56AM You can't talk about injuries in the NFL. It's not just that it's an insult to the backup players, it's a built-in alibi for everyone on the team. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. You just can't talk about it. You just can't think about it. You just have to keep on playing.
-Brandon Short
Pg 174