Football Done Right. Michael Lombardi.

 

Football Done Right.   Michael Lombardi.   

Setting the Record Straight on the Coaches, Players, and History of the NFL.   

Michael Lombardi has lived, enjoyed and endured a bit of a peculiar football life.    He was a college football player and long-time front office wizard serving as general manager for several NFL franchises.   Now an author of two books, including Football Done Right, he brings his vast knowledge of the game and its history to print.  Make no mistake, this is a hard-core football book.    A lot of lists included, some history lessons imposed, and a touch of personal life experiences mixed throughout the odyssey.  

The book comes across as disjointed at times.  It goes from one chapter to the next without a strong connection and then finally jumps into a list of 100 best football players, at least according to the author.       The book contains about ninety pages of chaptered content---much of it about NFL history and related topics such as the “White Oaks” of football and the authors version of top ten all-time NFL head coaches.

The book does a deep dive into the NFL’s and football’s rich history dating back to the early 19^th century.   Consequently, the book is heavy on lists such as coaches, players and even innovations.     Borrowing from the movie Shawshank Redemption and the mention of the powerful white oak trees, Lombardi includes a list of his five chief innovations to the game.     An example was fabled Army coach Red Blaik and his strategic use of the wide receiver.   Another instance reflects on how former Cleveland Browns coach developed an operating system that modernized the game today.    

Lombardi, the current GM at University of North Carolina football program, has been privileged to work with some of the greatest coaches, and owners, in the game.   This fact was certainly an advantage when writing the book and lends considerable credibility to his reporting since there are only so many NFL general managers that are publishing books these days.   His experiences and writing style are also a propitious benefit for the reader since Lombardi yields a wealth of football and player knowledge.   So, it comes as no surprise that in another chapter, Lombardi includes two of his former head coaching mentors in the list of top ten coaches of all time ---   Bill Belichick and Bill Walsh.  

Lombardi even personally ranked television announcers, detailing the most impactful draft room innovations as well as pinpointing the most important trade rationales most NFL teams deploy.    The author refers to the groundbreaking announcers such as Howard Cosell and Brent Musburger as storms.    He attributed the now extensive, exhaustive draft process by labeling key committee members and their accomplishments that would help to make today’s war room by including mostly unrecognizable names for most fans with the exception of Buddy Ryan and his ability to be a not-so-great team player.    Furthermore, another chapter explores three reasons why trades in the NFL or perhaps even in most pro sports may occur.  

We like how the author researched each player and provided an interesting nugget about the person in most cases. The author was thorough in going full cycle in his description of each of the top 100 players.   He skillfully went full cycle in each profile by tying the conclusion to the introduction.   An example was how he introduced the readers to a British champion dart thrower and connected that to the description of long time NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers.    Another example was mentioning the inventor of the electronic football game and how the figures jittered all over the platform were analogous to all-time great running back Barry Sanders running and playing style with the Detroit Lions.   So many other interesting players and descriptions populate the rest of the expansive list.       

Overall, the book of nearly three hundred pages is comprised of many lists and rankings.    The reader is certainly treated to Lombardi’s vast knowledge of football players and stories connected to the many coaches and owners he crossed paths throughout his lengthy career.     This manuscript is meant for ardent fans of the game.    It is unlikely the casual fan would appreciate the information loaded in this book as much as those that are seeking it.    We do admire the way Lombardi uses this platform to set the record straight according to his take on all possible topics.    Football done right may mean different things to a variety of readers but for football fans soaking up this kind of content it may be close enough.   

 

·       You might like to read this book if you are a football fan.

·       You might like to read this book If you enjoy reading about players and player rankings.

·       You might like to read this book If you seek to learn more about NFL history. 

 

Read more about the author on X:    https://x.com/mlombardiuncgm