Pat Williams and Tommy Ford. Charleston, S.C.: Advantage Media Group, 2011. 204 pp. (Paperback).
Basketball executive and motivational speaker Pat Williams teamed up with Tommy Ford, director of donor programs for the University of Alabama Athletic Department, to provide an anecdotal review of the legendary coach’s leadership style. From more than 200 interviews with Bryant’s former players and assistant coaches, Williams and Ford highlight how Bryant implemented seven key principles of leadership to become the winningest coach in college football in his day.
Learning how Bryant used the seven leadership principles makes reading the book worthwhile. Reading the stories and recollections from former players and coaches makes the experience enjoyable. Some people may even be surprised that Bryant urged his players to get their priorities right — religion, family, education and then football — or how, after an embarrassing loss, he greeted them on the football field by singing “Jesus Loves Me.”
The book has so many personal observations about Bryant it may take more than a single reading to digest them all.
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