George Allen

A Football Life

Michael Richman, Dick Vermeil

$86.50

Hardback

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English

University of Nebraska Press
30 November 2023

Biography: sport; Sports training & coaching; American football

George Allen was a fascinating and eccentric figure in the world of football coaching. His remarkable career spanned six decades, from the late 1940s until his sudden death in 1990 at the age of seventy-three. Although he never won a Super Bowl, he never had a losing season as an NFL head coach and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

In George Allen: A Football Life, Mike Richman captures the life and accomplishments of one of the most successful NFL coaches of all time and one of the greatest innovators in the game. A player's coach, Allen was a tremendous motivator and game strategist, as well as a defensive mastermind, and is credited with making special teams a critical focus in an era in which they were an afterthought. He had a keen eye for talent and pulled off masterful trades, often for veteran players who were viewed to be past their prime, who then had great seasons and made his teams much better.

In addition to his coaching feats, Allen had an idiosyncratic and controversial personality. His life revolved around football 24-7. One of his quirks was to minimize chewing time by consuming soft foods, giving himself more time to prepare for games and study opponents. He lived and breathed football; he compared losing to death. Allen had contentious relationships with the owners of the two NFL teams for which he was the head coach, the Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Rams. Richman explores why he was fired by those teams and whether he was blackballed from coaching again in the NFL.

Based on detailed research and interviews with family, former players, and coaches, George Allen is the definitive biography of the football coach who lived to win, loved a good challenge, and left a lasting legacy on pro football history.

By: Michael Richman
Foreword by: Dick Vermeil
Imprint: University of Nebraska Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9780803249684
ISBN 10: 0803249683
Pages: 624
Publication Date: 30 November 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of Illustrations Foreword by Dick Vermeil Preface Prologue: Driven to Succeed 1. Humble Beginnings 2. The Roots of His Genius 3. From America’s Heartland to Southern California 4. At the Car Wash 5. Doing It George’s Way 6. “Allen Never Should Have Left” 7. Erasing a “Country Club” Image 8. An Addiction to Winning 9. “Merry Christmas, You’re Fired” 10. A Bear and a Moose 11. Mr. Allen Goes to Washington 12. Waking a Sleeping Giant 13. His Crowning Moment 14. Cruising with George Allen 15. “Two Major Egos Clashing” 16. The Fourth Estate 17. Motivation—George Allen Style 18. “He’s All They Have” 19. The Beginning of the End 20. “Someone Has Cut Out My Heart” 21. Uncharted Waters 22. A New League Comes Calling 23. “Are You Kidding?” 24. An “Almost Impossible” Task Epilogue: The Ultimate Honor Acknowledgments Appendix A: All-Time Coaching Record Appendix B: Coaching Tree Notes Bibliography Index

Mike Richman is an author and journalist who has covered sports for more than twenty-five years. He is the author of Washington Redskins Football Vault: The History of a Proud Franchise; The Redskins Encyclopedia; and Joe Gibbs: An Enduring Legacy. Dick Vermeil was an NFL head coach for three teams across fifteen seasons and led the Rams to their first Super Bowl win. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.

Reviews for George Allen: A Football Life

“Every chapter reveals intriguing, motivational stories about the spirit of the innovative maverick George Allen. Mike Richman provides fresh, inspirational perspectives giving readers meaningful life lessons and understanding of why for indefatigably driven George Allen—the future is always now!”—George Felix Allen, son of coach George Allen and former governor of Virginia and U.S. senator “In his exhaustive biography, Mike Richman captures the life of the ultimate Cold War coach from football’s golden age, George Allen. This is the story of a man both consumed and capable, a big winner who could only be defeated by his own flaws.”—Jack Gilden, author of Collision of Wills: Johnny Unitas, Don Shula, and the Rise of the Modern NFL “We set out to do a thirty-minute documentary on George Allen. We realized thirty minutes wasn’t enough, so we expanded it to an hour. But you need a book to tell Allen’s story. Mike Richman has written a great one.”—Ray Didinger, senior producer, NFL Films