Dick Vermeil: Whistle in His Mouth, Heart on His Sleeve

>>>DOWNLOAD / READ a 10-page excerpt right now!

 

In a game of enormous pressure and uncertainty, Dick Vermeil was determined to succeed as a head coach in the NFL by outworking everybody else. He would sell his players on the need to practice harder than they had ever practiced before. And he would outwork all of them by watching film until the middle of the night, then wiping his eyes clear and getting up for an 8:00 AM staff meeting. His first NFL coaching job was with a dreadful Philadelphia Eagles team. Vermeil drove his players hard and drove himself even harder, eventually taking the Eagles to their first Super Bowl in his fifth season. Two years later, overcome by a 57-day players strike and his own emotional distress, Vermeil resigned. The cause: coaching burnout, a feeling that often left Vermeil in tears and sometimes unable to leave the stadium parking lot. Yet Vermeil couldn’t shake the feeling that he wanted to coach again…and he did. This first-ever full-length biography paints an unforgettable portrait of this unique man and examines the paradox of why so many players and coaches still love the coach who earned the nickname, “the Little Dictator.”

A nice wine, a cow in the mud and a Super Bowl ring
How could a "stunning" cabernet sauvignon explain a Super Bowl winning coach as easily as a cow stuck in a mud hole? When the coach in question is Dick Vermeil, well, anything can happen. The iconic football coach who proved that there may not be crying in baseball, but it sure exists in football, who introduced the term "burnout" to football fans and helped create "The Greatest Show on Turf" has been many things in his life and in this free online excerpt from the brand new book DICK VERMEIL: WHISTLE IN HIS MOUTH, HEART ON HIS SLEEVE fans everywhere will learn the roots of Vermeil's legendary work ethic. Whether you rooted for Vermeil when he coached the Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams or Kansas City Chiefs, you won't want to miss one of the life lessons taught in DICK VERMEIL by Gordon Forbes.

Dick Vermeil Press Release

"I can say unequivocally that any success I've had as a father, as a player, as a husband, and as a businessperson is directly attributable to Dick Vermeil"
- Ron Jaworski

 

Those are strong words from one of the most respected figures in the NFL today, but a common sentiment in regards to the unique and inspiring influence of a coaching legend.

 

In Dick Vermeil: Whistle in His Mouth, Heart on His Sleeve, Gordon Forbes has written the first comprehensive biography of one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. From his days as a star athlete in California, Vermeil was driven to succeed, a trait that helped him turn around the Eagles, inspired him to win his first elusive Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams, and compelled him to come out of retirement for a second time to lead the Kansas City Chiefs.

 

Dick Vermeil takes you behind-the-scenes of the life and career of a legend, including:

 

• Vermeil's rapid success with the Eagles and the reasons behind his burnout and abrupt retirement
• The years spent away from the sidelines and the influence they had on his return
• The triumphant coaching comeback that culminated with a shocking Super Bowl victory
• An inside-look at the actual Off-Season Conditioning Manual that Vermeil implemented for the 1977 Eagles

 

Dick Vermeil is an inspiring, enlightening, and often poignant look back at the life of one of the game's greatest coaches and most unforgettable characters.

 

About the Author:
Gordon Forbes was the pro football columnist at the USA Today for 20 years and has covered more than 900 games, including 39 Super Bowls, in his journalistic career. He covered the Philadelphia Eagles for 16 seasons before leaving the Philadelphia Inquirer during the middle of the 1982 NFL players' strike. In 1988, he received the prestigious Dick McCann Memorial Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his years of service and distinguished coverage of the game. He lives in Lakewood, New Jersey, with his partner, Marie, and their 11-year-old cockapoo, Morgan. This is his second book.

 

CONTACT: Josh Williams, Triumph Books, 312.252.1261, j.williams@triumphbooks.com

###