Books
"A" List
Finding the Winning Edge by Bill Walsh (It goes beyond X's and O's to how to implement a system of football in the most efficient and effective manner. Bill Belichick said this, "Saying it was outstanding wouldn't do it justice. For a coach, it's a Bible."
How Good Do You Want to Be? by Nick Saban (I am a Miami Dolphins fan and I can honestly say that this is one of the best football books ever written.)
Faith in the Game by Tom Osborne (This book talks about the impact a coach can have on young people, and it helped me to decide to become a coach.)
Coaching Team Defense by Fritz Shurmur (This book is awesome. A must read for all coaches.)
Nike Coach of the Year Clinic Manuals (These are a great source of information on a variety of subjects, although I haven't liked the ones from the last two years as much as the ones from 2001-2005.)
The Quick Passing Game (Vol. 1-3) and The Bunch Attack by Andrew Coverdale (Coach Coverdale does a super job explaining concepts and how to attack defenses.)
Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy (He talks about what it means to be a Christian coach.)
Think Like a Champion by Mike Shanahan (This was a really great book.)
Bringing Out the Best in Others by Thomas K. Connellan (Not a football book, it talks about how to motivate people to succeed.)
The Bible (I don't read this one enough, especially during football season. My favorite books in the Bible are probably James and Daniel. If reading the Bible for the first time, start off with John.)
"B" List
Developing an Offensive Game Plan by Brian Billick (Great job of explaining how to not only set up your game call sheet, and coordinating it with your practice schedule.)
Leading with the Heart by Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K does a great job communicating with his players.)
Winning the NFL Way by Bob LaMonte (This book is another look at the motivational and leadership tactics of some of today's NFL coaches.)
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni (This is not a football book, but I liked the section on Accountability.)
Wooden by John Wooden (Coach Wooden may be the best coach ever, in any sport. He has some other books that I need to read and put on this list. His Success Pyramid is something you need to check out.)
Coaching Matters by Brad Adler (This book looks at ten great NFL coaches and how they motivate and communicate with their players.)
The Gamemakers by Jack Clary (This is an older book that looks at how some of the older coaches motivated and communicated with their players.)
Patriot Reign by Michael Holley (Here is my favorite part of this book, expletives are excluded. It is the year after the Patriots upset the Rams for their first Super Bowl win, and the Pats are struggling:
"I've seen a couple comments here, some of the players talking about how we need to get our 'swagger' back. You know what? We didn't have a 'swagger' last year. If you think about it, we didn't have a swagger. What we had was a sense of urgency, a sense of urgency about playing well, being smart, and capitalizing on every opportunity and situation...It wasn't about a swagger. You can take that swagger and shove it, okay?")
"C" List
Everyone's a Coach by Ken Blanchard and Don Shula
Winning the Mental Way by Karlene Sugarman
For God and Country by Fisher DeBerry (I didn't like this book at first, but I really liked it the second time I read it.)
Racing to Win by Joe Gibbs
The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam (A look at how Bill Belichick became a coach and the influence of his father, who was the premier scout in all of football.)
One Yard Short by Les Steckel
Turning the Thing Around by Jimmy Johnson ( JJ was a master of psychological tactics.)
Do You Love Football? by Jon Gruden (Why can't I get by on only two hours of sleep a night?)
The Leadership Game by Tom Mullens (A look at the leadership methods of recent collegiate national champion football coaches.)
Coaching Football Successfully by Allen Trimble (Coach Trimble is from Jenks H.S., and while I usually don't like these type of comprehensive books, this one was good.)
Coaching Football's 4-3 Defense by Tim Simons (Pretty good look at defending different types of Offenses that you see at the high school level. It is the best book on the 4-3 that I have seen so far.)
Coaching Football's 46 Defense by Rex Ryan (I'm not a 46 guy, but this book has a great section on defending the Option.)