My First Coach

From the New York Times bestselling author of Brady vs. Manning and dean of football writers – a book that explores the many interesting facets to NFL quarterbacks and their relationships with their fathers.

Tom Brady’s father is an estate planner. Jim Harbaugh’s father had a long career as a college coach. Archie Manning played fourteen years in the NFL and never made the playoffs, but his sons Peyton and Eli won a combined four Super Bowls. Joe Montana is considered by many to be the greatest quarterback of all time, but his two sons bounced around college football with limited success. Jameis Winston’s father supported his family working overnight highway construction in Alabama. Derek Carr’s father moved the family to Houston after Derek’s older brother, David, was drafted by the Texans.

My First Coach goes behind the scenes to explore the unique relationship between these and other quarterbacks and their fathers, as well as investigate various approaches to parenting through their stories. Can young athletes overcome helicopter parents? How did the kids with NFL aspirations deal with their fathers who’d already made it? What kind of pressure did they have to overcome? What kind of pressure did the father who succeeded put on his son to be an athlete? Would the expectations be lower and the results greater if the father was an attorney or doctor? Was it better for the fathers to be overbearing, or borderline disinterested?

My First Coach tells the compelling, real-life stories of some of the country’s most famous quarterbacks and how they took advantage of or overcame their relationships with their fathers.