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War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team – Behind-the-Scenes with NFL Head Coaches, Scouts, and Players at the Draft and Super Bowl
In War Room, New York Times bestselling author Michael Holley gives readers an unprecedented look behind the scenes at three contending National Football League teams--from the draft room to the locker room to the sidelines--and grants access to the brilliant minds of Bill Belichick and his former proteges, Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli.
In 1991, while he was with the Cleveland Browns football organization, Belichick was struck by the Big Idea: how to build the perfect team, one draft pick and one trade at a time. This strategy obsessed him, leading him on a remarkable personal and professional journey filled with miraculous finishes, heartbreaking losses, shattered relationships . . . and ultimately three Super Bowl championships. In Massachusetts, Belichick reunited with two former office employees from the Ohio days--Pioli, a low-paid scouting assistant, and Dimitroff, a groundskeeper and part-time scout--and together they refined and burnished Belichick's method for constructing a winning team. The end result was one of the greatest franchises in modern NFL history: the New England Patriots. Packed with never-before-told anecdotes and insights from team officials, players, coaches, and scouts, War Room is a fascinating, often astonishing story of grit and genius, and the art of building a championship team.
In 1991, while he was with the Cleveland Browns football organization, Belichick was struck by the Big Idea: how to build the perfect team, one draft pick and one trade at a time. This strategy obsessed him, leading him on a remarkable personal and professional journey filled with miraculous finishes, heartbreaking losses, shattered relationships . . . and ultimately three Super Bowl championships. In Massachusetts, Belichick reunited with two former office employees from the Ohio days--Pioli, a low-paid scouting assistant, and Dimitroff, a groundskeeper and part-time scout--and together they refined and burnished Belichick's method for constructing a winning team. The end result was one of the greatest franchises in modern NFL history: the New England Patriots. Packed with never-before-told anecdotes and insights from team officials, players, coaches, and scouts, War Room is a fascinating, often astonishing story of grit and genius, and the art of building a championship team.
352 pages, Paperback
Published September 4, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
November 28, 2011
Little disappointed with this one. The writer does a great job of covering the backgrounds for Scott Pioli and Thomas Dimitroff, the Belichick lieutenants who left to build teams. But when you get past that and into their Patriot days, it's just a lot of fluff like "They were looking for the right player to play for the Patriots." Well that's fine except the reader never gets an idea of what kind of player that is, besides a humble one. Also, the writer eschews any sort of football acumen for quick dime store analysis. For instance, when talking about drafting Ryan Mallett, the author mentions that he had "top-15 talent" but a bad attitude that contributed to his drop to the 3rd round. What Holley neglects to mention is that Mallett fell in large part not because of his attitude, rather his complete lack of mobility, a serious problem for a QB in the NFL. If you're a hardcore football fan like me, get it because books like these are rare. If you're but a casual one, I'd skip it.
February 7, 2017
War Room is a very timely read as it covers the careers of Bill Belichick, Head Coach of the New England Patriots, while also highlighting the paths of Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli, Belichick disciples turned competitors as GM and Assistant GM of the Atlanta Falcons.
These two teams, the Patriots and Falcons, are set to face-off tomorrow in Super Bowl LI on Feb 5, 2017.
The early parts of the book focus heavily on Belichick, while the end of the book spends equal time on him, as well as Dimitroff and Pioli.
The meat of the book focuses on the key transition period in their careers where the Patriots went undefeated in the regular season, lost in the Super Bowl, lost their starting quarterback the following season, and saw the three of them go their separate ways.
It mimics the growth that happened in real life of Belichick's two most trusted personnel evaluators.
I'd only recommend this book to people who are true Football fans (or ideally New England Patriots fans) as it shines a bright light on the inner workings of this sport. You will only get something out of the book if you understand the intricacies of the game and league.
Here are some of my key takeaways from the book:
- Belichick understood that Football presents an ever evolving range of opponents, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Belichick built his teams like "a race care that could be modified and become adaptable to any course you asked it to run". He ignores the "false choices" of being good at one thing at the cost of another, and instead chooses to embrace being the best at whatever his opponent is worst at in a particular game or play. This extended to his scouting system, used to identify up-and-coming players, which "was built with football evolution in mind. It could be expanded or reduced to capture changes and trends in the game."
- With both players and coaches on his staff, Belichick aims in developing from within. It stunned me that most of the top coaches on Belichick's staff today had been coaching with him for over 15 years.
- Despite his gruff exterior, Belichick is known as a very caring individual. He originally got to know Pioli by letting him sleep on his couch in the coaches office in Cleveland so he didn't have to commute as much. He's known as a great listener amongst his players.
- Before coming into vogue with Ryan Holiday's writing, Belichick practiced "fear setting", often telling his fellow coaches that they will most certainly be fired in this business, and most of the time it isn't in their control. Knowing this, Belichick emphasized the focus on family
- The scouting system Belichick developed reminded me a lot of the "scorecard" method of hiring. Each position had a specific description of the outcomes they expected of the player (e.g. he must be able to win the battle in the neutral zone, he must be able to knock the offensive line back and establish a new line of scrimmage...etc.)
- Belichick is very good at ignoring the noise, believing if they built the team with "local sentiment in mind, they would be tempted to keep the team as-is". It reminds me of a common business mantras like "Don't fall in love with your own ideas." or "Don't get romantic about how you made your money"
- Like good founders, Belichick and Pioli hired people who there own worst critics.
- Robert Kraft, the CEO of the Patriots organization, operated more like a Chairman in terms of the Patriots sports team itself. He was involved enough to show he was paying attention, but not so much that it came off like he was meddling.
- Some of the most spectacular draft pick failures of the Patriots came from players with incredible athletic talent, who were not willing to put in the hard work. Chad Jackson, Laurence Maroney and more recently Jamie Collins, are examples of players who fell out of favor to do lack of effort.
- Belichick knows how to handle the emotions of his players, getting ahead of the Spygate incident by having a comedian come into address the team, allowing him to make fun of himself and all his best players. By getting ahead of the crisis, Belichick allowed his team to focus on the game at hand.
- As new players joined the Patriots, the veterans often wondered "why a group that accomplished nothing was seemingly so relaxed." This continual cultural evolution is another challenge that NFL teams face, which other business organizations might not.
- Belichick's excellence as a coach is heavily driven by the amount of deliberate practice he's put into the craft. Since the age of 23 he went straight to working in the NFL. His father was a legendary scout (he wrote a book on the topic) and as a child Belichick was studying the game of football. It is no surprise he has been to 9 Super Bowls in his career.
- Belichick also LOVES all aspects of the game, from the big picture to the finer details of watching hours of film. His love for the game gives him the drive to work hard and why "he's never complained of burnout or hinted at taking a break."
- As we are exposed to Dimitroff in the story, his personal development becomes clear as he emphasizes how he is OK to have a very different view of things than Belichick. Case in point, Belichick advised against him trading up o draft Julio Jones for the Falcons, but in hindsight it looks like a Franchise-saving trade for the organization.
- While Belichick studies a lot, he also understands that you need to eliminate excess and unecessary information, focusing only on what a player can do for your particular system.
- When the book briefly covers the approach of Todd Haley, another NFL coach at the time, it was surprising to me that it said "Haley knew that there couldn't be any in-game switching." which seems at odds with the Patriots approach to continual in-game adjustments.
- The owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, showed incredible attention to detail. When Dimitroff showed up to a golf tournament wearing the pants of a competing brand to one that Blank owned, he inquired as to why, and when he heard it was because of lack of a common size, Blank immediately called the store to have it rectified as he suspected this could be affecting other customers.
- Belichick undersells the importance of the regular season. Nothing matters if you didn't close the deal and won the Superbowl.
These two teams, the Patriots and Falcons, are set to face-off tomorrow in Super Bowl LI on Feb 5, 2017.
The early parts of the book focus heavily on Belichick, while the end of the book spends equal time on him, as well as Dimitroff and Pioli.
The meat of the book focuses on the key transition period in their careers where the Patriots went undefeated in the regular season, lost in the Super Bowl, lost their starting quarterback the following season, and saw the three of them go their separate ways.
It mimics the growth that happened in real life of Belichick's two most trusted personnel evaluators.
I'd only recommend this book to people who are true Football fans (or ideally New England Patriots fans) as it shines a bright light on the inner workings of this sport. You will only get something out of the book if you understand the intricacies of the game and league.
Here are some of my key takeaways from the book:
- Belichick understood that Football presents an ever evolving range of opponents, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Belichick built his teams like "a race care that could be modified and become adaptable to any course you asked it to run". He ignores the "false choices" of being good at one thing at the cost of another, and instead chooses to embrace being the best at whatever his opponent is worst at in a particular game or play. This extended to his scouting system, used to identify up-and-coming players, which "was built with football evolution in mind. It could be expanded or reduced to capture changes and trends in the game."
- With both players and coaches on his staff, Belichick aims in developing from within. It stunned me that most of the top coaches on Belichick's staff today had been coaching with him for over 15 years.
- Despite his gruff exterior, Belichick is known as a very caring individual. He originally got to know Pioli by letting him sleep on his couch in the coaches office in Cleveland so he didn't have to commute as much. He's known as a great listener amongst his players.
- Before coming into vogue with Ryan Holiday's writing, Belichick practiced "fear setting", often telling his fellow coaches that they will most certainly be fired in this business, and most of the time it isn't in their control. Knowing this, Belichick emphasized the focus on family
- The scouting system Belichick developed reminded me a lot of the "scorecard" method of hiring. Each position had a specific description of the outcomes they expected of the player (e.g. he must be able to win the battle in the neutral zone, he must be able to knock the offensive line back and establish a new line of scrimmage...etc.)
- Belichick is very good at ignoring the noise, believing if they built the team with "local sentiment in mind, they would be tempted to keep the team as-is". It reminds me of a common business mantras like "Don't fall in love with your own ideas." or "Don't get romantic about how you made your money"
- Like good founders, Belichick and Pioli hired people who there own worst critics.
- Robert Kraft, the CEO of the Patriots organization, operated more like a Chairman in terms of the Patriots sports team itself. He was involved enough to show he was paying attention, but not so much that it came off like he was meddling.
- Some of the most spectacular draft pick failures of the Patriots came from players with incredible athletic talent, who were not willing to put in the hard work. Chad Jackson, Laurence Maroney and more recently Jamie Collins, are examples of players who fell out of favor to do lack of effort.
- Belichick knows how to handle the emotions of his players, getting ahead of the Spygate incident by having a comedian come into address the team, allowing him to make fun of himself and all his best players. By getting ahead of the crisis, Belichick allowed his team to focus on the game at hand.
- As new players joined the Patriots, the veterans often wondered "why a group that accomplished nothing was seemingly so relaxed." This continual cultural evolution is another challenge that NFL teams face, which other business organizations might not.
- Belichick's excellence as a coach is heavily driven by the amount of deliberate practice he's put into the craft. Since the age of 23 he went straight to working in the NFL. His father was a legendary scout (he wrote a book on the topic) and as a child Belichick was studying the game of football. It is no surprise he has been to 9 Super Bowls in his career.
- Belichick also LOVES all aspects of the game, from the big picture to the finer details of watching hours of film. His love for the game gives him the drive to work hard and why "he's never complained of burnout or hinted at taking a break."
- As we are exposed to Dimitroff in the story, his personal development becomes clear as he emphasizes how he is OK to have a very different view of things than Belichick. Case in point, Belichick advised against him trading up o draft Julio Jones for the Falcons, but in hindsight it looks like a Franchise-saving trade for the organization.
- While Belichick studies a lot, he also understands that you need to eliminate excess and unecessary information, focusing only on what a player can do for your particular system.
- When the book briefly covers the approach of Todd Haley, another NFL coach at the time, it was surprising to me that it said "Haley knew that there couldn't be any in-game switching." which seems at odds with the Patriots approach to continual in-game adjustments.
- The owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, showed incredible attention to detail. When Dimitroff showed up to a golf tournament wearing the pants of a competing brand to one that Blank owned, he inquired as to why, and when he heard it was because of lack of a common size, Blank immediately called the store to have it rectified as he suspected this could be affecting other customers.
- Belichick undersells the importance of the regular season. Nothing matters if you didn't close the deal and won the Superbowl.
September 20, 2024
To be honest at first I thought this book was simply about the New England Patriots and especially Bill Belicheck. While this was mostly the case it did surprise me a lot that they also ended up focusing on other executives that worked closely with Bellicheck and even continued to focus on them after the Patriots. I found this to be very refreshing because I was worried it would only be about Patriots. Also, it was very interesting following this book and about speculation of players especially because now I know how those players and teams would turn out. For example, the 2011 draft when the book was just being published they talk heavily about a massive trade for Julio Jones which obviously would be a massive success for the Falcons. Then on the other side of the coin it was interesting seeing moves that would be failures such as the Chiefs drafting Jonathan Baldwin when they had talked of getting a player like Jason Kelce. However, these two never reached the ultimate goal of getting a Super Bowl for their teams after the Patriots they did certainly set good groundwork. I enjoyed that they didn’t spend too much time talking about the actual seasons and dived much more into the internal aspects. This is another reason I am happy that this book was written before some of the Patriots’ other superbowls. I would however be interested in if this book has a sequel especially expanding on Pioli and Dimitroff as well as the next three Belicheck superbowls. I wish they had spent more time with Belicheck on the Browns, but I was happy they at least had some of that. Also, there was a little bit of bias of the team, but that’s to be expected of an author that roots for the team. My favorite chapter was the War Room chapter as seems clear through my review so I wish they went into more depth with other draft classes. Other then this though this book was very detailed and interesting and I will be sure to see what else this author has written
March 12, 2022
If you want a deep and forensic look at the work that no one often sees, the front and back office of sports, this book is for you. Holley goes into long, winding explanations of just how business gets done in the NFL, including narrating through various picks of a given draft with the characters he has chosen to follow in this book.
I wanted to learn more about Belichick and his methods in this book, and I did, but it also gave me insight into the other people that helped Belichick get the success he has obtained.
I wanted to learn more about Belichick and his methods in this book, and I did, but it also gave me insight into the other people that helped Belichick get the success he has obtained.
May 23, 2017
This is a good read for any football fan, and a must read for any New England Patriots fan. I enjoyed it a lot but really wish it had been better written. Two of my favorite books about sports are David Halberstam's A Sense of Where You Are and David Remnick's King of the World and I wanted War Room to be as good as they are, which it wasn't.
February 18, 2019
I think you have to be a big Patriots or NFL draft fan for this one and probably both to enjoy it.
August 5, 2014
The quote on the back says "The story moves along like a two-minute drill", which at times can be true, is mostly an exaggeration by the reviewer. I decided to pick up War Room after reading and thoroughly enjoying Patriot Reign also by Michael Holley. Although War Room provided insight to the behind the scenes of the NFL much like Patriot Reign did, it lacked the excitement and interest of its predecessor. I bought War Room on the intention that it served as a sequel to Patriot Reign, as I am a big Pats fan, and while the first third or so of the book covers the Patriots and Bill Belichick, much of the information is rehashed from Patriot Reign, but with the perspective of Belichick and his colleagues Scott Pioli and Thomas Dimitroff as team executives. The bulk of the book is about Pioli and Dimitroff and their careers including the early days, time with the Patriots and their respective tenures with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Falcons. At times the book can offer interesting perspective on why a certain player was drafted, or how they developed a successful system for scouting players. But often information will be recycled from previous chapters and feel a little stale. This is a book that you read over the course of a few months, as it is often easy to lose focus due to its somewhat dry nature. If you are a Patriots fan, I highly recommend you read Patriot Reign instead. But if you want to know more about the men who aren't talked about as much when it comes to New England's success as a franchise, I'd say that it's worth giving a shot. Just keep in mind that this book encompasses the Atlanta Falcons as well as the Kansas City Chiefs, so it's not just for Pats fans.
April 24, 2013
so, listen. i came into this book thinking that it would be about bill belichick and the new england patriots/cleveland browns. NOT TRUE!
this book is more about he relationship that scott pioli and thomas dimitroff have with each other and the way that they - respectively - run the kansas city chiefs and atlanta falcons.
which would be okay, but i am coming into this late and scott pioli doesnt run the chiefs anymore and i dont really care about the falcons. i wanted to read a book about the patriots, but bill belichick doesnt really "do" the media, so the next best thing includes these two.
i found myself skimming and skipping over chapters where i only saw "pioli" or "falcons".
the first quarter of the book is a good read. except one part, and this is where the book's likeability started to wane, the final game of the 2007 season. the author was talking about records and history and about how randy moss and tom brady could both SET records with one touchdown pass/reception. except that wasnt true. they could only TIE records with one, they needed two each to break the records.
it was a small oversight, but one that betrayed the fact that this book is less about the patriots and more about pioli/dimitroff.
this book is more about he relationship that scott pioli and thomas dimitroff have with each other and the way that they - respectively - run the kansas city chiefs and atlanta falcons.
which would be okay, but i am coming into this late and scott pioli doesnt run the chiefs anymore and i dont really care about the falcons. i wanted to read a book about the patriots, but bill belichick doesnt really "do" the media, so the next best thing includes these two.
i found myself skimming and skipping over chapters where i only saw "pioli" or "falcons".
the first quarter of the book is a good read. except one part, and this is where the book's likeability started to wane, the final game of the 2007 season. the author was talking about records and history and about how randy moss and tom brady could both SET records with one touchdown pass/reception. except that wasnt true. they could only TIE records with one, they needed two each to break the records.
it was a small oversight, but one that betrayed the fact that this book is less about the patriots and more about pioli/dimitroff.
March 6, 2012
I've seen a great deal of mixed reviews for this book, mainly because readers seem frustrated that it followers the exploits of Patriots Executives as they move on to pastures new. I personally think this adds a great deal to the story the author is trying to tell and that is the blue print of Belichick football from many different perspectives. I think the book succeeds on all levels and adds a great to the understanding of the role that many back office people play in the success of the team. Michael Holley manages to bring depth to the many people he covers in the book which only makes the read more enjoyable. This was one of those books that I was sad to finish!
March 11, 2014
If you're a sports enthusiast who is into the technicalities and strategies surrounding the NFL draft, you'll like this book. While I am into sports, I am not into that part. But I loved this book nonetheless.
I appreciate Bill Belichick's ability to build a team around the current team's existing culture. Not only was this effective, it was influential to the book's other two main characters, Scott Pioli and Tom Dimitroff.
There are many lessons in this book that transcend sports. Most apply to Any Business USA. Read the book and think about yourself building a team at your place of business. It works!
I appreciate Bill Belichick's ability to build a team around the current team's existing culture. Not only was this effective, it was influential to the book's other two main characters, Scott Pioli and Tom Dimitroff.
There are many lessons in this book that transcend sports. Most apply to Any Business USA. Read the book and think about yourself building a team at your place of business. It works!
January 16, 2016
The book is mainly about Scott Pioli and Thomas Dimitroff's relationship (two of Belichick's major assistants from the early days of winning super bowls). As a Patriots fan, I didn't mind because I enjoy football and the nuances of building a team. If you're looking for a puff piece about the Patriots, this is not the book for you, but it's still enjoyable for any NFL fan who wants to go beyond just Sunday football in the Fall.
April 27, 2015
The book does provide some awesome inside info and conversations. The Randy Moss and Bill Belichick parts in particular come to mind as invaluable. When Holley focuses on the Pats side of things - and the NFL draft - the book is great. When talking about Dimitroff, Pioli, and whatever random NFL guy the book is "meh". Better for fans of football in general than specifically New England fans.
November 9, 2014
Thought this was a fantastic insight into a NFL draft room and the organisation as a whole. Recommend this for any NFL fan and any business person looking for another way of seeing/running operations.
March 28, 2015
If your looking for an in depth how they do what they do. it's not the book for you. If your interested in the men who are in that draft room. It paints a good picture of the three men's relationships and how they changed how players are evaluated
February 9, 2016
Good book detailing the genius of Bill Belichick and the way he went about building the Patriots dynasty.
August 17, 2020
Was less about Belichik than expected but it gave a good view of success in the NFL.
July 1, 2020
War Room by Michael Holley is the look into how Bill Belichick, and his team of talent evaluators built the New England Patriots into perennial Super Bowl contenders. Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, and Thomas Demitroff all worked for the patriots in 2001 when Belichick took over as head coach and a fateful play against the New York Jets forced backup quarterback Tom Brady into the game and starting a dynasty that led the patriots to 18 out of the next 19 AFC East Championships and 6 Super Bowl Championships. Pioli was the de-facto General Manager of the Patriots and Demitroff the Director of College Scouting. The team of them developed a new way of evaluating and discussing future NFL prospects, centering on the specifics of how they will help the Patriots. Several years letter, Demitroff and Pioli became the GMs of the Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively. They developed similar systems of scouting and evaluation and quickly began turning regular basement dwelling teams into regular playoff contenders.
War Room was first published in October of 2011, so there is quite a bit of the story that Holley never knew by the time I read the book. The narrative ends with a dive into the 2011 NFL Draft experience for all three teams and executives. Since then, the Patriots, lost the 2011 Super Bowl (once again to the Giants) but made the Super Bowl a total of 5 times (2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018) and won 3 of them. Tom Brady has still thrived at 40 years old, began to decline in 2019 and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019. Since 2019 the Patriots, led by Belichick, have been the absolute model of success in the NFL. Scott Pioli’s experience in Kansas City was a bit of the opposite. After a 7-9 season in 2011 in which the missed the playoffs and Pioli fired head coach Todd Haley, the Chiefs fell apart under head coach Romeo Crenel in 2012 and went 2-14, securing the worst record in the league and the #1 overall pick. Pioli was fired and joined his close friend Demitroff in Atlanta as Assistant GM. The downfall may have, in part, been due to Pioli’s dedication to a tight fisted conservative mind set that valued secrecy so much that he covered all windows and allegedly had players and coaches cell phones investigated. Additionally, in the middle of that season, linebacker Javon Belcher arrived at the team facility after murdering his girlfriend and shot himself in the head while talking to Pioli and Crenel. Meanwhile, the Chiefs found success under Head Coach Andy Reid and won the 2019 Super Bowl. Finally getting that parade to Union Station that Pioli predicted years earlier.
Thomas Demitroff’s Atlanta Falcons however, followed a bit of a median path between the superstar Patriots and Pioli’s downtrodden Chiefs. The Falcons reached the playoffs 3 times (2012, 2016, 2017) including a Super Bowl appearance in 2016 against Belichick and the Patriots, which became one of the most unbelievable come from behind Super Bowl victories (by the Patriots) in Super Bowl history. Demitroff is still the GM of the Falcons, Pioli has moved on to a career in television, and the team is always in contention in a difficult NFC South division that now includes former Patriot great Tom Brady. It will be interesting to see how the Falcons continue to preform, and how Demitroff handles the twilight and eventual replacing of Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Ryan.
Personally, reading this book, it’s easy to think about how far off the Jets are from the success of the Falcons, let alone the Patriots. The Belichick-ian system revolves around everyone being on the same page, head coach, assistants, GM, scouts, etc. The Jets have never shown that cohesion. Hopefully that element may be beginning to change with new GM Joe Douglas, he seems to have a stricter plan and the agreement of his football side personnel. However, the other similarity I have noticed between the Patriots, Falcons and even the Chiefs, is the quality of ownership. Patriot owner Robert Kraft gives Belichick absolute control and free reign to make any decisions he finds prudent to lead the Patriots toward more victories. Arthur Blank of the Patriots and Clark Hunt of the Chiefs are similarly supportive of their GMs while also curbing their own involvement. Conversely, Jets’ owner Woody Johnson has regularly appeared to insert himself into football personnel decisions and his brother Chris is only marginally better at allowing GMs Douglas and Mike MacCagnan their own freedom. I’m not sure I see the success of the Falcons, Chiefs, or Patriots coming to the green and white any time soon.
War Room was first published in October of 2011, so there is quite a bit of the story that Holley never knew by the time I read the book. The narrative ends with a dive into the 2011 NFL Draft experience for all three teams and executives. Since then, the Patriots, lost the 2011 Super Bowl (once again to the Giants) but made the Super Bowl a total of 5 times (2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018) and won 3 of them. Tom Brady has still thrived at 40 years old, began to decline in 2019 and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019. Since 2019 the Patriots, led by Belichick, have been the absolute model of success in the NFL. Scott Pioli’s experience in Kansas City was a bit of the opposite. After a 7-9 season in 2011 in which the missed the playoffs and Pioli fired head coach Todd Haley, the Chiefs fell apart under head coach Romeo Crenel in 2012 and went 2-14, securing the worst record in the league and the #1 overall pick. Pioli was fired and joined his close friend Demitroff in Atlanta as Assistant GM. The downfall may have, in part, been due to Pioli’s dedication to a tight fisted conservative mind set that valued secrecy so much that he covered all windows and allegedly had players and coaches cell phones investigated. Additionally, in the middle of that season, linebacker Javon Belcher arrived at the team facility after murdering his girlfriend and shot himself in the head while talking to Pioli and Crenel. Meanwhile, the Chiefs found success under Head Coach Andy Reid and won the 2019 Super Bowl. Finally getting that parade to Union Station that Pioli predicted years earlier.
Thomas Demitroff’s Atlanta Falcons however, followed a bit of a median path between the superstar Patriots and Pioli’s downtrodden Chiefs. The Falcons reached the playoffs 3 times (2012, 2016, 2017) including a Super Bowl appearance in 2016 against Belichick and the Patriots, which became one of the most unbelievable come from behind Super Bowl victories (by the Patriots) in Super Bowl history. Demitroff is still the GM of the Falcons, Pioli has moved on to a career in television, and the team is always in contention in a difficult NFC South division that now includes former Patriot great Tom Brady. It will be interesting to see how the Falcons continue to preform, and how Demitroff handles the twilight and eventual replacing of Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Ryan.
Personally, reading this book, it’s easy to think about how far off the Jets are from the success of the Falcons, let alone the Patriots. The Belichick-ian system revolves around everyone being on the same page, head coach, assistants, GM, scouts, etc. The Jets have never shown that cohesion. Hopefully that element may be beginning to change with new GM Joe Douglas, he seems to have a stricter plan and the agreement of his football side personnel. However, the other similarity I have noticed between the Patriots, Falcons and even the Chiefs, is the quality of ownership. Patriot owner Robert Kraft gives Belichick absolute control and free reign to make any decisions he finds prudent to lead the Patriots toward more victories. Arthur Blank of the Patriots and Clark Hunt of the Chiefs are similarly supportive of their GMs while also curbing their own involvement. Conversely, Jets’ owner Woody Johnson has regularly appeared to insert himself into football personnel decisions and his brother Chris is only marginally better at allowing GMs Douglas and Mike MacCagnan their own freedom. I’m not sure I see the success of the Falcons, Chiefs, or Patriots coming to the green and white any time soon.
November 2, 2019
I'm not sure what I was expecting with this book, but I suppose given the author's background (Boston Globe, sports radio, etc) I figured it'd lean more heavily about the Patriots and how they drafted their teams. There is a decent amount of Pats in this, but it veers sharply and heavily towards the Chiefs and Falcons once Pioli and Dimitroff (respectively) depart New England. Those parts were okay, as the book is really about some of the thinking process of constructing teams, but they definitely had more content than Patriots material from that point on.
I also found that the non-to-minimal football moments, like time with family and dinners with friends, mentioned in the book to be tedious to read through. I mainly skimmed them to get to the more interesting stuff, as I felt those passages were more along the lines of Holley being with Pioli and/or Dimitroff and feeling the need to write about the experience just to fill some pages in the book. I would rather have read more about anything about draft picks, even the late round ones, or random free agent signings.
Overall, a decent book if one knows what one is about to read. Don't expect a whole lot of Patriots, but there might be enough in there to make it interesting to a reader.
I also found that the non-to-minimal football moments, like time with family and dinners with friends, mentioned in the book to be tedious to read through. I mainly skimmed them to get to the more interesting stuff, as I felt those passages were more along the lines of Holley being with Pioli and/or Dimitroff and feeling the need to write about the experience just to fill some pages in the book. I would rather have read more about anything about draft picks, even the late round ones, or random free agent signings.
Overall, a decent book if one knows what one is about to read. Don't expect a whole lot of Patriots, but there might be enough in there to make it interesting to a reader.
August 22, 2018
This is a good effort.
Provides a close look at three of the league's big decision makers: Bill Belichick, Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli.
You're getting a peek behind the scenes. About a dozen years back, for example, Bill Belichick decided to use early picks on Laurence Maroney and Chad Jackson. The scouts didn't like these guys and lobbied against them. But Belichick overruled them, giving more weight to the opinions of coaches at those schools that he trusted. This annoyed the scouts; they spent a lot of time researching these players, then Belichick didn't value their opinions properly.
There's a fair amount of this kind of stuff in the book. In multiple drafts, there's explanation of why teams traded down and other players they were considering. I like that kind of info, so the book was a good fit with me.
I don't understand how the author got these three guys, especially Belichick, to open up. Belichick is typically notoriously tight-lipped about his secrets.
For those who follow the NFL closely, it's definitely worth a look. I would not recommend to people who little interest in football.
Provides a close look at three of the league's big decision makers: Bill Belichick, Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli.
You're getting a peek behind the scenes. About a dozen years back, for example, Bill Belichick decided to use early picks on Laurence Maroney and Chad Jackson. The scouts didn't like these guys and lobbied against them. But Belichick overruled them, giving more weight to the opinions of coaches at those schools that he trusted. This annoyed the scouts; they spent a lot of time researching these players, then Belichick didn't value their opinions properly.
There's a fair amount of this kind of stuff in the book. In multiple drafts, there's explanation of why teams traded down and other players they were considering. I like that kind of info, so the book was a good fit with me.
I don't understand how the author got these three guys, especially Belichick, to open up. Belichick is typically notoriously tight-lipped about his secrets.
For those who follow the NFL closely, it's definitely worth a look. I would not recommend to people who little interest in football.
January 6, 2022
An Inside Look at Team-building in the NFL
I gave this book four stars because of its inside look at the people involved in team-building in the Patriots, Falcons, and Chief's organizations. The book gives the reader a close look at the people, the level of commitment required, and the Belichick system they attempted to deploy to win championships. As a would be writer I often wondered how the author got so much depth on what were behind the scenes events. I took a star off because I thought the book wandered a bit in the middle. Even so,, there was a point to it and the book finished strong.
If you want an inside look at what it is like to be an executive at the top inside an NFL team that is determined to win a championship this is the book. Also,the reader will get an amazing inside view of what it is like to prepare for and partipate in the NFL draft(especially the last chapters).The book ends about 2010, but the human stories are timeless.
I gave this book four stars because of its inside look at the people involved in team-building in the Patriots, Falcons, and Chief's organizations. The book gives the reader a close look at the people, the level of commitment required, and the Belichick system they attempted to deploy to win championships. As a would be writer I often wondered how the author got so much depth on what were behind the scenes events. I took a star off because I thought the book wandered a bit in the middle. Even so,, there was a point to it and the book finished strong.
If you want an inside look at what it is like to be an executive at the top inside an NFL team that is determined to win a championship this is the book. Also,the reader will get an amazing inside view of what it is like to prepare for and partipate in the NFL draft(especially the last chapters).The book ends about 2010, but the human stories are timeless.
May 3, 2019
Lost the book..read a few pages..lost it again and finally found it once more and pushed to finish to the last page. War Room didn’t give me what I wanted to read. I wanted to learn more about how Bill Belichick creates and drafts teams. I started the book thinking it was going to be about Belichick’s philosophy, how he developed a team, and his decision making process on potential players. Most of the book is about Belichick’s former lieutenants and colleagues; Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli. Each took pieces of Bilichick’s method and showed insight, but it’s second hand. Wished it focused more on Belichick’s career and methods.
July 15, 2022
I love football (or American Football to some). Although considered niche, this book is a treat and a joy for anyone who is interested in the strategic elements behind the game, in particular the drafts, the planning and depth of players, all of which are required to win the Superbowl.
This book is incredibly informative and written in a clear and engaging style which had me captured from the opening paragraph. If you love the NFL, you'll love this, but clearly if you aren't, you won't.
This book is incredibly informative and written in a clear and engaging style which had me captured from the opening paragraph. If you love the NFL, you'll love this, but clearly if you aren't, you won't.
August 12, 2019
This is a Boston Sports Journo’s Love letter to BB so don’t expect objectivity. In praise of all things Bill this book gushes and lacks authority. We are told Bill is really human because he weeps and man hugs. He is a genius and is revered. There is no balanced assessment of his unique, dominating leadership. If he has flaws you won’t learn about them here...PS Amazon refused to post this review - censorship alive and well...
February 12, 2018
I loved the behind the scenes aspect to building a team. When I read a book this is exactly what I'm looking for. I hate when they rehash games and give me info that I can read in the paper. This book gave me an in-depth view of the Patriots tree. I could have kept reading for another 300 pages. I was sorry to see it end. Great work Michael Holley!
May 11, 2018
I don't like nor dislike football. I read book just so I would be able to hold a conversation about book. Football really is war on the field and has left a lot of men seriously injured. There is a lot more to be said that has nothing to do with book. I am educated now about what goes on behind the actual game. The book was a bit boring.
May 16, 2021
You have to be a football nut to enjoy this as the level of detail makes for intense and dry reading in parts, however for a fan of the NFL and the Patriots (you don't need to be a Pats fan to enjoy this as lots of Chiefs and Falcons in the context), this made for a very interesting read, definitely more interesting than fun.
June 11, 2022
Really enjoyable book which gives an insight into the philosophy and mindset of one of the most successful coaches / GMs in NFL history - Bill Belichick and his GM tree.
The book followed 3 GMs over 6/7 seasons and dove into their reasons for draft grades / Picks and trades.
Would recommend for any NFL fan - only criticism is it is a bit of a puff piece and a touch sycophantic at stages
The book followed 3 GMs over 6/7 seasons and dove into their reasons for draft grades / Picks and trades.
Would recommend for any NFL fan - only criticism is it is a bit of a puff piece and a touch sycophantic at stages
May 11, 2025
An interesting look at the characters around the early part of the Patriots dynasty (though you can definitely tell this book is a product of its time- and it's interesting to read post Brady exit). Not quite as good as something you might read off of Grantland, but goes into great depth on the backstories and motivations of the people involved. Perfect for Pats fans, good for NFL fans.
September 13, 2017
Primer libro que leo en inglés. Como fanático de los Patriots, descubrí un nuevo mundo. Este libro te cuenta las estrategias de Draft, la valoración de los jugadores, el criterio para firmar agentes libres y la ideología detrás de las decisiones que toma Belichick.
Excelente!
Excelente!
November 27, 2022
Not bad, but not great in my opinion. Holley did a lot of research and lot of interviews for this book. It got kind of dry for me as it seemed like just a season by season recap for Patriots, Chiefs, and Falcons
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