Tom Landry and Bill Walsh

Book excerpt: The shotgun formation. The West Coast Offense. The 4-3 defense. We expect to see these things when we watch football, but without Tom Landry and Bill Walsh, it's possible we wouldn't see any of that. This is the story of how two independent thinkers molded football in general -- and championship football in particular. And they didn't just change the sport's Xs and Os; they changed its style. The story of their combined influence is unusual because neither man's ideas seriously affected the other's. This story also is the tale of many football greats: Joe Montana, Roger Staubach, Jerry Rice, Tony Dorsett, Ronnie Lott, Bob Lilly, Roger Craig, Ed "Too Tall" Jones and numerous others. What's more, the story of these coaches is one of great opponents: Dan Marino, Fran Tarkenton, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, Mike Ditka and Lawrence Taylor, to name a few. Most of all, this is the story of two icons: Landry, the cerebral, stoic, impeccably-dressed engineer, and Walsh, the creative, professorial, somewhat sensitive artiste. Their greatest moments rank among football's seminal moments. Fittingly, each coach's most famous play was a pass. For Landry, it was the Hail Mary that beat the Vikings in the 1975 playoffs. And for Walsh, it was, of course, The Catch, which came at the expense of the Landry Cowboys. These stories and many others comprise the larger narrative of how these men shaped the game we see today. PRAISE FOR TOM LANDRY AND BILL WALSH FROM GADY EPSTEIN, STAFF WRITER, THE ECONOMIST... Lawson "knows more about those two coaches and their teams than any sane human being does (or should)...trust me when I say John is an entertaining writer...Buy the book!" PRAISE FOR TOM LANDRY AND BILL WALSH FROM CHARLES GAY, DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION..."TOM LANDRY AND BILL WALSH is a feast for serious NFL fans, tracing the game's dramatic evolution in a deeply intelligent and analytical style. Lawson layers his story with context and detail while never losing sight of the broader theme: innovation. The book manages to do all that while being a damned enjoyable read. If you love pro football, TOM LANDRY AND BILL WALSH is a must for your reading list."