From the best-selling author of The Painted House, Skipping Christmas, and The Firm comes a nostalgic novel about high school football in a small Texas town, a place in which football has become a religion. High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who...

"In only thirteen years as a head football coach, first at Bowling Green and then at Utah, Florida, and Ohio State, Urban Meyer has established himself as one of the elite coaches in the annals of his sport, with three national championships and a cumulative record of 142 wins and only 26 losses. But sheer statistics are not the measure of his true accomplishment, nor do they speak to his own extraordinary learning journey. Now, in Above the Line,...

"In Marjorie Herrera Lewis's debut historical novel the inspiring true story of high school teacher Tylene Wilson--a woman who surprises everyone as she breaks with tradition to become the first high school football coach in Texas--comes to life. Football is the heartbeat of Brownwood, Texas. Every Friday night for as long as assistant principal Tylene Wilson can remember, the entire town has gathered in the stands, cheering their boys on. Each September...

Reflecting on what it takes to achieve significance, the Super Bowl-winning coach shares lessons he learned from his remarkable parents, his athletic and coaching career, his mentors, and his journey with God.

Describes some of the activities involved in Coach Jackson's work as an elementary school gym teacher and a high school football coach.

Inheriting the Chicago Stars football team, trendy New Yorker Phoebe Somerville knocks heads with Coach Dan Calebow, who resents her meddling as much as she despises his sexist jocularity, until they discover an unlikely attraction for each other.

Monte Burke profiles head coach of University of Alabama's football team, Nick Saban, perhaps the most enigmatic man in the sport. Unpredictable in his professional loyalties, uncompromising in his vision, and unyielding in his pursuit of perfection, the highest-paid coach in college football has changed the face of the game. His program-building skills have delivered packed stadiums, rabid fans, hundreds of millions of dollars, legions of detractors,...

A biography of the legendary football coach covers his Italian American roots, his Jesuit training, his relationships with wife and family, and his rise to prominence