War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team

Very good book about what it takes to build an NFL team. One note however. If you're looking for a book exclusively about the New England Patriots you may be a little disappointed. There's a lot in here about Bill Belichick and the Pats but the book is centered a lot on Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli and how the three of them came up with a system for drafting players and what happens when Pioli and Dimitroff leave the Patriots and go to the Falcons and Chiefs. Very interesting book but it's not like Patriot Reign. If you're a Pats fan and only what Pats stuff pick up Patriot Reign.

I didn't think I would like a book about Bill Belicheck, his NFL disciples, and the system for building winning NFL organizations that they developed. However, I found this book difficult to get away from. I'm a big fan of the NFL draft and picked this up after it was recommended by one of the many NFL Draft podcasts that I listen to. It doesn't have a lot of in depth analysis about how scouts analyze players, but it does have a lot about NFL scouts. This book does a great job detailing how things work in the "War Room" on draft day as well as how teams deal with free agents. There is also exposure, largely through the Patriots, of how team locker rooms worked and how winning football teams conducted themselves.If you are a fan of the Patriots, Falcons, and Chiefs from the past dozen years, you'll probably really like this book. I'm not a fan of those teams, and I still found it very enjoyable.

If you want some casual reading about Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli then you might like this book more than I did. With a title like War Room I was expecting and hoping for a lot more info on the draft grading process (which Holley only touches on occasionally), more of the war room dealings (which there is one good chapter on, solely on the 2010 draft), and more behind the scenes stories about the trades, picks, and conflicts, especially the stuff that coulda/shoulda been done (there's a little in this book but not enough).I guess what this book is supposed to be is the personnel that worked for Belichick who have moved on to other teams and what they have done within the last few years following the 2001-2007 teams, unfortunately, there isn't enough meat on the bone for this info hungry Pats fan.PS, a message to Holley... you have had the misfortune in timing that all 3 of your Patriot related books have come the season before a SuperBowl appearance. I would love for you to update all 3 of these books with the insight of the next season and SuperBowl appearance and also update the entire book with additional info you may have heard since.

This is a sequel, of sorts, to Patriot Reign, Holley's earlier work about Bill Belichick and the construction of the teams that won three Super Bowls in four years. The book is written to stand on its own, so there is some overlap with the earlier book, in terms of Belichick's career and history. Mostly, though, the book is about Scott Pioli and Thomas Dimitroff, as well as Belichick's years since his last Super Bowl victory.Patriot Reign's biggest weakness was the over-glorification of its subject, glossing over some of his setbacks. (The most obvious was the discussion of how he and Parcells got the Patriots to the Super Bowl against Green Bay, but not a single word about what went wrong there.) War Room is a little more willing to address some of Belichick's warts -- some poor draft picks, or some free agent signings that didn't work out, for example. Still, though, he pulls more punches than one would expect from a writer who was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. (Spygate? Really? You couldn't get us a straight answer there?)Where the book is most engrossing is in telling the stories of Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli. These are two very interesting men, who followed two completely different paths in getting their first GM jobs.Its other great strength is putting the reader in the draft room on multiple occasions. That will be a highlight for any fantasy football player -- reading about how teams are put together, the moves the GMs make and why.However, don't be misled by the title. The idea of "the legacy of Bill Belichick" wasn't so bad a year or two ago, but it's been a bad year for Bill's flock. Furthermore, "the art of building the perfect team" is, in this day of salary caps and free agency, preposterous. The most that can be said is that they have a better mousetrap. One could argue that Holley (inadvertently) makes the case that the reason their mousetrap is better has more to do with the people operating it (and people on other teams operating it badly) than the mousetrap's design itself.Regardless, the book delivers on multiple fronts, and is definitely worth the price of admission.

I picked this book on sale via BookGorilla. It's a little dated but still gives you a really great back story of Belichick's coaching background , particularly his tenure in Cleveland. As a Jet fan, I still rue the day he resigned as Jet HC and left for New England. However, I think he's not only one of the most innovative coaches in NFL history but I also love the way he builds his teams. He manages, like Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore to manage the salary cap while keeping the team well stocked with talent.I didn't realize how integral Scott Pioli was to building those great Patriot teams and how much influence he really had. Neither did I know that Belichick gave future Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff his start. While Belichick's cold blooded business side is well known - I don't think his loyalty and mentoring to his proteges is as apparent. This was a really good read. I read it over a weekend, not wanting to put it down. As I neared the end - it was with some disappointment that the story was coming to its end. I highly recommend this book.

Just finished reading this book and can say categorically that it's just about the best sports book I have read... and I've read a lot!! So insightful and informative and really opens your eyes to what goes on behind closed doors of NFL teams. Fascinating insight into how some of the best minds of the modern game work in particular in respect of the draft and free agency. I was genuinely disappointed to turn the last page.

For me, at times too technical. However that's due to the depth of my knowledge of American Football. If you have a greater knowledge, you'll LOVE this book

Quite technical, so some went over my head but it was an enjoyable way to pass an 8 plus hour flight from Boston, Mass to the centre of Hell, Heathrow Airport.

Fascinating insight into how to build a successful team. Really interesting and I would recommend it.

Excellent behind the scenes look at a very successful set of executives. Although though no magic formulas (save for hard work!) - it does lift the lid on how each individual have progressed through their careers. Good read and a must for any Moneyball or Feinstein fan.