4th and Goal Every Day: Alabama's Relentless Pursuit of Perfection

by Phil Savage, Ray Glier

Overview

Alabama has won 5 national titles in 9 seasons. Fans want to know, “How does Alabama do it?”

With a Preface by Alabama Football Coach Nick Saban and a Foreword by ESPN's College Gameday Host Rece Davis.

Phil Savage first worked with Nick Saban when they both joined the Cleveland Browns’ coaching staff in 1991. They were reunited in 2009 when Savage became part of the Crimson Tide Sports Network as the radio color analyst. Since then, Savage has enjoyed an up-close view of the Alabama program’s dedication to recruiting, its commitment to practice, and devotion to fundamentals.

Now comes his 360-degree perspective on Alabama football and Coach Nick Saban’s unique coaching style, a style that has led the Crimson Tide to five Southeastern Conference titles, three consecutive College Football Playoff appearances and four national championships.

Savage details Coach Saban’s year-round preparation, his willingness to adjust and his belief in “complimentary football.” The book offers a close look at their player development and practice habits and gives a glimpse of the Crimson Tide’s approach of playing every single down like it’s 4th and goal.

You won’t find another person who can intelligently discuss Alabama football in public better than Phil Savage. Together with Ray Glier, this in-depth story chronicles how the Crimson Tide re-emerged as one of the true superpowers in college football.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250178183
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Publication date:	08/28/2018
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	110,866
Product dimensions:	5.38(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

PHIL SAVAGE is the executive director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl and is the former GM of the Cleveland Browns. He served as a Front Office Insider for ESPN and is currently an analyst for SiriusXM’s College Sports Nation and NFL channels. RAY GLIER is a journalist who contributes to USA TODAY and The New York Times, among other publications. He has worked on books with top college football coaches and is the author of How the SEC Became Goliath.

Table of Contents

Preface by Nick Saban

Foreword by Rece Davis

Introduction: My Close-Up of 4th and Goal

1. America’s Team Seeds a Dynasty: The Cowboys and the Crimson Tide

2. The Prescription: The Alabama Recruiting Formula

3. Development: 4th and Goal on the Practice Field

4. Practice: “We Played This Game . . . Already”

5. Optic Yellow Goalposts: Football Plays Big in Alabama

6. Training the Eyes: From the Rat, to Homer, to Bill and Nick

7. A Tilt Toward the Tigers: . . . and Then a Turnaround

8. The Full Toolbox: Saban Has All the Devices and Gadgets to Win

9. Evolution of a Defense: Hardball to Fastball to Moneyball Alabama Joins the Modern Game: Julio Leads a Parade of Receivers into T-Town

11. My Eyes to Your Ears: In the Philm Room for Nick Saban

12. A Perfect Marriage: Nick Saban and Alabama Connect

Epilogue

Select Scouting Reports

Editorial Reviews

"I am positive that this book will give football fans everywhere a unique perspective on our program, but even more, a true picture of what makes Alabama football so special." — from the Preface by Coach Nick Saban

"When I heard the title, 4th and Goal Every Day, my reaction was, 'that's perfect'. Phil Savage captures the very essence of what Nick Saban has built in Tuscaloosa, an incredibly complete football program." —Bill Belichick, Five-Time Super Bowl Champion Coach

"No one can give more unique insight into how Saban has turned this from mantra to methodology than Phil Savage. Not only has Phil had a front-row ticket, he’s had a backstage pass to the dynasty. His relationship with Saban, his knowledge of the game and ability to communicate, are evident in his work on the Crimson Tide radio network and in his work with us at ESPN." —from the Foreword by Rece Davis

"Because he has worked as both a coach and in personnel, [Savage] is equally adept at switching among tactics, strategy on the field, and player evaluation. He effectively conveys the complexities of football for an audience of football junkies and casual fans alike. Fans of college football generally and Alabama in particular will especially value the book." —Kirkus Reviews

"Loaded with roster lists and stats that Alabama fans will devour..." —Publishers Weekly

"Along with veteran sportswriter Ray Glier, Savage provides a unique perspective about the coach that serious Crimson Tide fans will enjoy." —SEC Country

"Savage puts forth dozens of other anecdotes, insights and opinions that fans are sure to eat up regarding Alabama football and Saban's success in Tuscaloosa over the last decade." —AL.com

"A distinctly original approach to understanding not only Saban’s Crimson Tide team but Belichick’s coaching mind-set as well." —Library Journal, a top 10 football title for summer/fall 2017

"This book is one that every Crimson Tide fan will want to read..." —The Guy Who Reviews Sports Books blog

From the Publisher

07/17/2017
Between 2008 and 2016, University of Alabama’s Nick Saban—one of college football’s winningest coaches—led his team to four national championships. This “textbook on Saban’s way of doing business at Alabama”—when recruiting, for example, he looks for players with the “bubble,” a large rear end that allows for more powerful tackling and blocking—focuses on Alabama’s evolution from a team that had had four coaches in five years before Saban arrived. Savage practically canonizes Saban. Savage was general manager of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns when Saban was that team’s defensive coordinator and is now an analyst for the Crimson Tide Radio Network, working with Saban on a regular basis and emailing the coach scouting reports on upcoming opponents (a role Savage mentions repeatedly). Savage, writing with Glier (How the SEC Became Goliath), tells the story from an insider’s perspective, including details on the recruiting process, skills development, practice sessions, and notable coaching decisions—including the living room chats where Saban encourages prospects to “make a 40-year decision, not a four-year decision,” to the backstory of the Tide’s famous onside kick against Clemson in the 2015 National Championship Game. Although loaded with roster lists and stats that Alabaman fans will devour, the book at times veers toward a catalogue of Savage’s own accomplishments. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

08/01/2017
Savage, an announcer for the University of Alabama's radio broadcasts, has known coach Nick Saban for over 25 years, since first working under Saban and Bill Belichick with the Cleveland Browns in 1991 and eventually serving as general manager of the Browns before returning to his native Alabama in 2009 to join the Crimson Tide Sports Network. In this volume, written with journalist Glier, Savage primarily details how Saban leads the top-ranked Crimson Tide team, also reflecting on Belichick's similar success with the New England Patriots in Boston. The apt title evokes the unrelenting pressure that both men bring to bear in the operation of their players. In separate chapters, the authors focus on personnel evaluation, recruiting, the importance of practice, teaching and coaching, the evolution of defensive style and defenders' body types, the opening of the offensive attack, and Saban's connection to his players and the state of Alabama at large. Since this is also a memoir of Savage's lengthy career, he offers film study tips and some of his own scouting reports that he delivers to Saban weekly. VERDICT A distinctly original approach to understanding not only Saban's Crimson Tide team but Belichick's coaching mind-set as well.

Library Journal

2017-05-28
A football lifer gives insight into how the Alabama Crimson Tide continue to be the most dominant force in college football.Savage has had a long career in football, serving in nearly every capacity in the sport. A small college quarterback, he has served as an assistant coach and scout in both college and professional football. He was the general manager of the Cleveland Browns and is now a radio color analyst for the Crimson Tide Sports Network. In several of these capacities, he has worked with or for Nick Saban, the Alabama head coach who has won five national championships—four of those since arriving in Tuscaloosa in 2007. Thus Savage has had a front-seat view of Saban's nearly unimaginable run of success with the Crimson Tide. Furthermore, in providing scouting reports to Saban and his staff on every opponent since he took over his radio gig, the author has contributed to Alabama's run of dominance. In this book, written with sports journalist Glier (How the SEC Became Goliath: The Making of College Football's Most Dominant Conference, 2012, etc.), Savage provides his "textbook on Saban's way of doing business at Alabama." Because he has worked as both a coach and in personnel, the author is equally adept at switching among tactics, strategy on the field, and player evaluation. He effectively conveys the complexities of football for an audience of football junkies and casual fans alike. Fans of college football generally and Alabama in particular will especially value the book. However, Savage falls short in two areas: there is a lot of repetition not only of concepts, but of pet phrases and ideas, and the author too frequently reiterates Saban's greatness as a coach and Alabama's success as a program under him (both of which are self-evident at this point). There are many good reasons why Saban's Alabama teams have won four national championships in the past decade, and Savage effectively reveals how and why.

Kirkus Reviews