Sidelined: Overcoming Odds through Unity, Passion, and Perseverance

( 3 )

Overview

Chuck Pagano, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, has become one of the most inspiring, intriguing personalities in the game of football. Only three games into his rookie season in 2012, Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia, sidelined by the side effects chemotherapy and months of recovery.

Undeterred, Pagano didn’t let the confines of his hospital bed keep him from coaching: texts, calls, and emails kept him in constant contact with players, staff, and assistants. Motivated to ...

See more details below
Hardcover
$16.94
BN.com price
(Save 32%)$24.99 List Price
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up In Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Other sellers (Hardcover)
  • All (33) from $8.27   
  • New (22) from $11.69   
  • Used (11) from $8.27   
Sidelined: Overcoming Odds through Unity, Passion and Perseverance

Available on NOOK devices and apps  
  • NOOK Devices
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK
  • NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet
  • NOOK for iOS
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK for Windows 8
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac
  • NOOK for Web

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

NOOK Book (eBook)
$12.99
BN.com price

More About This Book

Overview

Chuck Pagano, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, has become one of the most inspiring, intriguing personalities in the game of football. Only three games into his rookie season in 2012, Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia, sidelined by the side effects chemotherapy and months of recovery.

Undeterred, Pagano didn’t let the confines of his hospital bed keep him from coaching: texts, calls, and emails kept him in constant contact with players, staff, and assistants. Motivated to be just as strong and determined as their ailing coach the team started winning game after game, compiling an impressive 11-5 record.

The players weren’t the only ones touched by Pagano’s hope and strength of character. Inspired by the tenacity and toughness of their beloved coach, a newcomer to town, thousands of fans united to form Chuckstrong, a movement that soon raised millions to help beat cancer. Pagano, fueled by his faith, his family, and his love of football, returned to lead the Colts to another winning season and the divisional playoffs in 2013.

With Pagano’s practical lessons on living, loving, and leading, Sidelined, which includes an 8-page color photo section, inspires us all to stay in the game and never accept defeat.

Read More Show Less

What People Are Saying

From the Publisher
Coaches are too often measured by wins and losses. The coaches who truly make an impact are those who do far more than just lead their teams to victories. They are concerned more about the person than the player. They inspire, motivate, and challenge their players to be the best they can be---on and off the field. Chuck Pagano is certainly that coach. His greatest victory is the positive impact he has made in the lives of his players. In Sidelined, Chuck shares his powerful story of not only battling cancer but beating it as well. Chuck is an inspiration and a true example of being a great coach and an even better person. -- Mark Brunell, , nineteen-year NFL quarterback, three-time Pro Bowl selection, ESPN analyst

Chuck Pagano epitomizes the best we all hope to learn from sports the day we sign up as kids. In a sport where the goal is to be tougher than the guy across from you, Chuck Pagano showed he was the toughest guy in any locker room in this league. Cancer definitely picked the wrong coach to pick a fight with. He’s one of the rare guys in the league who left me feeling motivated every day I thought of him. -- Jay Glazer, , senior writer for FoxSports.com and NFL Insider for NFL on Fox

Never in my thirty years covering the NFL have I seen the outpouring of feeling for one person as I did when Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia. Amazing thing is, so few people knew the man when it happened. Now, thankfully, you'll get to know Chuck Pagano and the fight he fought, and you'll be enriched because of his story. -- Peter King, , senior writer for Sports Illustrated

Throughout my many years of playing in the NFL and during my time at ESPN, I’ve have the privilege of hearing some of the most amazing stories in sports. Chuck Pagano’s journey of overcoming is one of the greatest out there. His sheer tenacity and drive are inspiring. This is a must-read. -- Ron Jaworski, , sixteen-year NFL quarteback and current ESPN analyst

I’m not sure I have ever been around someone who has such a contagious combination of fight and kindness. Chuck Pagano shares priceless lessons on how family, love, trust, and loyalty are critical components for facing life’s greatest challenges. As a mother, wife, daughter, and former athlete, I found that Sidelined touched every part of who I am. Chuck gives us hope that cancer will be cured and we can win, inspiring us to put hope into action. -- Heather Cox, , sports broadcaster

I followed Coach Pagano’s story from the day it was announced he was battling cancer. But, his story took on a whole new meaning for me once I was able to sit down and interview him. Coach Pagano is a fighter---on and off the field. Following our interview, I kept repeating the same thing: It’s impossible not to play hard when you are coached by a man like that. He truly inspires everyone he touches to fight as hard as he did. -- Erin Andrews, , sports broadcaster, journalist, and host on Fox College Football

Some people you work with, and some people you play with. Some people you are supposed to be with for a certain period of your life. Chuck is one of these for me. He is the total package. Chuck stands at all times for integrity and loyalty. I watched him go through extreme adversity, and he never once changed. I love this man and am honored to call him a friend. It is time for his testimony to be told. You will forever be changed. -- Ray Lewis, , ten-time All-Pro linebacker, MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, ESPN analyst

This would be a great read if it was just a thrill-packed, firsthand account of one the most dramatic football seasons of the past decade. It would be a great read if it was just an intimate, honest look at what it feels like to be locked inside a hospital room, literally fighting for your life. But this book manages, amazingly, to be both. You’ll marvel at Chuck’s grace and wit as he describes how he, his family, his doctors, and his team managed to beat both cancer and much of the NFL in one fell swoop. People have often asked me what it was like to be on the sidelines for many of the Colts’ magic moments during the 2012 season. I typically reply, “You just had to be there.” Now … you can. -- Rachel Nichols, , TNT sideline reporter and CNN host

The CHUCKSTRONG movement that emerged less than a year after Chuck Pagano was named head coach of the Indianapolis Colts is indicative of the positive impact he has on others. Having played in the NFL myself, I can appreciate the strong bond between players and their coach. Chuck is a perfect example of a coach who cares for his team and brings out the best in others. -- Mark Schlereth, , twelve-year NFL offensive lineman, two-time Pro Bowl selection, ESPN analyst

I couldn’t put this book down. Between the lines of Coach Pagano’s stirring account of his struggle to overcome leukemia during the Colts’ remarkable 2012 season is a humble yet compelling message that extends far beyond football and into the faith and perseverance it takes to win in life. -- Admiral James A. Winnefeld Jr., , U.S. Navy

13

14

Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780310341031
  • Publisher: Zondervan
  • Publication date: 6/24/2014
  • Pages: 224
  • Sales rank: 51810
  • Product dimensions: 5.60 (w) x 8.60 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Read an Excerpt

Sidelined

overcoming odds through unity, passion, and perseverance

By Chuck Pagano

ZONDERVAN

Copyright © 2014 Chuck Pagano
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-34103-1

CHAPTER 1

LET'S HUNT

Arriving in Indy


Dedication is not what others expect of you; it is what you can give to others. —Anonymous


The storm was over.

When training camp opened in late July 2012 in Anderson, Indiana, the oppressive heat from a summer drought scorched the Midwest, turning our practice facility into an oven. Talk about trial by fire for a rookie coach. But then two weeks into camp, a massive rainstorm blew in, powerful enough that we had to cancel our afternoon practice. Thunder echoed across the campus of Anderson University, the site of our preseason camp, as lightning crackled against angry, dark skies. High winds drove much-needed rain into the area and cooler conditions for the rest of camp.

Some of the sports media called the storm a symbol of the "winds of change" taking place within the Colts' organization. I liked the comparison because we definitely wanted to lay the foundation for a new era within our program, a season of change.

By the final day of camp in August, the hot sun returned, an appropriate omen for the battles that loomed before us. A new season was about to begin, and it was clear that no one would be satisfied with a repeat of the previous year's performance, particularly our team's owner, Jim Irsay.

Mr. Irsay knows football like the back of his hand. He was twelve years old when his father, Robert Irsay, a Chicago businessman, purchased the Baltimore Colts in 1971. As a young boy, he cleaned locker rooms, picked up towels, ran errands, and learned the business from the ground up. He received a degree in broadcast journalism in 1982 from Southern Methodist University, where he played linebacker for the Mustangs. An ankle injury ended his playing career, but he never left the game.

When he finished college, Mr. Irsay joined the Colts' organization in 1982. Two years later, at age twenty-five, he was named vice president and general manager just weeks before the Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis. He then became the team's chief operating officer after his father suffered a stroke in 1995. When his dad passed away in 1997, Mr. Irsay gained 100 percent control of the franchise. At age thirty-seven, he became the youngest team owner in the NFL.

After seeing his beloved Colts go 2 – 14 in 2011, Mr. Irsay took dramatic risks to implement a new season of winning ways. He made many personnel changes, one of which opened the way for me to be hired as head coach. In addition to betting on me to lead his team, Mr. Irsay also chose another rookie, thirty-nine-year-old Ryan Grigson, to be the team's general manager.

During his college days, Grigson played tight end and offensive tackle at Purdue. In the 1995 NFL draft, the 6-foot-5 college standout was drafted in the sixth round by the Cincinnati Bengals. He later played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and retired in 1997 due to a back injury. Ryan took a job as a pro scout for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and then worked as an assistant coach for McPherson (Kansas) College in 1998. After holding various scouting jobs in professional football, the Philadelphia Eagles hired him to be a scout in 2004, and in 2010 he was named director of player personnel, where he remained until he joined the Colts a few weeks before I arrived.

* * *

I'm well aware of the gamble Mr. Irsay took in hiring me as well. I am not what you'd call an overnight success story. In 1984, I earned my first job as a graduate assistant at the University of Southern California. Ted Tollner, my friend Bruce's father, was the Trojans' head coach and a great man to break me in. Coach Tollner inspired me to consider coaching as a career, saying, "Chuck, you keep working as hard as you can and pouring all you've got into the game of football. You've got what it takes to lead a team someday."

But I had a lot to learn. So I worked hard to break down game films, prepare scouting reports, coach the scout team, and generally assist the position coaches. As one of the four graduate assistants, I was also the team's gofer. I'd take the laundry out and pick up lunches. On Halloween I'd get pumpkins, and on Christmas I'd get Christmas trees. It was not a very glamorous job, and it involved a lot of grunt work. This is how you break into the business on the coaching side. So coaching became the way I sustained my love for football.

Before coming to Indianapolis, I had been coaching for twenty-eight years. During that time my family and I moved twelve times. After spending two years at USC, I served another year as a graduate assistant under the legendary Jimmy Johnson at the University of Miami. The following two years, I coached linebackers at Boise State — and that's where I met my wife, Tina, who was born and raised in Idaho. In 1989, I coached defensive backs at East Carolina and then spent the next two years at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). In 1992, I went back to East Carolina for three years to coach defensive backs and linebackers, and from there back to the University of Miami, where I coached defensive backs and coordinated special teams for six years under head coach Butch Davis.

My first National Football League job was with the Cleveland Browns after Butch Davis was named head coach. He hired me to coach the defensive backs, which I did from 2001 to 2004. Next, I spent two years with the Oakland Raiders coaching defensive backs. When Butch Davis was named head coach of the University of North Carolina in 2007, he chose me to be the Tar Heels' defensive coordinator for one year, and then in 2008, I was hired by the Baltimore Ravens as a defensive backs coach. In 2011, I was promoted to be the Ravens' defensive coordinator — a job I carried out during a season in which we came within seconds and a few feet of a goalpost of earning a trip to the Super Bowl.

The Ravens were 12 – 4 during the 2011 season and earned a bye going into the playoffs. Playing New England in the AFC championship game, we were down 23 – 20 late in the fourth quarter. Our quarterback, Joe Flacco, stepped back to pass and hit Lee Evans in the end zone — for the touchdown that would have sent us to the Super Bowl. The ball zipped straight into Lee's hands, but he couldn't secure the catch before a Patriots' defensive back knocked the ball away. Pass incomplete.

But we still had a chance to tie the game. Our kicker, Billy Cundiff, had made this kick 99 out of 100 times — an "automatic" boot through the uprights. But not that day. The kick sailed wide to the left. Instead of the game going into overtime, the Ravens' season ended. We would not be going to the Super Bowl as we'd all hoped and expected. We were all devastated.

* * *

The day after our loss, head coach John Harbaugh summoned me to his office. "Chuck, the Colts' general manager Ryan Grigson called me and wants to talk to you. They're doing a head coach search, and they want you to go to Indianapolis for an interview."

I was totally surprised. I didn't even know they were looking for a head coach! I still had my blinders on. Our Ravens squad had been focused on one thing and one thing only — to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. I was struck by the irony. If our receiver had held on to that ball in the end zone, or if we had made that field goal and gone on to win in overtime, I would be focused on preparing our defense for the Super Bowl and the Colts would likely have not called.

However, other circumstances prevailed, and I trusted God that they were for the best. I called Ryan, who said Mr. Irsay wanted to talk to me. Ryan had similar thoughts to my own. Right off the bat he said, "I know the loss to the Patriots stings for you and the Ravens. If Billy Cundiff had made that field goal and the Ravens had won, you'd be on your way to Indianapolis to play in the Super Bowl and this telephone conversation would not be happening."

Prior to my interview, Mr. Irsay had asked Ryan to do a background check on me. He made phone calls to several players and coaches who had worked with me over the years. In 2010, when Ryan was with the Philadelphia Eagles, they were interested in hiring me as their defensive coordinator, and by the time of the interview he had accumulated a sizable file on me. Mr. Irsay asked Ryan to sit in on the job interview, along with Pete Ward, chief operating officer and a thirty-year veteran with the organization, and Dan Emerson, a vice president and the Colts' general counsel.

I had little time to think through the interview and went to Indianapolis cold, not as prepared as I like to be. Opportunity rarely knocks under perfect conditions, though, and I was grateful for the meeting. We met in a boardroom, where Mr. Irsay and Ryan immediately made me feel comfortable. Mr. Irsay talked about faith, family, and football. He explained his vision for the future. He was very passionate about his team and very direct about what he expected in the near future.

Mr. Irsay also talked a lot about his family members and asked questions about mine. I was thoroughly impressed with how important family was to him. Similarly, Ryan Grigson and his wife, Cynthia, have five children, and it was obvious that his first priority was also his family. Pete Ward and Dan Emerson were clearly strong family men as well. We all shared the same values and clearly hit it off at that first meeting.

I did have one prepared question to ask: "The Colts are a great passing team. I'm a defensive coach. Why aren't you talking to a coach with an offensive background?"

"We know we'll have a great quarterback and a strong offense," Ryan answered. "We want a great defense to go with it. We want balance, and you've done a great job with the Ravens. Baltimore has such a strong defensive culture."

Mr. Irsay also said they liked my reputation for being able to connect with my players. "You have consistently developed a mutual respect with them over the course of your career," he said. "We're looking for a leader of men."

Near the end of our conversation, Ryan scribbled a note on his legal pad and put it in front of Pete Ward, the Colts' COO. Pete read the note and nodded. We finished the meeting, and Mr. Irsay called the next morning to offer me the job as head coach of the Colts. We talked about the details, and I asked him if I could have a little time. "I need to sit down with my wife and talk to her about this," I said. Mr. Irsay told me to take my time and call back after I talked with Tina.

* * *

After a couple of hours, I called Mr. Irsay back. When he answered the phone, all I said was, "Let's hunt." This was an expression used a lot during my time in Baltimore. It was our way of letting each other know it was time to go to work, time to eat! This phrase signaled it was time to get in the game and be as focused as possible. When I said, "Let's hunt" to Mr. Irsay, he knew I meant I was accepting the job, that I was ready to go to work.

Mr. Irsay told me I was exactly what the team needed to move forward. "Ryan and I had many discussions about what we wanted in our head coach. At one meeting Ryan asked me, 'Is there someone out there who can charge up the side of that hill with sword in hand and lead his men into battle? Someone who can take that hill and emerge victoriously — no matter the odds?' His question made an instant imprint in my mind of the kind of leader we needed. Someone who had that kind of charisma, leadership, and passion to fearlessly lead a charge, no matter the circumstances. We believe you fit that bill, Chuck. From the minute we sat down and talked to you, and from all the feedback we've gotten about you, we believe you have these unique and special traits we want in a leader. Dan and Pete were impressed by your passion — we all were."

I was speechless, humbled and honored by what he was saying.

After a short pause, Mr. Irsay continued. "We were looking for someone who truly cares about the players and wants the best for them. That's why we believe you are our man. I connected very quickly with you and knew I wanted you to be our next head coach. Your love for this great game was evident from the start, and your personality is one I know our players and fan base will identify with. Beyond your passion and skill as a coach, you're also a relatable guy!"

When Mr. Irsay said this to me, I knew I was at the right place. I also knew they had big expectations for me, and I would do whatever it took to not let them down. Later, after I arrived in Indianapolis, Ryan showed me what he had written on that note he handed Pete during my job interview. It read, "Players will run through a brick wall for this guy."

* * *

Having spent twenty-eight years in the football business following my college graduation, I was once asked if I had always wanted to be a head coach. This is a question I always ask when I interview an assistant coach. I want to hire coaches who are great teachers, love what they do, and strive to be the very best at their craft. Coaches who aren't afraid to fail, who are driven to one day lead their own teams. People who are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in all they do, individuals committed to working together as part of a team to create something bigger than themselves. So in a sense, yes, I've always wanted to be a head coach, determined to work hard and keep reaching for the next level.

With these qualifications in mind, one of the first calls I made after taking the job was to my old friend and colleague Bruce Arians, the man I wanted as my offensive coordinator. Following a track that was similar to that of my own career, Bruce had spent his entire life in football, dating back to when he was a top scholastic quarterback at York Catholic High School in York, Pennsylvania. From 1972 to 1974 he was the starting quarterback for the Virginia Tech Hokies and stayed on as a graduate assistant for two years until he got an assistant coaching job at Mississippi State University, where he worked with running backs and wide receivers.

From there, Bruce coached running backs under the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant at the University of Alabama in 1981 – 82. Then from 1983 to 1988, he was the head coach at Temple University, where he compiled a 21 – 45 record. In 1989, he worked for two years as a running backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and then took a job as the offensive coordinator from 1993 to 1995 at Mississippi State. He spent a year as a tight ends coach with the New Orleans Saints, another year at Alabama as an offensive coordinator, and then two years as a quarterbacks coach with the Colts. During this period between 1998 and 2000, he was Peyton Manning's first quarterbacks coach in the NFL. From 2001 to 2003, Arians was a quarterbacks coach with the Browns while I was in Cleveland, and that's where we became good friends.

Bruce joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004 and worked as the wide receivers coach, and then for four years he was the Steelers' offensive coordinator. Having seen how he coached Ben Roethlisberger to so much success, I knew Bruce was the man we needed to help develop the young talent on this team and run our offense.

As we would discover several months later, Bruce's contribution to me and to the team would become more than either of us could've imagined.

* * *

I first began to notice something wasn't right toward the end of training camp. Feeling fatigued and exhausted, I assumed it was from the fifteen-hour days of meetings and two-a-day practice sessions. My excitement and adrenaline kept me going, but when I saw the unexplainable bruises on my torso, arms, and legs, I wondered what was going on. Maybe I'm not eating enough of the right foods or my body's running low on iron or some other vitamin or mineral, I thought. Like most coaches would do, I just kept plugging away and working to get better. I've yet to meet a player who wants to leave the game, and I wasn't about to do so either.

Overall, camp had gone really well, and I was grateful for the opportunity to be more hands-on. The hardest part of my first few months as head coach had been administrative. In addition to hiring Bruce, there were other coaching staff positions to fill, tasks to delegate, and information to learn about the organizational side of the team.


(Continues...)
Excerpted from Sidelined by Chuck Pagano. Copyright © 2014 Chuck Pagano. Excerpted by permission of ZONDERVAN.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Read More Show Less

Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword by Tony Dungy, 13,
INTRODUCTION FAITH, FAMILY, AND FOOTBALL, 17,
CHAPTER 1 LET'S HUNT Arriving in Indy, 25,
CHAPTER 2 WINDS OF CHANGE Beginning the 2012 Season, 41,
CHAPTER 3 THE BYE WEEK Or How I Became The Rock, 55,
CHAPTER 4 ORANGE GLOVES The Team's Response to My Leukemia, 69,
CHAPTER 5 CHUCKSTRONG Why Beating the Packers Was More Than Just a Win, 85,
CHAPTER 6 STICK TO IT Why We Lost to the Jets, 103,
CHAPTER 7 THREE STRAIGHT WINS The Best Homecoming Present, 121,
CHAPTER 8 BATTLE FATIGUE Getting Sicker before Getting Better, 133,
CHAPTER 9 BALD IS BEAUTIFUL And Other New Reasons to Celebrate Thanksgiving, 145,
CHAPTER 10 FINISHING STRONG Back on the Sideline and Headed to the Playoffs, 157,
CHAPTER 11 AFC WILD-CARD GAME Losing the Game and Winning the Team, 171,
CHAPTER 12 THE 2013 SEASON Staying in the Hunt, 185,
EPILOGUE BUILDING A LEGACY, 201,
Acknowledgments, 211,
2012 Indianapolis Colts Roster, 213,
2012 Indianapolis Colts Coaching Staff, 214,
2012 Indianapolis Colts Schedule, 215,
2013 Indianapolis Colts Schedule, 216,
About Coach Pagano, 217,

Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 3 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(2)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(1)
Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Jul 07 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Incredible story of passion, faith and determination.  Great rea

    Incredible story of passion, faith and determination.  Great read for anyone...amazing book

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted Mon Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Pagano is destined to inspire many with his story about his batt

    Pagano is destined to inspire many with his story about his battle with leukemia. The support of the Colts organization and of fans around the nation is incredible. Can't put it down!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Sat Aug 30 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)