You'll love studying Jimmy Johnson, more so than you think. He's an unexpected introvert, a master psychologist, and yes, brash and abrasive. All the things. Future episodes will be about his incredible abilities as a talent evaluator (2/3) and his emotionally painful years with the Cowboys (3/3). I hope you enjoy going deeper on the man. There is a ton to gain and learn.

00:00 Intro03:48 Unexpected Introvert / Islamorada08:40 Master Psychologist15:03 Pygmallion Theory 19:42 Brash But Disciplined24:50 Conclusion: Remains NFL Sage

Andre Agassi's book OPEN:https://www.amazon.com/s?k=open+by+andre+agassi

Socials: the_coaches_pod

This week we're rolling up the first 10 coaches (17 episodes) and I have compiled a "best of" episode. I hope you enjoy. There are many more coaches and episodes in the works...including some live interviews. Thanks for listening!

00:00 The Best of Episodes 1-170

1:41 Dan Hurley - Late Bloomers Need Love Too

03:39 Nick Saban - Dominate

05:58 Joe Maddon - Independent Thinker

07:31 Joe Maddon - 2016 World Series (Theo Epstein Speech)

10:01 Jay Wright - Street Sweeper

13:43 Earl Weaver - Conversation with Steve Stone

16:42 Dean Smith - High Empathy

19:25 Lou Holtz - Deep Character

24:52 Vivian Stringer - Marriage

27:32 Curt Cignetti - Unexpected Promoter

31:26 Dick Bennett - The Parable of David Burkemper

34:30 Conclusion

In part 2/2 on Curt Cignetti we'll continue to unpack what makes this coach so darn good. We'll get into many things relating to his elite level of attention to detail and preparation. And I absolutely love how he takes smart, tough, character guys and steamrolls teams with more 5-star "talent". I hope you enjoy.

00:00 Intro02:31 #6 - The Magic of High Standards07:11 #7 - Insane Attention To Detail & Preparation 10:39 #8 Consistency 15:06 #9 - Proven Playmakers Over Underwear Olympians 19:04 #10 Atmosphere: Fun & Competitive21:23 #11 Authenticity - "Cocky Nerd". Smirks.22:31 #12 High Emotional Intelligence24:53 Conclusion

Articles Used/Referenced: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6852835/2025/12/03/indiana-football-coach-curt-cignetti-big-ten-championship/

https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/how-a-sixtysomething-coach-from-a-so-so-school-turned-indiana-into-world-beaters

https://www.nbcsports.com/college-football/news/indianas-secret-sauce-its-much-more-than-curt-cignetti#

https://www.catholicbusinessjournal.com/voices/columns/thomas-m-loarie/the-cignetti-effect-why-the-long-game-wins-in-a-world-of-instant-gratification/

https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/the-new-sheriff-of-college-football-has-a-message-for/502151

https://www.mattmayberryonline.com/5-leadership-lessons-from-indianas-national-championship/

https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2026/1/18/football-cignettis-maximum-impact-approach-hit-them-right-between-the-eyeshttps://www.idsnews.com/article/2026/01/iu-football-curt-cignetti-champion-football-indiana

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/01/19/curt-cignetti-dad-frank-cignetti-sr-indiana-football-iup/88235421007/

Books Referenced:Intelligent Fanatics Project - Sean Iddings and Ian Casselhttps://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Fanatics-Project-Sustainable-Businesses/dp/0997576502/ref=sr_1_1

Amp It Up - Frank Slootmanhttps://www.amazon.com/s?k=amp+it+up+frank+slootman

Shot Ready by Steph Curry:https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Shot-Ready/dp/B0F2VZQVFF/ref=sr_1_1

In this 2-part series on Curt Cignetti we'll attempt to deconstruct the man in order to help explain the wild success we're seeing him have at Indiana. Spoiler alert: it's a 56 year overnight success story. We'll learn about the foundations his Dad set, the market conditions in college football that are helping him, but mostly, we'll just learn that this man has been at it for a while and is just really, really good.

00:00 Intro04:19 Point 1 - Compounding - Frank Cignetti Sr.08:17 Point 2 - Compounding - Cignetti & Buffett 12:12 Point 2b - Compounding - Steph Curry14:48 Point 2c - Compounding - Curt's Staff18:15 Point 3 - Money, Market Conditions, & Mark Cuban27:18 Point 4 - Unexpected Promoter31:12 Conclusion

Articles Used/Referenced: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6852835/2025/12/03/indiana-football-coach-curt-cignetti-big-ten-championship/

https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/how-a-sixtysomething-coach-from-a-so-so-school-turned-indiana-into-world-beaters

https://www.nbcsports.com/college-football/news/indianas-secret-sauce-its-much-more-than-curt-cignetti#

https://www.catholicbusinessjournal.com/voices/columns/thomas-m-loarie/the-cignetti-effect-why-the-long-game-wins-in-a-world-of-instant-gratification/

https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/the-new-sheriff-of-college-football-has-a-message-for/502151

https://www.mattmayberryonline.com/5-leadership-lessons-from-indianas-national-championship/

https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2026/1/18/football-cignettis-maximum-impact-approach-hit-them-right-between-the-eyeshttps://www.idsnews.com/article/2026/01/iu-football-curt-cignetti-champion-football-indiana

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/01/19/curt-cignetti-dad-frank-cignetti-sr-indiana-football-iup/88235421007/

Books Referenced:Intelligent Fanatics Project - Sean Iddings and Ian Casselhttps://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Fanatics-Project-Sustainable-Businesses/dp/0997576502/ref=sr_1_1

Amp It Up - Frank Slootmanhttps://www.amazon.com/s?k=amp+it+up+frank+slootman

Shot Read by Steph Curry:https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Shot-Ready/dp/B0F2VZQVFF/ref=sr_1_1

In our final episode on Dick Bennett we're going to hear about his awesome journaling habit, some of the personal struggles that he has that season, and more on his beautiful views of quality basketball. Thanks for listening.

00:00 Intro

03:17 Quality Basketball | The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of It's Parts

06:49 Journaling / Introspection

12:56 Dick's Inner Conflict

16:45 Conclusion to the 1996-97 Season - "Everything Leads To Something"

Show Notes:

Upside Down Leadership - Travis Wycoff

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DVSZ1DKB?lv=shuf&hvlocphy=9021340

A Season With Coach Dick Bennett - Eric Ferris

https://www.amazon.com/Season-Coach-Dick-Bennett/dp/1879483483

 X, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok: the_coaches_pod

e: [email protected]

Part 2 on Dick Bennett is much more basketball centric. We'll talk more about that 1996-97 Wisconsin Badgers team, and the "sea of sameness" problem Bennett has with them. We'll also cover the awesome story / parable of walk-on David Burkemper, Bennett's brilliant takes on "playing not to lose", and the important concept of addition by subtraction . Thanks for listening.

00:00 Intro

02:07  1 996-97 Season | A Sea Of Sameness

06:05 Parable of David Burkemper

13:19 Addition By Subtraction

14:23 Underrated - "Playing Not To Lose"

19:30 The Gospel of D

22:58 Conclusion

A Season With Coach Dick Bennett by Eric Ferris:

https://www.amazon.com/Season-Coach-Dick-Bennett/dp/1879483483

Pack Line Defense Overview:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xicOzvbB6A&[email protected]

Today we launch a 3 part series on Dick Bennett. Underrated. Brilliant. Flawed. Earnest. Faithful. There are many layers to the man that we will study based on a very unique source text - A Season with Coach Dick Bennett by Eric Ferris, which chronicles exclusively the 1996-1997 Wisconsin Badgers basketball season. It features highlights, and lowlights, and we'll zoom out from there. I hope you enjoy.

00:00 Everything Leads To Something

05:00 Early Life.

05:28 Early Life - Dad

08:44 Early Life - Conclusion / Mom

09:47 Faith & Family

14:15 Dick's "Why" - Quality Basketball

17:39 Conclusion

Books Mentioned:

A Season with Coach Dick Bennett by Eric Ferris: https://www.amazon.com/Season-Coach-Dick-Bennett/dp/1879483483

Actor's Life, A Survival Guide by Jenna Fischer: https://www.amazon.com/Actors-Life-Survival-Guide/dp/1944648224

Contact Me:

X, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok: the_coaches_pod

Email: [email protected]

The stories keep rolling in part 2 on Earl Weaver. You'll hear more about Earl as a player, his famous clashes with umpires, the hard to believe stories about his mob boss uncle, and the flagship baseball video game Earl helped create. I hope you enjoy!

00:00 EW2 - Mob Bosses, Video Games, & Umpires (Based on the book "The Last Manager")

01:05  Deep Insecurity From Not Making It As A Player

08:09 Earl Vs. Umpires

11:41 Mob Boss Uncle - Uncle "Bud"

16:04 Video Game - Earl Weaver Baseball - Precursor to Madden

18:58 Hard Drinking

22:47 Conclusion

Mental Game Podcast With Dan Hurley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP_DyHH35-k

The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668030926

 Bill Haller "HOT MIC" Argument: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrhmUGRaOwY

You're going to love learning about Earl Weaver in this episode. His life is as entertaining as it is legendary. We use John W. Miller's The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball as our source text. It's an incredibly well done book. I add some commentary and insights as well. I hope you enjoy!

00:00 Intro

03:38 Then Vs. Now - Star Manager to Corporate Manager

08:04 Then vs. Now - Relationships Still Key

10:17 Visionary & Innovator

10:42 Visionary - The Shortstop Position & Cal Ripken Jr.

12:16 Visionary - The Radar Gun

15:12 Visionary - "Money Ball" Before Money Ball

17:39 Coaching Takeaways - Weaver on Strategy Book

19:35 Coaching Takeaways - Emotional Intelligence

23:45 Coaching Takeaways - Intensity

25:17 Coaching Takeaways - Genius of a Madman - Conversation with Steve Stone

28:12 Conclusion

The Last Manager:

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Manager-Tormented-Reinvented-Baseball/dp/1668030926

Weaver on Stategy:

https://www.amazon.com/Weaver-Strategy-Classic-Managing-Baseball/dp/1574884247

The Coaches Podcast Social Media:

X: the_coaches_pod

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Email: [email protected]

In our final episode on Joe Maddon, we explore the age old debate of man vs. machines...baseball analytics vs. gut instinct. We also dive into the magical moments of the Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series Game 7, with some amazing words from Theo Epstein regarding that rain delay and the Jason Heyward led team meeting that transpired.

00:00 Intro - Man Vs. Machines

01:24 Analytics vs. Instintc - Man Vs. Machines

14:45 Analytics vs. Instinct - Game 7 2016 WS - Pitching Decisions

24:04 Series Conclusion: Rain Delay - Let The Lead Bulls Run

Joe Maddon's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Joe-Trying-Suck-Baseball/dp/1538751798/

The Coaches Podcast Social Media:

X: the_coaches_pod

Instagram: the_coaches_pod

TikTok: the_coaches_pod

Email: [email protected]