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INTRODUCTION
When we look at a football team, it is obvious that many factors contribute to the win of a game or the success of a season. Some of the most obvious factors include the player's athletic abilities, offensive and defensive strategies, weather conditions, home field advantage, and most importantly- leadership. Leadership drives teams in all aspects of life, whether in a business environment or a sports environment, as will be discussed in this paper. The purpose of this paper is leadership in football and the ramifications that good and poor leadership has on the performance of the team as a whole.
Don Shula is a former professional football coach in the National Football League. He is the winningest coach in NFL history. In his book titled, The Little Book of Coaching, a quote stood out in bold ink, taking up the entire page and summarizes the problems some leaders have. "The problem with most leaders is that they don't stand for anything. And yet, leadership implies movement toward something-a sense of direction". This quote is strong and bold, emphasizing how leadership can make or break the team. "You can't be a successful leader if you don't have a clear idea of what you believe, where you're headed, and what you're willing to go to the mat for. These beliefs were at the heart of everything I did with my coaches and players on the way to building a team that won consistently over many years" (Don Shula, The Little Book of Coaching).
Another expert on leadership in football is Louisiana State University's head football coach Nick Saban. He is also an author of a book entitled, A Champion's Tip ...