The BNH Book Review: What Winners Won’t Tell You: Lessons from a Legendary Defender

What Winners Won’t Tell You: Lessons from a Legendary Defender
by Malcolm Jenkins
2023/Simon & Schuster
$28.99/304 pages

Hard to believe, but when former NFL defensive back Malcolm Jenkins was a boy, he tried to quit playing Pop Warner football twice. His father wasn’t hearing it, though; he told Jenkins “You got to finish what you start.”

The lesson stuck: As a 1st-round draft pick, 14th overall, for the Saints and later having played for the Eagles, he writes about being strategic in his career, being a good team player, and about having the confidence to reach beyond and grab for success.

You can be accomplished, too, he says, if you remember that “for fear to win, you have to be afraid.” Don’t let other people’s opinions become “self-fulfilling.”

Know who works for you and be sure they have your back. Give back to your community. Be open to change in your organization and your outlook and “show up every day to get better.”

Deep, deep within this memoir are many interesting and worthwhile nuggets of inspiration and advice, but you’ll have to look for them. They’re buried inside tales of football—so much so that if you don’t understand football, you’ll be too lost, too fast, and you’ll never find them.

This book contains more football anecdotes, strategies and swagger than there are the lessons promised. Still, the lessons are there for you to find. If you are obsessed with football or a fan of Jenkins, you may find this book a must-read. If you’re not a fan, then “What Winners Won’t Tell You” is just a plain “no.”