O'Brien: A Life Under Center

There is a mention of Woody in the book - nothing unpleasant, I just say that he should put Ken in the Jets Ring of Honor. I wouldn't expect any sort of mention from the Jets in any official capacity, though - I contacted their press office many times over the past couple of years while writing this book and never even received a reply.

 

I chose the self-publishing route for a couple of reasons.

1: I don't think a publisher would see enough commercial potential in this to give me a traditional publishing contract.

2: It let me have complete control over the book, including content, design etc.

I have self-published a few books and really enjoy the whole process. I use Amazon's KDP platform, which also means I get a lot more in the way of royalties for each copy sold (a typical publishing contract will get you something like 80 cents for each sale, while with Amazon it is around $6). The downside is that you don't have the marketing clout of a publisher, so getting into bookshops is almost impossible - but most people buy online now anyway.

On the subject of interviews, I reached out to Ken many times but did not receive a reply. It is possible he is not interested in a book about himself - he is a very modest and private individual and I can respect that. It is also possible that my emails to him ended up in his spam folder. I will be sending a copy of the book to his place of work.

Most of the book has been built on research - of newspaper and magazine articles, interviews done by other people etc. I have also watched almost every game from O'Brien's career - more than 100 of them. It gave me a headache just looking at some of the hits he took back there.

I got help from several people, including a journalist who watched every one of Ken's games in college and a couple of people who interviewed former Jet players.They were all generous with their time and extremely helpful and I thank them all in the book.

I dug up some great little tidbits that I (as a historian and self-confessed sports geek) really enjoyed. O'Brien was rated in the very first edition of the Ourlad's College Draft Preview. That has always been my favourite draft preview and the people who put it together are a great bunch. They tracked down their first issue (which was buried in a loft somewhere), tore it apart and sent me a pdf of it, which was really amazing.

Thanks for your questions!

 

I am publishing first in print format and then will convert it for an ebook release.

Also, watching his games I picked something up - when he went on a designed rollout he could actually look quite fast and athletic - he really struggled when he had to improvise. When a pass-rusher came clear and he had to take evasive action, it was those times he looked like he had lead feet.

 

You think… it’s him?

 

Not a full chapter, but it is covered!