Football Quotations

Ever wondered what goes through the mind of a football coach on game day or during those grueling practices?

They shout orders, deliver pep talks and strategize like military commanders. But sometimes, their words transcend the X’s and O’s, becoming nuggets of wisdom that apply far beyond the gridiron.

We’ve compiled 137 quotes from legendary coaches, past and present, offering a glimpse into their philosophies on leadership, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence.

Great Football Quotations

Here are some of our favorites.

Pete Carroll

• I can’t ask the offense to score slower.
• Stay hungry, remain humble, and get better today.
• We don’t get anywhere by accident. You have to have a plan and execute it.
• Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program.
• Don’t be afraid to be different. Embrace your uniqueness and let it shine.
• If you create a vision for yourself and stick with it, you can make amazing things happen in your life.
• He has to be a great teacher. You have to have the right stuff and in the right proportions, and you have to convey that to the coaches and then to the players.

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Bob Devaney

• I don’t expect to win enough games to be put on NCAA probation. I just want to win enough to warrant an investigation.
• We must emphasize effort, enthusiasm, and execution.
• Success isn’t measured by whether you win or lose but by the courage, determination, and persistence you show.
• There are no shortcuts to excellence.
• You can’t win unless you believe in yourself.
• The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.
• .There are two kinds of coaches: those who win and those who explain why they lost

Woody Hayes

• When I look at the mirror in the morning, I want to take a swing at me.
• There’s nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you.
• Winning is a habit— unfortunately, so is losing.
• The time you give a man something he doesn’t earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.
• Success – it’s what you do with what you’ve got.
• I may not be able to outsmart too many people, but I can outwork ’em.
• Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their players’ heads and motivate them.
• I recruited a Czeck kicker, and during the eye exam, when asked to read the bottom line, the kicker replied, “Read it? I know him!”

John Heisman Football Quotations

• When in doubt, punt!
• Don’t cuss. Don’t argue with the officials. And don’t lose the game.
• What is this? It is a prolate spheroid, an elongated sphere—in which the outer leather casing is drawn tightly over a somewhat smaller rubber tubing.
• Better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football. To break training without permission is an act of treason.
• When you find your opponent’s weak spot, hammer it.
• Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football.
• Don’t cuss. Don’t argue with the officials. And don’t lose the game.

Lou Holtz Quotes

• I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.
• Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated.
• If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven’t done anything today.
• If you burn your neighbor’s house down, it doesn’t make your house look any better.
• Broadcasting is easy. You talk until you think of something to say.
• You’ll never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with ‘em.
• If he’s got golf clubs in his truck or a camper in his driveway, I don’t hire him.

Frank Leahy

• Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity.
• There are no shortcuts in life – only those we imagine.
• Give me a lead of 14 – 0 at halftime, and I will dictate the final score.
• You’ve got to be tough to win.
• When the going gets tough, let the tough get going.
• Lads, you’re not to miss practice unless your parents die or you die.

Urban Meyer

• We are going to act like champions before we are champions.
• There’s nothing that builds character and teaches life lessons like football.
• You must be relentless. You can never let up.
• The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.
• Everybody has talent, but talent is only nurtured through serious effort.
• Success is not an accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.
• You must have a burning desire to win.
• Adversity introduces a man to himself.
• You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
• I have yet to be in a game where luck was involved. Well-prepared players make plays. I have yet to be in a game where the most prepared team didn’t win.

Tom Osborne

• Everybody’s got to do what they’ve got to do.
• As a college coach, I felt you could make a difference in a player’s life. There was an educational aspect I thought was important.
• The odds are always against you, no matter what your previous history is. You have to overcome the tendency to relax.

Ara Parseghian

• A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.
• Talent is God-given; be humble. Fame is man-given; be grateful. Conceit is self-given; be careful.
• You can never put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.
• A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.
• The harder you work, the less mistakes you make. The fewer mistakes you make, the better your chances of winning.
• You’re going to have disappointments. But how you handle those disappointments is the important thing.
• You are going to get knocked down, but you don’t lie there. You get up and face the challenge.
• When I make a fist, it’s strong, and you can’t tear it apart. As long as there’s unity, there’s strength.
• Whether you like it or not, you’re a national figure after five games at Notre Dame.

Joe Paterno Football Quotations

• The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.
• You need to play with supreme confidence, or else you’ll lose again, and then losing becomes a habit.
• Today, you’ve got a decision to make. You’re gonna get better, or you’re gonna get worse, but you’re not gonna stay the same. Which will it be?
• You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That’s the mark of a true professional.
• When a kid plays football before he attends a class, something is wrong.
• You must relate athletic experiences to life.
• When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality.
• Believe deep down in your heart that you’re destined to do great things.
• It’s the name on the front of the jersey that matters most, not the one on the back.
• Publicity is like poison. It doesn’t hurt you unless you swallow it.
• Besides pride, loyalty, discipline, heart, and mind, confidence is the key to all the locks.
• What is a coach? We are teachers. Educators. We have the same obligations as all teachers, except we probably have more influence than anybody but their families. And, in a lot of cases, more than their families.
• Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.
• Losing a game is heartbreaking. Losing your sense of excellence or worth is a tragedy.

Good Football Quotations

Here are some great insights on the game.

Andy Reid Quotes

• Every setback is an opportunity for a comeback.
• Respecting people is an important part of life.
• The NFL is a unique workplace; honesty is key.
• Complacency is the enemy of progress; always strive to improve.
• We’re not in a tiddlywink contest; pressure comes with the sport.
• Bad things happen; deal with them and move on.
• Building a strong team takes time, brick by brick.
• Pressure is part of the business; you’ve got to handle it.
• I never want to lose sight of the importance of family.
• Super Bowl? The ultimate chocolate cake, you always want it.
• Getting too old for negativity, focus on positive people.
• Cheeseburgers? I might celebrate with a double.

Eddie Robinson Football Quotations

• The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential—these are the keys to personal excellence.
• Leadership, like coaching, is fighting for the hearts and souls of men and getting them to believe in you.

Darrell Royal Football Quotations

• He’s as quick as a hiccup.
• You just scratch where it itches.
• Dance with the one who brung ya.
• We’re as average as every day’s wash.
• On game day, I’m as nervous as a pig in a packing plant.

Bo Schembechler Football Quotations

• When your team is winning, be ready to be tough because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing.
• By your own soul, learn to live.
  If some men force you, take no heed.
  If some men hate you, have no care.
  Sing your song, dream your dreams
  Hope your hopes, and pray your prayers.
• I figured this was the easy stuff, and if we couldn’t show up on time, looking right and acting right, we weren’t going to be able to do anything else.
• Those who stay will be champions.
• If I make a mistake, I’m going to make a mistake aggressively and I’m going to make it quickly. I don’t believe in sleeping on a decision.

Greg Schiano

• There are two things every man in America thinks he can do: work a grill and coach football.

Amos Alonzo Stagg Football Quotations

• I pray not for victory but to do my best.
• To me, the coaching profession is one of the noblest and most far-reaching in building manhood.
• Winning isn’t worthwhile unless one has something finer and nobler behind it.
• No man is too good to be the athletic coach for youth.
• Is this my best team ever? I won’t know that for another 20 years or so.

Cal Stoll

• Success is uncommon and not to be enjoyed by the common man. I’m looking for uncommon people because we want to be successful, not average.

Barry Switzer

• It never changes. Football is a game of repetition, mental and physical. You may try to articulate it a little differently, but it’s the same thing: Get better players, make fewer mistakes, and drill the fundamentals into your players’ heads. The rest of it is a joke. Teams aren’t winning because of what they had for breakfast or what some coach said in the locker room.
• It was like a heart transplant. We tried to implant college in him, but his head rejected it.
• Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.
• The key to his success? He’s just faster than the guys chasing him.
• Check out Funny Dallas Cowboys Quotes.

Dick Vermeil

• If you don’t invest very much, then defeat doesn’t hurt very much, and winning is not very exciting.

Murray Warmath

• If lessons are learned in defeat, our team is getting a great education.

Bud Wilkinson

• If you are going to be a champion, you must be willing to pay a greater price.
• Losing is easy. It’s not enjoyable, but it’s easy.
• Morale and attitude are the fundamental ingredients to success.
• You can motivate a player better with kind words than you can with a whip.
• The man who tried his best and failed is superior to the man who never tried.

By Mike O’Halloran

Founder and Editor, Sports Feel Good Stories

Mike O’Halloran founded Sports Feel Good Stories in 2009. He co-authored four trivia books for kids under the Smart Attack line. Mike coached basketball for 15 seasons, taught tennis, and has written four books on basketball coaching. He has been a contributing writer for USA Football, the youth arm of the NFL. Mike is the founder of the Fantasy Football Team Names Hall of Fame.

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