Bear Bryant Quotes about Leadership - Page 2

I know what it takes to win. If I can sell them on what it takes to win, then we are not going to lose too many football games.

We can't have two standards, one set for the dedicated young men who want to do something ambitious and one set for those who don't.

There is no sin in not liking to play; it's a mistake for a boy to be there if he doesn't want to.

A good, quick, small team can beat a big, slow team any time.

I'm no innovator. If anything I'm a stealer, or borrower. I've stolen or borrowed from more people than you can shake a stick at.

When you play defense you have to storm the fort or play cover - you can't do both.

Don't talk too much. Don't pop off. Don't talk after the game until you cool off.

The idea of molding men means a lot to me.

I tell young players who want to be coaches, who think they can put up with all the headaches and heartaches, can you live without it? If you can live without it, don't get in it.

I told them my system was based on the "ant plan," that I'd gotten the idea watching a colony of ants in Africa during the war. A whole bunch of ants working toward a common goal.

If you whoop and holler all the time, the players just get used to it.

My approach to the game has been the same at all the places I've been. Vanilla. The sure way. That means, first of all, to win physically. If you got eleven on a field, and they beat the other eleven physically, they'll win. They will start forcing mistakes. They'll win in the fourth quarter.

Scout yourself. Have a buddy who coaches scout you.

I think the most important thing of all for any team is a winning attitude. The coaches must have it. The players must have it. The student body must have it. If you have dedicated players who believe in themselves, you don't need a lot of talent.

Get the winners into the game.

But it's still a coach's game. Make no mistake. You start at the top. If you don't have a good one at the top, you don't have a cut dog's chance.

You have to learn what makes this or that Sammy run. For one it's a pat on the back, for another it's eating him out, for still another it's a fatherly talk, or something else. You're a fool if you think as I did as a young coach, that you can treat them all alike.

Don't overwork your squad. If you're going to make a mistake, under-work them.

Don't ever give up on ability. Don't give up on a player who has it.

If a man is a quitter, I'd rather find out in practice than in a game. I ask for all a player has so I'll know later what I can expect.