Bear Bryant Quotes (31 Quotes)

I'll put you through hell, but at the end of it all we'll be champions.

It's not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.

I feel blessed. I have put a lot of hard work into basketball. When you work hard and believe, something positive will come out in the end.

Back 12 years ago, when Dr. Mathews was president here, we had a plan that when I got ready to quit, we'd bring a certain guy in and he'd take over that day and I'd leave. But as time wore on, I realized that wouldn't have been good at all.

If we'd beaten 'em, I wouldn't be going out.

I can remember loving to recruit. I knew I was going to do my best. But traveling and recruiting doesn't appeal to me any more. It's not as much fun as it used to be.

I plan on staying at Alabama for the rest of my career. I guarantee that I'll be here for you through it all, regardless of what happens.

I hope to get out before they start football next year.

If I miss coaching that much, I could go to some little school where they didn't recruit, where all the kids wanted to go. I believe I could find somewhere to coach.

I think when it really hit me that I had to get out to keep the program from going down was after the Mississippi Southern game this year.

I think I'm telling the truth. I sat by Ray Perkins at the Hall of Fame dinner in New York, and at that time he didn't know he was our coach and I didn't either.

I'd have to rekindle the fire and work a lot harder and get a lot tougher. At my age, I think it's kinda stupid to try to coach.

Our game plan is first year, a .500 season. Second year, a conference championship. Third year, undefeated. Fourth, a national championship. And by the fifth year, we'll be on probation, of course.

I want to make sure I don't interfere with the success of that team next year. I don't see any way I could go to practice like most of 'em do, and not hurt the team. I'd go nuts if I tried doing that.

Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world. Set a goal and don't quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don't quit until you reach it. Never quit.

I've had many a player tell me all through high school and right up until signing day that they were coming to Alabama, then they signed with somebody else.

There is not a person alive who isn't going to have some awfully bad days in their lives. I tell my players that what I mean by fighting is when your house burns down, and your wife runs off with the drummer, and you've lost your job and all the odds are against you. What are you going to do Most people just lay down and quit. Well, I want my people to fight back.

In life, you'll have your back up against the wall many times. You might as well get used to It.

I'm not much of a golfer, I don't have any friends and, all I like to do is go home and be alone, and not worry about ways not to lose.

Players can be divided, roughly, into four types. Those who have ability and know it, those who have it and don't know it, those who don't have it and know it, and those who don't have it but don't know it.

It's been years since I've had a real input in the game anyway. For this game, I've just tried to keep all the other stuff away from the players and coaches.

Georgia Tech beat us and Mississippi Southern tied us last year, and Texas beat us after we had the game won. We only played about five games the way we were capable of playing and lost one of those.

I want to go home while it's quiet around there and get my mail out the first thing. Then I'll help them in recruiting if I can.

The fun never goes out, but it changes with the years, with winning and losing.

I'm happy with the coach we have. I think any one of the ones I asked them to consider would've been good.

You have to be willing to out-condition your opponents.

I feel bad about it. I've been telling them for 10 years that this had to happen, was going to happen. I think they can get jobs.

Bear Bryant's Three Rules for coaching 1) Surround yourself with people who can't live without football. 2) Recognize winners. They come In all forms. 3) Have a plan for everything.

Nearly every coach I've talked with tells me that the attention you get from media and other people is the thing you miss most. I don't know if that's right.

Don't talk too much or too soon.

I didn't have a thing to do with picking a coach, and didn't want to. But I didn't think they'd pick one I didn't like.