Nick Saban Quotes (299 Quotes)

This is a league decision, and we are disappointed in what it means for Ricky and the team. Ricky did an outstanding job for the Dolphins, not only as a player but also what he added as a person to the team's chemistry and to our overall success.

We have to get the kind of execution at quarterback that will give it to them.

I'm not blaming anybody, because that's not my nature, but we certainly didn't have the energy and enthusiasm we've had up to this point. We just didn't look like the same team out there, and I can't give you any reason exactly why.

If you look at most teams' needs, probably half of them are solved developing from within. When you take that ability away, that's when you get out of balance on the salary cap and everything else.

He looked quick. He looked fast. He made the right cuts. I'm not disappointed at all in the way he played for the first time out of the box.

I don't know, you should ask Sam that. I can't answer that. I don't think that we are doing anything differently than anybody else does, though.

But what does it really mean ... What are you trying to get from it Basically, what you're trying to do is push people to a limit, not to ever harm them in any way, and get them to manage the 'bottom half,' the hard part of it that we all have to deal with in our life.

He's still hard to block. He does a great job of using his hands. He still plays with a lot of power. He still can rush and block people back to the quarterback. He's very instinctive on the field -- batting balls down and making a lot of plays. I think the guy is an astounding player and I think he's had a really good year doing what they expect him to do.

Just think of the consequences of those penalties. There were several third-down stops that gave them first downs with penalties. It's the consequences of it that everybody needs to understand.

It was great that Ronnie Brown got untracked a little bit. We told him we were going to work him today. As the game wore on, it looked like he got a little better. Maybe that'll be a sign for us in the future.

We have another one, Sammy (Morris). I think that's something we've always looked at as a two-starter position, the running-back position. That has been my history as a coach, to always have two guys at that position that can play and share the load.

He has continued to do a good job every time he's been out there, ... and I think that's something that's got to be taken into consideration.

The more success you have, the more belief you have in what you have to do to be successful. The key piece to the puzzle is that you understand what it takes for you to be successful, and you are not satisfied with what you have accomplished.

Ricky did a fantastic job for us this year. If someone said, 'Who have you enjoyed coaching the most in all my years of football,' he'd be one of the top guys I've ever been around.

Sometimes when you press, you have high anxiety, and it affects the way you perform.

You don't have to make all of the plays as a quarterback. You have to run the offense. That is what we need to get out of our quarterback... game management.

I've always believed the players I coach can learn a lot from the success of their predecessors, and that's especially true here in Miami.

That's a part of the business. Now he is going to have to overcome it and we are going to have to help him overcome it.

We felt like he did a good job in going in and playing significantly in the last game when Jason got hurt. There is nobody disappointed in his performance. That's where you have to be careful about stats. How many opportunities did he have that he didn't make That would be a better assessment of what he has or hasn't done.

If you don't have an indoor facility, you've got to cut down the practice time in preparation for the game so the players can recover. Or you change the environment they do the work in, which an indoor facility allows you to do. It's really a player health and safety issue as much as anything.

It will be a challenge for our players to face the defending Super Bowl champions in their first game. It just reinforces the importance of our off-season program and training camp to make sure we're ready to play at a high level to begin the season.

It was a difficult decision because I thought he was doing very well and making a lot of progress. I don't think it's a situation right now where we can wait for a guy for a significant amount of time.

We've obviously started our research in terms of what the options are going to be for us. One of the goals that we have is to develop the players we have so somebody can be a starter for our organization in the future, or to bring somebody to the organization that has the potential to be a future starter relative to our situation.

A lot of people want to know why I want to come back to college football.

John St. Clair will probably get an opportunity to play someplace else. We certainly wish him the best and in a lot of ways we would like to have him on our team again, but that may not happen.

Do you feel like you are in just as good as shape as you were before' He says, I feel OK.' I say, Do you get tired quicker' And he says, Not really.'

Reggie had a chance to make a play on the ball, ... In trying to intercept it I think he put himself in a bad position to tackle the guy. It turned out to be a big play.

We're fortunate to be able to add someone with Mike's knowledge and experience to our staff. (With the Bills), he instilled in his players a sense of belief in his system and those leadership skills will serve him well in his new role.

We thought we could bat a lot of balls on him, and have some players who are athletes, ... When you're pressuring, getting as close to the quarterback as you are, that's got to be an advantage for you. You can't just cover on the back end.

I saw one of our guys get his helmet ripped off and the (referee) was standing right there looking at it, ... I said to him, 'What did (McMichael) do that was worse than a guy ripping Sammy Morris' helmet off right in front of him' I'm not saying he shouldn't have gotten a penalty. I'm just saying Is there such thing as consistency

We just want to continue to be able to let them develop and progress. We're not disappointed in anybody. We're actually encouraged by our ability to throw the ball with consistency in the game by all the quarterbacks.

The offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage much better in this game. When you run the ball for five yards per carry, that's a good job. And we had pretty decent protection for the quarterbacks.

He does everything you ask him to do. He's never been a problem he pays attention in meetings. It seems like his head is in the right place.

The best way to disrespect somebody is to just walk away from them. But that is the show business part of what we have to deal with, and to me it's wrong. It's a bad example for young people to see and it's not the kind of character and attitude that we want our players to represent this organization in, our owner, the Miami Dolphins ... or the people on the team who all have to suffer because of that.

We need a little time to figure that out. We're going to take it from where it is and build for 12 games.

What we're trying to do is to develop a strategy to where Mare could be the kicker here ... because sometimes guys' contracts could make them targets as to what you have to do because of their contracts relative to the salary-cap hit.

The Pac-10 obviously did pretty well against the SEC this past week, ... Our players need to be aware of that and know that our league is nationally-known and when we go play places people are anxious to play us.

My last conversation was awhile back and was really about our heritage, trying to figure out where we came from and what we did,

He was the number one guy last year and I think he did pretty well. He didn't do anything to make us think that he couldn't do it.

I've never really talked to him about the Michigan State situation, but he doesn't seem any different to me. Unfortunately, what we learn as assistant coaches doesn't always prepare us to be head coaches. I think if he ever gets the opportunity to do it again, he'll be able to do just fine.

He played with a lot of poise and he executed. It's a positive that the results were gotten by a systematic approach of doing the right things, and it paid dividends in results for him. I hope he gains confidence in his ability to do that in the future.

Nobody wishes that anybody has to go through what one of our colleagues is having to go through right now relative to his loss in this holiday season.

Ronnie did a nice job in the game. I'm sure nobody feels worse about fumbling the ball in the situation at the end of the game than he does and that's something that we'll have to learn and grow from.

Sure, I think that would put two good players together. We thought a lot about how we would implement that on offense and the fact that one of those players won't be here for some of the games in the beginning of the season would make it a little harder to develop at this point.

The roster that we have today may change tomorrow. It is what it is for right now.

We're pleased to have someone as well-respected as Dom join the Dolphins. He brings a wealth of knowledge to Miami and will be a valuable addition to our staff.

This is something that is not necessarily etched in stone until the league makes some kind of ruling about it, which I'm not even sure of. So we're not going to speculate on what we're going to do. We're just going to have to plan to give ourselves the best competitive advantage we possibly can.

We have an idea of how we're going to use (Williams), but we don't have an idea of how much we're going to use him.

Capers brings a wealth of knowledge and will be a valuable addition to our staff. I'm sure his contributions will help us continue to improve as a team.

I would be a little disappointed for our players (if a blackout occurs). These guys have worked hard, and we have done a lot to try to make the team better.