"Stephenson was a man among children - he didn't say very much, but he didn't have to."
About Dwight Stevenson, the center on the Championship 1979 squad. Bryant also called Stevenson "the best center I've ever coached."

"Sure I'd like to beat Notre Dame, don't get me wrong. But nothing matters
more than beating that cow college on the other side of the state."
To a group of boosters before an Auburn game. This comment was widely reported, and AU upset the Tide a few days later.

"I left Texas A&M because my school called me. Mama called,
and when Mama calls, then you just have to come running."
On why he had to leave A&M with six years left on his contract.

You couldn't play four years and be good enough to cost the University of Alabama thirty yards!"
An irate Coach Bryant to a player who had just received his second fifteen yard penalty of the game.

"he can't run, he can't pass, and he can't kick - all he can do is beat you."
Speaking of Tide QB Pat Trammel.

"All I know is, I don't want to stop coaching, and I don't want to stop winning,
so we're gonna break the record unless I die."
Bryant, when asked if he would break Alonzo Staggs record of 314 college wins.

"I know one thing, I'd rather die now than to have died this morning and missed this game."
Coach Bryant after Bama's win over unbeaten Auburn in '71.

"Hell, no! A tie is like kissing your sister!"
After being asked if he had considered going for a field goal when trailing by three points.

What the hell's the matter with you people down there? Don't y'all take your football seriously?"
Coach Bryant, upon calling Auburn at 6 AM only to find out that
none of the coaches were in their offices yet.

Coach Bryant Six National Championships By Artist D.L. Taylor.

"This is the saddest day of my life."
Coach Bryant, Upon hearing of Pat Trammell's death.

"I'm just a simple plowhand from Arkansas, but I have learned over the years
how to hold a team together. How to lift some men up, how to calm others down,
until finally they've got one heartbeat, together, a team."
Bryant, when asked why he was so successful as a coach.

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."

"What matters...is not the size of the dog in the fight, but of the fight in the dog."

"Don't talk too much or too soon."

"In a crisis, don't hide behind anything or anybody. They're going to find you anyway."

"When you make a mistake, admit it; learn from it and don't repeat it."

"Football changes and so do people. The successful coach is the one who sets the trend,
not the one who follows it."

"If you don't have discipline, you can't have a successful program."

"I can reach a kid who doesn't have any ability as long as he doesn't know it."

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

"Sacrifice. Work. Self-descipline. I teach these things, and my boys don't forget them when they leave."

"When you win, there's glory enough for everybody. When you lose, there's glory for none."

"When you're number one, you don't play for the tie."

"I don't have any ideas; my coaches have them. I just pass the ideas on and referee the arguments."

"I don't hire anybody not brighter than I am. If they're not smarter than me, I don't need them."

"Every time a player goes out there, at least 20 people have some amount of influence on him.
His mother has more influence than anyone. I know because I played, and I loved my mama."

"If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it.
If anything goes real good, you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games."

"Leaders Of The Legacy" By Artist Doug Shinholster.

"You never know how a horse will pull until you hook him to a heavy load."

"The first time you quit, it's hard. The second time, it gets easier.
The third time, you don't even have to think about it."

"Don't give up at half time. Concentrate on winning the second half."

"One man doesn't make a team. It takes 11."

"If you were to ask me if football is a coach's game, I'd have to say it is. And always was."

"I'm known as a recruiter. Well you've got to have chicken to make chicken salad."

"The first thing a football coach needs when he's starting out is a wife who's willing
to put up with a whole lot of neglect. The second thing is a five-year contract."

"The alumni are starting to grumble, and I'm the one starting it."

"You must learn how to hold a team together. You lift some men up, calm others down,
until finally they've got one heartbeat. Then, you've got yourself a team."

"No coach has ever won a game by what he knows; it's what his players know that counts."

"There ought to be a special place in heaven for coaches' wives."

"I don't care how much talent a team has -- if the boys don't think tough, practice tough,
and live tough, how can they play tough on Saturday?."

"Winning isn't imperative, but getting tougher in the fourth quarter is."

"I had to leave Texas. As long as Gordon Wood was there,
I could never be the best coach in the state."

"Boys, I'd like to introduce you to Coach Wallace Wade. He's the man responsible
for the great tradition of Alabama football."

"When we have a good team, I know it's because we have boys
that come from good mommas and pappas."

"Age has nothing to do with it. You can be out of touch at any age."

"The price of victory is high, but so are the rewards."