Paul W. Bryant

“ FOOTBALL IS THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE
Football, in its rightful place, can be one of the most wholesome, exciting and valuable activities in which our youth can possibly participate. It is the only sport I know of that teaches boys to have complete control of themselves, to gain self-respect, give forth a tremendous effort, and at the same time learn to observe the rules of the game, regard the rights of others and stay within bounds dictated by decency and sportsmanship. ”

“ It is a well recognized fact that a coach is no better than his material. Therefore we must have the best material available in order to be a winner. I tell my coaches if they can recruit the best athletes to our school, then I can coach them. If they recruit mediocre athletes, then the assistants will have to coach them.
There are a number of qualifications that we look for in our athletes, and some of these are musts if the boys are to become champions. Football is nothing more than movement and contact. If a player has excellent movement but won’t make contact, he will never be a winner. ”

“ The first trait, “Be dedicated to the game of football,” is a must for all coaches, assistants as well as head coaches. Don’t ever try to fool yourself or anyone else. If you are not truly dedicated to your work, and you dread spending many hours every day working and planning on building a good football team, then you are in the wrong business. I’ll guarantee there is no easy way to develop a winning team. If it were an easy task, all of us would be undefeated and “Coach of the Year.” ”

“ It’s a scramble for tickets, playing parlays, wide-eyed youngsters getting autographs, a fist fight in the stands, second guessing, banquets, icy rains, color guards, fumbles, goal line stands, homecoming queens, and the typical mutt running onto the field attracting everyone’s attention. ”

“ Unless a person is dedicated to his chosen trade or profession, regardless of his field of endeavor, he is never going to be highly successful. Building a winning football team is no exception. The head coach, as well as his assistants, must be dedicated to football. All of them must be tough mentally, too.
Many times a coach’s job is unpopular and unrewarding. From time to time a coach must make decisions that are unpleasant. He cannot compromise, however, if he expects to build a winner. He must be tough mentally in order to survive. ”

“ A player must be dedicated to the game to the extent he is willing to work, sacrifice, cooperate and do what he possibly can to aid the team in victory. It is our duty as coaches to explain and show our boys the advantages of being winners, and to impress upon them the absolute necessity of it so they will put forth the much needed effort to accomplish the objective. It is important for the players to understand that football is not an easy game; nor is achieving fame an easy task. ”

“ It’s a game of young men with big shoulders and hard muscles. It’s also a game of old pros, such as, 38-year-old Charlie Conerly quarterbacking the New York Giants to a football championship.
Football is popcorn, cokes, banners and cigaret smoke. It’s people standing for the kick-off, lap blankets, pacing coaches, penalties and melodious alma maters.
Football is a game of surprises. The big guy everybody picks in pre-season as All-American fizzles out. But a kid nobody ever heard of scores the winning touchdown and a star is born. ”

“ Our next objective is to sell the players on the idea our defensive unit can and will score for us. There are more ways to score while on defense than on offense; consequently, the odds favor the defense. If statistics are kept on the defensive team’s performance, and the defensive team is given credit for all scores made by running back a punt, recovering a fumble or any other defensive maneuver where they either score or get the ball for their offense inside of the opposition’s 25-yard line, which results in a score, the players can be sold on the idea of the offensive-minded defense. ”

“ It always has been my practice to observe people who are successful in a particular field, and try to determine what makes their operation successful. There is little originality remaining [16] in the field of coaching. Consequently we have gotten many of our ideas from other people. As Frank Howard of Clemson College put it, “If we get something from one team, it’s called stealing; but if we get ideas from several different teams, it’s called research.” ”

“ The number one objective of offensive football is to score. If we cannot score, then the only alternative is to kick. We never want to surrender the ball to our opposition outside of the 4-down zone other than by kicking it to them. We cannot possibly win the tough football games if we lose the football by fumbles, interceptions, blocked kicks, or anything else other than by kicking the ball to our opponents. ”

“ When a team is on defense, the players are challenging the offensive players in relating to an area of ground or field. Every man on defense should believe, “I am not going to let the offense score.” If you expect to be a winner, either as a player or a coach, you must believe in this philosophy 100%. Your play must be sound, and you must believe in it.
Offensive football is assignment football, while defense is reaction football. One mistake on defense can cost a team a football game. ”

“ There are many defenses that are good versus various offensive formations. The important point is to have a defense you and your players believe in, and which is sound in all respects. Each player must take pride in himself and his defensive ability. He must personally feel he is not going to permit the opposition to score. He must accept it as a personal challenge to himself. He must eliminate the long run and/or the long pass for the “easy” touchdown, pursue relentlessly and tackle viciously in order to be sound both individually and as a team while on defense. ”

“ If the football is carried properly, and the ball carrier is determined to hang on to it, the football should never be lost due to a fumble. The ball is the most valuable object on the football field. Consequently if the ball carrier fails to hang on to the ball, he is letting down his entire team. Once a player has control of the ball and fumbles it, this is no accident. It is either carelessness or lack of courage. I can’t build a winner with this type of player. In a close game a fumbled ball can be the deciding factor in winning or losing. ”

“ Everyone knows the effect an interception can have on both the offensive and defensive teams.
In order to do an intelligent job of telling our quarterbacks where not to throw the ball, we must know the maneuvers of the opponent’s defensive secondary on action passes and on drop back passes. However, we always give our opponents credit for being as smart or smarter than we are. They, too, teach their quarterbacks where not to throw the ball. Consequently we try to make their job even more difficult by using some stunts in our secondary. ”

“ Previously I mentioned the importance of good morale in building a winner. In order to sell a boy on defense you must create good morale. Therefore, we sell our boys on the idea that playing defense is the toughest assignment in football. We try to see that our defensive players get most of the recognition and favorable publicity. If our defense makes a goal line stand, and we win the game, we try to give most of the credit to our defensive players. ”

“ The third type of quarterback is the one every coach is seeking. He directs his team to maximum results. He is a student of the game. He is logical in his thinking, and bold in his action when necessary to win the football game. He is confident, which in turn gives his team confidence in him and the offense. He is a winner through preparation, and he will give you winners through his action and leadership. Unfortunately there are few such quarterbacks of this particular type. Consequently you must take what you have and develop what you’ve got. ”

“ However, in order to do an intelligent job of planning our attack versus the numerous defensive alignments, one must have sufficient offense since not all plays are good against all defenses.
Regardless of one’s offense, the first approach is to establish a good sound middle attack that is based on the trap, fullback hand-off, and a pass off of the same action. Unless a team can force the defense to respect the inside power and force the defensive linebackers and guards to stay “at home,” it is almost an impossibility to perfect the outside attack. ”

“ If we, as coaches, lose the true sense of the value of football and get to a point where we cannot contribute to a boy progressing spiritually, mentally, [5] and physically, we will be doing this wonderful game of football a great injustice by remaining in coaching.
The coaching profession is honorable and dignified and we football coaches are in a position to contribute to the mental development and desirable attitudes which will remain with the boys throughout their lives. We have the opportunities to teach intangible lessons to our players that will be priceless to them in future years. ”

“ There is no corner on the brain market and a person advances in his field through hard work and his own initiative.
It is a must that all coaches be good “mixers.” They must be able to get along with each other, the head coach, the players, and the people in the community. On the college level a coach must know how to recruit, and most of the time the successful recruiter is a good mixer. He must sell your product—the school, the team, the coaching staff, etc.—to athletes and their parents, and his job will be easier if he has this type of personality. ”

“ I am not saying that a coach should not try to win every game, because he obviously should strive to win ’em all. I merely want to point out the fact that without the security of a job for a period of years, he might be forced to revert to certain practices which he knows are not sound principles on which to build a winning program. ”

“ Rushing the passer is a good element of surprise, especially with an 8- or 9-man line. Overloading one side of the line is a sound tactic, too, because you have more men rushing than the offense has blocking, and the quarterback must get rid of the ball quickly. If the quarterback has sufficient time to spot his receivers, then throw to one of them when he breaks to get open, it is difficult for the defense to cover the pass properly.
The men rushing the passer must have their hands up high, forcing the passer to release the ball higher than he does normally. ”

“ Each halfback starts toward his deep one-third zone as he sees the straight drop back pass develop. Although they commence slowly, the longer the passer holds the ball, the faster and deeper they cover their one-third areas. The deep men do not take the passing fake, such as the ends and linebackers must do. When the ball is put into the air in his area, the halfback must sprint to intercept the pass. It is very important that the halfbacks take the shortest and straightest line to the football once it leaves the passer’s finger tips. ”

“ Most coaches take pride in their ability to pick out boys with athletic ability. I am no exception. However, you can never be absolutely certain about a boy because you cannot see what is inside of his heart. If we could do this, we would never make a mistake on a football player. We have seen it occur frequently where a player was pitiful in his freshman year, and the coaches almost give up on his ever improving. However, through determination, hard work, pride and desire the boy would finally develop and would play a lot of football before he graduated. ”

“ It is virtually impossible for a quarterback to know and do everything correctly. However, a coach must work with his quarterback, and the individual must spend many additional hours studying and preparing himself so he will be able to handle any situation that arises. It is an absolute must for your quarterback to be well prepared if you expect to have a successful football team. If you are rebuilding a football team, it is very important for you to pick your quarterback first, find out what he can do well, and then build your offense around him. ”

“ I am a firm believer in the old saying, “A head coach is no stronger than his assistant coaches.” In order for any head coach to have a good program he must surround himself with a staff of good assistant coaches. This does not mean that every coach must have six or eight assistants. In some cases the head coach may not have more than two or three assistants. ”

“ An intercepted pass will probably get the defensive team out of a tight spot quicker than any other play in football. An intercepted pass also can change the complexion of a game very quickly. We recognize the fact that a team which is difficult to pass against is a difficult team to defeat. Therefore, in order to be “tough” defensively pass defense is one phase of football which we must work on every day. If we can either eliminate a team’s passing game or hold this phase of their offense to a minimum gain, we will definitely have the edge over our opposition. ”

“ One difference is the guard is head on the offensive guard, instead of on the offensive center. The distance he lines up off the ball in a staggered stance will be determined by the tactical situation. On the snap of the ball he plays the guard with a hand shiver, and immediately locates the football. If it is a back-up pass and there is no man in a 0 or 1 technique, he will look for the draw play first, and then rush the passer. If it is a running play, he will look first toward the inside for a trap, and then pursue the football. ”

“ When we are trying to rush a field goal attempt, we never rush from both sides at the same time, and we always play our 3-deep pass coverage. The only exception is that our safety will line up a little deeper so he can handle the ball if the situation warrants it. We are always as conscious of the fake field goal attempt and pass as we are of the actual place kick. ”

“ When working with our quarterbacks “picking” a defense, we never tell them to attack the opposition’s weakness but merely to run away from their strength. The only time your quarterback really needs to know how to recognize a defense and its strengths and weaknesses is when he is changing plays at the line of scrimmage. Otherwise your quarterback will call specific plays in certain zones or areas according to your scouting report and game plans. ”

“ As far as football players are concerned, the ordinary ball carrier will try to make a touchdown, but he will be satisfied with a five or six yard gain. The champion athlete, the All-American back, is dissatisfied when he fails to score. He is always going for the opposition’s goal line. The ball carrier actually does not succeed in his objective unless he runs for a touchdown on every play (except for occasional tactical situations) , and he should never be made to feel he has accomplished his objective unless he scores. ”