Nick Saban Quotations

What makes Freddy Krueger such a horrible character? What makes him scare you to death? You can't get rid of the guy. He never goes away.

Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people.

One thing about championship teams is that they're resilient. No matter what is thrown at them, no matter how deep the hole, they find a way to bounce back and overcome adversity.

I don't think I'm complicated at all. I'm not political, and I'm not trying to be diplomatic. I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings, and I don't say bad things about people. There is no agenda. There's no trying to fool somebody.

I think I'm pretty misunderstood, because I'm not just about football.

When you invest your time, you make a goal and a decision of something that you want to accomplish. Whether it's make good grades in school, be a good athlete, be a good person, go down and do some community service and help somebody who's in need, whatever it is you choose to do, you're investing your time in that.

Soccer is a continuous game, rugby is a continuous game, but for the physical elements that are involved in playing a football game and the number of plays that you play, I don't know that it was ever intended to be a continuous game.

I don't know that there's any particular scientific evidence that you could say, more guys get hurt in this offense versus that one, or hurry-up, or whatever, but everything that we've ever done in the NCAA is about exposure. How many exposures does a player get?

Now, everybody always says there's no 'I' in team, but there is an 'I' in win, because the individuals make the team what it is, and how they think and what they do is important to the team. So when you act like the individual is not important, well, it is damn important who these people are and what they are.

College football is the only game in the country, of any kind, that the college game is longer than the pro game.

We are pleased with the team chemistry we have right now, and we are pleased with what the players are doing. My comment is going to be about that. It is not on any speculation about what is going to happen in the future.

We've been able to move the ball a little bit better,

We're modern-day gladiators, that mental toughness, if you will, is really important to have in a good team. It's got to permeate your team and there has to be a core group of guys that buy in and believe in that.

We're modern-day gladiators, and that mental toughness is really important to have (in) a good team. It's got to permeate your team, and there has to be a core group of guys that buy in and believe in that.

We respect that, as long as it's taking into account the balance of how it's affecting the player.

When we do decide, we won't be telling you, so you can keep asking. I'll call up (Panthers coach) John Fox. When I call up John Fox and tell him what we are going to do, then I'll let you guys know. Is that all right?

When we get weather that's disruptive, which we've had now two years in a row, I think that's benefit number one.

What happens to everybody else has nothing to do with us, understand?

We felt like he should start in the game. I know he had his penalty or two, but we'll continue to evaluate that and we feel like we have three guys who can play tackle.

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.

We believe we are a better team today than we were yesterday.

We're going to look at this as a two-starter position.

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're not allowed to be frustrated around here. But we're very frustrated.

Would we rather have been in a situation where we didn't have to call timeout by having the best block team that we could on the field? Absolutely, but that wasn't the case, ... I felt that it was an important enough situation in the game, because our guys do a pretty good job inside of getting penetration, to get the right guys in there to do the best job of trying to get the kick blocked.

Would we have rather have been in a situation where we didn't have to call timeout? Absolutely, ... But I felt it was an important enough situation in the game.

Would it be better long-term for him so that he can get better and just not be an every week thing for the next however many more weeks if he doesn't have an opportunity to get some rest and get it a little better than what it is right now?

We're still in the information-gathering stage. People like to ask strategic questions about what we're going to do.

We're still competing at that position, but Gus has taken most of the reps. That's the way it is right now.

We've tried to make a plan on how we would operate if we do have an agreement, how it would that impact our ability to make improvements to the team. All we can do is manage the situation the best we can.

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

We have no intention of moving or trading Jason Taylor .

We want to support every player, and I think every player knows he has a responsibility for what to do and what not to do. As a coach, I also feel a responsibility to put a player in the best situation possible so he can have success.

We want to see guys compete so we can know whether they need to be here, we want them to be here and if they are the kind of people we want. The record doesn't really matter, the result doesn't matter and the score in the game doesn't really matter.

There are no comparisons that need to be made. Both guys are outstanding players.

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.

There is no doubt that quarterback is a critical position in every organization. That really has to be something that we look at to make a good assessment on how we move ahead at that position. We like all of the quarterbacks that we have here, but if we get an opportunity to improve the quality at that position, we most certainly will.

We have a sense of urgency about trying to get him ready, but we're not going to rush him and put him in a position where it's not going to be something he can have success at.

When I call up (Carolina coach) John Fox and tell him what we are going to do, then I'll let you guys know,

We need to make sure we have an adequate backup at that position. We're trying to work through that right now, either with the players we have on our team or some who are available in free agency.

There are times when we are getting an outstanding performance from the running back. There are times when we are getting a hat on a hat to finish a block. We just have to do it more consistently. ... It's just a matter of execution on a more consistent basis from the entire unit.

There are lots of players who have had this injury. There are lots of players who come back and play from this injury, and they actually come back to full mobility and full speed.

Last year was a mountain climb -- we were fortunate to be able to plant the flag at the top of the mountain and win the national championship, ... This year, we have won zero games. We are at base camp at the bottom of the mountain looking up at the climb. And it will be very difficult.

Olindo has had a fantastic camp. He has made a much higher percentage of his kicks than what our standard would be.

Maybe we can create some problems and issues for teams by doing that.

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

My focus is on trying to get our players in the best position we can to have an opportunity to be successful. The other stuff is pretty minor.

Nobody ever said this team wasn't tough. Look at that, it took two teams to eliminate us from the playoffs.

Maybe this guy (Denney) won't mess up twice in a year after he's done it in 10 years, ... But if we were to cut this guy, he would have gotten claimed. And if you watch him snap you would feel the same way. We're not going to second-guess anything that we did.

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.

Nobody has a crystal ball. Nobody can make a prediction. But based on history, the guy is making good progress to come back. ... And as you see his progress being made, it doesn't become a leap of faith to determine whether the guy can come back.

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.

Richard is an outstanding coach who has been in the NFL for 17 years. I coached with him in Houston and have always thought he was one of the best coaches I've had the chance to work with.

Philosophically, they want to establish the run, ... The most important aspect in the game was we stopped the run early.

Philosophically, I don't there's a lot of difference in terms of what we like to do. His knowledge of the league and being able to define things internally in the organization, so you have everybody on the same page, are probably his greatest assets. That and recognition of what people can do - the strength of players, coaches and people in the organization - and putting them in position where they can have success doing it.

Nobody in this room, with all of our power and might put together, can have anything to do with where it goes. What we can try to do is have something to do with preparing for the game and doing our job well and having pride in the performance of what we have to do.

One of the most difficult parts of my job is having to release players, and the past week has emphasized this fact. This is especially true when those players made significant contributions to the success of the team in the past. Ideally, we would like to keep many of those players on our roster, but we are simply not able to do that.

I wish there was some big, like, deal about what happened today. But Ricky's been coming here. He's been going to meetings every day. He's been allowed to work out every day. He just has not practiced with the team.

I wish there was some big, like, deal about what happened today, ... But Ricky's been coming here. He's been going to meetings every day. He's been allowed to work out every day. He just has not practiced with the team.

I would have liked to determine it a month ago or two weeks ago. I would like to determine it. I don't have a problem with determining it. We are trying to determine it. But we don't want to upset the apple cart of what we are trying to accomplish with the development of both of these players by trying to determine something that is not ready to be determined.

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.

I was pleased with the way Sage played,

If we don't have an agreement this year, obviously it's going to affect the cap in an adverse way in terms of what's available to spend on players.

If we're going to do that, we should have had a press conference for the other three guys we signed, too. So how do we choose who has a press conference and who doesn't?

If we just didn't do that kind of stuff, we wouldn't have to worry about it.

If we can get it worked out, maybe he will have the opportunity to play. If he can't, we will have his services later.

If we can get all of the guys to play as well as they are capable of playing, we could have a good football team,

I don't know. He doesn't know. Nobody knows.

I don't feel like we have enough depth. Lance has certainly made a lot of improvement. He is a veteran player that's starting to feel more comfortable in the system. He did make a couple of good plays in this game.

I don't know that tradition has ever won or lost a game. As far as I can tell, the field they have up there is 53 yards wide and 100 yards deep. They'll play 11. We'll play 11. The game will be decided on who does the best job of blocking and tackling and dominating the guys they play against.

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.

I don't care if you are a coach or player, you have family and personal issues and those things that are of concern. Everybody's safety is of concern. I have a great appreciation for the players and what they were able to do today to stay focused on the things that we wanted to try to get accomplished.

Ideally, we would like to keep many of those players on our roster, but we are simply not able to do that.

I am so happy for Ricky. He has played a great role for this team all year. He has been unselfish and has been a really good team guy.

I am surprised that I keep getting asked the same questions that I have been asked for the last six months and I keep answering them the same way,

But what happened in their first game is no indication of the kind of team that they have.

I felt like Ricky Williams played well. He didn't have many opportunities to do much, because he didn't have much space.

I can't sit here and say that our players aren't as good as their players. I feel terribly that we didn't get the result that we wanted.

From an intangible standpoint, it's about things like effort, mental toughness, the ability to stay focused and execute, and be a little relentless in the way you try to go about your work, ... We're gladiators out there. We're modern-day gladiators and that mental toughness has got to permeate your team.

I don't think anybody goes out there not knowing what to do, ... I don't think anybody doesn't know they didn't do it right after it happens. I just think that you are talking about a lot of different multiples and adjustments that have to occur. They happen quickly in the game and I think the more repetition you get on things like that, the more confidence the players gain in their ability to adjust.

I don't think he's ready to carry it 45 times. We're going to have to keep playing him into it, but hopefully we can get him in that 12- to 15-touch mode.

If a player isn't performing relative to the so-called investment that you have in him, sometimes you have to make tough decisions. We were committed to the guy. He was committed. If anything, I feel personally responsible that we didn't make it work with the guy.

I don't think we're considering a lot of changes.

I don't think we played very well. We didn't look quick, we didn't look fast and we didn't play with the same energy level that I've seen us play with throughout the year so far. I'm not blaming it on anything because that's not my nature, but we certainly didn't have the energy and the enthusiasm that we've played with to this point.

I don't think we're where we need to be. I don't think we're where we can be.

I don't think you want me to say what I think about that,

I don't think it's just that position (quarterback),

If Williams were committed to coming back and being a productive player, ... ... well, I've discussed this with some of the leaders of the team, and I think he'd be welcome.

If that is what it takes and gives us the best opportunity to win, the best opportunity to be successful and play winning football on offense, it's not something we wouldn't consider doing,

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.

He has been one of our most productive players.

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.

He did a fantastic job, especially at the end of the game. That's the toughest it ever gets. They're trying to take the air out of him. They're putting them all out there to stop you. He broke two runs that were as big as any in the game.

He did well, actually better than I thought he would. We did not want him to go the whole practice because we didn't want him to get in an overuse situation where he might fatigue that particular injury and have additional problems.

He did some straight-line running (Monday). He threw the ball some. He took some easy drops. So it's not like this guy is not at a point where he can't start doing some things. Now, I didn't see all that. I'm just going on what the trainer and the people doing the rehab with him did. But he was there early and stayed late and worked hard. We were pleased with what he did.

He is not badly hurt. He told me today that if it were the regular season, he would play in this game, but we are obviously not going to take any chances.

He is a bright guy. He has a pretty good understanding of what we're doing. It's just going to take some time to get him into football shape.

He had a lot of tough yards out there.

He got picked before we could get him. Somebody else obviously tutored him up.

He gives us a dimension out there that nobody else does in terms of his physical presence and toughness. We're happy to have it.