Bobby Bowden Quotes

He doesn't know the meaning of the word fear, but then again he doesn't know the meaning of most words.

There's a saying in my business that there are two kinds of coaches - those who have been fired and those who haven't been fired yet. That's kind of like prostate cancer. Every man will have it if he lives long enough.

All my life, I've been right next to a football field. I never knew nothing else.

The greatest mistake is to continue to practice a mistake.

I won't miss coaching. What you miss is that camaraderie with those boys and the other coaches. You miss that.

If somebody mistreats you, treat 'em good. That kills 'em.

Discipline to me is sacrifice; it's willingness to give up something you want to do, so you can better yourself.

Faith is the most important thing in the world to me. It's the greatest strength I've had. It's helped me get through the hard times. You're not going to win every one of your football games. I've always said I'm not going to make football my god. A lot of coaches put so much into coaching football games that they have nothing left.

Courage is doing something you need to do that might get you hurt.

Even though I retired from coaching, I still believe that is my calling.

Integrity makes my job easier. It's deception and dishonesty that requires so much diligent effort.

If their IQ's where five points lower they'd be geraniums.

You can live by biblical principles, and you can teach by those principles and still be a winner. So many coaches think you've got to kick your players in the rear end. You've got to cuss them out. You've got to hit them across the head. No. You don't have to do that.

A better ending could not have been scripted. Of course, if we had won, that would have been better.

When I go after something, I go after it hard. It has always been that way. I don't know. It's in my blood.

Don't go to the grave with life unused.

Football has always been a big part of my life. Almost from the day I was born, playing and coaching football were all I really ever wanted to do.

I'm not too proud to change. I like to win too much.

I guess I'll retire someday if I live that long.

I've never made football my priority. My priorities are my faith and my dependence on God.

I am not happy with moral victories. Those things are forgotten.

The Bible is big in my teaching. It's a wonder the ACLU didn't get after me pretty good. I really kept thinking they would. I took my boys to church. I took my football team to church. I only did it two times a year. Before I signed a kid, I'd write the parents and I'd tell that parent we were gong to take your son to church twice.

Sportsmanship to me is going out and playing as hard as you can within the rules.

A guy's who has all the money he needs and never faced any hard times, he won't have any character. But when you've had it tough and you've had it rough and you thought you were at the end of the rope and you work your way out of it, that's the way you build character.

That boy don't know the meaning of the word fear. In fact, I just saw his grades, and that boy don't know the meaning of a lot of words.

There's only about 6 inches that turns that halo into a noose.

I've always said it takes more courage to stand back there and throw a ball knowing you're fixing to get drilled than anything I can think of in football.