Lou Holtz Quotes

So many times people are afraid of competition, when it should bring out the best in us. We all have talents and abilities, so why be intimidated by other people's skills?

As a coach, one thing that used to frustrate me was one player would make a bad decision, and that's all you would read about in the papers all over the country. We have so many athletes do so many wonderful things for other people, and you never read about it.

No, but you can see it from here.

You're never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you're never as bad as they say when you lose.

Teamwork is the foundation of success. The three universal questions that an individual asks of his coach, player, employee, employer are: Can I trust you? Are you committed to excellence? And, do you care about me?

Don't be a spectator, don't let life pass you by

Absolutely. There are a 1000 better coaches in the cities, but I'm the best in the country.

I believe that having a spiritual life is so important in everybody's life.

If you make a fist and hold it for two hours, you won't be able to pick up a glass because you'll be so weak. Let's stay loose. Let's have fun.

We aren't where we want to be; we aren't where we ought to be; but thank goodness we aren't where we used to be.

Give me a blackboard. I can stop anything on a blackboard.

I've never known anybody to achieve anything without overcoming adversity.

Remember. Every day, some ordinary person does something extraordinary. Today, it's your turn.

In life, be a participant, not a spectator.

The problem with having a sense of humor is often that people you use it on aren't in a very good mood.

In this world you're either growing or you're dying so get in motion and grow.

The greatest power God gave us is the power to choose. We have the opportunity to choose whether we're going to act or procrastinate, believe or doubt, pray or curse, help or heal. We also choose whether we're going to be happy or whether we're going to be sad.

To win a national championship, you've got to be a little lucky.

I was raised in a religious environment, and my wife is one of the more religious people that I have ever known.

No one has ever drowned in sweat.

A lifetime contract for a coach means if you're ahead in the third quarter and moving the ball, they can't fire you.

No matter how bad someone has it, there are others who have it worse. Remembering that makes life a lot easier and allows you to take pleasure in the blessings you have been given.

Your neighbors will make judgments about you based on how your lawn and house look, and people who see you passing will judge you based on how clean you keep your car. It's not always fair, but it has always been true. Appearances matter, so make yours a good one.

The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.

Don't ever ask a player to do something he doesn't have the ability to do. He'll just question your ability as a coach, not his as an athlete.

Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they're making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as punishment. And that's the difference.

Whenever you give up something, you must replace it with something.

The best way to save face is not to use the lower half.

Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity.

How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.

Momentum is whatever your attitude determines it to be.

We will use some kind of option and we will throw the football. I hope it will be at our people.

The standards you establish for others must reflect the standards you set for yourself. No one will follow a hypocrite.

An agent won't help you get drafted higher, won't make you win more games, and won't make you faster or stronger. They all say they can, but the people who do the drafting don't talk to agents. They talk to coaches, they watch film, they talk to the people who've worked with players. They don't talk to agents.

The way you motivate a football team is to eliminate the unmotivated ones.

Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.

Had I been a great athlete, I'm not sure I would have even gone into coaching. I may have turned out feeling that my life ended when my athletic career ended, as happens so many times with various athletes.

I'll assure you this: I will have nothing to do with politics.

We are not going to win because you have a new head coach, any more than you are going to fix a flat tire by changing the driver. We will win the minute all of us get rid of excuses as to why we can't win and stop wallowing in self-pity.

Remember this. Bear Bryant retired at age 69, and he died 28 days after he stopped coaching. If you don't have something, and a purpose in your life, you're gonna die.

I think that we have opportunities all around us - sometimes we just don't recognize them.

The answers to these questions will determine your success or failure. 1) Can people trust me to do what's right? 2) Am I committed to doing my best? 3) Do I care about other people and show it? If the answers to these questions are yes, there is no way you can fail.

Underconfidence breeds underachievement.

Broadcasting is easy; you just talk until you think of something to say.

Ya know, Hitler was a great leader, too.

Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude.

It was a great game if you don't care who won. I cared.

All I've seen agents do is talk players into having bad senior seasons because they're trying to keep themselves from getting injured.