You do what you have to do to compete, and that takes you to places where you are in a relentless state to find an edge and compete. That mentality keeps you on and on point. The how is following the drive, being resourceful and creative.

I am an example of a person who got zeroed into a philosophy early.

I’ve learned that possibly the greatest detractor from high performance is fear: fear that you are not prepared, fear that you are in over your head, fear that you are not worthy, and ultimately, fear of failure. If you can eliminate that fear—not through arrogance or just wishing difficulties away, but through hard work and preparation—you will put yourself in an incredibly powerful position to take on the challenges you face.

I learned a tremendous amount about what was important to me as a head coach in that I was not in charge. I didn't have final say about what was going on, and I was always having to represent other people's views, and it was very difficult to be real, to be authentic, to be true because there were a number of people who had say about what was going on.

We've lost a lot of coaches around here, but the philosophy and the approach, the standards we have set and the expectations we have maintained have always been upheld from one year to the next.I attribute that to the great character of the players and the willingness of the coaches to not get influenced and get off-message and to get out of the way.

I wanted to find out if we went to the NFL and really took care of guys, really cared about each and every individual, what would happen?

My dad was a good competitor. I know he'd think I was a little off the charts.