Woody Hayes Quotes

They may outsmart me, or be luckier, but they can't outwork me.

There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you.

We do not pull in and fill up. And I'll tell you why we don't. It's because I don't buy one goddamn drop of gas in the state of Michigan. We'll coast and push this goddamn car to the Ohio line before I give this state a nickel of my money.

Football represents and embodies everything that's great about this country, because the United States of America is built on winners, not losers or people who didn't bother to play.

A man is always better than he thinks.

I am not very smart, but I recognize that I am not very smart.

You don't get many chances to pay back what's been done for you. Take them.

A good general always makes you search for his weaknesses.

I recruited a Czech kicker, and during the eye exam, when asked to read the bottom line, the kicker replied, Read it? I know him.

I don't apologize for anything. When I make a mistake, I take the blame and go on from there. I just despise to lose, and that has taken a man of mediocre ability and made a pretty good coach out of him.

The only meaningful statistic is number of games won.

Because I couldn't go for three.

You can never pay back, so you should always try to pay forward.

The minute I think I'm getting mellow, I'm retiring. Who ever heard of a mellow winner?

To hell with exciting. I'd rather be drab as hell and win.

I've had smarter people around me all my life, but I haven't run into one yet that can outwork me. And if they can't outwork you, then smarts aren't going to do them much good.

Winners are men who have dedicated their whole lives to winning.

The five big mistakes in football are the fumble, the interception, the penalty, the badly called play, the blocked punt—and most of these originate with the quarterback. Find a mistake-proof quarterback and you have this game won.

I've had smarter people around me all my life, but I haven't run into one yet that can outwork me. And if they can't outwork you, then smarts aren't going to do them much good. That's just the way it is. And if you believe that and live by it, you'd be surprised at how much fun you can have. “Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.

The most deceptive course in football is straight at the goalposts.

I may not be able to outsmart too many people, but I can outwork 'em.

When I look in the mirror in the morning, I want to take a swing at me.

The height of human desire is what wins, whether it’s on Normandy Beach or in Ohio Stadium.

Picking an assistant coach, the first thing I was interested in was the man's character.

Indomitable in victory, insufferable in defeat.

Nothing that comes easy in this world is worth a damn.

I never saw a football player make a tackle with a smile on his face.

The bowl games are only supposed to be a fun reward.

It does not matter the size of the man, rather the amount of effort the man is willing to put forth

The game of football is one of strategy and tactics.

Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.

The only thing even in this world is the number of hours in a day. The difference in winning or losing is what you do with those hours.

You'll find out that nothing that comes easy is worth a dime. As a matter of fact, I never saw a football player make a tackle with a smile on his face. Never.

The players fire the coach, and as long as I'm on the same wavelength with them, I can coach as long as I want to.

Perfect preparation prevents piss-poor performance.

Anything easy ain't worth a damn!

Statistics always remind me of fellow who drowned in a river where the average depth was only three feet.

Paralyze resistance with persistence.

The only way we'd get beaten was if we got a little fat-headed, if we didn't train right, if we had dissension on the squad.

I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose.

You can never really pay back. You can only pay forward.

Even the best team, without a sound plan, can't score.

We control by attitudes-positive mental attitudes-not by rules.

I don't like nice people. I like tough, honest people.

Nobody despises to lose more than I do. That's got me into trouble over the years, but it also made a man of mediocre ability into a pretty good coach.

When you're winning - you don't need any friends. When you're losing - you don't have any friends anyway.

Without winners, there wouldn't even be any civilization.

There's nothing in this world that comes easy. There are a lot of people who aren't going to bother to win. We learn in football to get up and go once more.