I was not asked whether I would have a problem having Michael Sam on my team. I would not.
You can’t always control circumstances. However, you can always control your attitude, approach, and response.
We talked about some of our experiences, focusing, hanging together down the stretch, important games. It’s not necessarily who has the most talent but what team sticks together and executes their fundamentals the best.
He’s probably the hardest-working guy I’ve been around who has great ability. Overachievers work hard because they have to. Peyton has rare talent, but chooses to push himself like he doesn’t.
There’s a difference between making incremental improvements and making sweeping changes that take you away from your core values.
I guess I’m flattered that people think I can help get things done.
I had 10 to 12 close buddies who I played ball with all the way from elementary to high school. That is where I learned to compete.
That’s the difference between the NCAA and the NFL right now. They’ve got to step up and say, ‘We’re going to do the right thing. We’re going to hire qualified people. We’re going to hire the best man for the job regardless of what boosters or anyone else has to say.’
The first thing you have to do is make sure you’re still wanted back. I never take that for granted any more.
Change isn’t always bad; we should always be learning and improving. But the change I was seeing involved principles, not procedures.
I just don’t think you pass on a great quarterback if you have the opportunity. If need be, you can trade it away.
Pain prompts us to change behavior that is destructive to ourselves or to others. Pain can be a highly effective instructor.
God allows us to feel pain for a reason: to protect us.
The biggest thing you need to be successful with it is a quarterback who wants to be involved in the decision-making process and not just merely want to execute plays sent in to him.
I always liked to be fairly simple because you could get more players ready to play quickly. If you lose players to free agency, injuries, etc., it is easier to get young players ready to play in a less complex system.
When I was younger I only read sports books. I loved the biographies that told how athletes developed. When I got into coaching, I did start to read more instructional books, but I was always more interested in the people behind the ideas.
When I was young, I didn’t like to read. I would have much rather been outside doing something than been inside reading about it.
If you want to be an athlete, then getting good grades, going to college, and developing your intellectual skills are important.
I do not think being a coordinator is a requirement, but it does give you some advantages. You get used to working with half the team and you go through the game-planning and decision-making processes.
I enjoy watching football on TV. Many times I can visualize the whole field, even on the TV screen, because I still know enough about what the teams are doing.
The game has changed since the ’70s as more coaches have looked at ways to make it tougher on defenses. But I’m glad my career turned out the way it did – I would have never gotten a chance to learn the defensive side of the ball.