I don't know if God is a sports fan or not, but I do know this: He loves a good comeback.
At Tennessee, I said I can't wait to beat Florida in the Swamp and sing 'Rocky Top' all night long. The thing at Tennessee I felt was that there needed to be energy in the program immediately. Two of the last three years there, they were 5-7. Urban Meyer and Nick Saban were at all-time highs. I felt like the fan base and players needed confidence.
Toughness isn't that you've got to fight with the guy after the play or punch him because he punched you. That's not tough. That's dumb.
I guess I should say I like to do things that people say you can't do.
I don't think you've done something by getting a job. I think you've done something by proving you can succeed at that job.
Winning changes the perception of what you do, and whether it's a positive or a negative, even though it's the exact same thing.
If I'm cussing at you, swearing at you, calling you demeaning names, are you really thinking about that last play? Am I really helping you get better? Or am I just making myself feel good by demeaning you? I've really never understood it.
When God gives you a second chance, it's not something you take for granted.
In college I was so mad I wasn't playing. The two guys in front of me were Billy Volek and David Carr, but I just realized that was a blessing in disguise, that I was so bad and I never played, so my brain's good.
Anybody can do something one time. You have a great year because everything goes right. But can you maintain it and sustain it for a long period of time as Coach Carroll did and Coach Saban?
I'd like to think I'm always going to defend our players.
It's all right to have fun.
I'm always willing to look at my actions, and do them better.
I know I get a lot of grief about some of the things I've said about Coach Saban, but working under him was like going back to school and getting another degree.
You know what I didn't realize at the time is a really good blessing, is that I was a really crappy player.
People's perception changes so fast. You win, and people say, 'Well, he had all of those sanctions at USC, and that's why he lost.' You lose, and, 'OK, he's a bad head coach, and he's just a good play-caller wherever he has been.'
I think I was 24 when I went to USC with Pete Carroll. Pete believed in people and never worried about their age. I learned that from him.
You have to be yourself. You can't pretend to be somebody else.
When I was younger I used to read everything. 'Why is this guy saying this, why is this article saying this.' That's one of the things Coach Saban has taught me, he does not listen or read anything that's out there at all. He says 'why am I going to waste my time?'
In general, I do not feel the media is very positive toward game performances unless the players play perfectly.
