1.
A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear,
who has you see what you don't want to see,
so you can be who you have always known you could be
Tom Landry
A mentor is someone who articulates what you don't want to accept,
who encourages you to recognize what you'd rather ignore,
so that you can become the person you always knew was within.
2.
There's a misconception about teamwork. Teamwork is the ability to have different thoughts about things; it's the ability to argue and stand up and say loud and strong what you feel. But in the end, it's also the ability to adjust to what is the best for the team.
Tom Landry
3.
Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.
Tom Landry
Establishing an objective is not the principal matter. It is determining how you will approach attaining it and adhering to that strategy.
4.
A champion is simply someone who did not give up when he wanted to.
Tom Landry
A victor is merely someone who persevered when they desired to quit.
5.
Coaching is making men do what they don't want, so they can become what they want to be
Tom Landry
Mentoring is compelling individuals to do what they are reluctant to, so they can become what they aspire to.
6.
Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do but to achieve what they want to achieve.
Tom Landry
Guiding someone to complete a task that they may not be eager to do, yet still reach their desired outcome.
7.
The quality of a man's life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence.
Tom Landry
The standard of a man's life is directly linked to his dedication to excellence.
8.
To live a disciplined life, and to accept the result of that discipline as the will of God - that is the mark of a man.
Tom Landry
To lead an ordered existence, and to acknowledge the consequence of that orderliness as divinely ordained - that is a hallmark of a true individual.
9.
Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control.
Tom Landry
Guidance is a matter of having people observe you and trust, noting how you respond. If you're in charge, they're in command.
10.
A vital team characteristic is the ability to overcome adversity. Any team acquires experience and endurance as it learns to fight back. This in turn builds the kind of character which seldom crumbles at a time of crisis or testing.
Tom Landry
11.
If you are prepared, you will be confident, and will do the job.
Tom Landry
12.
When you want to win a game, you have to teach. When you lose a game, you have to learn.
Tom Landry
13.
In my opinion, character is the most important determinant of a person's success, achievement and ability to handle adversity.
Tom Landry
14.
The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do, in order to achieve what they've always wanted to be.
Tom Landry
15.
A winner never stops trying.
Tom Landry
16.
I don't believe in team motivation. I believe in getting a team prepared so it knows it will have the necessary confidence when it steps on a field and be prepared to play a good game.
Tom Landry
17.
There is only a half step difference between the champions and those who finish on the bottom. And much of that half step is mental.
Tom Landry
18.
Football is to Texas what religion is to a priest.
Tom Landry
19.
Perhaps the toughest call for a coach is weighing what is best for an individual against what is best for the team. Keeping a player on the roster just because I liked him personally, or even because of his great contributions to the team in the past, when I felt some one else could do more for the team would be a disservice to the team's goals.
Tom Landry
20.
The more successful you become, the longer the yardstick people use to measure you by.
Tom Landry
21.
Today, you have 100% of your life left.
Tom Landry
22.
First become a winner in life. Then it's easier to become a winner on the field.
Tom Landry
23.
I've learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.
Tom Landry
24.
Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it's so incredible, it's unbelievable.
Tom Landry
25.
The secret to winning is constant, consistent management.
Tom Landry
26.
I like the South because it is so much warmer on the sidelines than it is up North.
Tom Landry
27.
...even after you've just won the Super Bowl -- especially after you've just won the Super Bowl -- there's always next year. If Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing, then the only thing is nothing -- emptiness, the nightmare of life without ultimate meaning.
Tom Landry
28.
A team that has character doesn't need stimulation.
Tom Landry
29.
I'd rather have a second-best decision diligently pursued than a first-best decision lackadaisically pursued.
Tom Landry
30.
Right after the game, say as little as possible.
Tom Landry