Top 43 Quotes & Sayings by Jimmy Johnson

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American coach Jimmy Johnson.
Last updated on December 25, 2024.
Jimmy Johnson

James William Johnson is a former American football coach and sports analyst. Johnson served as a head football coach on the collegiate level from 1979 to 1988 and in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He is the first head football coach to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl, achieving the former with Miami and the latter with the Dallas Cowboys.

Do you want to be safe and good, or do you want to take a chance and be great?
When I went to the Dolphins, we retained most of their coaching staff, and of course, we had a few veteran players. So, I just tried to add a few pieces here and there.
I could start a fire from scratch.
Treat a person as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a person as if he were where he could be and should be, and he will become what he could be and should be.
But I was always a bit of a gypsy, anyway. I spent five years at Oklahoma State, five years at Miami and moved on after winning the national championship, and five years with the Cowboys. So, I was ready to move on. We won back-to-back Super Bowls, and I felt that I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish.
And the main thing was that I wanted to live in south Florida. That's why I left the Cowboys; to live in south Florida.
In fact, one of the conversations I had with Jason Garrett, you know, sometimes X's and O's get so complicated, and a coach gets so into that that he forgets the most important thing is players win ballgames. Make sure that the players are properly equipped and motivated to do their jobs.
There is a way to practice hard and be physical without pads. You can still be a physical football team and be efficient in practice without pads. The 49ers practiced like that for a long period of time in the 1980s under Bill Walsh and were extremely successful when all the other teams were practicing in pads.
Anybody who has ever been around me knows I'll give you my opinion. — © Jimmy Johnson
Anybody who has ever been around me knows I'll give you my opinion.
A head coach has to be able to oversee all facets of the team and of the game.
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.
You can't be a sloppy football team and be successful in the NFL.
I'm not really good with predicting.
Give people enough guidance to make the decisions you want them to make. Don't tell them what to do, but encourage them to do what is best.
Football rewards the guys that are in great condition.
I don't want to lose the feeling I have for players, but the pro system almost causes you to be cold and insensitive, when you have to release players yearly.
The only thing worse than a coach or CEO who doesn't care about his people is one who pretends to care. People can spot a phony every time.
I was the personnel director there with the Cowboys.
I don't miss a minute of 'Survivor.'
Military leaders aren't made. They are born. To be a good leader, you have to have something in your character to cause people to follow you.
How 'bout them Cowboys!? — © Jimmy Johnson
How 'bout them Cowboys!?
I can't confirm any rumors. I'm happy doing what I'm doing. I have no interest in going back to coaching.
You can't really compare teams just because of two or three players.
A lot of coaches could ration out their time. They could delegate. They would make time for their family. But when I was coaching I would almost laugh at those guys. I knew we were working the extra hours to get an edge on them.
I'm not a bad man. — © Jimmy Johnson
I'm not a bad man.
I'm really impressed with Kolb there in Philadelphia. He's a very talented quarterback.
An objective truth and individual reason are feared above all.
I've heard all the coaches complaining about the new CBA rules limiting padded practice. I don't like the reduction to just 15 padded practices during the season. When I coached, we always practiced in pads; and three days a week.
You've got to make sure that every body's putting in the work and you've got to have the discipline to go out there and get the job done.
Of all the programs, I watch sporting events live and I watch 'Survivor' live. Everything else I TiVo.
In some ways 'Survivor' might have saved my life.
Just following 'Survivor' over the years, sometimes if an individual is not a threat and he doesn't rub anybody the wrong way and he can get into an alliance, he can hang out there for a while.
Like I always say, it's not how many great plays you make; it's how few bad ones you make. I know fans, and even some losing coaches, are enamored with long pass completions or the great run plays, but that doesn't offset the interception or the fumble.
I want to do what I want to do, when I want to do it.
The other thing was that when I was at the University of Miami, we ran a pro-style offense and defense. I started each year by going to a pro training camp, I visited with various pro coaches, and I did this for five years.
I think the biggest thing was that when I was in college, I really concentrated on personnel. That was my strength, and I was, in essence, my own recruiting coordinator. And when I went to the pros, I did the same thing.
With 'Survivor' - I didn't get any sleep, there was no food, we had to boil our water... plus, it was physically taxing during the day. That's what made it more difficult than three-a-day practices.
I've seen every second of 'Survivor' since it started. — © Jimmy Johnson
I've seen every second of 'Survivor' since it started.
Two to three years down the road, other companies not on a model like Dell's will be in trouble.
Elliott's bigger, stronger, maybe even a step faster than Emmitt Smith, but they're both very similar. I think, you know, Ezekiel Elliott is a more powerful runner. He runs over people. Both of 'em can make people miss, so you don't really get a big shot on 'em. But Elliott will take on tacklers, whereas, you know, Emmitt never did this.
Football is such a team sport, so no one individual does it. No one coach or no one assistant coach or no one player, it's a great team sport, so I don't get carried away with a bunch of accolades.
I know as a coach and a player we had three a day practices and that was physically taxing but at least we had food in our stomach and a good nights rest and plenty of cold water.
I think as far as any kind of pressure on a football team or on an individual in professional sports really depends not only on that individual but the leadership they have on the team and the leadership they have on the coaching staff. A lot of times, they can divert some of those pressures off of the individual and off of the team.
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