Nick Saban Quotations | Page 3

We have no intention of moving or trading Jason Taylor .

We have to get the kind of execution at quarterback that will give it to them.

We've tried to make a plan on how we would operate if we do have an agreement, how it would that impact our ability to make improvements to the team. All we can do is manage the situation the best we can.

Would it be better long-term for him so that he can get better and just not be an every week thing for the next however many more weeks if he doesn't have an opportunity to get some rest and get it a little better than what it is right now?

Would we have rather have been in a situation where we didn't have to call timeout? Absolutely, ... But I felt it was an important enough situation in the game.

Would we rather have been in a situation where we didn't have to call timeout by having the best block team that we could on the field? Absolutely, but that wasn't the case, ... I felt that it was an important enough situation in the game, because our guys do a pretty good job inside of getting penetration, to get the right guys in there to do the best job of trying to get the kick blocked.

We're still competing at that position, but Gus has taken most of the reps. That's the way it is right now.

We're still in the information-gathering stage. People like to ask strategic questions about what we're going to do.

We want to see guys compete so we can know whether they need to be here, we want them to be here and if they are the kind of people we want. The record doesn't really matter, the result doesn't matter and the score in the game doesn't really matter.

We want to support every player, and I think every player knows he has a responsibility for what to do and what not to do. As a coach, I also feel a responsibility to put a player in the best situation possible so he can have success.

We're modern-day gladiators, and that mental toughness is really important to have (in) a good team. It's got to permeate your team, and there has to be a core group of guys that buy in and believe in that.

We're modern-day gladiators, that mental toughness, if you will, is really important to have in a good team. It's got to permeate your team and there has to be a core group of guys that buy in and believe in that.

We've been able to move the ball a little bit better,

We respect that, as long as it's taking into account the balance of how it's affecting the player.

We're going to look at this as a two-starter position.

We believe we are a better team today than we were yesterday.

When we get weather that's disruptive, which we've had now two years in a row, I think that's benefit number one.

When we do decide, we won't be telling you, so you can keep asking. I'll call up (Panthers coach) John Fox. When I call up John Fox and tell him what we are going to do, then I'll let you guys know. Is that all right?

We felt like he did a good job in going in and playing significantly in the last game when Jason got hurt. There is nobody disappointed in his performance. That's where you have to be careful about stats. How many opportunities did he have that he didn't make? That would be a better assessment of what he has or hasn't done.

We felt like he should start in the game. I know he had his penalty or two, but we'll continue to evaluate that and we feel like we have three guys who can play tackle.

What happens to everybody else has nothing to do with us, understand?

We're fortunate to be able to add someone with Mike's knowledge and experience to our staff. (With the Bills), he instilled in his players a sense of belief in his system and those leadership skills will serve him well in his new role.

We're not allowed to be frustrated around here. But we're very frustrated.

We are pleased with the team chemistry we have right now, and we are pleased with what the players are doing. My comment is going to be about that. It is not on any speculation about what is going to happen in the future.

During his tenure in Pittsburgh, the Steelers had one of the most effective offenses in the league. His expertise produced an explosive and physical style of play, and he raised the production level of his quarterbacks during that time. We feel Mike is a quality person who will be a great addition to our team.

Ed Perry has done a good job for this organization for a long, long time. I have a lot of respect for him as a player and as a person. But from a business standpoint, it always makes sense to go with the younger guy.

At this point, I'm not ready to say that changing quarterbacks is going to solve all our problems, so that's where it's at.

Bobby's an outstanding person and as fine an assistant as we had at Michigan State, ... To be able to hire someone of his caliber, who also has knowledge and experience of your system -- it's almost like you didn't lose a coach because there's so much continuity.

Do we want to play him 75 plays in a game? Probably not, ... Do we want to play him in spots and spurts and see how he responds and reacts to it? It's almost like you would do in a preseason game -- six, eight plays, take him out for a few, put another guy in, give him six or eight more and see how he manages it.

Do we want to play him 75 plays in the game?

What is is and what's now is now and we're going with what we've got.

What people do on the field is kind of your calling card in terms of the quality of work. When he was a defensive coordinator at Jacksonville and Pittsburgh, they did some pretty quality work. They had top-line defensive teams. He did it in different situations featuring different types of players. That will be helpful to us.

Every guy that we got rid of all of a sudden is the best player there ever was, and never ever made a mistake or had a problem. We're not going to second-guess. Don't ask me to do it.

Everybody that sits in the room on our staff has made a contribution to building that offense. We have built it from the ground up, in terms of the language that we use, and that's not something we want to change for the players.

Thinking about anything other than what we have to do to prepare to play the next game, to minimize our errors and maximize our performance is out of the question.

While we do this, from a player's perspective it would be advantageous if we got fan support.

The Raiders had a hard time with him. He wrecked the game, creating two turnovers that really iced the game. He's a fantastic player.

With such a demanding schedule, it's also important that we improve as the season progresses and develop the kind of team chemistry that will allow us to play winning football and finish strongly as we did last year.

When you go down and score the first time you have the ball, that sets the tempo for the game.

When you have reached the pinnacle as a player of what you have always aspired for, what's your motivation? ... Some guys just work their tail off because they want to be good. It's important to them and their pride. Those guys have a better chance to succeed than the guy who did all of that to get here, and now all of a sudden the things that got him here don't seem to be important anymore.

There are a lot of things we think Chris Chambers is capable of doing and to have success like this will help his confidence and maybe we'll continue to see some big-play potential there, that we've always thought existed.

We've obviously started our research in terms of what the options are going to be for us. One of the goals that we have is to develop the players we have so somebody can be a starter for our organization in the future, or to bring somebody to the organization that has the potential to be a future starter relative to our situation.

I've worked with Kirby and Bo and know the qualities they possess. They both have coached at successful major college programs, allowing them to make a smooth transition to the NFL. They are excellent teachers and will be positive additions to our staff.

It would be very unfair to put it on that position when things aren't being done well around them.

We all have a professional responsibility as clubs to live by the confidentiality rules, which are designed to protect players. However the information got out, I hope those people will take that responsibility and let us make any necessary changes. ... I'm going to be proactive in that effort.

Well, he just didn't look comfortable all the time in terms of making decisions ... and that's something that you'd always like to do with your players is make sure you're asking them to do things they're comfortable doing. You play to their strengths.

We all like winning. The fun of this is a job well done. The purpose of what we do is to have success. We focused a lot this year on the process of what you need to do to be successful. I think this team has bought into that and has a belief system that has been beneficial to how we've competed.

There is somewhat of a difference, although we haven't seen Kelly play that much for them, especially in the regular (season) games, to know there would be a significant difference in game plan other than the fact that they move J.P. around a bit in the pocket.

We had a great first drive. We looked like a good football team, but we've got to do that with consistency. We just have to take advantage of field position when we get it.

To be honest, I didn't even get a chance to watch the game. We came back from practice and watched film on our practice, so I didn't get to see any of the game. We respect the system that is in place and we are playing Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship game. It's a tremendous opportunity for our program and right now all we are focused on is getting our players ready to play Oklahoma.

Both guys did some good things and we're going to continue to try to feature both those players.

Brown playing more and more and more will help us to determine how we do that, but I think to speculate on that right now would be very premature.

Even though our offensive line did a really good job this year, it is an area of our team that we may be able to add something to that might enhance it even more, especially with the kind of running backs that we have. I don't think we have an older guy on our team who is not capable of continuing to play. I think the issue becomes, can they do it and sustain it for the season? Those are the tough decisions that we have to make, but we are going to have to do that with defensive players because we need to get younger.

We are going to effectively try to get him to be able to come back in the best possible condition and the best game readiness he can be in.

We are going to get the quarterback ready that is going to play in the game and we are going to try and get the backup ready to be the backup. It is really insignificant to me, because there are players at every position that get limited amounts of reps to be backups and if something happens to the guy ahead of him, whether they are having trouble performing, they get injured or whatever, that guy has got to get you through the game.

We are going to have a plan for it,

We didn't pick up Gus for his brains. He's on this team because of his arm. How he chooses to celebrate is his business. He can butt heads with a brick wall as far as I'm concerned, as long as his right arm remains healthy.

The thing they were most concerned about is that he had a commitment to come back and try to help the team be successful,

Rather than wear him out, we played him about as much as we planned. We'll play him more and more as time goes on and he gets in better and better shape.

So that was basically the end of that.

I've looked at all of them. Just because you're on a diet doesn't mean you can't look at the menu, right?

You would hope that a guy would want to do something for positive reasons, because he wants to be successful and he buys into the things that can make him successful at what he does.

That's not a luxury that we have right now in this particular draft.

That's not something I'm interested in doing right now. I'm very happy to be the coach here, ... We're looking forward to the challenges of making LSU a dominant program in the future.

That's what you look for in young players, is can they elevate their game, and can they improve and are they making progress.

A lot of people want to know why I want to come back to college football.

A lot of people wearing Saints shirts were very nice to me.

Personally, I hate to release any of the guys. I feel like this is our team. These guys have been here. They've worked hard. They've all made a tremendous commitment and sacrifice to trying to make the team. I have a lot of respect for what they've tried to do and feel badly that every guy can't, maybe, realize his dreams.

Sage obviously did a good job when he was in there. That's something that will certainly be evaluated . . . in terms of who goes where.

Ronnie Brown is still day-to-day. He was better today than he was yesterday.

Ronnie can do a lot of different things. Part of the reason we liked him was the fact that he had versatility as a player, with his size and blocking ability.

Ronnie did a nice job in the game. I'm sure nobody feels worse about fumbling the ball in the situation at the end of the game than he does and that's something that we'll have to learn and grow from.

Ronnie did some very good things, from a blocking standpoint, and made a couple of nice runs,

(Ronnie) wants to do well and he is working hard to do well and you can't always evaluate every situation based on results, in terms of how many yards he is getting a carry and things like that. Some of it is his responsibility, but I think it is a team thing that we all need to improve on, so everybody has a chance to be more successful, including Ronnie Brown.

Sometimes, just like when players are available, you have to make decisions on whether we should bring someone like that into our organization. It's not about whether you have an opening or not. It's about whether this is a positive addition to our organization. That's what we've done. That doesn't mean that it creates other issues for somebody else.

Sometimes, players have never had things explained that way to them, and maybe that's why they see it a little bit different,

Sam has worked hard and played very well for us. He has gotten better and better all year long and has especially played well in the second half of the season. He has been a good guy on our team.

Our doctors felt comfortable about the circumstance of his injury, where he is in his rehab and where he can be in the future. It's our goal to get him ready for this season. He's on schedule to do that.

The responsibility (Belichick) gave me with the Browns, well, I wouldn't be able to do what I do now if I hadn't had that kind of responsibility,

The players showed a lot of pride in their part to establish an identity we're trying to form here,

There are good players at every spot. Including 16.

We had a chance to stop them at the end of the game and they bang us with a big play right off the bat, ... Those things are disappointing. I was very proud, though, of the way our players fought back in the game.

I've always believed the players I coach can learn a lot from the success of their predecessors, and that's especially true here in Miami.

This game is really about our players and not about me going back to Baton Rouge,

This is a big part of the puzzle.

This is something that is not necessarily etched in stone until the league makes some kind of ruling about it, which I'm not even sure of. So we're not going to speculate on what we're going to do. We're just going to have to plan to give ourselves the best competitive advantage we possibly can.

This is something we want to build on,

You really don't know what's going to be available. There's going to be quite a few players picked before we pick. We have to do a good job making sure we've evaluated all the players ahead and behind where we might pick.

You need to wait five years and then we will know whether this guy is a good player or not,

You put your hand in the dirt, you got a guy sitting right there, you have to block him. You don't block him, what does it make any difference whether you are playing right guard, right tackle, left guard or left tackle? You have to move the guy. I think we are overrating anything that we have done, because we are totally missing the point.

This is an opportunity for each and every one of those guys to show what they can do.

This is not really about me at all. I'm really pleased for the players. These players have suffered a little bit over the last year. I think that they all wanted to prove something, and I'm just happy that we could help them accomplish that.

This is not something etched in stone until the league makes a ruling. But we plan to give ourselves the best possible plan.

I know you're going to ask me, 'What are you going to do about it?' ... And I'm going to tell you right now, I'm not sure.

I know Randy has learned a lesson from this. It's important for all our players to understand that they represent this team and this community, and conduct themselves accordingly. Regarding anything we will do in this specific instance, it's a team matter and as such will be handled privately.

I know they didn't play all of their players the whole time. At the same time, we did what we had to do in the game. It probably shouldn't have been as close. I'm pleased with the way these players came out given the situation.

I'm very confident in him, ... Him being able to manage this situation with the first team out there is going to be a good experience for him. If this circumstance ever pops up in the future, it will be something that will serve him well.

I'm assuming that he will be in a decent place from a physical-conditioning standpoint, and it will take a little while to get him back to where he was. But he was in pretty good condition when this started and I think he's worked hard, and I think it will come back quickly to him.

I'm very much convinced of it. I've been with the guy all this time. He's had a significant amount of drug tests. You know, so it depends on how you define that problem. But I'd just like to say we're going to be very supportive of Ricky.

If Sam can't play, it may make us make some other changes,