Mike Singletary Quotations

Because too many times in life there's just one person that I met, just one thing that I heard, one movie that I saw, one song that was sung, that changed my life. So I'm always trying to stay awake to be in the moment, and capture the moments when they come, because they come and go all the time.

I feel that a great coach is one that has a vision, sets a plan in place, has the right people in place to execute that plan and then accepts the responsibility if that plan is not carried out.

Before we can talk about a championship, we have to practice like a championship team.

Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.

I think a man becomes less than a man when he begins to compromise on what he believes is right.

All I know is, I was trying to win the football game. And the bottom line is, you have to do what you think is right. You have to go with your gut. And if you don't do that, then I think you regret a lot of things later on.

My first game, I played the first play of the game and called a timeout and got sat down, got benched for the rest of the game, and we won the game. It was the longest day of my life. Long day. Very embarrassing.

The No. 1 thing is you want to be able to win the game, and we're going to do whatever we have to do to win the game.

Players respond to coaches who really have their best interests at heart.

You want to learn everything that you possibly can, chew it, digest it, and take it for what it is, and then move on.

I think you can be the greatest orator of all time, the greatest motivator of all times, but if those players know that you don't care about them, and you don't try to understand them, then they're never going to hear what you have to say.

'How' is a great thing to know. 'Why' is the ultimate. I'm the 'why' coach. Why are we doing this? Why are we not doing that? Why is this not working? Those are the things I want to know.

I want winners. I want people who want to win.

When you look at a family, if you have a family that never interacts with each other, never has strong conversation with each other, never has disagreements, nine times out of ten you have a very cold family and they're not going to be, at the end, they're not going to be close.

I'm sure there's a right way and there's a wrong way. The bottom line is you have to do what you think is right.

I am sure there is a right way and a wrong way and in today's life, there are many different rules of being politically correct.

One thing I want you to understand is if I make a decision, it's my decision.

The bottom line is winning. I want to do what we need to do to win football games.

I'd rather play with 10 people and just get penalized all the way until we have to do something else rather than play with 11 when I know that right now that person is not sold out to be a part of this team,

The fact that I was a believer, a Christian, everybody immediately thought this guy's a minister, he's so nice and, oh by the way, he can play a little bit. The other thing for me is being undersized. What a great story, what an overachiever, kind of like Rudy.

Every day I've got to get up and make a decision. I have an opportunity every day to affect young men and the coaches that are around me, the entire organization and the entire community.

It's very important that you focus on winning games and being consistent down the stretch. I think that's what we're focused on. All of the other stuff about who wins and who loses and how many wins do we need, if we're focusing on that, then that's not good.

If a dad does his job, we don't need prisons, we don't need jails. That's what I saw growing up.

I've really gained an appreciation for what coaches do since I returned to the NFL.

The thing that I want to do, the most important thing to me is winning. How we do it, I really don't care.

We're going to do all we can to win. Trust me. We would love for you guys to have Bush.

We've got a ton of work to do. We're going to celebrate a little, and then we've got to get to work.

We've set out to win the division. We're going to win the division, I promise you. Remember me when we do.

So I understand that you have to set goals and maybe when you start out, you're not as good as you're going to be, but if you really work, you can get better and you determine that. So ... I'm never going to quit on a player.

I'd definitely like him to be with me as much as he possibly could, so we could talk and challenge each other and learn together.

I feel very excited. I'm looking forward to what they have to say. The most important thing is, is it right? Is it right for them, and is it right for me?

He's got to grow some fangs real quick.

Jeff Ulbrich understands the game. He works hard. He studies film. Coverage is not just speed, it's technique. Jeff understands that. Not everybody does.

Playing coverage isn't about speed. It's about technique and studying film. Jeff Ulbrich understands that. He's the ears and eyes of the defense.

Our quarterback is going to be Alex Smith.

You lose a guy that you count on every week a blue-collar guy. You never have to worry about, 'I wonder whether Jeff knows the play.' He knows it, probably better than you do.

Thomas lived a life we can all aspire to and learn from.

We gain a lot when (Ulbrich) is in there. He is the voice and the eyes of the defense. He works at it. Coverage is not speed. It's technique, and Jeff understands that.

As the game goes on, they get tired. Most of them start out great. In the first quarter everybody's crisp. In the third quarter, going into the fourth quarter, they get tired and begin to get lazy. Rather than getting all the way down in the stance, they stand up a little bit, so they're not run-blocking.

It was tough to hear that (I needed surgery) at first. I'd played through the summer (in an AAU season) with my knee giving me trouble. I thought I could work past it or put it off. Then they went in and took a closer look and saw that there were a lot more tears than what they originally thought.

Sometimes you get to a place in life where you feel you've made some choices, and maybe they weren't the right choices, and that it's all coming to an end.

A lot of guys that played this game ... they had a lot of discipline, they had a gift,

The biggest thing for me was getting to a point where my wife and I together felt that it was time, ... It was a very important decision for us. Coaching was something I always wanted to do; I just never knew if I was supposed to do it. After much prayer and conversation, we decided it was time.

I just feel that after the season that we have to sit down - as well as myself, everybody - and try and look at what gives us the best opportunity to move going forward.

I can sit here and think of a million reasons why it hasn't happened, ... I believe it's coming. No, it hasn't been fast enough. At the same time, I would hate to see a league with half African-American coaches ... if they're not good coaches.

What made it so special were the players. They were some of the most outstanding men I have ever been around in my life. The coaches were truly professionals. I wish the 49ers nothing but the best. I am thankful to the York family for having given me the opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL. I am indebted to them for that. I am also thankful for the Faithful fans, I am just sorry I couldn't give them more.

Players have responsibility, and if they don't do their job, certain things happen. Coaches have responsibility. If they don't do their job, things happen.

You never really know about a quarterback until he plays in a real game.

Nobody intimidates me.

I used my pants to illustrate.

I want winners. I want people that want to win.

This is a great year for linebackers. Great character guys, hard-working. ... Across the board, it's a great crop.