67 Quotes by Bill Parcells (2024)

Bill Parcells, a highly respected and accomplished coach in the world of American football, is renowned for his strategic prowess, leadership skills, and ability to transform teams. With a no-nonsense approach and an unwavering commitment to discipline and accountability, Parcells instills a winning culture wherever he goes. Known as "The Big Tuna," Parcells's coaching career spans several decades and includes successful stints with multiple NFL teams.

His ability to motivate and inspire players, along with his meticulous attention to detail, has led to numerous playoff appearances and championships. Parcells's coaching philosophy emphasizes the importance of teamwork, adaptability, and a strong work ethic. Beyond his on-field success, he has also influenced and mentored several notable coaches who have gone on to achieve greatness in their own right. Parcells's impact on the sport extends beyond the wins and losses, as his coaching legacy serves as a testament to the power of leadership, strategic thinking, and the ability to bring out the best in individuals and teams.

Bill Parcells Quotes

Losers assemble in small groups & complain, winners assemble as a team & find ways to win.

Confidence is only born out of one thing ­ demonstrated ability. It is not born of anything else. You cannot dream up confidence. You cannot fabricate it. You cannot wish it. You have to accomplish it.

You are what your record says you are.

If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.

Blame no one. Expect nothing. Do something.

The more you prepare beforehand, the more relaxed and creative and effective you’ll be when it counts.

Don't ever let good enough be good enough. (Meaning)

You can easily separate 'team guys' from 'me guys' by how they accept coaching. The guys that accept it are about winning

What sets disciplined people apart? - The capacity to get past distractions. Focus on the task at hand.

A coach wouldn’t throw you to the wolves if he didn’t think you had some wolf in you.

Potential means you haven't done anything yet.

A team divided against itself can break down at any moment. The least bit of pressure or adversity will crack it apart

You lose with potential. You win with performance.

Accept false steps as opportunities to learn. It's one thing to hate failure, it's another to fear it.

A good teacher creates an environment which allows the student to succeed.

Hey fellas! This is what you work all off season for. This is why you lift all them weights! This is why you do all that!

Part of buying the groceries is having a philosophy and trying to stick to it as best you can, knowing that occasionally you may make an exception. But, you do so knowing you're attempting to do it for a certain reason and you have to be very careful not to try to make too many exceptions, because then you wind up as a franchise with a team full of exceptions, which is not what you want.

You don't get any medal for trying something, you get medals for results.

There is winning and there is misery.

No matter how much you've won, no matter how many games, no matter how many championships, no matter how many Super Bowls, you're not winning now, so you stink.

The only players I hurt with my words are the ones who have an inflated opinion of their ability.

It's better to decide wrongly than weakly. If you're weak, you're likely to be wrong anyway.

Knowledge is confidence. And confidence lets you play fast.

Winning coaches look for opportunities to praise. Anything that reflects a commitment to the team is praiseworthy

I think confrontation is healthy, because it clears the air very quickly.

Don't tell me about the pain. Show me the baby.

Look, coaching is about human interaction and trying to know your players. Any coach would tell you that. I'm no different.

Give role players love. Praise can be most valuable when it’s merited by someone whose supporting role is often overlooked

It's a very easy thing to say, 'Go get a backup quarterback.' Now tell me where to get them. You just can't dial them up.

You can only really yell at the players you trust.

Individuals play the game, but teams win championships.

All you have to do is play better than the other guy and things go well. If you don't play better than the other players then somebody takes your place. Now a lot of guys, in this day and time with the transient nature of the sport, as soon as the competition gets too good, they want out.

In the end, I've found, people like the direct approach. It's much more valuable to them to have a leader who's absolutely clear and open than to have one who soft-soaps or talks in circles.

You can't dream up confidence. Confidence is born of demonstrated ability.

Never let the world define you as less than Great.

Success is never final, but failure can be.

The time to worry is before you place the bet - not after the wheel is spinning. Once it spins, you forget about it.

My expectations are greater than the average fan's but, I'm more realistic than the top prognosticators.

I'm not really in the excuse business.

Any penalty - I've told you a hundred times - can be eliminated by concentration or good judgment.

Resourceful coaches strive to have more ways to win than the other team.

The quarterback is in charge of the chuck wagon. He's handing it out here and there, but he can't just throw it out there indiscriminately or the wolves will get him.

It's a lot easier to lose than it is to win. It's easier, but it's not more comfortable.

I talked to the team a lot about staying power. You never find out if you have that until you've been beaten down a few times.

There are two sides to a pancake. One is brown and fluffy; the other is burnt.

You ask yourself, 'What do you want your legacy to be?' I'm content at this point to say, 'Those who follow me.' Romeo Crennel, Bill Belichick, Sean Payton, to name a few. I think I've got a pretty good group, so far.

When you don't know that you don't know, it's a lot different than when you do know that you don't know.

If you're sensitive, you will have a hard time with me.

Look, when you are starting to put something together, you want the pudding to come out good. You're trying to put in the right ingredients.

There's a line, players usually don't cross it and coaches usually don't cross it. Every once in a while you get a little temper tantrum on both sides, I certainly have had 'em. I'm not proud of those.

I'd like to be somewhere near Lawrence Taylor so I can keep an eye on that sucker.

Creatures of similar plumages habitually congregate in places of closest proximity.

You get too old to lose. When you were a young guy, you bounced back from losses.

Don't worry about it. It's just a bunch of guys with an odd-shaped ball.

This season isn't going to be without several crises. There's no doubt about it. They're coming.

My entire life has been spent thinking about this game. That's pretty narrow... I don't view myself as a person who's well-versed in very many subjects. I'm not proud of that.

If you got anything to you at all as an athlete and a competitor, you don't care what the circ*mstances are. You still got competition.

I don't look at a problem and put variables in there that don't affect it.

The thing I really look for in this business is there are guys who are into football and there are guys who are in the profession for other reasons.

If you have fun, fine. It's not all life and death.

I'm not trying to keep anybody happy.

The media dwells mostly on negativity.

I have always felt like you really don't have a genuine confidence unless you demonstrate the ability to do something. You can talk about it, but you have to demonstrate it.

Nowadays, if you are afraid of confrontation, you are not going to do very well.

If the players don't trust the coach, it is a problem, and vice versa.

There are two things in New York, euphoria and disaster.

Why would you live your life worrying about something that's not going to happen?

― Bill Parcells Quotes

Chief Editor

Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.