Quotes from Ara Parseghian

When you set these high expectations and goals, and they are demolished so early in the season, that has an effect on the psyche. It wears you down.

My mother was really courageous.

I'd go to clinics and hear coaches say, 'You block with your helmet. You tackle with your helmet.' I'd say, 'No way! You block with your shoulder. It's a lot stronger blow, and you don't risk nearly as much. Why be stupid?'

Money talks; there's no question about it.

The game is not won by a pep talk on Saturday. It's won by preparation of your club from Monday until game time. If they're not ready on Saturday, you're not going to get them ready by trying to inspire them with a dog-eat-dog sermon on that day.

You get different philosophies in coaching, usually depending on what position the coach himself played.

One of the reasons I never went into pro football was because I wanted my kids to grow up around an academic environment. And that's exactly what we did.

I don't give a damn what anybody says. I don't think at 70 and 75 that you can be as productive and efficient as you were when you were 40 or 50.

I learned long ago not to tear into anyone for a mistake.

A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.

That's one thing: When I left Notre Dame, when I left every school, what I'm the proudest of is we never compromised the rules, never were on probation, never had any major problems of any kind.

There is nothing more painful than watching a child with a terminal disease.

In my own opinion, psychology in football is far more important than anyone believes, including the coaches.

I say college football began with Rockne.

The harder you work, the less mistakes you make. The fewer mistakes you make, the better your chances of winning.

I remember virtually everything about every loss. And the wins are hardly memorable.

To me, going for a tie means kicking the extra point for a tie instead of going for a two-point conversion to win.

It's not true that I never left South Bend to recruit a player. It is true that I didn't leave very often.

I've missed the association with players and coaches but haven't missed the recruiting and the travel.

You're going to have disappointments. But how you handle those disappointments is the important thing for you and everybody that's around you. That's what I found from being not only a player but also a coach.

The burdens of being a head coach are different from being an assistant. If I had been an assistant coach for awhile, then become a head coach, I probably would have lasted longer.

I've been blessed in many ways, but none of the heights from football can ever compare to the depths you go through when you lose a child.

Success in football is relative. If you take a job at a school that finished with a 1-9 record the year before, you're considered a good coach if you finish 5-5 in your first season. But what happens if you start with 8-2 or 9-1?

External pressure I never worried about.