"I want all Cowboys to know that I'm gonna lead us through this and get us to a Super Bowl."
- Jerry Jones
Leadership
"I’ve never been a fan of this ‘manage the game’ stuff. It doesn’t make sense to pay guys to make plays, then tell them to go out and not make mistakes."
- Troy Aikman
Boldness
"As a player, you’re gonna make plays but you’ve got to look at the mistakes that you made and see what you can do to help the team and eliminate those mistakes."
- DeMarcus Ware
Learning from Mistakes
"The more you prepare beforehand, the more relaxed and creative and effective you’ll be when it counts."
- Bill Parcells
Hard Work
"Just think about the game. Think about playing great, having a great time. Helping your team win."
- Deion Sanders
Joy
"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."
- Lou Holtz
Motivation
"The harder I work, the luckier I get."
- Gary Player
Hard Work
"Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan."
- Tom Landry
Goals
"If you’re going to bet on somebody, it’s best to bet on yourself."
- Martellus Bennett
Belief in Self
"There are no traffic jams along the extra mile."
- Roger Staubach
Perseverance
"A winner never stops trying."
- Tom Landry
Persistence
"We all do well when things are going well. What distinguishes athletes is the ability to do well in times of great pressure."
- Roger Staubach
Resilience
"If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat."
- Herschel Walker
Fitness
"Confidence is what swagger is."
- Michael Irvin
Self-confidence
"I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat."
- Tom Landry
Learning from Mistakes
"The ones who want to achieve and win championships motivate themselves."
- Mike Ditka
Motivation
"Leadership is getting someone to do what they don’t want to do but to achieve what they want to achieve."
- Tom Landry
Leadership
"Losers assemble in little groups and complain… but winners assemble as a team."
- Bill Parcells
Teamwork
"Perhaps the toughest call for a coach is weighing what is best for an individual against what is best for the team."
- Tom Landry
Leadership
"Really it comes down to your philosophy. Do you want to play it safe and be good or do you want to take a chance and be great?"
- Jimmy Johnson
Taking Risks
"Accept false steps as opportunities to learn…it’s one thing to hate failure; it’s another to fear it."
- Bill Parcells
Learning from Mistakes
"If you are determined enough and willing to pay the price, you can get it done."
- Mike Ditka
Determination
"Success is about having, excellence is about being. Success is having money and fame, but excellence is being the best you can be."
- Mike Ditka
Success
"A coach tells you what you don’t want to hear, has you see what you don’t want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be."
- Tom Landry
Empowerment
"True leaders stand up to be counted in crunch time. Rather than run from the heat of a demanding job or tough judgment, they welcome it; they understand that it comes with the territory."
- Bill Parcells
Leadership
"This is what matters to me: Not all the big numbers, the fancy statistics. I want to make the plays that count."
- Keyshawn Johnson
Focus
"What sets disciplined people apart? – The capacity to get past distractions. Focus on the task at hand."
- Bill Parcells
Focus
"Passionate people, with a single-minded focus don’t listen to the noise."
- Jason Garrett
Focus
"I was 0-11 as a [rookie] starter, but we didn’t throw in the towel. We all pulled together to do whatever was necessary to succeed."
- Troy Aikman
Teamwork
"Leaders have to work harder than the people they hope to motivate."
- Bill Parcells
Leadership
"Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream."
- Emmitt Smith
Motivation
"The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra."
- Jimmy Johnson
Success
"Spectacular achievements come from unspectacular preparation."
- Roger Staubach
Hard Work
"Treat a person as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat him as he could be and he will become what he should be."
- Jimmy Johnson
Empowerment
"Before you can win, you have to believe you are worthy."
- Mike Ditka
Belief in Self
"How ’bout them Cowboys."
- Jimmy Johnson
Inspiration
"Big-time players make Big-time plays in Big-time games."
- Jimmy Johnson
Achievement
"Confidence doesn’t come out of nowhere. Its a result of something; hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication."
- Roger Staubach
Self-confidence
"When you want to win a game, you have to teach. When you lose a game, you have to learn."
- Tom Landry
Learning from Mistakes
"You’re never a loser until you quit trying."
- Mike Ditka
Resilience
"There comes a point in a game where you gotta make a play or do something to get your team over the hump. When that time comes you gotta be able to do it."
- Tony Romo
Taking Risks
"Winning isn’t getting ahead of others. It’s getting ahead of yourself."
- Roger Staubach
Success
"It’s blood, sweat, sometimes tears."
- "Bullet" Bob Hayes
Determination
"I’m not really in the excuse business."
- Bill Parcells
Responsibility
"In my experience, you learn far more from winning, which also makes your players more receptive to criticism."
- Bill Parcells
Learning
"There's only one way, and that's the way you prepare."
- Emmitt Smith
Determination
"Once you have done everything that you possibly can – you’ve put forth your greatest effort – then I can live with whatever’s next."
- Bill Parcells
Contentment
"If things came easy, then everybody would be great at what they did, let’s face it."
- Mike Ditka
Hard Work
"I’ve never bought into the idea that you learn much from losing."
- Bill Parcells
Learning from Mistakes
"You can only really yell at the players you trust."
- Bill Parcells
Leadership
"If you align expectations with reality, you will never be disappointed."
- Terrell Owens
Awareness
"Give role players love. Praise can be most valuable when it’s merited by someone whose supporting role is often overlooked."
- Bill Parcells
Empathy
"It's not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters."
- Paul "Bear" Bryant
Success
"Success is dependent upon each other as well as commitment and character."
- Bill Parcells
Teamwork
"You see him run by a secondary player and then when he puts that stiff-arm [out] you quit worrying about him a little bit. He’s the daddy when he does that."
- Jerry Jones
Inspiration
"Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple."
- Barry Switzer
Awareness
"The Cowboys taught me the purpose of life is bigger than life itself."
- Roger Staubach
Inspiration
"Do your job, not someone else's."
- Jason Witten
Responsibility
"I'm proud to have been a Dallas Cowboy."
- Randy White
Persistence
"The Cowboys are my team and will always be my team."
- Michael Irvin
Belief in Self
"Don’t worry about it. It’s just a bunch of guys with an odd-shaped ball."
- Bill Parcells
Mindfulness