Jimmy Johnson Quotes

We have to talk about the players we have.

As a coach, you have to play to how your team is built.

I have a lot of admiration for those who build tactical systems, but I always thought the most important thing a good coach must do is build the team around the characteristics of his players.

There are small things that every coach brings when they go to a new team. Like, you need to press this way or the other way.

Whenever you are coaching, you are trying to get the most balanced team that you can: balance between defense, offense, and rebounding.

Everyone's system in the NBA makes sense. It all comes down to the quality of player and the quality of execution.

People often talk about a coach's philosophy, but generally, I think managers look at the players they have and then decide on their style.

You buy the right players for the system that you believe will be successful.

Bad performances can happen and are not that serious - even with new players. You can't, say, sell him, get a new one.

It's all about putting the best team together - not just in the front office but the players on the field.

We probably spend more time talking about individual players in our coaching sessions than anything else.

When I played with the Knicks, I was just as important or just as smart as any other of the guards I played with. I still had to call out plays, notice schemes, know the systems, do everything they had to do.

The challenge coaches face is replacing players they were counting on to be major pieces of a puzzle. In a lot of cases, there is just no way to make the necessary adjustments.

If you're a coach and your team doesn't win, at some point you've got to change the coach.

When things aren't going well, it's very easy to blame the coaching staff.

It is possible to sign many great players, but you cannot buy a team.

My idea is to know every player and to know, also, the personality of the players.

I understand very well that if you are a national coach, you want to use all the opportunities that you have to meet up with your team.

You have to figure out that balance between younger players and veteran players, star players, and All-Star players, really a team effort. And then you have to be lucky.

I don't really like the business side of football, but I just like adding good players to our football team.

As a player, I had no idea whatsoever about getting a team ready for a game, what it entails.

I think it's very important to have contact with the players that I will coach.

The team evolves over time, and players need replacing.

Every coach has his own ideas about managing the team and how it plays.

Us coaches love to have as many players available as possible.