Throughout American History, the Super Bowl has developed into one of the most popular sporting events in the world, where teams come together under effective leadership to claim victory. And as a school principal, leading your school can sometimes be similar to leading a winning team. With our collection of powerful quotes from coaches, players, and influential voices from the Super Bowl you’ll gain invaluable advice from these sporting greats on what it takes to be a phenomenal leader.
1. “The secret to winning is constant, consistent management.” – Tom Landry, Super Bowl VI champion coach
2. “Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence. If you’re in control, they’re in control.” – Tom Landry
3. “To win, you have to play with a streak of nastiness.” – Chuck Noll, Super Bowl IX, X, XIII, XIV champion coach
4. “You can’t win unless you learn how to lose.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Super Bowl Celebrity Coin Tosser
5. “The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.” – Joe Gibbs, three-time Super Bowl champion coach
6. “Talent sets the floor, character sets the ceiling.” – Bill Belichick, Super Bowl champion coach
7. “Success is not forever and failure isn’t fatal.” – Don Shula, Super Bowl VII & VIII champion coach
8. “I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.” – Tom Landry
9. “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi, Super Bowl I & II champion coach
10. “What it takes to win is simple, it’s not easy.” – Marv Levy
11. “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” – Vince Lombardi
12. “Perseverance is not a long race; it’s many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot, quoted at a Super Bowl
13. “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” – Vince Lombardi
14. “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” – Vince Lombardi
15. “The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” – Vince Lombardi
16. “Confidence comes from hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication.” – Roger Staubach, Hall of Fame quarterback and Super Bowl VI MVP
17. “Excellence must be pursued, it must be wooed with all of one’s might and every bit of effort that we have.” – Vince Lombardi
18. “A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.” – Vince Lombardi
19. “It’s not the SIZE of the dog in the fight, but the size of the FIGHT in the dog.” – Archie Griffin, quoted during Super Bowl festivities
20. “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” – Vince Lombardi
21. “The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.” – Vince Lombardi
22. “If you’re not in the parade, you watch the parade. That’s life.” – Mike Ditka, Super Bowl champion as a player and coach
23. “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” – George Halas, whose team competed in Super Bowl XLI
24. “Leadership is doing what is right when no one is watching.” – George Van Valkenburg, often quoted in sports contexts including the Super Bowl
25. “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” – Vince Lombardi
26. “I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.” – Tom Landry
27. “Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.” – Vince Lombardi
28. “Effort without talent is a depressing situation… but talent without effort is a tragedy.” – Mike Ditka
29. “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, often cited around Super Bowl season
30. “Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.” – Bill Russell, who has been involved in Super Bowl coin tosses
31. “It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.” – Vince Lombardi
32. “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.” – Vince Lombardi
33. “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon, quoted by Super Bowl broadcasters
34. “Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is.” – Vince Lombardi
35. “Adversity is an opportunity for heroism.” – Marv Levy, who coached the Buffalo Bills in four consecutive Super Bowls
36. “You can’t control the outcome, but you can control the effort.” – Tony Dungy, Super Bowl XLI champion coach
37. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” – Warren Buffett, quoted in Super Bowl interviews
38. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill, quoted by Super Bowl champions
39. “What makes a good coach? Complete dedication.” – George Halas, referenced in Super Bowl retrospectives
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