Terry Donahue ended his 20-year career as head coach at UCLA, his alma mater, in 1995 with a career record of 154-74-8. He led the Bruins to 13 postseason bowl games, including four Rose Bowls and five Pac-10 championships. Donahue competed in six Rose Bowls – one as a player, one as an assistant coach, and four as head coach.
Donahue was one of two coaches in college football history to win a bowl game in seven consecutive seasons. He currently serves as an analyst on College Football Now on the NFL Network.
In January at the American Football Coaches Association Convention in Anaheim, Donahue offered some of his thoughts during the Master Coach session, sitting alongside former Southern Cal coach John Robinson.
“On defense, I’d look for quickness and speed over size and strength.
"I was always more concerned with how we used our best players than the formation they were in. Our defensive coaches used our safeties so prominently. Defensively, if you can tackle, you can hang in any game.
"We had to win, entertain, and beat USC.
"The main thing with discipline is to be firm, consistent and fair. Off the field, we had one rule – you have the responsibility to conduct yourself in a positive manner.
"My ethics came from being a member of the AFCA. The ethics committee wanted me to join them, but I did not want to judge other coaches. But I finally agreed to, and thanks to some of the work by this group, you don’t see things like fighting on the field. That’s been wiped out by the AFCA.
"I have regrets about certain games, but my number one regret is that I retired from college football so early. I was 51 when I retired.
"We all change as we go through life, and I’m not sure that I had a total appreciation of how powerful words are when I was coaching. Words are very powerful to these young men. How and what we say has a dramatic impact on players.
"When things are going good, they’re not really that good, and when things are going bad, they’re not really that bad.
"Opportunity is one of the most important gifts in our lives.”
Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.