Interview with Cignetti (former coach under Saban)
</p>
Q: What kind of reception did you get from your new players?</p>
A: This is a team like Alabama on a relative scale. I'd heard they'd
gotten a little soft. So I went into the first team meeting and talked
kind of tough. Nick (Saban) had the tremendous influence on my beliefs. I
got that blueprint in my head, in terms of establishing core values. I
went in and talked to them about discipline, commitment, paying the
price, sacrificing, toughness. After about 20 minutes I walked out and
they gave me a standing ovation. I couldn't believe it. I was touched.</p>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Kids want discipline. It's painful sometimes, but they want
structure. </span>They want to be successful. That's our job, is to push them.
Nick sometimes says, there are two kinds of pain. The pain of discipline
or the pain of regret. Which one do you want? I've never met a
successful person that wasn't disciplined.</p>