There's a reason that the Texas Longhorns play in a venue named "Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium" every Saturday, and it's because of the legendary head coach whose name it bears.
Over the two decades that Darrell Royal was the head coach of the Horns, he not only led Texas to a resounding 167-47-5 overall record, but also led the team to three National Championships (1963, 1969, 1970) and a whopping 11 Southwest Conference titles.
Simply put, he cemented the Longhorns as one of the blue-blood programs of college football, and he is undeniably the greatest Texas head coach of all time.
However, because of his legendary tenure on the 40 Acres, Royal is also considered one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, across the board.
When Sports Illustrated released its latest ranking of the "25 Greatest Coaches in College Football History," Royal rang in at No. 18, ahead of legends like BYU's LaVell Edwards and Notre Dame's Lou Holtz, but just behind coaches like Florida/South Carolina's Steve Spurrier and Penn State's Joe Paterno.
Of course, Nick Saban was the GOAT on the list for his seven National Championships and 12 conference titles between his time with the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers.
Fellow legendary Texas head coaches like Mack Brown, Fred Akers, and Dana Bible did not make the cut for the top-25 list.
Darrell Royal's 'Royalisms' will have a lasting impact forever
Now, clearly, Royal had no issues winning on the field, but it was the way that he went about securing those victories, especially in the conference and National Championships games, that might be what he was actually best known for.
Royal was one of the all-time greats for coming up with one-liners and phrases to motivate his players, and those became known as his "Royalisms."
While Saban obviously has his own slew of mottos, it's hard to argue that anyone's catchphrases stack up to those that Royal came up with while coaching at Texas:
- "God gives talent, size, speed. But a guy can control how hard he tries."
- "I want to be remembered as a winning coach, but I also want to be remembered as an honest and ethical coach."
- "You've got to think lucky. If you fall into a mud hole, check your back pocket -- you might have caught a fish."
- "Punt returns will kill you quicker than a minnow can swim a dipper."
- "Don't matter what they throw at us. Only angry people win football games."
Of course, while Oklahoma's Barry Switzer (who ranked sixth on SI's list) perfected the wishbone offense, it was none other than Royal who actually created it and made it a revolutionary play scheme in football.
Royal is a Longhorn Legend, that is an undeniable fact, and 50 years after his tenure as the head coach of Texas football, his legacy continues to stand the test of time.
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