They Said It

? Bum Phillips, New Orleans Saints coach, on Bear Bryant's retirement (page 24) after losing four games this season: "I hate to see him take the blame, but he said when things go wrong you've got to start at the top. Of course, I thought he meant the president of the university."

?Frank (Muddy) Waters, fired as Michigan State football coach after three straight losing seasons, on the difficulty of turning a program around: "One problem is that some of our people want to go back to the good ol' days. But we can't go back to the good ol' days because they ain't legal."