For Spurrier, a Free Consultation

[TK]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16991-2003Oct25.html

George Solomon

washingtonpost.com

For Spurrier, a Free Consultation

Sunday, October 26, 2003; Page E02

Nothing drags this town down as much as a Redskins losing streak, and this one has hit three games and resulted in the team's players, coaches and management and fans and media going to code orange.

From 3-1 with at least one good friend checking under a parked bandwagon, the Redskins have dropped to 3-4, with a day off today and the difficult challenge of playing Bill Parcells's revived Cowboys in Dallas next Sunday.

The day after a numbing 24-7 loss at Buffalo last Sunday was best spent fishing for rockfish under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge with Post outdoors columnist Angus Phillips, talking about everything except football. But the drive home gave me the opportunity to listen to WTEM-980 -- the al-Jazeera of sports talk radio -- hearing LaVar pour his heart out to John Thompson ("I'm just so embarrassed, coach") and then to the Steve Spurrier Show, during which the coach admonished LaVar for his weekly 15-yard penalty ("He's got to stop that stuff.").

Caller: "Hey, coach, you guys aren't very good; how about using a 3-4 on defense and maybe throwing the ball more downfield?"

Spurrier: "My man, you have some good points."

Caller: "Coach, what's up with Rob Johnson?"

Spurrier: "Well, he's our backup. But he never seems to be looking the right way."

And that was only Monday. The rest of the week proved even more chaotic. Owner Daniel Snyder and vice president for football operations Vinny Cerrato brought in Joe Bugel, former Redskins offensive line coach under Joe Gibbs and one-time head coach of the Cardinals and Raiders, as a pass-blocking consultant. He also asked Redskins special assistant in the personnel department, Foge Fazio, to offer suggestions as a defensive consultant. The team then released Johnson (who had to know his time was up if he was a WTEM listener) as well as defensive end Ladaris Jackson and offensive lineman Brad Bedell. On Thursday, Spurrier told The Post's Mark Maske he had been "NFL-ized" the last two or three weeks and would be returning to his "old style" by throwing deep more often. He also said he would complete at least "three of the five years" remaining on his $25 million contract, then left open the possibility of re-signing old favorite, Danny Wuerffel, whom the owner canned before the season.

Whew.

I have nothing against using "senior" consultants -- I was hoping my newspaper might use me, á la the Redskins -- for a one-day consult on the new "Sunday Source" section directed at 20- and 30-somethings. Of course, I would suggest dropping the TV pitch-lady who says "You cannot sit and do nothing" and the pitch-guy who runs a marathon, has sex and then makes gazpacho -- replacing them with me and my advice: "Play golf, eat a cheeseburger, take a nap."

But if you're coaching a football team and the owner wants to bring in a consultant, you should say no. It looks bad to your coaching staff and players. It's the owner's right to do this, but it's the coach's right to say no, it's my team -- and let the chips fall. That's what the NFL coaching legends would have said, with additional colorful wordage.

At Florida, Spurrier never lost three straight games, so this is new to him. Talk of Spurrier's future as Redskins coach began less than halfway through his first season when Spurrier said he might "move on" after three years if he couldn't get the job done. He has a five-year, $25 million contract: Why limit yourself? (It might take me seven years to get this column right.) He has what 99 percent of the football coaches would love: financial security. Enjoy it.

Another Team on the Skids

The Washington Capitals, dispatched to the NHL's hinterlands for two weeks because MCI Center was booked for shows and starlets, and the annual Washington International Horse Show, is 1-5-1, with no wins in five games of a six-game road trip. Star scorer Jaromir Jagr isn't doing anything but whining about his team and life, Kid Coach Bruce Cassidy seems flummoxed, Olie Kolzig has been a target in a shooting gallery, Kono is gone, traded for someone named Bates Battaglia, and the arena smells like the backstretch at Laurel.

"I've seen worse," owner Ted Leonsis said Friday. "We started out worse in 1999 and wound up with 102 points. "I tend not to panic. Hockey is an 82-game season; I think we'll get it straightened out."

Get Over It

What was Coach Frank Beamer doing, slapping wide receiver Ernest Wilford on the helmet during the Hokies' 28-7 loss to West Virginia Wednesday night? Athletic Director Jim Weaver said Beamer's action was "regrettable" and asked his coach for the same "sort of discipline that he requires from his players." Beamer offered Wilford an apology, which was accepted.

Had Beamer been on Virginia Tech's faculty he could have been charged with assault by the student, according to a source knowledgeable in the workings of higher education. Beamer also could have been subject to university action, from an oral reprimand to suspension, or termination.

"We don't think what he did was actionable" said Larry Hincker, assistant vice-president for university relations at Virginia Tech. "His apology speaks for itself. A classroom is not similar to a ballfield. To use that analogy is off-base. Football is an emotional game."

If you say so.

Local Stuff

NFL owners meet in Chicago on Wednesday and Thursday and will select the site of the 2008 Super Bowl, with Washington competing against Arizona and Tampa Bay. Snyder and his chief operating officer, David Pauken, have been flying to league cities to meet with owners in hopes of persuading them to have the game here. A source tells me Arizona is a slight favorite over Washington, with Tampa Bay running third. Many owners prefer Arizona for its warm weather and a new stadium under construction, and overlook the fact that the Cardinals have not been supported at home for years.

Meanwhile, Major League Baseball is preparing to announce within the week that the Expos will play as many as 20 games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2004, with the majority of games remaining in Montreal. That puts us to 2005, with Commissioner Bud Selig assuring us we remain a candidate for permanent relocation in the future. Selig will not tell us the truth: that he will never put a team in Washington, because he fears hurting Peter Angelos's Baltimore Orioles, even though he knows there is nothing on the books to stop a team from coming here. A recent attempt by D.C. Council member Jack Evans to allow other ownership groups to compete against Mayor Anthony A. Williams's Chosen Gang, headed by power-broker Fred Malek, is meaningless. Evans should turn his attention to Selig.

Do I sound like a bitter, disgruntled Washington fan, jealous of Miamians and New Yorkers, told by the bartender at Zola to find another place to complain about Selig?

© 2003 The Washington Post

[JerseyGator]

For the record, Spurrier did lose three straight at Florida once. Heaven forbid these guys do their research on the guy.