Times Dispatch:It's not too late for Spurrier to pull Holtz reverse

[TK]

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031772009851&path=!sports&s=1045855934844

It's not too late for Spurrier to pull Holtz reverse

JENNINGS CULLEY

IN PLAY

Sunday, November 9, 2003

The predicament that the ol' ball coach, Steve Spurrier, finds himself in these days brings to mind another time and another college coach who believed he could take the National Football League by storm.

In 1976, Lou Holtz was breezing along in the fast lane of college football. He'd spent three years at William and Mary and four sea- sons in turning N.C. State into a winner. Suddenly, he was ready for the big time and the Big Apple - and the foundering New York Jets.

Brash, bold, confident, Holtz was convinced the things he had done in college would work in the pros.

His rah-rah enthusiasm, his glib, persuasive tongue, his motivational skills, his discipline, his fiery demeanor . . . all would bring instant success to a team that hadn't produced a winner since 1969.

Holtz brought with him the Veer offense that older, wiser heads insisted wouldn't work in the pros. No pro-set for him. He wanted the triple-option scheme with its running quarterback.

If you think the Redskins have run aground with the Fun'n'Gun, Holtz found himself high and dry quickly.

This still was Joe Namath's team. Holtz learned that the first week when he tried to call his quarterback and was told he'd have to leave a message with Joe's agent.

"If Joe wants to talk, he'll get back to you," the agent said.

Namath's legs were gone . . . he'd never fit in the Veer. Rookie QB Richard Todd was green. So Holtz shuffled back and forth, while the struggling offense managed a touchdown in only one of the first four games.

Friction smoldered for weeks. Namath repeatedly checked off a Holtz play and called an audible. One afternoon, he threw five interceptions.

Frustration grew with each loss. Unrest seeped into the locker room.

With a 3-10 record and one game left, Holtz abruptly resigned.

"Lou Holtz is not made for professional football," Holtz said. "I can't give professional football my full heart. God did not put Lou Holtz on earth for that."

Wide receiver David Knight, who had played for Holtz at W&M, summed it best that day.

"I knew he was going [to get to New York] eventually, but I was surprised he did it so early," Knight said. "He was sure he could work his magic here, but obviously he couldn't."

Two days later, Holtz signed on as head coach at the University of Arkansas and resumed a college career that has since carried him to Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina.

Success has followed at every stop. He has taken four different college programs to top-20 finishes. His teams have played in 22 postseason bowl games. In 1988, his Notre Dame team won the national championship with a 12-0 record.

His magic with the whistle lives.

Which brings us to Steve Spurrier's current dilemma.

He's a year and a half into his great experiment of turning a freewheeling passing game into a productive offense in the NFL.

It was dubbed the Fun'n'Gun when he was toying with college teams. But where's the fun now? Where's the gun?

His offensive genius has been trumped by defensive schemes that have overpowered his every move.

In the midst of the Dallas stampede last week, Spurrier seemed bewildered, maybe even lost at what to do.

He must be wondering how he can save face. How he can extricate himself from the blitz that is building.

Lou Holtz found a way. He ran the reverse.

E-mail Jennings Culley at jculley@timesdispatch.com

[OaktonSkins/BushFan]

Well, a simple article from another media simpleton.

[Leonard Washington]

In 1976, Lou Holtz was breezing along in the fast lane of college football. He'd spent three years at William and Mary

oh yea go TRIBE!