StevieInferior Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 By JAIME ARON AP Sports Writer DALLAS- Steve Spurrier has kept a low profile since his abrupt departure from the Washington Redskins, even ducking through airports in sunglasses and a hat. He's not trying to hide anything. He's just enjoying retirement after 20 seasons as a "head ball coach" in college and pro football. Spurrier says his new life so relaxing that he plans to do nothing more strenuous this fall than watching his son's high school games. He's not interested in broadcasting and won't return to the sidelines - not in 2004 and possibly never. "I'll be low-key, out of sight for a year, definitely," he said Tuesday in his first news conference since quitting the NFL via cell phone from a Florida golf course. "Maybe I'm finished. I don't know yet." The home of the Dallas Cowboys is a strange place for a deposed Redskins coach to appear, but Spurrier was in town for a long-arranged speech hosted by the SMU athletic forum. In a nod to his surroundings, Spurrier said he might follow the career path of former University of Texas coach Darrell Royal, who retired in 1976 at age 52 and never returned. "He and I have a lot in common," said Spurrier, who turns 59 next month. "We enjoy playing golf, being with our family and having fun." Spurrier resigned Dec. 30, three days after his second season ended. Washington went 12-20 under his guidance, losing 10 of the last 12. He walked away from the final three years of a five-year, $25 million contract, the richest ever given to an NFL coach, because the Fun 'n' Gun offense that worked so well at Florida wasn't working - and he doubted that it ever would for Redskins owner Dan Snyder. "There was no light at the end of the tunnel in the direction our coaching staff and our team was headed," Spurrier said. "Mr. Snyder basically wanted me to probably change a lot of coaches - which actually probably needed to be done - and I said, `Hey, maybe it's best if I step aside and you get a new head coach and new assistant coaches and have a go at it.'" He said his two seasons with the Redskins "overall, weren't a lot of fun." He said he'd do a lot of things differently if he returns to the NFL, but wouldn't elaborate because he didn't want it to seem like he was making excuses. He did hint at sharing the blame, saying, "Whether we had a good team or not is for someone else to decide." Since Spurrier left, Snyder lured Joe Gibbs back as coach and opened his wallet for quarterback Mark Brunell and running back Clinton Portis. "Time will tell. But certainly I think they've made moves to strengthen their team," Spurrier said. He does not regret jumping to the NFL, but there were things he missed about college, especially "big games, big crowds." After all, even the Redskins-Cowboys game lacks the atmosphere of Florida-Georgia, known as The World's Largest Outdoor ****tail Party. "We weren't in a lot of big games the last couple of years because we weren't in the playoff hunt," Spurrier said. Does that mean when - or, if - he returns, he'd prefer working Saturdays instead of Sundays? "You've got to have opportunities and you don't know where your opportunities are going to be - if you're seeking opportunities," he said. "That's the question right there." Having already envisioned life as a spectator, Spurrier doesn't expect to go through coaching withdrawal this fall when he's watching his son, Scott, play or when he's watching college and pro games on television. Scott's final year in high school is keeping the family in Virginia. "Airplanes still fly back and forth to Florida, so we get a chance to go back there as often as we can," he said. Spurrier flew from Florida to Dallas wearing his usual hat-and-shades disguise. It worked so well that he had to spell his name for an airline employee. "He said, `I didn't recognize you, coach,'" Spurrier said. "I said, `That was the idea.'" http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040302/APS/403021005&cachetime=5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Slammer Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 He really wasn't a bad guy. Just sadly outmached at this level. Oh well, move on we have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenaciousd Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Smart football mind. Laziest head coach in the history of the NFL. I give him some credit. He got us Gibbs back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanforlife Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Smart football mind? what are you on crack? maybe in college but in the NFL? I dont think so. Not even close. Norv turner was a better head coach than spurrier. i mean this guy spurrier is one of the crappiest coach ive ever seen. The whacked out gay play calls are one thing but to actually think that stephen davis is useless in the NFL is just retarded. Keep your gay college play calls in college spurrier. Your system sucks ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neuroscoot Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 I agree, kicking Stephen Davis to the curb was one of the D U M B E S T football moves ever. Spurrier never had a plan once it became clear the Fun and Gun only works in leagues without parity. It's not hard being a 'football genius' when all of your players are bigger, stronger, and faster than the players you're going up against (i.e. college football). Spurrier's idea of post game analysis was "Hey, you guys saw the game, call it like you saw it". Unfortunately, there wasn't much behind his 'Aw shucks' good-ol boy mentality. Good riddance, Spurrier. :moon: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TankRizzo Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 I like how Czaban put it about him tonight. He said he's such a country bumpkin that it's hard to hate him. But yeah, he came here, found out things were a bit too hard for his likings and pretty much quit. He may have been in it for a little bit at the beginning of last season, but he clarly didn't put any effort into changing anything to pull out a win here or there. He just phoned in the last 9 games or so w/ the status quo pitch and catch and we got destroyed. It's ok though, all is forgiven. St. Joe has absolved him of his sins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsbadd Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 I like him as a person but he stunk as a NFL coach. When your players quit on you, and you do nothing about it ,you're done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsonny Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 he should never be allowed to mention the Redskins EVER again:insane: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSF Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Aw shucks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugs' Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Originally posted by unsonny he should never be allowed to mention the Redskins EVER again:insane: Tru dat' my brother....his work ethic was a joke...and at the end he took for granted that he was the ball coach for the frickin Washington Redskins!:cuss: Hard to like someone as a person when you don't like their character and the OBC was a joke....we laughed about him all week...good riddance....go play golf while spending the Skins' money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atloldskin Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Spurrier did not kick Davis to the curb; the salary cap hit was the sole reason Davis was released. I wish people would get this right! Davis was $10 million plus on the cap and under Spurrier's system, this did not make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWB Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 The "Duck and Chuck" offense just didn't make it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BD Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 I disagree. I think Spurrier would be an excellent coach in the NFL, just not a head coach. He'd be a top-of-the-line Offensive Coordinator, especially with a Dome team in a Southern conference (Atlanta? Indianapolis? New Orleans?) where you're not playing a lot of games in bad weather, and you have the luxury of tossing it around. He just couldn't take the job of being a head coach in the NFL. As an OC, he doesn't have to scout guys, or organize things - he can be free to just draw up crazy plays and tricks. Good guy. Just a bad head coach in the NFL. BD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citigent Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 his biggest mistake was that thought that grown men making millions of dollars for playing a childs game would act like men instead of acting like children, as much as alot of fans think that he let the team down, the team(players) let him down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Originally posted by atloldskin Spurrier did not kick Davis to the curb; the salary cap hit was the sole reason Davis was released. I wish people would get this right! Davis was $10 million plus on the cap and under Spurrier's system, this did not make sense. That's only half true. If SS had put his foot down and realized that giving the ball to a bruising RB while his young QB learned was a good way to go, SD might have stayed. Yes, you're absolutley right in that his cap number was entirely too high, but we made absolutely NO attempt to restructure. In fact it's highly probable that neither the team nor the player ever expected SD to actually earn that money. How many players have ever earned $10 million base salary for 1 year. I don't know for sure myself, but I would imagine it's not many. So yes you're right, it was a money issue on the surface but really, it was also a football decision made by the head coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kappaluvacee Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Just when we had almost forgotten about him all together....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sisko Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 For me asking about the SOS era with the Skins is like when Worf was asked why the Klingons from the original Star Trek looked so different..."It is something we do not speak of" I keep trying to convince myself it was all just a horrible dream brought on by a binge drinking session of outdated skunky beer. One day, I'll actually believe it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeSkins Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Alright guys, let's not kick the guy when he's down. I kind of pity him, even after the bad tour he had. I'm glad he's much happier being outside of DC, for our sake and his. I could only imagine what this year would have been had he been forced to fire all of his friends/coaches, stick around here another year, and try to manage a fast-paced NFL game. So, not good riddance, but good luck to the Ol' Ball Coach. Like most of you said, he's a nice guy when he's been humbled, and that's truly a sad thing that he had to be humbled and ridiculed in such a way (including by me). Thanks for the memories, and thanks for Coach Gibbs, Steve. As you said, if you hadn't stepped aside, we wouldn't have the Master back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rypien 91 Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 How many of you guys were ahppy when we got him? I know I was. Just a bad couple of years. Water under the bridge. I wish him nothing but the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyGator Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 He'll be back as an NFL OC in 2005. I agree with BD and never thought he was a great fit here. I think he should have tried HC'ing several years before he did in the NFL, when he had more fire. He's way too competive from what I've seen to sit out very long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnyg Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 At least you have to give him credit for sticking to his guns for the most part. The fun and gun just doesnt work at this level, but he gave it a shot. The reason he quit was the fact that he was a loyal guy that didnt want to fire half of his staff that have worked for him for many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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