Spurrier Has No Doubt

[Skeletor The Invincible]

USAToday Article

Spurrier has no doubt

By Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY

By H. Darr Beiser

Steve Spurrier makes his presence felt at a recent Redskins practice.

The Steve Spurrier file

Born: April 20, 1945, in Miami Beach, Fla.

Family: Met wife, Jerri, at the University of Florida. They married in 1966 and have four children: Lisa, 34; Amy, 32; Steve, Jr., 30 and Scotty, 15, and seven grandchildren.

Resume: Began as Florida's quarterbacks coach in 1978; served as Georgia Tech's offensive coordinator in 1979 and was Duke's offensive coordinator from 1980-82 before head coaching stints with the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits, Duke and Florida.

Heisman fame: Florida's starting quarterback for three seasons, won the 1966 Heisman Trophy and was a first-team All-America choice in 1965 and 1966; S.F. 49ers' first-round pick in 1967, played 10 NFL seasons.

Quantum leap: "My real break came when I went to Duke in 1980 and became offensive coordinator, in my third year of coaching. I remember saying to the head coach, Red Wilson, 'What's our terminology? What's our numbering system?' He said, 'We don't have one. It's all yours. You make up the offense, call it whatever you want. But I want to throw the ball, and I like a lot of trick plays.' "

Not in the cards? Spurrier never figured he'd be a coach. "I was probably one of the most non-ambitious NFL players. I didn't do much in the offseason. I played a lot of golf and hung around Gainesville. But finally when I got cut by three teams in 1977, I knew I had to do something."

Did you know? At Science Hill High in Johnson City, Tenn., he pitched for two-time state title baseball team that never lost in 3 years.

ASHBURN, Va. — Steve Spurrier was made for this high-stakes challenge. Complete with his folksy, what-me-worry disposition, swaggering body language and the occasional stinging verbal jab, the new coach of the Washington Redskins is gearing up for the ride of his life.

Fun-N-Gun? It's more like Wait-N-See, as the NFL anticipates the impact — or downfall — of the coach who commanded the biggest contract in league history: Five years, almost $25 million.

And Spurrier, who shocked the football world by leaping from the University of Florida 129 days ago, is as confident as ever as his squad wraps up a two-week passing camp Thursday. "Whatever I've done in the past has worked pretty well," he says. "That's the way I coach. I'll try to do it the same way."

Good coaching, he believes, can fix it any problem. The quarterback guru that he is relishes working with former Florida passers Shane Matthews and Danny Wuerffel, who combined to lead six of Spurrier's seven Southeastern Conference title teams but have gone on to inglorious pro careers.

And if Spurrier can't fix what he sees as some bad habits Matthews and Wuerffel have fallen into since leaving his wing? Then there's second-year prospect Sage Rosenfels and first-round rookie Patrick Ramsey to groom. Heck, Spurrier says, he might not even name a starter until the week of the regular-season opener.

Nor does a faster NFL game, with better athletes and sharper minds, seem particularly daunting for Spurrier as he implodes an offense that ranked 28th in the NFL in 2001 and installs the wide-open "Fun-N-Gun" scheme that was the signature of his success in 12 years at Florida.

"A lot of people don't realize the importance of play-calling," says Spurrier, whose Gators offense averaged more than 35 points and 460 yards

But what of that monster of a $71.1 million salary cap? Many an experienced and successful NFL coach has moaned about the constant roster shuffling linked to the accounting ledgers. Is that proving to be a headache?

"Noooo," sings Spurrier.. "When I coached at Florida, every four years your players left anyway. And the great ones left after three years."

Spurrier posted at least 10 victories in nine of his seasons at Florida, including one that ended with the 1996 national title. Before Florida, he won at Duke, leading the Blue Devils in 1989 to their first Atlantic Coast Conference football title in 24 years. And he produced two playoff berths in three years as coach of the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits in the mid-'80s.

Such a track record, backed by intense competitiveness, makes him a perfect fit for the Redskins. Since Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs retired after the '92 season, Washington has qualified for the playoffs just once. Spurrier is the fourth coach in less than two years as owner Dan Snyder switched from Norv Turner to interim Terry Robiskie to Marty Schottenheimer to the man he wanted after Turner but couldn't initially lure from Florida.

"Unfortunately, all of the changes we've had were warranted," says Darrell Green, the 42-year-old cornerback prepping for his 20th season with the Redskins. "We needed to get to this point. The nugget is leadership. I think we're there."

Spurrier, who detests long hours and gets passionate about his golf game in the offseason, doesn't want the overwhelming control Schottenheimer refused to relinquish. Spurrier will concentrate on the offense, let new coordinator Marvin Lewis handle the defense and work with Snyder and other front-office execs to build the team by committee.

"It's a breath of fresh air," says Snyder, now welcomed on the team plane.

That breeze, however, is thick with intrigue. Will Spurrier be another Jimmy Johnson? In 1989, Johnson left the University of Miami, and three seasons later won the first of two Super Bowl trophies with the Dallas Cowboys. Or is Spurrier destined to mimmick hotshots such as Lou Holtz, Dennis Erickson and Rich Brooks — who flourished in college but flopped as NFL head coaches?

"We want high expectations," Spurrier says. "If we're going to achieve anything worthwhile, the expecations have got to be there. Every once in a while Dan Snyder will say, 'I'm here for the long run. We don't have to win real big this year.' I say, 'No, no, no. We're going to try to win big every year.' That's the only way I've ever coached."

Razzmatazz still alive

Spurrier, 57, inherited a team that won eight of its last 11 games after starting 0-5 under Schottenheimer last season. Snyder lured Lewis to run an already stout defense by making him the NFL's highest-paid assistant coach (three years, at least $2.7 million), and the Redskins bolstered the unit with key free-agent signings — Pro Bowl linebackers Jesse Armstead and Jeremiah Trotter and defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn. So, with a solid defense in tow, it wasn't too surprising in April when Spurrier told The Washington Post he expected to win the four-team NFC East this year.

The kick came in how he said it. "Gosh, we only have to beat three teams," he said.

That's classic Spurrier, and he's hell-bent to keep it that way.

At Florida, Spurrier routinely razzed opponents.

He chastised FSU as "Free Shoes University" after players, including star wideout Peter Warrick, were found to have received hundreds of dollars of merchandise from a clerk at a local Foot Locker.

Once, when a fire at an athletic facility at Auburn destroyed 20 books, Spurrier needled, "But the real tragedy is that 15 hadn't been colored yet."

When then-Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning, 0-3 against the Gators, opted to return for his senior season rather than enter the 1997 NFL draft, Spurrier concluded there was no way the quarterback would lead the Vols to a major bowl. "Peyton Manning came back to win the Citrus Bowl again. You can't spell Citrus without the UT."

Manning, the Indianapolis Colts star slated to face Washington in a nationally-televised game Oct. 27, laughed when reminded of Spurrier's comment. "The Tennessee-Florida rivalry is so intense that you get all kinds of things with it," he said. "But I've played in a couple of golf tournaments with Steve and we sat down and had a few beers and shot the bull, and I've enjoyed the conversation."

Since jumping to the NFL, Spurrier has already provided material that could ruffle feathers — or as Matthews put it, help the Redskins become the NFL's most-despised team.

Much was made of a perceived swipe at New Orleans coach Jim Haslett in January. Spurrier, never one to work such long hours that he has to sleep in his office, zinged: "I saw where Jim Haslett comes in at 4:30 in the morning — that's not doing him much good." The Saints lost their final four games last season to go 7-9.

Haslett denied rumors he was incensed, and he and Spurrier contend they were cordial when crossing paths at the scouting combine and owners meetings this spring. "Supposedly," Spurrier said last week of Haslett, "he told somebody, 'If Spurrier's successful in D.C., then we all won't have to work as hard.' "

Says Matthews: "He's the kind of coach who will tell it like it is. ... As a player, you kind of like that."

Spurrier surely hasn't been shy in taking aim at the Redskins' most-hated rival, the Cowboys, who have won nine consecutive games against Washington. The day he took the job, Spurrier talked of giving Snyder the game ball from his first victory against the Cowboys. In March, when asked if he envisioned the Redskins-Cowboys rivalry would be similar to Florida-Florida State, Spurrier cracked he hoped Dallas becomes what Georgia was — a team the Gators always defeated.

"They took it out of context," says Spurrier, grumbling about the media again. "I said, 'I hope it will be like Florida-Georgia, because we're in the same division.' FSU's not even in our conference, the SEC. We had a pretty good run over Georgia. Hopefully, it will be like that."

[Mad Mike]

" Once, when a fire at an athletic facility at Auburn destroyed 20 books, Spurrier needled, "But the real tragedy is that 15 hadn't been colored yet."

:rotflmao: I love this guy!:rotflmao:

[Atlanta Skins Fan]

from USA Today

Since Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs retired after the '92 season, Washington has qualified for the playoffs just once. Spurrier is the fourth coach in less than two years as owner Dan Snyder switched from Norv Turner to interim Terry Robiskie to Marty Schottenheimer to the man he wanted after Turner but couldn't initially lure from Florida.

"Unfortunately, all of the changes we've had were warranted," says Darrell Green, the 42-year-old cornerback prepping for his 20th season with the Redskins. "We needed to get to this point. The nugget is leadership. I think we're there."

Ouch!

Folks, that's Darrell telling us that Norv, Terry and Marty all needed to be fired, and that Spurrier is the man. You don't usually get players to go on record like this.

Green should know, since he's the only one on the team who ever worked for Joe Gibbs.

I *really* like this quote. They should shove this quote up the @ss of any national media writer who trots out the crap about Snyder impulsively firing coaches. So it's better to stick with a bad coach?

[DIESEL TROLL]

AIN'T NO SCHOOL KNOWS LIKE "OLD SCHOOL" KNOWS!!!!! GIVE IT UP FOR DARRELL GREEN!!!!!!!!! :jump: :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

[Uptown Skins]

Originally posted by Skeletor The Invincible

..............Much was made of a perceived swipe at New Orleans coach Jim Haslett in January. Spurrier, never one to work such long hours that he has to sleep in his office, zinged: "I saw where Jim Haslett comes in at 4:30 in the morning — that's not doing him much good." The Saints lost their final four games last season to go 7-9.........................

And we laid a 40-10 B-slapping on those fools AT THE SUPERDOME!!!

[SkinsThug]

Man, the post game press conferences are going to be a hoot, win or lose.

[redman]

Yeah, I think Spurrier is going to rank up with Parcells as a great post-game press conferencer, if that's even a word. It'll be a lot more fun if we're winning though.

[@DCGoldPants]

Originally posted by Uptown Skins

And we laid a 40-10 B-slapping on those fools AT THE SUPERDOME!!!

that was after Horn said the CB's would need help covering him because he's so much better.