Steve Spurrier's true battle was won before the Redskins hit the field Sunday. The decision to gamble on fourth-and-inches in the fourth quarter was not the real challenge, nor was the call to try a trick play, the eventual game winner, with less than two minutes to go. The tough part wasn't even keeping quarterback Patrick Ramsey on his feet. The real question for Spurrier was which of his trademark characteristics would take control when his arrogance and his competitiveness, two things that have both been vital to his successful career, suddenly came into conflict.
The issue last week was whetherhis hunger for victory could supercede his famous conceit, whether the winner inside him could grab hold of his ego and wrestle it to the ground. Whether he could swallow his pride and cough up a win.
Spurrier was at a crossroads. His team struggling at 3-5, his Fun 'n' gun grounded, his legacy in jeopardy, the Head Ball Coach had to do something. He is known by the media and in coaching circles for his self-importance, but he is also a man with a fiery passion for victory. Spurrier is the kind of coach who draws up plays at the breakfast table, the kind of man who feeds on the desire to win instead of Cheerios, and he knew the notches in the 'L' column would keep on coming unless he put aside his foremost character trait: his arrogance.
Spurrier is paid for his offensive genius and his innovative play-calling. Yet he told The Washington Post that after talking to Denver coach Mike Shanahan, a fellow former Florida offensive coordinator, Spurrier decided to hand control of his offensive to assistant coach Hue Jackson. This move seemed shocking at first look, with the man who sees himself as, well, The Man, handing over the reins to a measly assistant. Yet for a girl born and bred in Gator Country, the move makes sense.
I grew up in Gainesville, Fla. in the height of the Golden Age of Spurrier, and as a result, I will always see the Ball Coach as the face of southern-fried football. I was at the Sugar Bowl for the oh-so-sweet 1996 national championship, where Florida took revenge on a Florida State team who beat them during the regular season to win the title outright before the advent of the BCS. I remember plenty of sweltering Saturdays at the Swamp, when "Steve Superior" and his quarterbacks put on arial shows that made me think the Blue Angels were in town. Yet I have also seen my share of visor throwing and post-game tirades where Spurrier told the media everything coaches are not supposed to say.
There were low moments scattered between the coach's 112 wins in 11 seasons at Florida, like the 1995 Fiesta Bowl, when my mighty Gators were handed a 62-24 drubbing by Nebraska. There were SEC losses, even home losses, and after these disasters, Spurrier would face fans spoiled enough to expect perfect seasons, every season, and chip away at the shell of his own arrogance. He would detail what went wrong, and why, and promise to "coach em' up." Promise to work harder, do better, get more out of his young players.
So while many inside the Beltway are citing Spurrier's new humility following the Redskins' 27-20 win over Seattle, I would counter that he is merely in a new situation. A situation where the brash confidence and thirst for victory that have gone hand-in-hand throughout his coaching career met each other head on and one fell by the wayside. Pressure from owner Daniel Snyder and Redskins' fans aside, things couldn't go on as they had been going for Spurrier. Four straight losses are more than he ever incurred in a row, including when he coached at Duke. The beleaguered coach saw that something had to give, and that something was his control over play-calling. It is worth noting that Spurrier himself made both crucial calls late in Sunday's game, and may or may not allow Jackson to continue his new role next week at Carolina. Yet his decision Sunday revealed that Spurrier can put aside his ego, at least for one day, in the name of winning ball games. This revelation may have been news to skeptical Washington types, but it came as no surprise to this representative of Gator Nation.
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