Steve Spurrier is writing a book. And for anyone that has followed Spurrier’s coaching career, it’s no surprise that there are plenty of good anecdotes from the Old Ball Coach.
Spurrier recently discussed his new book in an interview with the New York Times. The now-retired football coach discussed his short tenure with the Washington Redskins at length in both the book and interview. His most interesting tidbit came when he said that he didn’t know that Washington owner Dan Snyder would also be the general manager when he took the job.
According to Spurrier, he thought Snyder would be able to talk former NFL GM Bobby Beathard out of retirement and get him to take over as the Redskins GM. However, that was not the case.
“I thought he was going to be my general manager,” Spurrier said of Beathard. “That didn’t work out. After two years, I learned the NFL was not for me. I’m more a college style of coach. It maybe helped me learn that.”
Spurrier spent just two seasons as the Redskins head coach. From 2002-03, Spurrier went 12-20 and quickly returned to his college roots. He spent the rest of his coaching career at South Carolina.
This quote and others that have come out since Spurrier’s time in Washington reveal that there was plenty of miscommunication between him and Snyder. In September 2015, Spurrier said that only Snyder and the personnel director had a say in roster decisions. To make matters worse, Spurrier also said that he wasn’t even allowed to choose the team’s starting quarterback in 2003.
In his most recent interview, Spurrier did give some credit to Snyder for changing his ways and relinquishing some of his power.
Snyder has never had a stellar reputation as a football person. But it is interesting to see what exactly makes him so difficult to work with. And who better to peel back the curtain than Spurrier?
[Pro Football Talk/New York Times]