Balance : Steve Spurrier

Steve Spurrier keeps football in its proper place in his life, and florida on top of the polls
by: Richard Scott
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Nearly every coach would like Steve Spurrier's recruiting base in Florida and the talent on his roster. Almost any coach would covet Spurrier's financial resources and facilities. A majority of coaches would give their left ... pinkie toes ... to have Florida's fervent fan support and outstanding administrative backing.

With all those advantages going for Spurrier and the University of Florida football program, winning ought to be easy, right?

Now ask yourself this: would every coach produce the same success Spurrier has achieved in his 12 seasons at Florida? If it's so easy to win at Florida, why is Spurrier the only Gator coach to win a national championship? Heck, for that matter, why is he only the second Gator coach to win an SEC championship? Even then, Spurrier is the only Florida coach to win an official SEC title, since the first was vacated because of multiple NCAA rules violations.

But hey, let's not give Spurrier any credit, OK? Let's just follow the path of public perception like sheep, OK? "He's arrogant. He's brash. He's a braggart." Or at least that's the blurred view many people have of Spurrier. Funny thing is, though ... those people don't even know him. They never met him. Never actually spent any time with him, let alone worked with him.

"What do they base that on? Because he's a fiery coach on the sideline and he wins championships?" says Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, Spurrier's defensive coordinator from 1996-98. "Because he does it the right way? His teams have never been accused of doing anything wrong, and from having worked with him, I can say that everything he does is by the book. His code of ethics is unquestionable. He believes in doing everything by the book and being fair and doing the right thing, and he'll never change that.

"He's a much more appreciative and grateful person than I believe he's ever given credit for. Anytime he wins, he always talks about how fortunate they've been, always gives credit to the other team. When he's beaten, he never makes an excuse. A lot of people overlook that, but it's true."

Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley, who has worked closely with Spurrier since Spurrier returned to Florida in 1990, has heard and read the various misconceptions surrounding Spurrier for years, and says part of the perception problem may be that Spurrier coaches football the way basketball coaches coach basketball.

"If you look at a basketball coach, he's up and hollering and yelling at officials and getting after players and he's highly involved in the game, but nobody ever says anything bad about a basketball coach, because we think they're supposed to coach like that," Foley says. "But Steve's the same way. He's highly involved, he's calling the plays, he's working the sidelines, he's very demonstrative. That's just his style. Some people take offense to that style, but it's a style that's obviously works for him. He's totally into the ballgame, but that doesn't make him a bad person."

See, once you get past the perceptions, the truth is that Spurrier is one heckuva ball coach, and not just because he's at Florida, the current center of the college football universe, or because he can draw up ball plays with the best of 'em and call the right ones at the right time. Heck, the guy won at Duke. Doesn't that say something right there?

And here's another needle to pop those perception balloons floating around Spurrier's reputation. He's much more than just an offensive genius. Actually, as one veteran college defensive coordinator used to say, "the only geniuses on campus are over in the physics department," but that's beside the point.

The point is that Spurrier has done an excellent job running the entire Florida program since he returned to his alma mater in 1990. The Gators entered this season with one national championship, six SEC titles, at least 10 wins in eight seasons and seven trips to major bowls in 10 seasons under Spurrier. More important, Spurrier has created a winning atmosphere, starting with his coaching staff.

"I've attempted to take a lot of what Coach Spurrier does with me, because he's not only very successful, but I thought the way he goes about getting everybody involved in the program is really good," says Duke coach Carl Franks, who played for Spurrier at Duke and coached for him at Duke and Florida.

"Most everything he does has influenced me and what I'm trying to do here, because I think the way he does it is the right way to do it. He works hard to create an atmosphere where people can have a chance to be successful and enjoy coming to work. He works hard at establishing a quality of life for his coaching staff and his team. Everyone in this business works hard, everyone puts in a lot of hours and everyone tries to do their best, but he establishes a quality of life where people enjoy doing all those things."

Most everything Spurrier does, on and off the field, on the sideline and in the meeting room, comes from a basic confidence with deep roots. This is the same guy who completed 27 of 40 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown and punted five times for an average of 46.9 in a 1966 game against Auburn and then convinced coach Ray Graves to let him attempt a 40-yard field goal with two minutes left and the game tied 27-27, even though Spurrier had not kicked a field goal since the season opener. This is the same guy who then booted the ball between the uprights for a 30-27 win and went on to win the Heisman Trophy.

"Spurrier, with his hands tied behind his back and facing a firing squad," wrote John Louge of the Atlanta Journal, "would be favored to escape."

That's confidence, not be confused with its insecure cousin, cockiness. That confidence allows Spurrier to break many of the old coaching molds and still win consistently. And we're not just talking about the fact that Spurrier made the forward pass a popular and productive play in the SEC at a time when the pass was considered a dreaded act of desperation. And we're not just talking about the reality that Spurrier's offense is much simpler than the media gives it credit for, and yet he still tweaks, molds and shapes it week after week to beat the next opponent on Florida's schedule.

We're talking about a man who knows how to run a program, from top to bottom, starting with an air of confidence that permeates everything the program does.

"I learned an incredible amount that I brought with me," Stoops says. "Basically, I patterned about everything I do here at Oklahoma from Coach Spurrier and how he did things there at Florida.

"From watching him, I learned a lot about his ability to lead, and make decisions and have a team prepared for big games. He has a great confidence and ability to get people to play to their best in those situations. I believe it starts with him and the confidence that he gives, not only to the coaches, but to the players.

"He has a great ability to be aggressive in those situations. Watching him coach offensively, I saw him be very aggressive in his style in how he goes after yardage and points. I already have the nature to be aggressive defensively, but felt that he gives you even more of it watching the way he goes after it offensively, like going for it on fourth down in tough situations and making it.

"And sometimes in those big games, so, you have to put yourself on the line to maybe be criticized for doing something that might be out of the ordinary, but you feel like you need to do in that situation to win. More often than not, it works for him. I've tried to do that here, and tried not to be in a position where I was worried about being criticized by the media or anyone else. Just do what you feel like you need to do to win.

"Another thing I saw in him was his will to win. I think you can instill that in your staff or your players. Some people have that ability, and some people can project better than others, and he does that."

Spurrier's success involves a lot more than talented players, excellent resources and an air of confidence, though. Spurrier does a lot of things right in his all-encompassing job as CEO, head coach and offensive coordinator, and conversations with some of the people who know him reveal three particular areas of staff management principles that work especially well for Spurrier.

WORK SMART: A lot of coaching staffs believe in burning the midnight oil and spending the night on their office couches. We're not about to tell anybody they're wrong for doing those things, but Spurrier's success would suggest it's not absolutely necessary.

"He's really good at re-charging his batteries," Foley says. "He's not a guy who's going to spend the night in the office. He's not going to put in 150 hours a week. He's going to do what he has to do to get ready for the game. Steve still works hard. He has a total commitment to making this program better, he works his butt off in recruiting and his work ethic is what it needs to be to be successful, but he also knows that when it's time to step back and enjoy his wife and family, he's going to do that.

"A lot of coaches get burned out because of that type of workload, but Steve isn't going to do that. That's healthy, because Steve's going to be fresh and ready to go when the season starts, and the fire is still burning at the end of the season. That makes him a better coach."

Spurrier expects his coaching staff to follow his example and make the best possible use of office hours. He gives his staff time off in the middle of the day for exercise, and then expects his coaches to get their work done in time to spend most evenings at home. There are no staff meetings on Fridays, so assistant coaches can use that time to take care of personal matters.

"He believes in working smart and efficient," says Stoops, who follows a similar philosophy at Oklahoma, "and he doesn't worry about how long that takes, or how many hours you're there. One thing we don't do here is waste time, and the same thing was true at Florida with Coach Spurrier. There was never a moment when we were wasting time. We were efficient and sharp with what we did.

"He has a plan, he believes in it, he knows how to make it work, and sometimes it takes longer than others, but he's not going to sit there and worry about whether or not someone's in the office longer than him. What he does has been successful and he knows it well, so he doesn't tamper with it. And the bottom line is, he's never not prepared. He does it efficiently, smartly and once you have it, you have it, so don't second-guess yourself."

Franks, who has tried to apply those same principles at Duke, adds, "If your players know what to do, if they play hard and you do your job in recruiting, that's basically what he expects you to do. He's not worried about who's here first and who's here last. He's concerned with the results. Everyone works hard in this business - everyone does that - but you don't have to be in the office just to be in the office. Once you get your job done and you've accomplished what you need to, you need to go home."

Defensive line coach Ricky Hunley, who joined the Gator staff in January, was surprised to find how efficiently Spurrier and his staff work within the framework of a normal week.

"Coach Spurrier doesn't get bogged down with a lot of busy work," Hunley said. "Staff meetings are short and to the point, and he covers all the bases, but we don't spend a lot of time overanalyzing. He understands that what's important is what the players can learn - not what we can learn or what we know, but what the players can actually learn and do out on the field."

DELEGATE: To work effectively and efficiently, Spurrier has to be able to delegate responsibility and then trust his coaches to do their jobs. As both the offensive coordinator and the quarterback coach, Spurrier doesn't have time to get involved in every move made by defensive coordinator Jon Hoke and the other defensive coaches.

"He gives them a lot of responsibility," Foley says. "Obviously, Jon Hoke and his defensive staff have to run the defensive staff and Steve can't be down there telling them what to do all the time.

"But I think his delegation is solid. That kind of delegation is always a sign of a good leader. Plus, he's so heavily involved in the game-day preparation it helps him even more as a leader, but he's calling plays and he's right there in the middle of the game."

According to those close to Spurrier, communication is the initial key to effective delegation of responsibilities.

"People feel better about doing their job when you tell them what you want and what you expect and them you let them go do it," Franks says. "The important thing is letting them know what you expect. Coach Spurrier is very good at that. He lets you coach your players."

FAMILY BUSINESS: Steve and Jerri Spurrier got married in 1966, just before his senior season at Florida, and according to friends they're still going strong, with four children and seven grandchildren. A lot of coaches talk about family being a priority, but Spurrier backs it up with action.

"He gives the coaches a chance to get away from the game a little bit, to recharge their batteries and renew their enthusiasm," Franks says. "You get time to take vacations and do things other than football."

The Spurriers also make the coaches' families a priority, with family get-togethers after games, family dinners during the week and family beach trips, cruises and other family outings during the offseason. The Spurriers probably wouldn't like us telling you this, but they make a habit of picking up the tab.

"Jerri Spurrier is one of the all-time greats," Franks says. "She cares about the other coaches, their wives, their kids. The Spurriers do and plan so many things for the coaching staff and their families, whether it be dinners during the week, a big play day during the summer, a weeklong trip to the beach. We'd go to the beach and we'd have games where every member of every family and split into teams - whether that person was 2 years old or 62 years old - and play family games and have a great time."

Hunley adds, "I've never been around a place where the head coach and his wife do so many different things to keep the group, the whole family together. The coaches spend more time with each other than anyone else, so you're always away from your family and Coach Spurrier is always trying to help you grab more time here and there to make sure that we spend more quality time with our families, because if you're not happy at home, you're not going to be happy at your job."

Spurrier also expects his coaches to work hard at creating a family atmosphere for the players. The Spurriers host a team dinner every spring, and the seniors come to their house each season for a special dinner. The assistant coaches are required to eat with their position players twice each week so they can spend time getting to know them better, building relationships and talking about non-football related issues.

"Recruiting is important, but the most important kids are the ones that we already have here right now," Hunley says, "and the closer you get to those kids and the better the relationship you build with those kids, the better they'll play for you because they want to please you."

It all comes from the basic philosophy that football isn't everything, and it doesn't have to be for a program to be successful.

"Another thing I brought here was the realization that you can enjoy your life and enjoy your family and have a good balance in your life and still win and be success, and coach Spurrier does that," Stoops says. "He has a great family that enjoys spending time with, and a lot of relationship with friends that don't get cut short just because it's football season. He has a great balance in everything that does, but he still never shortchanges his coaching, his players or his staff."

Add it all up, and it paints a much clearer picture of a coach with a vision and appreciation for the bigger picture, not just touchdown passes, championships and big-money contracts. To say winning is easy at Florida is like saying farming is easy simply because the soil and the weather are favorable. Somebody still has to plant the seed, spray the fertilizer, fight the weeds and harvest the crop to make the farm bear fruit.

"People ask me all the time what kind of person he is and what was it like working for him," Franks says, "and I have to say it was one of the greatest experiences I could ever have. It was a lot of fun."

I can stretch this to fit, unless we decide to extend the article another page and use his Q&A.

"Spurrier, with his hands tied behind his back and facing a firing squad, would be favored to escape."

John Louge
Atlanta Journal

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