Steve Spurrier is back on the sidelines. The legendary college coach is giving the pro game another try, but this time it’s with a brand new league that kicks off in early 2019.
Back to Florida
Spurrier announced that he’s the head coach of the Orlando franchise in the Alliance of American Football (AAF). Spurrier becomes the first known coach for the first known team in the AAF and the move brings him back to the state where he became a legend.
It's OFFICIAL: The legendary Head Ball Coach, @SteveSpurrierUF has joined The Alliance as head coach in Orlando. All the details at https://t.co/FPPxtbeBjO #JoinTheAlliance #AllianceORL pic.twitter.com/1Q4eQRq1is
— AAF (@TheAAF) April 7, 2018
Beginning in 1990, Spurrier served as head coach of the Florida Gators for 12 seasons and his high-powered offensive attack changed the game.
He led the Gators to six Southeastern Conference titles and won the national championship in 1996.
Prior to his coaching days, Spurrier was a star quarterback for the Gators. He was a starter for three seasons with Florida and won the Heisman Trophy in 1966. He then spent a decade in the NFL, mostly with the San Francisco 49ers and a year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Trying the pro game again
Spurrier left Florida to try coaching in the NFL, but it didn’t work out. He led the Washington Redskins for just two seasons before resigning. A couple of years later he returned to college coaching with South Carolina.
The Redskins job wasn’t Spurrier’s first in the pros as a head coach. Back in 1983, Spurrier served as the head coach for the Tampa Bay Bandits in the United States Football League (USFL).
The USFL played three spring seasons and the talent in the league made it a direct rival with the National Football League (NFL).
What’s the AAF?
It was just a few weeks back when the world was introduced to the AAF and it’s starting with a strong core. The league was founded by Charlie Ebersol, a TV and film producer, and Bill Polian, a Hall of Fame NFL front office executive.
Some well-known ex-NFL players are already part of the AAF leadership, including Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward, Jared Allen and Justin Tuck.
The AAF plans to begin with eight teams playing a 12-game schedule. The slate of games is set to begin on February 9, 2019, one week after the next Super Bowl.
We now know that the AAF plans to hire well-known coaches to lead its franchises.
Time will tell if the league ends up being similar to the USFL or if it’ll be more a developmental league for players who are trying to make it into the NFL. Either way, clearly the players are going to get quality coaching and more coaching and franchise location announcements should be coming very soon.
