Big Dollars, Lots of Change in NFL

In a pair of developments Monday illustrating the volatility of coaching in the NFL, the Washington Redskins replaced Coach Marty Schottenheimer with Steve Spurrier; and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dumped Coach Tony Dungy, paving the way to hire Bill Parcells.

The firings underscore the pressure league owners feel to win, and win now. Most are long on money, short on patience. Spurrier will receive a reported five-year, $25-million deal--the richest in league history--and Schottenheimer, who had four years remaining on his contract, gets a buyout of $7.5 million.

Dungy, the most successful coach in Tampa Bay history, was fired late Monday after a meeting with the sons of team owner Malcolm Glazer. Dungy compiled a 54-42 record in six seasons and led the Buccaneers to the playoffs four of the last five seasons--including this one.

The Redskins pulled off an unprecedented comeback, starting 0-5 then winning five in a row. They finished 8-8, but that wasn’t good enough to satisfy owner Daniel Snyder.

“I have for many years understood that the owner is the owner and this can occur at any point in time in this business,” said Schottenheimer, who was coach and general manager and went 8-8 in his only season. “I’m disappointed that we didn’t get a chance to finish. But I understand exactly where Dan is coming from, and I respect that.”

The Redskins will introduce Spurrier as their coach at a news conference today. Tampa Bay is expected to announce the Parcells hiring within days.

Parcells won two Super Bowls as coach of the New York Giants. Then again, two rings didn’t save the job of Carolina’s George Seifert, fired last week. His team started 1-0 then lost 15 consecutive games, an NFL-record collapse. Seifert won two Super Bowls as coach of the San Francisco 49ers; the only other current coach with two rings is Denver’s Mike Shanahan.

“It used to be that three years was the magic number for rebuilding plans, but it’s not that way anymore,” former NFL coach Sam Wyche said. “The owners want results right away, and they look at things a little differently than the fans.

“It used to be if you won 10 games you had a great year. That’s not the case anymore. The stakes have gone up.”

In Washington, the stakes are as high as Spurrier’s ego is large. The Redskins intend to hire a general manager--maybe Bobby Beathard, a key player-personnel executive from their most recent salad days--and leave the coaching to Spurrier, the former Heisman Trophy winner who coached his alma mater to a 122-27-1 record. His only professional coaching experience was three seasons with the Tampa Bay Bandits before the United States Football League folded.

Spurrier was an NFL quarterback from 1967 through ‘76, including nine seasons as a backup in San Francisco.

“He was the kind of guy that would probably drive a coach crazy because he always had a better idea,” said Len Rohde, a 49er tackle from 1960 through ’74.

“When he was on the bench, he had this very detached way about him. Very casual. He developed this technique of bouncing the football on the ground and having it come back to him. Little tricks to occupy himself like he didn’t care what was happening on the field. But when he got in the game, he was a whole different guy. Very intense.”

As Florida’s coach, Spurrier was wildly successful, even though he seemed to spend more time on the golf course than in the film room. He routinely poked fun at opponents, once referring to Florida State as “Free Shoes University” in the wake of a Foot Locker buying scandal, and another time saying of a dormitory fire at Auburn: “It’s a shame, because half the books weren’t colored in yet.”

He resigned abruptly from Florida on Jan. 4 . In his final news conference, he was asked if coaching in the NFL will require longer hours.

“That Jim Haze-lett,” he said, butchering the name of New Orleans Saint Coach Jim Haslett, “I read where he goes in at 4:30 in the morning. Hasn’t helped him much.”

Like Spurrier, Parcells has a larger-than-life perception of himself. But Parcells also has the NFL dossier to back it up. He coached the Giants to two Super Bowl titles, reached another Super Bowl as coach of the New England Patriots, and turned the 1-15 New York Jets into AFC East champions in two seasons.

Two of Parcells’ best friends are Al Davis and Bob Knight--with whom he shared an apartment when the two were young coaches at West Point. It has been pointed out that the three have similar people skills.

After Tampa Bay’s season ended Saturday with a 31-9 loss at Philadelphia, receiver Keyshawn Johnson angrily criticized teammates (without naming them), and made reference to Parcells, his coach with the Jets.

“The guy they’re talking about coming in, he ain’t going to put up with this.... Period,” Johnson said. “He ain’t going to put up with it. If that’s the truth, if he’s coming here, he ain’t going to put up with it.”

In 1997, shortly after Parcells took over as coach of the Jets, he called Johnson “fat,” sarcastically referred to 300-pound linebacker Mo Lewis as a “hunk of burning love,” and told running back Adrian Murrell he had a “chicken neck.”

Johnson promptly shaved 10 pounds, Lewis dropped 40, and Murrell altered his weightlifting program to concentrate on his KFC body parts.

Before that, Parcells caused a stir in New England when he derisively referred to rookie receiver Terry Glenn as “she.” The coach wanted to draft a defensive lineman instead of Glenn but lost that argument to Patriot owner Bob Kraft. So when Glenn sustained an injury in training camp and a reporter asked about his condition, Parcells said: “She’s doing OK.”

That infuriated plenty of people, including Kraft’s wife. Parcells got the message and later frequently praised Glenn, who emerged as the team’s best receiver.

Those who know Parcells well say he’s always up for a challenge. He likes to bring up the story of two salesmen who venture into the Australian outback to peddle shoes. The first calls his boss and says, “There’s no opportunity here. The people don’t wear shoes.” The second calls his boss and says, “The opportunities here are endless. The people don’t wear shoes.”

As it stands, NFL owners are willing to shell out a mountain of money for the right shoe salesman. It wasn’t always that way.

“There’s no regard for money anymore,” said former coach Jerry Glanville, now a CBS analyst. “The owners I worked for cherished their money. There were no buyouts.

“One time, I told my owner, ‘We go to the playoffs every year, and we win a playoff game on the road every year. And I’m the lowest-paid coach in the league.’”

Hearing that, the owner’s son-in-law popped to his feet and slapped the desk, saying, “And we’re damn proud of it!”

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Tampa Bay Coaches

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