The moral to this story is a guy can get pretty rich if he pounds Mississippi State and Louisiana-Monroe enough times.

        The slobbering may cease in the NFL. Steve Spurrier has a job.

        As of Monday, he's a Washington Redskin. I know what you're wondering. What happened to all those reports about him yearning to stay in his beloved South, unwilling to work too far from the nearest palm tree?

        Apparently he developed a taste for northern Virginia winter quicker than you can say, “Five years for $25 million.”

        Now we know what all the wins over Tennessee and Florida State were worth. Spurrier became the highest paid coach in pro football, before his first game. Steve Spurrier, without a line of NFL experience on his resume, became a winning lottery ticket.

        Behold the power of the touchdown pass. The customers want offense. Owners, too.

        But the fun part starts from here. We find out how all that brassy brainpower works in the NFL. Spurrier has a team. Never mind it is Marty Schottenheimer's team, with a roster remade to fit the image of a coach whose heart and playbook were given to the running game.

        When it comes to offensive style, Washington just went from vanilla to tutti-frutti.

He's in his prime
              

        This comes after a Redskin revival, of sorts, down the stretch. Once Schottenheimer and his players learned to speak the same language, the weekly thrashings stopped. An 0-5 record turned into 8-8. Humiliation transformed into a brief glimpse of playoff hope. Normally, that buys a man a little time.

        Ah, but we are talking meat loaf and mashed potatoes, when prime rib suddenly became available in Gainesville, Fla.

        The owner of the Redskins, Daniel Snyder, knows what he wants. Now, what he wants this year may not be what he wanted last year. Following his managerial game plan has been like tracking a worried deer in the snow. He has owned the team barely three seasons and this is his fourth coach.

        I seem to recall his first strategy was to walk down the free agent aisle with a cart and simply buy a Super Bowl champion, stocking up on big names as you would cans of green beans. Except, the Redskins were not very good shoppers.

        But if Deion Sanders and Jeff George did not work, neither did the Schottenheimer plan. At least not well enough to be renewed.

        The Florida coach was the hot new toy, anyway. You knew Snyder would just have to have him, and be the first owner on the block with a Steve Spurrier.

        But you wonder where their relationship goes from here. Is Washington big enough for both their egos?

        Whatever, the Redskins are due for retooling again. It is hard to believe the current pieces fit into what Spurrier has in mind. Tony Banks does not remind you of many Gator quarterbacks.

        That will be part of the fascination, to see how the guru fares in his new world, with all its new questions. It is not easy. Lots of good college coaches fail in the NFL.

        What happens when his fancy passing game runs into a blustery and snowy day in Giants Stadium? What happens when his system faces brutes from Baltimore or Chicago or Pittsburgh?

        He is a coach highly awaited. There are a lot of fans eager to get a look at a Steve Spurrier NFL team. Probably a lot of defensive coordinators, too.

Illinois QB catches Bengals' attention Spurrier in for surprise Bucs fire Dungy after six seasons

Nuxhall back in action
Frank Robinson could manage Expos
MacRae, Piersoll set for minors
Bonds gets $90 million for 5 years
UC's rise in polls seen as 'shock'
Former Xavier coaches collide
HIGH SCHOOL PAGE
Cincinnati boys basketball polls
Cincinnati girls basketball polls
Ohio AP boys basketball polls
Cincinnati boys basketball roundup
Cincinnati girls basketball roundup
Ohio boys basketball scores
Ohio girls basketball scores
GMC tripleheader at Gardens
N.Ky. boys basketball poll
N.Ky. girls basketball poll
Kentucky AP boys basketball poll
Kentucky AP girls basketball poll
Hallman breaks Holmes scoring record
N.Ky. boys basketball roundup
N.Ky. girls basketball roundup
Kentucky boys basketball scores
Kentucky girls basketball scores
This week's boys basketball schedule
This week's girls basketball schedule
Gymnastics poll & honor roll
Bryant picks up Shaq with 56
Ole Miss new challenge for UK
Australian Open coverage
Sports events this week

• Return to Bengals front page...