Could a return to the sidelines be in cards for the Ol’ Ball Coach? That certainly seems to be a possibility.
A pair of new pro football leagues are set to kick off the next couple of years, including the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The AAF, backed by Charlie Ebersol, the son of legendary television executive Dick Ebersol, and armed with a television contract with CBS, will launch in February of 2019.
According to Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, the AAF has been in contact with Steve Spurrier about potentially coaching one of the teams, with the 72-year-old College Football Hall of Famer confirming to Bianchi his interest in a coaching job with the new league.
“I can’t talk a lot about it,” Spurrier told the Sentinel. “It sounds like an interesting and intriguing format and could be a lot of fun. I’m fired up about it, and we’ll see what happens. But I do have an interest.”
In October of 2015, Spurrier stunned the entire college football world by announcing that he was, in the middle of the season, retiring as the Head Ball Coach at South Carolina, effective immediately. Since then, he’s taken a job as an ambassador at his alma mater Florida while seeing the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium field named in his honor, in addition to continuing to hone his long-running rapier wit of course.
Late last year, Spurrier again reiterated that he would be open to a return to coaching, albeit at the high school level -- but not as a head coach. Because of the commitment that would be involved -- the AAF would only be a four- or five-month commitment, Bianchi noted -- it appears Spurrier, who turns 73 next month, has reshaped his opinion on becoming the Head Ball Coach yet again.