If Bob Stoops and Nick Saban didn’t know any better before, they do now.
Steve Spurrier’s overall NFL experience was a monumental failure, but he had at least one significant impact on the pro game: He made the nation’s other big-time college coaches realize that pro football is not always utopia.
Sometimes, in fact, it might as well be Ethiopia.
“Steve Spurrier was the most dominant coach in the Southeastern Conference,” LSU’s Saban said. “He changed the whole complexion and identity of our league. But a lot of times in the NFL, success is based on other people. You don’t have the same chance to control your own destiny.”
Added Oklahoma’s Stoops, a former Spurrier assistant: “What happened [to Spurrier] makes us all wary. It makes you wary of who you align yourself with. If you’re in college, the NFL is not the end-all by a long shot. If you’re in a great college program, this is as good as it gets.”
Saban and Stoops are at the pinnacle of their profession. With the Sugar Bowl now behind them, they’ll both have a chance for the NFL. If they are smart, they will resist.
If they want more proof than Spurrier, just look at the other coach embroiled in the “Who’s No. 1?” controversy. Pete Carroll bombed as an NFL coach, but he’s the bomb at USC. Alumni revere him, players respect him, the administration rewards him.
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These days, there’s no reason for a college coach to go to the NFL. As recently as 10 years ago, the money discrepancy between pro and college was enormous. Not anymore.