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Spurrier shocker Gators' coach says he over-criticized struggling team
Posted: Tuesday December 21, 1999 06:02 PM
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- After two months of browbeating his team into believing it was bad, Florida coach Steve Spurrier had a stunning change of heart Tuesday. He admitted he was wrong. "There was probably a little too much criticism on my part," Spurrier said. The 10th-year coach did everything but apologize to his players for the constant criticism he rained down on them as a promising season turned sour and a once-potent offense stopped moving. Telling it like it is has always been one of Spurrier's specialties, and he had no qualms in doing it through most of the season. He chided the players for making "dumb, stupid" mistakes and harped on the theme that the Mighty Gators weren't so mighty anymore. But in the down time following the No. 10 Gators 34-7 loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game, he realized that tact had been a failure. He conceded as much during a short, awkward monologue in which he seemed fidgety and uncomfortable at the podium. "Maybe it was something I didn't handle as well as I could have," he said. "But then, on the other side, I handled it about like I always do. But maybe this team didn't respond that way to the negative talk. We usually always come to the ballpark thinking we're just as good as the other guy. So, if somehow or another we thought maybe we weren't as good as the other guy, then that was my fault." Not only did Spurrier admit he handled the team the wrong way, he committed to do something about it come the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day. In another stark turnabout from a few weeks ago, Spurrier said all the seniors that contributed this season will get their starting jobs back. Most notably, that includes quarterback Doug Johnson, whose aching shoulder has recovered. "Doug has played most of this year," Spurrier said. "Just looking back, I think he deserves the game." Johnson said he is looking forward to the opportunity. He caught a good portion of the criticism late in the year, when Spurrier replaced him with Jesse Palmer. After failing to bring a title to Florida in nearly three full years at the helm, the senior quarterback also recognized the need for an attitude adjustment before he plays his final game. "You don't want to have a bitter taste in your mouth when you leave as a senior," Johnson said. "It's your last game and you want to be able play well and perform well. It's going to be your last memory you'll have as a Gator." Receiver Darrell Jackson said the players understood where Spurrier was coming from when he criticized them mercilessly as the season progressed. The performances got no better, however. Jackson suggested that maybe the coach's motivational tactics finally took their toll. "Sometimes you think about it as a player," Jackson said. "But he's just trying to pick us up. Different people have different perceptions on how to pick people up, and that might just be the way he tries to motivate us." Intent on showing an attitude change, Spurrier refused to dwell on the negatives of this season. Instead of talking about opportunities squandered, he talked about missions accomplished. The Gators are going to the best of the bowls that aren't part of the Bowl Championship Series. They won the SEC East. They still have a chance for 10 victories and a top-10 finish. "Our guys aren't playing in the Blue-Gray game," he said, referring to the all-star game for players whose teams aren't in bowl games. "We had a good year. It's not quite what we all had hoped. But I'd rather get to the championship game and lose than not get to it. We'd rather try and fail than not try at all."
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