Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Franchises from the Redskins to Bucs pay top dollar for top talent.
By DARRELL FRY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 2, 2002
INDIANAPOLIS -- Some people have called them super coaches. Others have tagged them franchise coaches.
This much is certain. None is hurting for cash.
Though NFL teams always have put a premium on getting the finest head coaches, some have gone overboard, perhaps like never before, paying steep amounts to get someone who never plays a down.
The Redskins were so hot to grab University of Florida coach Steve Spurrier they gave him a $25-million deal over five years, easily the richest in league history. The $4-million-plus Mike Shanahan and Mike Holmgren receive annually from the Broncos and Seahawks, respectively, are next highest.
Washington also made former Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis the highest-paid assistant, whose $1-million-plus a season is believed to top the salaries of at least three head coaches.
Then came the richest deal when the Bucs gave up a pair of first- and second-round draft picks and $8-million in cash to the Raiders for the rights to head coach Jon Gruden. Then the Bucs gave Gruden a $17-million, five-year deal.
The Bucs aren't the first team to give up draft picks and cash for rights to a coach. The Patriots did it for Bill Belichick and the Jets for Bill Parcells.
But never has a team given up so much to get a coach, which sparks the question: Is a coach worth all of that?
In Spurrier's case, he receives more than Rams running back Marshall Faulk, more than $4-million per season.
"My feeling about this is, whether you're talking about paying a sportswriter or buying a pair of shoes, I don't think you ever pay too much for quality," former Cowboys general manager Gil Brandt said. Enough teams have found success after paying huge coaching salaries that more likely will follow. Getting Belichick from the Jets cost the Patriots a first-round pick, but they got a Super Bowl title, prompting owner Robert Kraft to call it the best deal he ever made.
And the Jets can't be upset about giving up a draft pick for Parcells since they haven't had a losing season since.
Several experts and team executives at the NFL Combine said coaching is more important now than 10 years ago. Some said player talent has become so even throughout the league that coaching -- preparation, strategy and motivation -- sometimes determines the outcome of games.
Others said coaching is more crucial because young players, who need more guidance, are forced to play sooner.
"People are starting to recognize that," Vikings vice president of player personnel Frank Gilliam said. "Look at some of those teams that were struggling, and then some coach comes in and then all of sudden they get turned around, like Tony Dungy did (with Tampa Bay). That shows you right there that coaches can really make a difference."
CBS Sports broadcaster and former Giants quarterback Phil Simms, who played for Parcells, said coaching dictated the outcome of three or four games each season. "You'd just know that there was no way you were going to lose, because you had a better scheme, you were better prepared and you were just in a better frame of mind.
"Look, the league is all about coaches now. Anybody who thinks differently is crazy. I mean, does anybody really think New England (won the Super Bowl) because they had the most talented team in the league?"
Whether teams such as the Redskins and Bucs will get their money's worth remains to be seen. But Bucs general manager Rich McKay said he hasn't been haunted by second thoughts.
"(The deal) is what it is," he said. "It'll be written about, but for us to settle the coaching issue and settle it with someone of the quality of Jon Gruden, we're happy."