The Ol' Ball Coach is officially back in professional football, as long as that league actually gets off the ground.
On Saturday, long-time college coach and short-time Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier was officially hired as the first coach in the Alliance of American Football league.
His team, the Orlando Alliance, is one of eight teams planned for the AAF's inaugural season in 2019. The league is the brainchild of former NFL executive Bill Polian, former safety Troy Polamalu, wide receiver John "J.K." McKay, and Charlie Ebersol, son of NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol. Other advisers include the elder Ebersol, Hines Ward and Justin Tuck.
The announcement comes somewhat ahead of schedule, as the league had not promised that teams would be named until June. It's possible that the league will roll out each time with an individual announcement like this in order to capitalize on the media attention.
For what it's worth, Spurrier said he was the "fired up and ready to go," after two years of retirement from the Gamecocks. As a college coach, he holds the winningest marks at both Florida and South Carolina, part of his Hall of Fame legacy as a coach. He is one of just four people to ever be elected into the college football hall of fame as a coach and player.
The AAF is launching at a time of brewing strife in professional football. The NFL is two years into protests over the National Anthem, an issue that has divided the country, dampened ratings, destroyed marketing partnerships, cast the looming collective bargaining negotiations into doubt, and become a political talking point.
This has created an opportunity for the rebirth of Vince McMahon's long-dead XFL, set to launch in 2020, and the Polian-Ebersol AAF, which will be broadcast on CBS starting in February 2019.
This is Spurrier's first return to the professional sidelines since his ill-fated run in Washington that ended in 2003. Coming off of a highly successful run at Florida, Spurrier developed a reputation for enjoying the golf courses as much as the film room.
After two up and down seasons in which he had personnel struggles with the front office and owner Dan Snyder, Spurrier resigned on Dec. 30, 2003, walking away from the final three years and $15 million on his contract. In a statement released by the team, Spurrier said:
"I apologize to Redskins fans that we did not reach a level of success that we had all hoped.
"It's a long grind and I feel after 20 years as a head coach there are other things I need to do. I simply believe this is the right time for me to move on because this team needs new leadership."
Spurrier said he knew the end was near after the front office released Danny Wuerffel against his wishes after year one. Always good for a quip, he told the media that he knew it was over when he wasn't allowed to pick his backup quarterback.
This is not the first pro league upstart that Spurrier has been involved with. Previously, he has a great run with the Tampa Bay Bandits in the USFL before the league dissolved in 1985 and he returned to the college game.