| | | |
Friday, December 13, 2002
Extension keeps Spurrier at Florida through 2006
Associated Press
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida coach Steve Spurrier has agreed to terms of a four-year contract extension worth $8.4 million, a deal that should keep him at his alma mater through 2006.
No deal had been signed, but a source familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Monday that the terms have been agreed upon.
Spurrier wasn't immediately available for comment.
"We're working on an extension," athletic director Jeremy Foley said.
He is currently in the fourth year of a six-year deal worth an average of $2 million per year. When the new contract is signed, he'll make $2.1 million per season from 2001-2006. About half the salary will be paid by Florida's apparel deal with Nike, according to The Sporting News.
The No. 4 Gators are 9-1 heading into their game Saturday against No. 3 Florida State. Last week, they clinched the SEC East for the seventh time, another jewel on Spurrier's resume at Florida.
The Gators have won five Southeastern Conference titles since Spurrier arrived in 1990. They hadn't won an official conference title before then.
They won the national championship in 1996, the same season quarterback Danny Wuerffel joined Spurrier as the only Gators to win the Heisman Trophy.
When Spurrier came to Florida, he brought a pass-happy style that nobody said could work in the SEC. But quickly, the Fun 'N' Gun took hold and Florida started dominating the conference like no other program since Bear Bryant's Alabama teams of the 1960s and '70s.
Success has made Spurrier almost a constant in the rumor mills whenever NFL jobs open. He nearly signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995.
He has said the challenge of the NFL might appeal to him someday, although he has always conceded it would be difficult to leave the lifestyle he loves in Gainesville.
"We're confident Steve will be with us for a long time," Foley said.
| | | |
|
|
