Outback Bowl president/CEO Jim McVay was marketing director of Tampa Bay’s fledgling United States Football League franchise — the Bandits — in the early 1980s when owner John Bassett walked into his office looking especially bubbly.
“He says, ‘I found my coach.’ I said, ‘Is that right? Who are you going to hire?’ ” McVay recalled.
“He had just come back from Durham, N.C. Spurrier was the offensive coordinator (at Duke), and he was absolutely taken with Steve Spurrier and his thinking. Owners, athletic directors, school presidents — they were all afraid of Steve. They didn’t think he’d conform to the normal coaching structure or way of life, in that he didn’t work, 12, 13 or 15 hours a day.