Saints’ coach wishes Spurrier the best
By DAVID NEWTON
Senior Writer
CHARLOTTE — New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett found it interesting to hear Steve Spurrier was humbled by his experience with the Washington Redskins and that he had a newfound respect for other coaches.
That is because Haslett, whose Saints play host to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, was one of the first coaches Spurrier took a shot at when he came into the NFL in 2002.
Asked if he planned to work long hours to turn around the Redskins, Spurrier said, “I read where Jim Haslett gets to work at 4:30 in the morning, and it doesn’t seem to do him any good.”
“I just viewed it as somebody, at the time, who really wasn’t sure what he was getting into and probably should have waited to see,” Haslett said.
Haslett recently spoke to Spurrier, who last week was named the head coach at South Carolina, when Spurrier hired the Saints’ assistant strength coach to run the strength program at USC.
He stopped short of saying the two had made peace.
“You realize that this league is a lot harder than people think when they get into it,” said Haslett, whose Saints have the same 4-7 record as the Panthers. “Somebody said it right, that if you win eight games in this league you’re doing something.
“There’s not a lot of coaches who have winning records. It’s hard to win.”
Spurrier found that out against New Orleans, losing 43-27 in 2002 and 24-20 last season.
Spurrier was 12-20 in two NFL seasons after going 86-14 in 12 seasons at Florida.
“He’s a good football coach, and a pretty good person,” Haslett said. “I think he’ll do fine down there.”
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