It hasn’t been a surprise to see Steve Spurrier’s coaching translate to the AAF as the Head Ball Coach is currently leading his Orlando club to a 7-1 overall record but what could be a complete surprise, given the fanfare the league had during its debut weekend, is the fact the league may not survive long enough to finish out the inaugural season.
That obviously wouldn’t be great for Spurrier or his Orlando Apollos but according to the former Florida and South Carolina coach, the speculation that the league could soon fold is all news to him.
“I think we’re definitely good to finish out this year,” Spurrier said recently, according to Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. “But after that, who knows? We’re not thinking about anything but trying to win a championship. That was our goal and we’re sticking to it.
“Our players and coaches have worked hard. We want to finish this thing out.”
Spurrier clearly has his team focused on its goal as the Apollos are two games up on the Birmingham Iron in the Eastern Conference. Orlando is also up a net of 100 points after eight games, which is significantly higher than any other AAF team at this point in the season — Arizona’s 42 net points is the second-highest in the league.
As for the future of the league, it’s clear the AAF wants to partner up with NFL as an official developmental league, something Spurrier seems to think was always in the works.
“The Alliance was started under the pretense of signing players who aren’t in the NFL and giving them a chance to play in our league,” Spurrier said. “And if they play well enough in our league, then maybe they’ll get the opportunity to play in the NFL. That was the original plan, but obviously the plan has changed.”
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
