Steve Spurrier

Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach. Spurrier is a native of Florida, graduated from high school in Tennessee, and is an alumnus of the University of Florida, where he played college football for the Florida Gators. He was a two-time All-American quarterback, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player. Spurrier played professional football for the San Francisco 49ers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons in the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for winning the Heisman Trophy in 1966, and for coaching the Florida Gators football team to six Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships and a consensus national championship in 1996.

High school
Spurrier attended Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee, where he was a three-sport letterman starring in high school football, basketball and baseball for the Science Hill Hilltoppers. In three years as the starting pitcher for Science Hill, he never lost a game and led his team to two consecutive state baseball championships. He was an all-state selection in football, basketball and baseball, and a high school All-American quarterback.

College
After graduating from Science Hill, Spurrier received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and played quarterback for coach Ray Graves' Florida Gators football team from 1964 to 1966. In addition to being a stellar passer, he gained notoriety by waving off the starting place-kicker and booting a forty-yard field goal to defeat Auburn 30–27 in a key game during his senior season in 1966. Spurrier finished his three-year, thirty-one-game career as Florida's starting quarterback having completed 392 of 692 attempts, with 4,848 passing yards, thirty-seven touchdowns and 442 yards rushing. In addition to winning the Heisman Trophy as a senior, he was selected as a Football Writers Association first-team All-American as junior in 1965 and a unanimous first-team All-American in 1966. He was also the recipient of the Gators' Fergie Ferguson Award, recognizing the "senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage."

National Football League
The San Francisco 49ers selected Spurrier in the first round (third pick overall) of the 1967 NFL Draft. Spurrier played for the 49ers for nine seasons, mostly as a punter and backup quarterback to John Brodie, before being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers expansion team for his final NFL season in 1976. He played his best game as an NFL quarterback against the Minnesota Vikings in 1973, when he completed 31 of 48 pass attempts for 320 yards. During his 10-year NFL career, Spurrier played in 106 games, completing 597 passes in 1,151 attempts, for a total of 6,878 yards and forty touchdowns.

Early career
After retiring from the NFL, Spurrier began his coaching career as the quarterbacks coach at the University of Florida under head coach Doug Dickey in 1978, but he was not retained by the new Gators head coach, Charley Pell, when Pell took control of the program the following season. In 1979, he coached the quarterbacks at Georgia Tech under Pepper Rodgers, and worked as an assistant coach and the offensive coordinator at Duke University from 1980 to 1982.

In 1983, Spurrier became the youngest head coach in professional football (37) when he was hired to lead the Tampa Bay Bandits of the new United States Football League (USFL). His Bandits teams were regularly among the league leaders in offense and compiled an overall record of 35–21 over three seasons before the USFL dissolved.

In 1987, Spurrier accepted the head coaching position for the Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Before he arrived in Durham, Duke had become the perennial cellar-dweller of the ACC. Spurrier proceeded to lead his Blue Devils to levels of success the team had not known in over twenty-five years, including Duke's first bowl game appearance since the 1960 Cotton Bowl, and a tie for the 1989 ACC championship, Duke's first since 1962. After back-to-back winning seasons, Spurrier was named the ACC Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1989.

Florida Gators
On December 31, 1989, the University of Florida announced that Spurrier had accepted the offer to be the head football coach of the Florida Gators. He inherited a team under NCAA investigation for the second time in five years, and a football program that had never won an officially recognized Southeastern Conference (SEC) football championship in 57 seasons of SEC play. Spurrier successfully steered the program away from the previous scandals and captured the Gators' first officially recognized SEC title in 1991. Under Spurrier, the Gators won the SEC title in four of the next five years, and represented the SEC East in the first five SEC Championship Games. The 1996 team captured the Gators' first-ever National Championship with a 52–20 win over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl, avenging the Gators' sole regular season loss in which Florida State upset Florida 24–21 in Tallahassee.



Spurrier's finest moment as a coach may have been the Gators' 1997 game against the previously undefeated and national title game-bound Florida State Seminoles. Spurrier used a two-quarterback offense, rotating quarterbacks Doug Johnson and Noah Brindise in and out of the game, confusing the Florida State defense and its veteran coordinator, Mickey Andrews, and giving Spurrier more time to counsel his quarterbacks on the sidelines without having to use time-outs. Florida upset the heavily-favored Seminoles 32–29.

Significantly, Spurrier is credited with changing the way the SEC played football. Spurrier employed a pass-oriented offense (known in the sports media as the "Fun 'n' Gun") in contrast to the ball-control, rush-oriented offenses that were traditionally played in the SEC. His innovative offensive schemes forced many coaches in the SEC to change their offensive and defensive play-calling.

Spurrier and his Gators accomplished a number of memorable feats during his twelve seasons in Gainesville (1990–2001), including:


 * Won one national championship (1996), and played for another (1995).
 * Won six SEC championships (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000).
 * Named SEC Coach of the Year five times (1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996).
 * First Heisman Trophy-winner to coach a Heisman Trophy-winner (Danny Wuerffel).
 * Won at least nine games in each of his twelve seasons, one of only three coaches in major college history to do so.
 * Averaged more than ten wins per season.
 * Ranked in the final top fifteen in each of his twelve seasons, including nine top-ten finishes, five final top-five rankings, and an average end-of-season ranking of 6.8.
 * Appeared among the top twenty-five teams in the weekly polls 202 of a possible 203 weeks, including each of his last 202 consecutive weeks. The Gators were ranked number one in the polls twenty-nine times, appeared among the top five team for 117 weeks, and among the nation's top ten teams for 179 weeks.
 * Appeared in a bowl game in each of his last eleven seasons, one of only five schools to do so during the same time period.
 * Only coach in major college history to win as many as 120 games in his first twelve seasons at one school (an overall record of 122–27–1, with a winning percentage of .8167).
 * One of only two coaches in major college history to win ten or more games in six consecutive seasons (1993–1998).
 * Only college football team to score at least 500 points, including bowl games, for four consecutive years (1993–1996) since the NCAA began keeping statistics in 1937.

Spurrier is also credited with creating the nickname "The Swamp" for Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the Gators' home field. In the early 1990s, he said, ". . . a swamp is where Gators live. We feel comfortable there, but we hope our opponents feel tentative. A swamp is hot and sticky and can be dangerous. Only Gators get out alive." Soon after becoming head coach, he insisted that the artificial turf then in use at the stadium be replaced with natural grass. and the "Swamp" remains a natural surface field today. During Spurrier's tenure, the Gators built up one of the most formidable home field advantages in the nation; they only suffered two home losses during his 12-year run.

Spurrier was known for his gamesmanship while coaching Florida, doing such things as giving much-derided Georgia coach Ray Goff the nickname of "Ray Goof." His rivalry with the Tennessee Volunteers and their coach Phillip Fulmer became highly publicized, as Spurrier would gig the Volunteers after the Gators' wins over Tennessee, saying that "you can't spell 'Citrus' without 'UT,'" a reference to the Citrus Bowl, which has the contractual right to select the second-place SEC football team. He also said of Peyton Manning, Tennessee's quarterback, "I know why Peyton came back for his senior year: he wanted to be a three-time Citrus Bowl MVP!"

Other memorable one-liners from Steve Spurrier included nicknaming rival Florida State University, "Free Shoes University," for the Seminoles' NCAA troubles with recruiting violations.

On January 4, 2002, Spurrier abruptly resigned as head coach, stating, "I simply believe that twelve years as head coach at a major university in the SEC is long enough."

Before Spurrier returned to coach his Gamecocks against the Gators in 2006 and 2008, his most recent visits to Gainesville were on September 2, 2006, to take part in the Gators' celebration of the 10-year anniversary of their 1996 championship season, and on September 30, 2006, when he was one of the first four inductees into the Gator Football Ring of Honor, alongside Danny Wuerffel, Emmitt Smith, and Jack Youngblood. At both appearances, Spurrier received standing ovations from the crowd.

Spurrier is known to hold a deep loyalty for his alma mater, and sometimes still accidentally says "we" when referring to the University of Florida. When he was inducted into the Gators' "Ring of Honor," Spurrier humbly announced to the sell-out crowd at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium: "I'd just like to thank coach Ray Graves for bringing the skinny kid from Tennessee to the University of Florida."

Spurrier has not let his affection for the University of Florida get in the way of a budding Florida-South Carolina rivalry, however. In 2005, his Gamecocks upset the Gators 30–22 in Columbia, costing the Gators a shot at the SEC championship. And in November 2010, he coached South Carolina to a 36–14 victory in Gainesville (their first ever on Florida Field) in a game that decided the SEC Eastern Division title.

Washington Redskins
Ten days after Spurrier resigned his position at the University of Florida, he became head coach of the NFL's Washington Redskins. Spurrier's five-year, $25 million contract with the Redskins was the most lucrative coaching contract in the history of the NFL at the time.

In his first NFL coaching season (2002), Spurrier's Redskins finished with a 7–9 record. The defense created a modest amount of pressure and number of interceptions, but gave up 4.4 yards a carry.

Spurrier's offensive line troubles resulted in starting quarterback Patrick Ramsey being one of the most sacked and hurried quarterbacks in the league. Spurrier would often bench him mid-game during a bad performance in favor of Danny Wuerffel or Shane Matthews, who both played for Spurrier at the University of Florida.

In Spurrier's last three games as the Redskins head coach, opponents outscored them 85–31. He resigned on December 30, 2003.

South Carolina Gamecocks


Throughout the 2004 football season, various sources openly speculated about Spurrier coaching for a college team somewhere in the Southeast. The University of Florida had announced that they would be looking for a new coach when Spurrier's successor at Florida, Ron Zook, was fired after three seasons. Spurrier initially said that he wanted to be considered for his old job, but later removed his name from consideration stating that "12 years at Florida was probably long enough." Rumors began circulating that Spurrier was considering the University of South Carolina. On November 22, South Carolina coach Lou Holtz announced his retirement, and hinted that Spurrier might replace him. The next day, months of rumors were put to rest as Spurrier was introduced as South Carolina's new head coach, signing a seven-year deal that paid him $1.25 million per year.

In 2005, his first season as the Gamecocks' new head coach, Spurrier led his South Carolina Gamecocks with newfound humility. The Gamecocks, who were not expected to have a winning season by most pundits, rattled off a five-game SEC winning streak for the first time in their fourteen-year SEC history. Included among those victories were historic wins at Tennessee (16–15) &mdash; the program's first win in Knoxville &mdash; and against then 12th-ranked Florida (30–22), who South Carolina had not beaten since 1939. The Associated Press named Spurrier the SEC Coach of the Year, and the Gamecocks finished the 2005 season with a 7–5 record and a trip to the Independence Bowl.

Two days prior to South Carolina's 2006 season opener, Spurrier announced that he would kick off the athletics department's capital campaign with a $250,000 donation over five years. Spurrier's Gamecocks opened the 2006 season with a 15–0 win over Mississippi State in Starkville, where he was 0–2 while coaching the Florida Gators. With the victory, he reached 150 wins for his college coaching career. On September 30, Spurrier was inducted into the Gator Football Ring of Honor in a pre-game ceremony in Gainesville. Later in the season on November 11, Spurrier returned to "The Swamp" to face off against his former Gators team, which was then ranked sixth in the BCS rankings. Trailing 17–16, the Gamecocks had a chance to win with a 48-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the game. However, Ryan Succop's kick was blocked as time expired in a repeat of an earlier blocked extra-point attempt.

In the final game of the 2006 regular season, Spurrier led the Gamecocks to victory over in-state rival Clemson at Death Valley. Trailing 28–14 in the third quarter, South Carolina scored seventeen unanswered points to lead 31–28. With only seconds remaining, Clemson's field goal attempt missed wide left and USC celebrated its first victory over Clemson in five years.

On December 2, 2006, amid speculation he was a candidate for head coaching jobs at Miami and Alabama, Spurrier received a contract extension through 2012 and a raise from $1.25 million to $1.75 million annually. Spurrier and the Gamecocks went on to defeat the Houston Cougars in the Liberty Bowl on December 29, and finished the season 8–5. All five of the Gamecocks' 2006 losses were to ranked opponents. Spurrier became the first coach in Gamecock football history to take a South Carolina team to a bowl game in both of his first two seasons as head coach.

The 2007 football season, got off to a quick start winning at SEC rival Georgia early in the season as well as UL-Lafayette and South Carolina State, and climbed into the top 10 in the national rankings. South Carolina stumbled down the stretch dropping the final five games, including a home loss in the season finale to arch-rival Clemson. The 6-6 (3-5 SEC) season record marks the first non-winning season for Spurrier since his first season at Duke in 1987.

Spurrier won his 100th SEC game on October 11, 2008, coaching the Gamecocks to a 24–17 victory over Kentucky. In his seven seasons as the Gamecocks' head coach, Spurrier has beaten each of South Carolina's SEC Eastern Division rivals at least three times. Against their annual SEC Eastern Division opponents, his seven teams have posted a 6–1 record against Kentucky, 5–2 against Vanderbilt, 4–3 against Tennessee, 3–4 against Georgia, and 3–4 against Florida. They have a 2–5 record against their annual SEC Western Division opponent, Arkansas. Against South Carolina's major in-state rival, Clemson, Spurrier's Gamecocks have gone 4–3. While Spurrier's teams at USC have shown flashes of his old "Fun 'n' Gun" offense, they have mostly relied on stout defense to win upsets. The Gamecocks have been bowl eligible every year Spurrier has been their head coach, a feat no other Carolina coach has accomplished. Also, the Gamecocks have been ranked in the AP Poll Top 25 at some point during the season in six out of Spurrier's seven years at USC.

Spurrier's Gamecocks won the SEC Eastern Division championship for the first time in school history in 2010, clinching the title with a convincing 36–14 victory at "The Swamp" over the Florida Gators. It was a season of firsts for South Carolina, including their first win at Florida, first win over a No. 1 ranked team (Alabama), and first time sweeping the November "Orange Crush" portion of their schedule with wins over Tennessee, Florida and Clemson. Following a 9–3 regular season and an appearance in the SEC championship game, Spurrier was named SEC Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches in the conference. The Gamecocks had another strong season in 2011 had another stellar season, beating every opponent in the division. However, a loss to Arkansas cost them a return appearance in the SEC title game. With a 34-13 rout of Clemson, the Gamecocks won 10 games for only the second time in their 119-year football history. In the 2012 Capital One Bowl, the Gamecocks dispatched Nebraska 30-13 to win their school-record 11th game. They also finished eighth in the AP Poll and ninth in the Coaches' Poll--their first top-ten finishes in a major media poll in school history.

The Ladies Clinic
A popular tradition, started during the Sparky Woods era at USC, occurs on the last Saturday of July when the University of South Carolina athletics department hosts the annual "Steve Spurrier Ladies Football Clinic." Only female fans are invited to attend the clinic where USC football coaches and players discuss the X's and O's with fans who want to understand the game better. All attendees get a tour of the USC football facilities, and finish the day running onto the football field at Williams-Brice Stadium through the players' tunnel into the artificial smoke and theme music Also sprach Zarathustra, the same way the team does during the season. The event is hosted by Spurrier and his wife Jerri.

Personal
Spurrier was born on April 20, 1945, in Miami Beach, Florida. He is the son of a Presbyterian minister, J. Graham Spurrier, and his wife Marjorie. Spurrier's father moved the family repeatedly, and only stayed in Miami Beach for about a year after Steve was born, moving first to Charlotte, North Carolina, then Athens, Newport and Johnson City, Tennessee. The Spurrier family moved to Johnson City when Steve was twelve years old, and his father coached the Little League baseball team for which Steve played.

While he was a University of Florida student, Spurrier was a member of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity (Alpha Omega chapter), and was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame, the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame, and Florida Blue Key leadership honorary.

Spurrier married his college sweetheart, the former Jerri Starr, on September 14, 1966, during his senior year at the University of Florida. They have been married for forty-five years, and have four children together&mdash;Amy, Lisa, Steve, Jr., and Scott, as well as seven grandchildren. Spurrier's younger son, Scott, played wide receiver for the Gamecocks through the 2009 season, and his older son, Steve, Jr., is currently the Gamecocks' receivers coach.

College
‡ Ineligible for SEC title, bowl game and Coaches' Poll