Athletes - Steve Spurrier

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	Athletes - Steve Spurrier

Steven Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945 in Miami Beach, Florida) is a former American football player and current head coach at the University of South Carolina, but is perhaps best known for his days coaching the University of Florida Gators football team to a multitude of SEC championships and a national championship.

Playing career

Spurrier was an exceptional multi-talented athlete in high school starring not only in football but also baseball and basketball at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee. An intense competitor, Steve played quarterback for the University of Florida and won the Heisman Trophy in 1966. At UF, Spurrier was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame, the UF Atheltic Hall of Fame, and Florida Blue Key. He was also a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. From 1967-1976, he played quarterback in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Coaching Jobs Before Florida

After retiring from the NFL, Steve Spurrier began his coaching career as a quarterbacks coach at the University of Florida. After further serving as assistant coach at Duke University and Georgia Tech, in 1983 Steve Spurrier was awarded his first head coaching job: the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League. The team had significant success before the league dissolved after its third season. In 1987, Coach Spurrier became head coach of the Duke football team. There he led the team to new heights, including a bowl appearance and an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship in 1989. For his success at Duke, Coach Spurrier received the ACC Coach of the Year award in 1988 and 1989.

"Awakening the Sleeping Giant"

On December 31, 1989, Spurrier accepted the head coaching job at the University of Florida, his alma mater. The "Ol' Ball Coach" helped guide the team away from a period of scandal and captured the school's first ever Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship in 1990(though it was not observed by the SEC because the Gators were on probation) and their first official SEC championship the following season. The 1996 season saw the team reach the pinnacle of the college football world and capture its first ever undisputed National Championship with a 52-20 win over rival Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. Along with winning many games, Spurrier is also credited with changing the way the SEC played offense. The Ol' Ball Coach's "Fun-n-Gun" offenses aired the ball out regularly, before Spurrier's reign at UF, the SEC was a grind-it-out, ball control, run the ball first league, and his offenses forced many in the conference to change their offensive playcalling ways.

Other memorable feats during Spurrier's tenor at the University of Florida1990-2001 were:

UF won six SEC titles
He was named SEC Coach of the Year 3-times,
Became the first person to have both won a Heisman Trophy and to have coached a Heisman Trophy winner
Won at least nine games in each of his 12 seasons at Florida, one of only three coaches in major college history with that record.
Averaged 10 wins per season.
Ranked in the top 15 nationally in each of his 12 seasons at Florida, including nine Top 10 finishes, five Top 5s and an average final ranking of 6.8.
Appeared in a bowl game in each of his last 11 seasons, one of only five schools with that record.
Spurrier is the only major college coach to win as many as 120 games in his first 12 seasons at one school (122-27-1 at Florida from 1990-2001).
One of only two coaches in major college history to win 10 or more games in six consecutive seasons (1993-98).

Spurrier is also credited with creating the nickname "The Swamp" for Ben Hill Griffin Stadium the Gators' home field, when he said that "The Swamp" is a good name for their stadium because only gators come out alive.

NFL Flameout

After the 2001 season, Spurrier resigned his University of Florida coaching position to become head coach of the NFL's Washington Redskins. Spurrier's five-year, $25 million contract with the Redskins was the biggest coaching contract in the history of the league. Despite high expectations, the team struggled under his leadership and he became the target of significant criticism. On December 30, 2003, Spurrier resigned his coaching job with the Redskins. During the 2004 football season, he decided to take his name out of consideration for a return to the Florida head coaching job.

South Carolina

Throughout the 2004 season, Spurrier openly discussed coaching for a team in the southeast in the 2005 college football season. After removing his name from consideration to coach the Gators, rumors flew that Spurrier was considering coaching at either the University of South Carolina or the University of North Carolina. On November 22, South Carolina coach Lou Holtz officially announced his retirement. In his speech, Holtz hinted that Spurrier, Holtz's friend, would replace him and, indeed, months of rumor were put to rest as Spurrier was announced to be South Carolina's new head coach on November 23. Spurrier has been highly criticized by Gator fans for this move, seen as a form of treachery. In less than one full season at the helm, Spurrier has already led the Gamecock football program to several notable successes. The 2005 Gamecocks, which were not expected to have a winning season by most pundits, rattled off a five game SEC winning streak for the first time in school history. Included among those victories were historic wins at Tennessee (16-15) -- the program's first win in Knoxville -- and against then 12th-ranked Florida (30-22), which the Gamecocks had not beaten since joining the SEC. Following a regular season loss to archrival Clemson (13-9), Spurrier was named SEC Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. He led the 7-4 Gamecocks against Missouri in the Independence Bowl, where South Carolina lost to the Tigers, 38-31.

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