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Florida Gators Head Coach |
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The Legacy Moves on...
| Although his passing numbers
and playing accomplishments now pale in comparison to what some of his
quarterbacks have produced, Steve Spurrier still is regarded by many as the
greatest player in Florida football history. There is no debating his status
as a head coach. He is Florida's greatest - by a long shot. The records he's
established may never be touched. Maybe never even threatened. In his 12 years at his alma mater, Spurrier turned UF into a national power and a perennial top-10 team. Along the way, he's become a coaching icon, one of America's most recognized and sometimes controversial sports figures. Before Spurrier returned to his alma mater to take over as head coach after the turbulent 1989 season, the Gators had never won an SEC title, rarely had beaten Georgia in a game that really mattered and never really dared to imagine playing for and winning a national title some day. Spurrier changed everything, taking a program filled with potential and turning it into a dominant power with his wide-open passing offense and his perfectionist approach to teaching and coaching. The results have been astounding: Six SEC titles, a national title and one Heisman Trophy winner (Danny Wuerffel) and one runner-up in Rex Grossman. Not only did he dramatically change Florida football, he changed the entire SEC, and in some regards, all of college football with his innovative offensive ideas. The SEC has gone from a smash-mouth, grind-it-out-on-the-ground league into a wide-open passing league. The same can now be said for most of the rest of college football. Florida players and long-suffering fans were quick to embrace Spurrier when he took over. He vowed to return Florida Field to a grass surface, put Miami back on the schedule and beat UF's biggest rivals - Auburn, Georgia and FSU. He did all of that and more. The amazing start to the Spurrier era doesn't seem all that long ago. Yet, then again it does because so much has changed since that first game against Oklahoma State in 1990. That game, of course, will always be one of the most memorable in UF history, especially the opening drive, when the Gators unleashed Shane Matthews and the Fun 'n' Gun for the first time, rolling to a touchdown in only four plays. Florida Field erupted that day. With noise and sheer pleasure. But Florida's second game under Spurrier is one he has always pointed to as the turning point in Florida football fortunes. The Gators had to travel to Tuscaloosa to play traditional SEC power Alabama - and UF never seemed to win games like these in the past. When the Gators stalled offensively in the first half and fell behind, it looked like just another UF heartbreak. But this team, this coach, was different. The Gators rallied to beat the Tide 17-13 and Florida football was on its way under Spurrier. The Gators went on to finish 9-2 in that first season and finished with the best record in the SEC. But the Gators were not allowed to claim the title because of relatively minor NCAA digressions committed under another coach (Galen Hall). Spurrier's favorite team may be that 1990 team, because it turned things around and proved that UF could win the SEC. The following year came the breakthrough. Led by a potent passing offense and a dominant defense, the Gators rolled through the season undefeated in league play to win the SEC for the first time in school history. UF clinched the title with a closer-than-expected 35-26 win over Pookie Wilson and the Kentucky Wildcats. After a relatively down year (9-4) in 1992, the Gators soared, led by a player who also would become one of Florida's favorite sons - Wuerffel. Florida won the SEC in 1993, 1994 and 1995, and played for the national championship in '95 (losing to Nebraska 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl). Then came the biggest year of all in Florida football history - the magical 1996 season. After going through the first 10 games of the season undefeated, the Gators stumbled in Tallahassee in the final game. It was a heartbreaking defeat, one that seemed to kill UF's dream of a national title. But UF won the SEC title game the following week, Nebraska was upset by Texas in the Big 12 title game, and suddenly the Gators were back in the hunt, earning a rematch against FSU in the Sugar Bowl for the national title. Given a second chance, the Gators came through big, routing the rival Seminoles 52-20 to win the national title. (Wuerffel also won the Heisman Trophy that year). The Gators started to lose some of their SEC dominance at the close of the '90s and didn't win another league title until last season, when redshirt freshman quarterback Rex Grossman led UF to a 28-6 victory over Auburn in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. Spurrier had one of his best and most talented teams in 2001, but the Gators faltered at Auburn, then were upset at home by Tennessee in the final game of the regular season. The loss to the Vols knocked UF out of the SEC and national title hunts, sending the Gators to the Orange Bowl with a 9-2 record. After the Gators dismantled Maryland 56-23 on Wednesday night in Miami, Spurrier took the microphone and thanked the UF fans, calling them the best in the nation. Today, UF fans everywhere are thanking him back. Thanking him for 12 wonderful years and the fact Florida football is now among the nation's elite programs. |
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| Last Updated November 19, 2006 |
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