Blogging The Past: Steve Spurrier Named Gators Head Coach
The first entry in our Blogging The Past series where we imagine what it would have been like to cover important moments in Gators history as a fan and blogger before the latter was popular or even existed. These are written as if they just occurred. Imagine we know nothing of what the future would bring. This particular entry would have occurred on December 31, 1989.
The superstar has come home. On Sunday, Florida named former Gators star Steve Spurrier the next head coach. Spurrier comes to Florida from Duke where he went 20-13-1 in three seasons and was twice named the ACC Coach of the Year. Prior to leading the Blue Devils to a level of respectability, Spurrier was the only coach the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits ever knew. In three years with the Bandits, Spurrier went 35-19 while making the playoffs twice. All told, Spurrier brings a head coaching record of 55-32-1 (he also went 0-2 in the USFL playoffs) and only one losing season (5-6 during 1987 – his first year at Duke) to Gainesville.
We all know about Spurrier the football player. Spurrier was a three-time All-SEC selection making two first teams and two-time All-American including being a unanimous selection in 1966. He finished ninth in Heisman Trophy voting in 1965 and became the first, and to this day only, Gators player to take home the honor in 1966. He was a record-setter while at Florida and led the Gators to an Orange Bowl victory to close out his college career.
After Florida, Spurrier was selected third overall in the 1967 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He was a backup for most of his nine seasons with the Niners before being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he would spend one season before ending his NFL playing career.
With his playing days at an end, Spurrier went on to be an assistant coach at the collegiate level for five seasons before becoming the youngest head coach in professional football with the Bandits in 1983. Prior to the USFL, Spurrier spent one year each at Florida and Georgia Tech coaching quarterbacks and three years as Duke’s offensive coordinator. He then began his head coaching journey which ultimately led to his hiring at Florida.
So what should we as fans expect from Spurrier and the new-look Gators? Well, the one-word answer is offense. An offensive minded coach, Spurrier should bring fireworks to Florida.
In 1985, Bandits quarterback John Reaves (yes, that John Reaves – another former Gators passer) was second in the USFL in passing yards, attempts, and completions and fourth in touchdown passes. Unfortunately, Reaves league-leading 29 interceptions pushed him far down the list of league leaders in efficiency rating. The prior season, Reaves also finished second in yards, attempts, completions, and touchdowns, and had much less of an interception problem (16).
Things at Duke were just as impressive. Anthony Dilweg was the ACC Player of the Year in 1988 while passing for 3,824 yards. In 1989, Dave Brown set a Blue Devils record with 479 passing yards against UNC and he would also pass for 444 against Wake Forest. All told, Spurrier’s Duke teams passed for an average of 3,621 yards per season. By comparison, the Blue Devils highest passing yardage total before Spurrier’s arrival was 3,349 yards in 1982 and they had only gone over 3,000 twice in the program’s history.
In the SEC, things will be different for Spurrier. Last season, Clemson – the ACC’s best team according to the final polls – finished 12th and 11th. By contrast, the SEC produced three teams that finished in the top nine of the AP poll and top seven of the coaches poll. With Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee all coming off of seasons in which they went 6-1 in the conference and won at least 10 games each overall, things could be tough for Spurrier and the Gators. Having to face all three of those teams AND travel to Tallahassee to face FSU at the end of the regular season will not be easy. Spurrier inherits a program that is being investigated by the NCAA, which will not make the path any smoother for the new head coach, but athletic director Bill Arnsparger seems to think Florida is headed in the right direction.
Add Emmitt Smith to an amped-up passing game and we could be watching one of the more exciting offenses in college football in 1990. That is assuming of course that Smith returns, which will be on everyone’s mind. With rumors the NFL could soon officially allow any junior to enter the draft (they have allowed numerous exceptions in the past, so this may not be breaking news), Smith may bolt and we may see the offense take a serious step back as it adjusts to Spurrier’s system.
Whatever happens with the offense, a change should be welcome. The Gators lost at least five games in each of the past four seasons and was 1-3 against each Auburn, FSU, and Georgia during that time. It is time for Florida to stop being an average football program and Spurrier might be the right head coach to take them to the next level.