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Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20 , 1945 in Miami Beach, Florida ) is a former American Football player and currently the head Coach of the University Of South Carolina Football team. He was a two-time All-American and is a member of the College Football Hall Of Fame as a player. He is best known for winning the Heisman Trophy in 1966 ; and for coaching the University Of Florida football team to six SEC championships in the decade from 1991 – 2000 including one National Championship in 1996 . 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 . A strong competitor, Steve played Quarterback for the University Of Florida , where he won the Heisman Trophy . At UF, Spurrier was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame, the UF Athletic Hall of Fame, and Florida Blue Key . He was an initiated brother of the Florida Alpha Omega Chapter Of The Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. EARLY COACHING CAREER 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 with 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 highs it had not reached in many years. For his success at Duke, Coach Spurrier received the ACC Coach of the Year award in 1988 and 1989 . For giving him his first college coaching stint, Spurrier always votes Duke as #25 in the Pre-Season Coaches Poll. FLORIDA GATORS On December 31 , 1989 , Spurrier accepted the head coaching job at the University of Florida, his alma mater. Known as the "Ol' Ball Coach" or "The Visor" (due to his preference for, and tendency to throw, his visor during games), Spurrier helped guide the team away from a period of scandal and captured the school's first ever Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship in 1991 (the 1990 team, while posting the best record in the SEC, was ineligible for the title due to probation for recruiting violations committed by previous coach Galen Hall and his staff). The Gators won the SEC Title in 4 of the next 5 years. The 1996 season saw the team reach the pinnacle of the College Football world and capture its first ever National Championship with a 52-20 win over rival Florida State in the Sugar Bowl, avenging the Gators' only loss that season (Florida State had beaten Florida 24-21 in the regular season). However, Spurrier's finest hour as a coach may have been the game in 1997 versus undefeated and national title game-bound Florida State . Using a QB-shuttle strategy that brought Doug Johnson and Noah Brindise in and out of the game – confusing the FSU defense and giving Spurrier an endless amount of counsel with both QBs without having to use time-outs – Florida upset the heavily-favored Seminoles 32-29. Along with winning many games, Spurrier is also credited with changing the way the SEC played offense. Spurrier employed a pass centered offense in contrast to the grind-it-out, ball control, run-the ball-first offense that was traditionally found in the SEC. His offenses forced many in the conference to change their offensive and defensive playcalling. Other memorable feats during Spurrier's tenure at the University of Florida 1990 - 2001 were:
Under his leadership, the Gator offense became the only unit in modern collegiate history (since the NCAA started keeping stats in 1937) to score at least 500 points (including bowl games) for four straight years (1993-96). Yale also achieved that distinction from 1886-89 and Michigan from 1901-04. 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. When signing with the University of Florida he insisted the artificial turf in the stadium be replaced with grass. The Swamp remains a grass stadium today On January 4 , 2002 , Spurrier abruptly resigned his University of Florida coaching position stating, "I simply believe that 12 years as head coach at a major university in the SEC is long enough."http://espn.go.com/ncf/news/2002/0104/1305688.html Before Spurrier's return to coach the Gamecocks against the Gators on 11 November 2006, 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.http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=2&url_article_id=7624&change_well_id=2 http://www.secsports.com/index.php?url_channel_id=2&url_article_id=7749&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2#3 Spurrier is known to hold a deep love for his alma mater. In April 2007, after Florida beat Ohio State 's teams in both the football and basketball national championship games, Spurrier -- notwithstanding his current position at the University of South Carolina -- was quoted as saying "We've kind of turned Ohio State into Runner-up U., haven't we?" {Link without Title} WASHINGTON REDSKINS Ten days after Spurrier resigned his position at the University Of Florida , Spurrier became 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. In his first NFL season he put up a respectable 7-9 mark for a first year head coach, partially due to the presence of defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis . Lewis would depart after that season to become the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals . When Lewis departed, the defense suffered under his replacement George Edwards who had been Lewis' linebackers coach the year before. The defense created a modest amount of pressure and interceptions, but gave up 4.4 yards a carry and blew several leads during the season, including a 23-10 lead against the Miami Dolphins in week 12 and a 13-7 late 3rd quarter lead against Tampa Bay in week 6 that resulted in a 35-13 blowout. One bright spot on his staff was his son, Steve Spurrier, Jr. , who helped wide receivers Laveranues Coles and Rod Gardner reach their finest seasons so far in the NFL, including Coles' only Pro Bowl appearance to date. Another bright spot was in Week 4 of the 2003 season. Washington defeated the New England Patriots 20-17; it would be New England's last loss until Week 7 of the 2004 season. The Redskins went 5-11 in that season. Spurrier's offensive line troubles resulted in 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 under Spurrier at Florida. Both combined for 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 15 games played. (TD/INT Wuerffel 3-6 with 7 games, Matthews 11-6 with 8 games). Spurrier's last game as a NFL head coach was a 31-7 blowout at the hands of the Eagles. In their last three games, the Redskins were outscored 85-31 including a 27-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. On December 30 , 2003 , Spurrier resigned as the Redskins coach. SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS Throughout the 2004 football season, Spurrier openly discussed coaching for a college team in the Southeast. The University Of Florida had announced that they would be looking for a new coach after Spurrier's successor at Florida, Ron Zook , was fired after three seasons, but after their athletic director, Jeremy Foley, said that Spurrier would have to go through the interview process like anyone else, Spurrier removed his name from consideration to coach the Gators. Rumors began circulating that Spurrier was considering the University Of South Carolina . On November 22 , South Carolina coach Lou Holtz officially announced his retirement. In his speech, Holtz hinted that Spurrier would replace him. The next day, months of rumors were put to rest as Spurrier was introduced as South Carolina's new head coach. The president of the University of Florida, Bernie Machen , had a prior relationship with eventual Gator coach Urban Meyer when they were both at the University Of Utah , and some speculate that Spurrier knew that Machen was set to pick Meyer regardless of Spurrier's decision. {Link without Title} In 2005 , his first season at the helm, Spurrier led the South Carolina football program to several notable successes. The 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 South Carolina had not beaten since joining the SEC. Spurrier was named SEC Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, but the Gamecocks lost their last two games to finish with a 7-5 record for the 2005 season. 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. {Link without Title} He then followed with a 15-0 win over in the Liberty Bowl on December 29 , to finish the season 8-5. All five losses were to ranked opponents. Spurrier became the first coach in USC Football history to take a South Carolina team to a Bowl game in his first 2 seasons as Head Coach and only the 3rd Coach with a Bowl victory at USC. Brad Scott (1995 Carquest Bowl ), and Lou Holtz ( 2001 and 2002 Outback Bowl ) are the only other coaches with Bowl victories at USC. THE LADIES CLINIC What has become a popular tradition started during the Sparky Woods era at USC, on the last Saturday of July the University Of South Carolina athletics department hosts the annual Steve Spurrier Ladies Football Clinic at USC. Only female fans are invited to attend the clinic where both the football staff and players discuss the X's and O's to fans who want to understand the game further. The attendees get to ask the coaches and players questions and go through demonstrations in the morning session at the Colonial Center , then receive a free lunch and autograph picture of Head Football Coach Steve Spurrier. All attendees get a tour of the 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 to Also Sprach Zarathustra the same way the football team does during the season. The event is hosted by both Steve Spurrier and his wife Jerri Spurrier. COACHING RECORD College
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