VIDEO: Florida Gator Legend Steve Spurrier Re-Enters College Football Hall of Fame As Coach
By Will Pantages, Florida Gators // January 11, 2017
fourth person inducted as a coach and player
ABOVE VIDEO: Coach Steve Spurrier, the 1966 Heisman Trophy winner and 1986 National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame inductee (as a player), will re-enter the CFB Hall of Fame for his accomplishments on the sideline as a head coach. (Florida Gators Facebook)
(FLORIDA GATORS) – There are few college football honors left unclaimed by former Gators quarterback and head coach Steve Spurrier.
Add another to the list.
The 1966 Heisman Trophy winner and 1986 National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame inductee (as a player), will re-enter the CFB Hall of Fame for his accomplishments on the sideline as a head coach.
The announcement was made Monday during the 9 a.m. ET SportsCenter on ESPN. Read about Coach Spurrier and the rest of the 2017 College Football Hall of Fame Class.
Spurrier is the fourth person to get in as a coach and player as he joins Amos Alonzo Stagg, Bobby Dodd and Bowden Wyatt.
That’s elite company.
After his playing career, Spurrier first became a head coach at Duke (1987-89) where he recorded a 20-13-1 record. He then moved to Florida (1990-2001) where he took his alma mater to new heights, winning the school’s first Southeastern Conference title in 1991.
He went on to be named SEC Coach of the Year five times at Florida, and led the Gators to six conference titles.
ABOVE VIDEO: Steve Spurrier Comments on being inducted as coach into the College Football Hall of Fame. (ESPN)
In addition, he helped UF claim its first national title with a 52-20 win over Florida State in the 1997 Sugar Bowl.
Spurrier was introduced as Florida’s head coach in December 1989.
During that national championship season, Spurrier tutored quarterback Danny Wuerffel to the 1996 Heisman Trophy, becoming the only person to win the Heisman and coach a Heisman-winning player.
Following a brief stint in the NFL with the Redskins (2002-03), Spurrier coached at South Carolina for 11 seasons (2005-15) and registered three 11-win campaigns along the way. Prior to his arrival in 2005, USC never won more than 10 games in a single season.
Spurrier retired from coaching during the 2015 season at South Carolina. He finished his career with a record of 228-89-2 (.718) as a collegiate head coach.
ABOVE VIDEO: The dedication of Steve Spurrier – Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in September.
When he retired from coaching on Oct. 12, 2015, Spurrier left the coaching ranks with the second-most coaching wins (228) in the history of the SEC behind only Bear Bryant (323). In addition, he is the winningest coach in both Florida and South Carolina history.
Significantly, Spurrier is credited with changing the way the SEC played football. Spurrier employed a pass-oriented offense (known 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.
Founded in 1947, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1951. More than 5.19 million student-athletes have played college football since the first game on Nov. 6, 1869.
After Dec. 6, 2017, only 1,188 legends will have been inducted (977 players and 211 coaches, including this year’s class) or less than two-ten-thousandths of one percent (.0002) of those who have played the game during the past 148 years.
Florida is one of 305 schools that is represented with at least one Hall of Famer.
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