Steve Spurrier takes jab at Nick Saban’s SEC record
Steve Spurrier has never been a shrinking violet during his college or pro coaching career as the outspoken South Carolina head coach has often taken verbal jabs at the Tennessee Volunteers and Alabama Crimson Tide over the past 20 years, but he may have topped himself with his latest criticism of Nick Saban.
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“How many SECs has (Saban) won there in eight years? He’s won two,” Spurrier said, according to gogamecocks.com. “He’s won three nationals, but he’s only won two SECs in eight years. Now, if you had the No. 1 recruiting class every year and so forth, I don’t know if he has maxed out potentially as well as he could.”
Spurrier was talking about the long hours Saban puts in as the head coach of the Crimson Tide when he offered up that bulletin board material. Spurrier taking a shot at the top coach in the game and one of the all-time greats seems a bit of a stretch, no?
Saban has four national titles compared to Spurrier’s one and NFL.com ranked Saban as the best coach in the game with Spurrier coming in 10 spots below the four-time national champion, but Spurrier paints a picture of a coach who has underachieved in his time in Tuscaloosa.
If three national titles is considered an underachievement, and some Alabama fans may believe that, but how much could he have accomplished in his seven seasons, (he’s entering his eighth this season) since he took over for a program that had fallen on hard times and had a run-in with the NCAA?
Nevertheless, a potential meeting of the Gamecocks and Tide in the SEC Championship Game would make for a number of interesting subplots between the two iconic coaches.