Steve Spurrier regrets leaving Florida
Steve Spurrier was a guest on The Paul Finebaum Show and mentioned that he regretted leaving Florida when he did.
There wasn’t a more dominant team in the 90’s in the SEC, than the Florida Gators under head coach Steve Spurrier. Under Spurrier, the Gators competed for two National Championships and won one for the program. The team also won six SEC Championships and Spurrier was named SEC Coach of the Year an incredible five different times.
His 12 years with the program were some of the greatest years that a coach has ever had in one place. On Wednesday, Spurrier celebrated his 71st birthday by joining The Paul Finebaum Show and talking all things SEC. He even answered some calls from listeners while he was on the air.
When one caller asked Spurrier if he had any regrets during his time as a coach in college football and professional football, Spurrier gave an honest answer. Spurrier said on the show that leaving Florida when he did for the NFL was his biggest regret.
When Spurrier left the program after 12 seasons, he went to the NFL, where he signed the richest contract for a head coach in the league with the Washington Redskins. Spurrier was also blunt about how he left a great program for the money.
You really have to respect Spurrier’s honesty about the whole situation. There have been plenty of coaches that have chased the money besides him, but he wasn’t afraid to admit that he made a mistake in doing so and picked the wrong time. Spurrier never really had the success he thought he would in the NFL and eventually found his way back into college football.
He had some good teams at South Carolina, but nothing like he had with the Gators and the bond that he had built with his players.
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