25 greatest SEC Football coaches of all time
By John Buhler
20. Ray Graves
Ray Graves never won a national championship and never won an SEC championship, for that matter. However, none of that matters as he remains one of the greatest head coaches in Florida Gators football history. In 10 years on the job, Florida went 70-31-4 (38-19-3), going to five bowls and winning four of them.
Graves helped bring a model of consistency to his program. That helped inspire his greatest disciple, his former 1964 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Steve Spurrier. Under Graves, Florida experienced nine winning seasons in his 10 years as head coach.
Florida may have never had a 10-win season under Graves, but won three Gator Bowls back when that still mattered. He also oversaw the indoctrination of the glorious liquid known as Gatorade on the Gainesville campus. The play of Graves’ Gators helped legitimize Dr. Robert Cade’s prototype sports drink.
Graves would resign from his post as head coach in 1969 to focus fully on being Florida’s athletic director. He had been in that post since his arrival in Gainesville in 1960. Graves would remain Florida’s athletic director through 1979.