Steve Spurrier

Illustrated by what he’s accomplished over his last two college head coaching stops at Florida and South Carolina, the sharp-tongued Head Ball Coach has a penchant for winning while delivering verbal zingers to divisional and in-state rivals along the way as one of college football’s most colorful personalities.

The innovative offensive mind is credited with the creation of the pass-heavy ‘Fun ‘N’ Gun’ spread in the early 1990s when an illustrious head coaching career began to take off at Florida. Spurrier, winner of the 1966 Heisman Trophy, led his alma-mater to six conference championships over an 11-year span and won the school’s first national title in 1996.

Following an abrupt resignation in Gainesville after the 2001 season, Spurrier moved on to the NFL where he never felt comfortable with the Washington Redskins. He missed the college game and in 2005, shocked media pundits with a decision to resurrect the South Carolina Gamecocks from their proverbial grave, a program on the cusp but mired in mediocrity over its history. Spurrier was the big-name needed in Columbia to replace outgoing coach and fellow college football legend Lou Holtz whose prime victories were a pair of Outback Bowl wins over Ohio State in 2000 and 2001.

Since his arrival, the HBC’s led the most successful era in Gamecock history, capturing the program’s first-ever Eastern Division title in 2010 and following that up with three consecutive 11-win seasons. He became the winningest coach in South Carolina history in 2012 following the Gamecocks’ fourth straight victory over Clemson. Spurrier’s gamesmanship as a head coach began at Duke in the late 1980s when he brought his players back out on the field to pose for a photo in front of the scoreboard after beating North Carolina.

Some of his most memorable one-liners at Florida include nicknaming Florida State ‘Free Shoes University’ and prodding Tennessee with Citrus Bowl jokes after wins. With 128 career SEC victories heading into the 2014 season, Spurrier is 31 wins from tying Hall of Famer Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant, the league’s all-time winningest coach at Alabama.