Tag: Steve Spurrier (Page 2 of 3)

      Decade Debate: 10 Worst NFL Head Coaching Hires

      December 8, 2009 /

      Perhaps more than any other sport, a bad head coaching hire in the NFL can ruin a franchise for the better part of a decade. When you consider the free agent and draft acquisitions that are made to fit a coach’s style and philosophy, it’s no wonder that it usually takes years for a team to rebound after a bad coaching hire. As part of our ongoing Decade Debate series, here are the 10 worst head coaching hires of the past decade. To be clear, this ranking is based on the result of the hire, and not necessarily the hire itself. (Although the ranking could be a combination of the two.)

      10. Eric Mangini, Cleveland Browns, 2009

      One might argue that since Mangini hasn’t even gotten through his first year in Cleveland yet that he doesn’t deserve to be on this list. But others will argue that since he was absolutely despised in New York that the Browns should have never hired him in the first place. After all, was the one winning season he had with the Jets worth the Browns giving him a shot? Some of the moves that Mangini has made since arriving in Cleveland haven’t been bad at all: Trading Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, trading down multiple times to acquire more picks in the draft, acquiring safety Abram Elam, etc. But considering he hasn’t won many players over with his crass attitude, has made two quarterback changes and only has one win under his belt, things couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start in Cleveland. It’ll be interesting to see if the Browns fire him after only one season.

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      NFL

      Spurrier the one who didn’t vote Tebow All-SEC

      July 24, 2009 /

      One of the greatest unsolved crimes in sports history now has a resolution. We can now put our children to bed at night without this shroud of mystery hanging over our heads and breathe a sigh of relief knowing that a major villain has been outed for his crime against humanity.

      That’s right, folks: We now know the one person who didn’t vote for Florida’s Tim Tebow as All-SEC quarterback. And it wasn’t that punk Lane Kiffin, nor was it that weasel Bobby Petrino either. Hell, it wasn’t even Nick Saban, who can’t step one foot inside Baton Rouge or Miami without somebody wanting to shove a first down marker where the sun don’t shine.

      Nope, it was Steve Spurrier…well, kind of. Apparently it wasn’t actually him, but the director of football operations he had vote for him. Whoops.

      Spurrier explained that his director of football operations had filled out the ballot and brought it in to him. Spurrier said he glanced at it, signed off on it, and then realized his mistake much later.

      The ballot submitted to the SEC from South Carolina had Mississippi’s Jevan Snead as the first-team quarterback, and not Tebow.

      “I take full responsibility,” he said, emphasizing that he believed Tebow to be one of the best quarterbacks in Florida history. “I’m embarrassed about it, I feel badly about it … I apologize to Tim Tebow.”

      SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom confirmed to ESPN.com that Spurrier called within the past 24 hours and asked that his ballot be changed to include Tebow as the first-team quarterback. Spurrier told Bloom that his initial ballot, with Snead as the first-team quarterback, was a mistake.

      If you couldn’t tell by the sarcasm I used at start of this article, I don’t think this is a big deal. It’s just a preseason honor and I highly doubt Tebow is losing sleep over this. It’s nice that Spurrier tried to correct the mistake and owns up to it, but again, this is hardly worth getting upset about.

      But perhaps an underlying issue (and Pat Forde touched on it in the ESPN article) here, is that these coaches continue to let other people in their programs vote for things like all-conference nominations and even the USA Today Coaches Poll. So you have a director of operations having a stake in which teams could potentially play for a national title, and not the coaches themselves.

      This is just reason No. 1,900,340,000 why the BCS system is an absolutely joke. We need a playoff.

      By the way, how does Jevan Snead feel right about now? If I’m him I’m like, “A mistake? Gee, thanks Spurrier – tell me how you really feel you son of a bit…”

      College Football

      Tennessee’s Kiffin pissing off fellow SEC coaches

      January 28, 2009 /

      Lane Kiffin hasn’t even held the Tennessee head-coaching job for three months and already he’s managed to tick off fellow SEC coaches Urban Meyer (Florida), Nick Saban (Alabama), Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) and Mark Richt (Georgia).

      Lane KiffinThat kind of preaching-to-the-choir comment fit perfectly into the rhetoric of his first press conference. I doubt it got much of a rise in Gainesville, since the Gators have owned the Vols in recent seasons.

      What really irked Florida Coach Urban Meyer was that Kiffin continued to attempt to hire — unsuccessfully, as it turned out — receivers coach Billy Gonzales while the Gators were preparing for the national championship game.

      More recently, Kiffin has gotten on the nerves of Alabama Coach Nick Saban to the extent that Saban is asking players who already have committed to the Crimson Tide not to take official visits to UT.
      This is in response to Kiffin’s hiring of Lance Thompson off Saban’s staff. Thompson, considered Alabama’s best recruiter, got a big raise to jump to the Vols just two weeks before signing day.
      Considering that UT is a combined 1-6 since Meyer and Saban arrived at Florida and Alabama, you have to take your victories wherever you can find them.

      And don’t forget that Kiffin also has tugged on Steve Spurrier’s visor. First Kiffin hired his brother-in-law, David Reaves, off the South Carolina staff. Then Kiffin and Spurrier exchanged comments in the press about recruiting.

      While we’re at it, Kiffin also threw a $400,000 offer at super recruiter Rodney Garner in an attempt to lure him off Mark Richt’s staff at Georgia. Garner chose to stay at Georgia.

      For those keeping score, Kiffin has kicked sand at Meyer, Saban, Spurrier and Richt. It’s no coincidence that those are the coaches of the four most important opponents on UT’s schedule every year. Those are also four programs that the Vols must match in recruiting if they are to regain relevance in the SEC.

      Obviously this is all part of Kiffin’s plan to breathe a little life into a Tennessee program that could use a shot in the arm. Is he going about it the right way? Probably not, although that won’t matter if he wins.

      If pissing off your fellow conference coaches motivates the program and players, then go for it. But if nothing changes and the Vols get flattened by all of these teams next year, then Kiffin is just going to look like a pompous ass who got what was coming to him.

      College Football

      Lane Kiffin already in hot water at Tennessee?

      December 2, 2008 /

      Steve Spurrier vs. Lane Kiffin

      SPORTSbyBROOKS.com shares the news that new soon-to-be Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin is already mixed up in a recruiting scandal involving Steve Spurrier and South Carolina.

      Spurrier is claiming that Kiffin’s contact with recruit Jarvis Giles on Sunday violates NCAA rules because Kiffin hadn’t yet passed a required certification test that allows contact with recruits. Giles had pulled out of a verbal commitment to the Vols after Fulmer’s departure was announced, and he was reportedly deciding between Nebraska and…yes, South Carolina.

      Kiffin’s contact with Giles on Sunday is clear. What’s not clear is whether or not Kiffin was technically UT’s coach at the time and whether NCAA rules allowed such a phone call. GO VOLS XTRA’s Dave Hooker had a seemingly harmless story about Giles’ conversation with Kiffin on Sunday:

      “He already called me this morning at 7 o’clock,” the 6-foot, 175-pound tailback from Gaither High School in Tampa, Fla., said Sunday afternoon. “He said ‘I sat down and watched a little bit of your film online. From what I’ve seen, you’re pretty impressive.’

      “He said he was going to sit down and watch some more tonight and see how I can fit into this offense.”

      Spurrier saw these comments and wondered how exactly Kiffin had signed a contract and become certified to contact recruits in such a short period of time. THE STATE of Columbia, S.C., reports that it all happened awfully fast. Spurrier of course didn’t resist the opportunity to get in a verbal jab:

      “You’re supposed to have passed the NCAA test and be on board, I think. But maybe he was just calling him as an interested observer,” Spurrier said today, laughing. “I don’t know. But technically to be able to recruit you’re supposed to pass the NCAA test.

      “I know when I was hired, after the press conference I took the test to qualify you to be a recruiter. I hadn’t taken it in three or four years. At that time I could start making calls. I don’t know if he was permitted to make that call or not. You’ll have to ask somebody else.”

      Kiffin said today during his first press conference that he had taken the test in time. A UT spokesman told THE STATE that Kiffin signed his contract on Saturday (which is a little odd, since Fulmer was still coaching the Vols that day while they played Kentucky).

      Further muddying the Giles situation is the fact that David Reaves, the recruiting coordinator at South Carolina since 2006 (in addition to duties as quarterbacks coach), just resigned from his post with the Gamecocks…to join Kiffin’s staff. It just so happens that Reaves is Kiffin’s brother-in-law. In his old job, Reaves was likely heavily involved in efforts to get Giles to Columbia.

      Welcome back to the wonderful world of college football, Lane.

      College Football

      Week 12 College Football Primer

      November 15, 2008 /

      Top 25 vs. Top 25
      Tim TebowNo. 25 South Carolina at. No. 4 Florida, 3:30 PM ET CBS
      After they were shocked by Ole’ Miss and turned in a lackluster performance in a win over Arkansas, the Gators trounced LSU, Kentucky, Georgia and Vanderbilt in convincing fashion. Nothing against the three teams ranked higher, but Florida might be the best team in college football right now. Tim Tebow has resurrected his Heisman candidacy after rushing for five touchdowns and accounting for 424 total yards in the Gators’ 51-31 win over the Gamecocks last year. But Steve Spurrier’s squad has been one of the hottest teams in the nation over the past couple of weeks. The rotation of Stephen Garcia and Chris Smelley at quarterback has lifted South Carolina and the defense has played inspired. This is a better matchup than most think, although it’s highly possibly that Florida could roll with how well they’ve played over the past month. Expect the Gators to use this as another statement game leading up to their huge battle with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game December 6.

      Upset Watch:
      Maryland TerpsNo. 16 North Carolina at Maryland, 3:30 PM ET ABC
      The Terps have clearly been a different team at home than on the road where they’re 4-0 and averaging 25.5 points per game as opposed to 1-3 and 11.75 PPG on the road. Maryland has also won five straight against ranked opponents the past two years and still control their own destiny in the ACC Atlantic. Three wins in their final three games would send the Terps to the ACC title game, which is amazing considering this was the same team that got drubbed 31-0 by Virginia. If Maryland is going to pull off the upset they’ll need to get Da’Rel Scott and Davin Meggett going in the running game because putting the ball in the air against the Tar Heels is a risky proposition. UNC has one of the best ball hawking defenses in the nation and has forced opponents into mistakes all season. If the Terps play things close to the vest offensively and rely on their defense to win the game, an upset could be in the making.

      Other notable games:
      Mississippi State at No. 1 Alabama, 7:45 PM ET
      It’s highly unlikely the Tide lose focus against a 3-6 Mississippi State team, but the Bulldogs did pull off one of the better upsets of the year when they crushed previously No. 13 Vanderbilt 34-3.

      No. 3 Texas at Kansas, 12:30 PM ET
      The Longhorns try to keep in the national title hunt while the Jayhawks look to end the season as quickly as possible.

      No. 10 Georgia at Auburn, 12:30 PM ET
      This is one of the more underrated rivalries in the SEC.

      College Football

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