Steve Spurrier named ambassador & consultant for Florida Gators

Less than a year after retiring from coaching Steve Spurrier is returning to school.

The former National Championship winning coach and Heisman winner has been named an Ambassador and Consultant for the Florida Gators athletic program.

“It’s a great day for the Gator Nation to be able to welcome Coach Spurrier back home,” Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said in a release. “He has served as a tremendous ambassador to the University and the athletic department for 50-plus years and it’s only fitting that at this point in his career, he is back in Gainesville. Being a Gator has always meant so much to Coach Spurrier, but it means just as much to us have him come home.”

Spurrier’s new job will allow him to serve as a mentor to current Florida coaches, represent the school at Gator Booster functions among other roles and duties that have yet to be determined.

“I look forward to visiting with him on a lot of occasions and picking his brain on a number of issues,” Florida Head Coach Jim McElwain said in a statement. “It’s a credit to Jeremy to get him back home where he belongs. More than anything I look forward to actually talking to him and being around him rather than just saying hello to his statue on my way to work every day.”

Spurrier, 71, stepped down as head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks in October of last year after spending 11 years coaching the Gamecocks. Spurrier took South Carolina to its first ever SEC Championship game in 2010, is the winningest coach in Gamecock history (86 wins) and is the only head football coach in South Carolina history to be named SEC Coach of the Year by the Associated Press.

In retirement, Spurrier stuck close to his roots in Gainesville. The University of Florida is where he met his wife Jerri and the two of them couldn’t pass up an opportunity to come back to Florida.

“My wife, Jerri, and I are extremely thrilled to be returning home to our alma mater, and to Gainesville where we met on campus over 50 years ago,” Spurrier said in a statement. “I’m very appreciative to Athletic Director Jeremy Foley, Head Coach Jim McElwain and Phil Pharr of Gator Boosters for their role in making this happen.”

Spurrier’s career in Gainesville began in 1963. Spurrier took over as the starting quarterback during his sophomore season in 1964 and won the Heisman trophy as a senior in 1966, a season where he also served as the Gators’ placekicker and punter. He was a first round draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers, where he played for nine seasons. He was traded to Tampa Bay in 1976, Tampa’s expansion season, where he played one season before retiring.

Spurrier began his coaching career at Florida under Doug Dickey in 1978. When he wasn’t retained by incoming head coach Charley Pell, Spurrier found work coaching quarterbacks at Georgia Tech before moving on to Duke as an offensive coordinator. Spurrier spent three seasons coaching the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits. When the USFL dissolved he was offered and accepted the head coaching position at Duke, where he was named ACC Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1989.

Spurrier came back to Gainesville in 1990, inheriting a team on probation. He steered the program away from a checkered past and, with his Fun and Gun offense, revolutionized the way football was played in the SEC. Spurrier led the Gators to its first National Championship in 1996, becoming the first Heisman winner to coach a team to a national title. He won six SEC championships, was named SEC Coach of the year five times and was the first Heisman winner to coach a Heisman (Danny Wuerffel). Spurrier’s Gators were ranked in the top-25 in 202 of 203 possible weeks. They were ranked No. 1 in the country 29 times and were in the top ten for 179 weeks during his tenure.

In early June, Florida Field was renamed Steve-Spurrier-Florida Field in his honor, with the unveiling of his namesake set for the season opener against Massachusetts on September 3rd at 7:30 p.m.

“I will try my best to promote and assist in any way I can to help the Gators to continue to be one of the very best athletic programs in America,” Spurrier said in a statement. “I admire what Coach McElwain and his staff accomplished last year. I’m anxious to watch the Gator football team as they strive to be the best in the SEC and the nation in the years ahead.”

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC