Anyone else get the sneaky suspicion that Florida and Foley could totally botch this entire thing and end up right back where they started (no Spurrier)? I just get this hunch that they can easily shoot themselves in the foot - I'm cheering for Murphy's law on this one :hihi: Per ESPN.com: What if Gator administrators want an actual Steve Spurrier interview instead of an invitation? What if they want to hear his plan on how to reclaim an SEC that has seen Nick Saban and Mark Richt rise in his absence? Would anything less than a red-carpet rollout -- ardently desired in all corners of Gator Nation -- send Spurrier in search of a different job? This deal could yet get tricky for athletic director Jeremy Foley.
I don't think it will matter. If they get Spurrier it won't be the same at UF. He will be better than Zook maybe but he's spent goods. Saban will own Spurrier.
My local paper usually sucks but this was a preety good article. LOCAL SPORTS Nobody’s fooling anybody, Spurrier is on the way back to be the top Florida Gator October 28, 2004 William Faulkner, one of the greatest authors in American history, once said, "You can never go home again." Well, Faulkner was crazy. And he was poor. And if anyone had ever offered him millions of dollars, I'm sure he would've been happy to go home. That's because money, like insane authors, talks. For that reason and others, you can bet that Steve Spurrier will be dressed in blue and orange next fall as the head coach of the Florida Gators. It's the only possible solution to the problem created by Spurrier's departure from Florida following the 2001 season. Ron Zook? Please. His tenure with the Gators carried as much credibility as Jesse Ventura's stint as governor of Minnesota. Spurrier is the embodiment of Florida Gators football. Seeing Ron Zook walk the sidelines was like watching Sammy Hagar tour with Van Halen. Incidentally, the Van Halen-Spurrier analogy is a good one, since Spurrier — like former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth — left the Gators on sour terms with athletic director Jeremy Foley. But as Van Halen reunion tours have proven — and as I have pointed out already — money talks. And there will be plenty of it waiting for Spurrier in Gainesville. That's because Spurrier is Foley's only option. The list of prospective replacements is one name long. No one in Gainesville has any interest at all in anyone else. Not Charlie Strong. Not Bob Stoops. Even Bill Parcells would get run out of town. Spurrier is the only person Gator fans want. Foley knows that better than anyone. Like he hasn't heard Spurrier's name every day for the last two years. When word got out that the head coach's job would be vacant again, you can bet his e-mail inbox filled up in a hurry. If Foley hires anyone besides Spurrier — anyone — that person will be treated as another Zook. That may not be fair, but that's the way it is. And Foley will be run out of town just as quickly as a non-Spurrier head coach. To get Spurrier, though, Foley is going to need lots — and I mean lots — of money. The starting price for a top-of-the-line college football coach has soared in recent years. Remember how Nick Saban was rewarded with a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract following LSU's national championship in 2003? That was nothing. Spurrier is a legend — arguably the greatest college football coach of the last 30 years. And Foley is going to have to pay him accordingly. I doubt the University of Florida has that kind of change lying around underneath its couch cushions, but the fund-raising effort shouldn't be too difficult. All Foley has to do is call up a few boosters and tell them, "Either we can hire another Ron Zook, or you can drop some money on us and we can go get Spurrier." With that argument, he could get enough money out of Gators fans to erase the federal budget deficit. Getting enough to hire Spurrier will be no problem. And with money being no object, there's only one question — does Spurrier want the job? Without a doubt. Sure, he's been there and done that. Sure, he doesn't have anything left to prove. That's all the more reason for him to come out immediately and state unequivocably that he doesn't want the job — if he's truly not interested. But he is. If there's one thing Spurrier loves, it's being the center of attention. He could draw millions of dollars at any program in the country. Only at Florida, though, does he get to be treated like a king. After all, money and power are the two things most men want more than anything. Steve Spurrier is no different. But at Florida, he'll get more of both than any other football coach has ever dreamed of. Spurrier will be happy with money and power. Florida fans will be happy with their coach. Foley will be happy with his job stability. And the rest of the Southeastern Conference will be miserable with the return of the best college football coach of his generation. Oh well. At least somebody gets a happy ending out of this.
I for one hope that Spurrier does go back to Florida. It has not been the same without him. When you beat him, you knew that you had beaten a good team and a good coach, and you know that your team really played well that day. It may sound strange coming from a Bama fan, but I have missed "ole Steve".
I liked the article except the Sammy Hagar analogy. Maybe Gary Cherone would have worked there, but Van Halen with Sammy was just as successful as it was with DLR. I for one am excited that Spurrier could be on his way back.
The old ball coach returneth. Now that I am a drinker of fine wines, I should enjoy his return (he is absolutely going to be hired by the way), "Want some cheese to go with that whine coach ?"
Replicating the Florida success of the Spurrier years will be hard to do, even for Spurrier. Funny to think about now but if hired, he will be criticized if he is unable to get over the bar that he himself raised. I don't really care if he comes or goes but I haven't missed that danged visor one bit. :dis:
I just seem to think Spurrier won't go back to Florida. From what I've heard, he left Florida because he knew the program was going downhill. Not to mention, there will be so much pressure to win it all the year he comes back that if it doesn't happen, people will go nuts. I think Spurrier is smarter than that and I think he would go elsewhere. Just my two cents.
