Steve Spurrier is one of the strongest and most enjoyable personalities in college football history.
Perhaps the greatest coach in SEC history, Spurrier won a national championship, six SEC titles and an ACC title during his coaching career. He won a Heisman Trophy as a player and coached a Heisman Trophy winner in Danny Wuerffel.
Maybe it was his confidence as a great coach that made him feel comfortable talking as much trash as he did, because the guy was one of the best ever at it. From zinging his rivals to kicking opposing coaches when they were down, few did it better than Spurrier. He is a legend’s legend. And in honor of him stepping down, we present the best Steve Spurrier quotes all time.
Enjoy!
STEVE SPURRIER BEST QUOTES
10) On Ron Zook: “He told me I’m a tough act to follow. I told him that’s why he got hired. Some of those coaches that had really great jobs, they didn’t want to touch it.”
9) When Spurrier was at Duke and beat North Carolina, he and his team took a photo at midfield. Mack Brown, then at UNC, called Spurrier classless for the gesture.
“Why? I’ve got a better record on that field than he does.”
8) On why he keeps coaching at his age.
“Someone said, ‘Why are you still coaching?’ I forgot to get fired, and I’m not going to cheat. That’s about the only way you lose your job. You get fired for losing or you cheat, and they get somebody else.”
7) On Dabo Swinney saying the two of them are from different planets.
“Dabo probably thinks there’s [still] nine planets out there.”
6) To his beloved Danny Wuerffel:
@SC_HBC Spurrier to me once after an interception: "Danny, It's not your fault…It's my fault for putting you in the game." Love you Coach!
— Danny Wuerffel (@DannyWuerffel) October 13, 2015
5) On succeeding at age 68 at South Carolina.
“Back in January, they appointed this guy, and he’s 77 years old, and he’s the leader of a billion people in the world. They call him the pope, and he replaced a guy that was 85 years old. So if he can be the leader of over a billion people worldwide, surely I can get 11 guys on the field.”
4) On his offensive line in 2006:
“Well, we can’t trade ‘em. So I guess we have to coach ‘em.”
3) On speaking out:
“I’m not one to say ‘no comment’ whether I am right or wrong, but especially if I am right.”
2) Offense wins games:
Spurrier: “The guy who said defense wins championships hasn’t watched us a lot.”
— Edgar Thompson (@osgators) October 13, 2015
1)
And maybe Spurrier's most famous quip, fired at rival Tennessee: 'You can’t spell Citrus without U-T.”
— Edgar Thompson (@osgators) October 13, 2015
BEST QUOTES ABOUT RIVAL PROGRAMS
On Tennessee:
And maybe Spurrier's most famous quip, fired at rival Tennessee: 'You can’t spell Citrus without U-T.”
— Edgar Thompson (@osgators) October 13, 2015
Spurrier: "Will be the 14th time I've coached in Neyland Stadium. … I've coached there more than some of their head coaches."
— Josh Kendall (@JoshatTheState) October 17, 2013
“I know why Peyton came back for his senior year. He wanted to be a three-time star of the Citrus Bowl.”
“In Knoxville, they’re still doing cartwheels because they went 7-6 and won a bowl game.”
On Auburn:
Spurrier when a fire at Auburn destroyed 20 books: "The real tragedy was that 15 hadn't been colored yet."
— Paul Myerberg (@PaulMyerberg) October 13, 2015
On Alabama:
“In 12 years at Florida, I don’t think we ever signed a kid from the state of Alabama…Of course, we found out later that the scholarships they were giving out at Alabama were worth a whole lot more than ours.”
On Arkansas:
Spurrier: "I do feel badly for Arkansas. That’s no fun getting your butt beat at home, homecoming and all that."
— Josh Kendall (@JoshatTheState) October 12, 2013
On Georgia:
“I don’t know. I sort of always liked playing them the second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended.”
“Why is it that during recruiting season they sign all the great players, but when it comes time to play the game, we have all the great players? I don’t understand that. What happens to them?”
Asked if they would beat Georgia: “Is Ray Goff still coaching there?”
On Clemson:
“These two Capital One bowls in a row are pretty nice, but that state championship ain’t bad either!” – Spurrier in 2014
On Florida State:
“You know what FSU stands for, don’t you? Free Shoes University.”
And after Jadeveon Clowney got a speeding ticket.
“I didn’t know Jadeveon’s car that could go that fast. He doesn’t have a pretty car like those FSU guys used to drive.”
On Florida (when he was at South Carolina), said in 2013:
Spurrier: "Somebody told me the Gators are staying home for the holidays, maybe we can get a bunch of Gators to come to our game." #HBC
— BWW Citrus Bowl (@BWWCitrusBowl) December 12, 2013
On Vanderbilt:
Talking about not having any gimme wins in the NFL. “There are no Vanderbilts in the NFL.”
After Vandy improved: “They’re not slow guys anymore.”
If you have any more, please add them in the comments!
