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Thursday, March 28, 2024
<p>FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2000, file photo, Florida head coach Steve Spurrier is carried off the field by Mike Pearson (71), Kenyatta Walker (78) and Gerard Warren (61) after the Gators downed Auburn 28-6 in the SEC Championship NCAA college football game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Florida is renaming its football field after former coach Steve Spurrier. The university's board of trustees approved the change Thursday, June 9,2016, making it Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)</p>

FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2000, file photo, Florida head coach Steve Spurrier is carried off the field by Mike Pearson (71), Kenyatta Walker (78) and Gerard Warren (61) after the Gators downed Auburn 28-6 in the SEC Championship NCAA college football game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Florida is renaming its football field after former coach Steve Spurrier. The university's board of trustees approved the change Thursday, June 9,2016, making it Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Steve Spurrier was the first coach to call Florida Field The Swamp.

“That’s for sure,” he said.

“It really seemed to stick. It just seems like swamp is a fun word to say.”

And when UF plays its first game at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field in the fall, Spurrier will be back in The Swamp working for the Gators again.

The Head Ball Coach announced his return to his alma mater as an ambassador and consultant to UF’s athletic program on Friday.

The specifics of his role are unclear, but on a teleconference on Friday, he said he looks forward to promoting UF. He also said he would be happy to help with the on-field product, though he’s fine with staying out of the way unless he’s asked.

Spurrier first gained fame at Florida in the mid 1960s as a three-year starting quarterback for the Gators. He won the 1966 Heisman Trophy — Florida’s first — over future NFL Hall of Famer Bob Griese, leading to the statue of his likeness that still stands in Florida’s Heisman garden.

Spurrier returned to UF in 1990 as the head football coach, leading the Gators to their first Southeastern Conference Championship (1991) and national championship (1996 season). He also led Florida to six of its eight current SEC titles.

And now, he said he’s excited to be back again.

“I knew that my coaching career was someday gonna be over, and I wanted to do something,” he said.

“I wanted to be associated with my alma mater, the University of Florida.”

Spurrier said he doesn’t foresee any more coaching in his future aside from possibly volunteering at a high school. In fact, he said this could be his last stop.

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“I certainly believe that this could be my last — not coaching gig — consulting gig, or whatever,” he said. “Who knows.”

Before deciding to come back to Florida, Spurrier was serving in a similar role at South Carolina, where he coached from 2005 to 2015. The sway of coming back to his alma mater, though, was too much to pass up.

“I’m hoping most people understand,” he said when asked of his decision to leave South Carolina for Florida, “although it is a fair question.”

Spurrier said he and his wife, Jerri, plan on returning to Crescent Beach, a small community near Jacksonville.

“Crescent beach is only about an hour and 15 minute drive from here, so that was a pull in this direction also,” he said.

Spurrier also commented on the current state of Florida’s football program, noting how impressed he was with coach Jim McElwain’s first year. However, he added that McElwain won’t be happy with a repeat performance.

“Coach Mac, he wants more than just the Eastern division,” Spurrier said.

Spurrier’s first chance to get a thorough look at UF’s on-field product will be on Sept. 3 during the team’s season opener against Massachusetts. But Spurrier, the man who made The Swamp feared and the Gators relevant, might have a tough time concentrating on the game.

The Gators plan to unveil Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the same day, which is a moment he said will surpass his Heisman Trophy win and any other awards he's won.

“That’s the nicest, the biggest, the most amazing honor I’ve ever received,” he said.

“It will be a little emotional at that time.”

Contact Ethan Bauer at ebauer@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @ebaueri

 

 

FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2000, file photo, Florida head coach Steve Spurrier is carried off the field by Mike Pearson (71), Kenyatta Walker (78) and Gerard Warren (61) after the Gators downed Auburn 28-6 in the SEC Championship NCAA college football game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Florida is renaming its football field after former coach Steve Spurrier. The university's board of trustees approved the change Thursday, June 9,2016, making it Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

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