Spurrier compiled a 122-27-1 record, but as much as the numbers, it was the attitude that made Florida great.
He took the Gators, a team that had never won the SEC or won 10 games in a season, and made them winners. And he did it with style.
In a statement issued by the athletic department Friday, Spurrier said he was "not burned out, stressed out or mentally fatigued from coaching. I just feel my career as a college head coach after 15 years is complete and if the opportunity and challenge of coaching an NFL team happens, it is something I would like to pursue."
Spurrier always has hinted that an NFL job could appeal to him one day. He came close to signing a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995, saying it was a job that always intrigued him.
Spurrier, who won the 1966 Heisman Trophy as Florida's quarterback, loved throwing the ball, didn't mind running up the score and shocked not only Southern football fans, but the whole country, when he started having success almost immediately with the Gators.
Gator fans loved him. Hardly anyone else could stand him, as they watched him flinging his visor, yelling at referees and generally acting more like a college kid than a 50-something coach.
"Call me arrogant, cocky, crybaby, whiner or whatever names you like," Spurrier said in a recent interview. "At least they're not calling us losers anymore. If people like you too much, it's probably because they're beating you."
Steve Spurrier's retirement announcement Friday as released by the University of Florida's Sports Information Department:
``I'm announcing my retirement today Jan. 4, 2002 as Head Football Coach at the University of Florida. I simply believe that 12 years as head coach at a major university in the SEC is long enough.
I thank all the players, assistant coaches, support staff people and the greatest football fans in the world for the success we have shared the last 12 years.
I also personally thank all the Gators that went to the Orange Bowl to support our team last Wednesday night in my final game.
I believe Jeremy Foley, who has a reputation of hiring outstanding coaches, will bring a coach to Florida that will do just as well or better in the years to come. I believe I'm certainly not the only coach to be able to win consistently at Florida.
Our football program is in excellent shape and the next coach will inherit a very talented team, just like I did from Galen Hall's program in 1990.
I've had a wonderful working relationship with all my bosses over the past 12 years. I thank Bob Bryan for hiring me, and I thank Bill Arnsparger, Jeremy Foley, President John Lombardi and President Chuck Young for allowing me to run the football program.
I'm not burned out, stressed out or mentally fatigued from coaching. I just feel my career as a college head coach after 15 years is complete and if the opportunity and challenge of coaching a NFL team happens it is something I would like to pursue.
I believe that the University of Florida is the best place for a high school football player to get an education and play football in the best stadium, ``The Swamp,'' before the best football fans in the world.
Again, I thank the ``Gator Nation'' for the overwhelming support of our teams for 12 years. The seven SEC championships and the 1996 National Championship are memories of a lifetime that we will all share together.
I'm a Gator and will be for the rest of my life.
Source: UF Sports Information Department
http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/1/200626