Can Steve Spurrier Only Win with Superior Talent?

"He can take his'n and beat your'n and take your'n and beat his'n."

Houston Oiler Coach Bum Philips once said this about Miami Dolphin Head Coach Don Shula.

If he were discussing Steve Spurrier, Bum might say, "He can only beat your'n if his'n are lot faster and bigger then your'n."

Sneering Spurrier personified arrogance when he was coach of the highly talented Florida Gators. His teams routinely crushed inferior teams and played teams with similar talent levels close.

But when Spurrier was a Gator, few national teams could match, and none could exceed his Gators' talent level.

Lured from his lush coaching job in the Florida "Swamp" by the pocketbook of Daniel Snyder, he was quickly exposed as head coach of the Washington Redskins. His Redskins teams were poorly prepared and coached.

The Redskin players recognized Spurrier was in over his head and didn't really like coaching in the big leagues. Professionals could not be motivated by a "rah rah" college coach.

Not that Spurrier was all that "rah rah," it seems he only wanted the $25 million contract and DC Beltway national spotlight.

Pride, a haughty spirit, and a highly publicized NFL contract comes before a fall. In Florida, all those homegrown 4.4 speed guys prevented a coaching fall by blowing past all those 4.7 speed guys. Not so in the big leagues.

The Redskins fell apart, out scored 85-31 in the last three games of Spurrier's second season, and the Ole Ball Coach resigned. Perhaps he hated the NFL or perhaps it was hubris, but Spurrier longed to return to his SEC home.

But you can't go home again; his Gator job was long gone.

In 2005, Spurrier landed in South Carolina as coach of the Gamecocks. He has struggled in South Carolina, only going 22-16. The Gamecocks seem stuck in SEC mediocrity, and Spurrier doesn't seem to make that much of a difference.

Spurrier has not been as good a coach as Holtz, Lou or Skip.

An NFL coach once scoffed at Spurrier's coaching ability, saying there are no Vanderbilts in the NFL. Now Spurrier, who lost to Vanderbilt for the second year in a row this week, can't even beat the Vanderbilts of the SEC.