Steve Spurrier on Lane Kiffin: ‘I firmly think he is a very good coach.’
Steve Spurrier says Florida needs ‘a proven coach,’ mentions Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz.
Gators fans crave winning, but they also love scoring and quarterback play.
All Florida Gators fans want is the second coming of Steve Spurrier. Is that too much to ask?
Actually, it’s asking a lot.
Spurrier is one of one. He goaded the competition, and he backed it up. He changed the game. He inspired a generation of coaches. An offensive mastermind, he developed quarterbacks as well as anyone, but the Head Ball Coach knew more than ball. He understood this is an entertainment business. Sportswriters gravitated to him. He shrewdly helped nickname Florida’s stadium The Swamp.
In an industry full of stiffs, Spurrier’s anything but that.
Which, explains Florida’s fascination with Lane Kiffin. Consider the traits I laid out about Spurrier. Now, consider Kiffin. Understand why Kiffin is the coveted prize? He’s the closest coach to Spurrier Florida could ever hope to find.
What’s Spurrier think of Kiffin? I figured I’d ask.
“I firmly think he is a very good coach,” Spurrier, 80, told me this week. “There’s no question about that. I like him. I like Eli Drinkwitz (of Missouri). I like a lot of guys out there that are proven winners.”
Steve Spurrier on Florida coaching search: ‘Hire a proven coach’
Spurrier’s not so convinced of my idea Gators fans crave the second coming of Spurrier. He thinks it’s more they just want another winner, in any shape or form.
“I think we’re going to try to hire a proven coach who’s got a winning record in the SEC or another major conference,” Spurrier said. “I think that’s the type of coach we’re looking for.”
Florida’s enjoyed two premier coaches in its history. Both established themselves as winners before they coached the Gators. Spurrier went 20-13-1 in three seasons at Duke. If that doesn’t sound good, you’ve forgotten the Blue Devils’ history before he coached them.
Duke’s last ACC championship came as a co-title with Virginia in 1989, Spurrier’s final season before he left to coach his alma mater, where he won the Heisman Trophy.
Later came Urban Meyer, Jeremy Foley’s slam dunk hire. Meyer first won at Bowling Green, and then he won big at Utah.
There’s no Meyer in this search, but Kiffin’s the slam dunk choice, if only he’d leave what he’s built at Mississippi.
Why Lane Kiffin a slam dunk candidate for Florida, but who else?
It’s not just that Kiffin’s coaching style, his gameday fashion — notice the visor? — his pedigree of quarterback development, and his history of quips makes him the spiritual heir to Spurrier.
He’s proven. He’s 27-6 the past 2½ seasons at Ole Miss, continuing the success story of his tenure. He previously won two Conference USA titles in three seasons coaching Florida Atlantic.
Never mind Kiffin’s coaching missteps early in his career. That’s ancient history.
What if Kiffin says no? Interestingly, Drinkwitz owns an identical 27-6 record to Kiffin the past 2½ seasons, although his list of signature victories is shorter. He, too, coaches a playoff contender.
Or, to satisfy Florida’s craving for points, look to Tampa. Alex Golesh’s South Florida Bulls average nearly 42 points and operate an entertaining spread system Golesh learned from Josh Heupel.
While Golesh coordinated Tennessee’s offense in 2022, the Vols led the nation in scoring. Florida probably would hesitate before hiring another Group of Five winner after Billy Napier went bust, but that’s no way to think. Hire the best candidate, period. Curt Cignetti coached James Madison before Indiana hired him. Now, he coaches the nation’s No. 2-ranked team. There’s more than one way to skin this cat.
One potential candidate to avoid? James Franklin.
The fired Penn State coach wants to coach again, and he fits somewhere, but not at Florida. He’s a program builder, but he’s no savant of offense or deft developer of quarterbacks. He’s the anti-Spurrier. I’m imagining Kirby Smart’s reaction to Florida hiring Franklin, and I just see Kirby wagging that tongue.
As for Spurrier, he says the challenge for coaches is tougher nowadays, with NIL and transfer free agency bringing more parity to the SEC than he encountered in his day. He noted Vanderbilt’s recent victory against LSU.
“Those guys are really good up there at Vandy,” Spurrier said.
Yeah, but coach Clark Lea doesn’t wear a visor, and he’s not quick with a quip — to the extent that matters to Florida. Spurrier, for his part, isn’t hung up on that.
“We were certainly winners, when you look at our record” throughout Spurrier’s tenure, the HBC said. “I think that’s what they want.”
I think that’s right, but I think they also want swagger and scoring and quarterback pizzazz and maybe a one-liner or two — and it sure wouldn’t hurt to look good in a visor.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.