A Steve Spurrier gaffe

[O-town Gator]

After reading this comment, I'm even angrier:

"Finebaum was a guest on a local (Mobile, AL) sports radio show this morning, and was asked about this, and he said that Spurrier knew exactly what he was doing, and enjoyed stirring things up.

FWIW, when asked a direct question about whether UM might leave UF for ND, Finebaum said yes. Of course, Finebaum loves to stir things up too."[/QUOTE]

And to top things off, it's all over the place now.

Thank you very much for causing trouble, SOS - you jackass. I don't care WHO you are, you need to learn to keep your big mouth shut!

 

[gatorsare#1]

For crying out loud, he's a coach at another school in the SEC East and he needs to get recruits. You certainly didn't expect him to call UF the greatest thing since sliced bread, did you? All schools want to plant seeds of doubt in the head of a recruit.

 

[O-town Gator]

For crying out loud, he's a coach at another school in the SEC East and he needs to get recruits. You certainly didn't expect him to call UF the greatest thing since sliced bread, did you? All schools want to plant seeds of doubt in the head of a recruit.

Well, if that's the way SOS wants to go about trying to get recruits - attempting to sabotage another school's program - his tactics are juvenile, idiotic and despicable. Like I keep saying, I don't give a cold crap WHO Steve Spurrier is - he doesn't have carte blanche to start trouble at another school. He may have thought it was funny to play into the hands of the rumor-mongers, but I thought it was disgusting. Spurrier was a great coach, but as a person he can be the biggest ASS who ever walked on two feet. I admire him as coach, but can't stand him as a person - and I'll go on record as saying that. His ego gets the best of him, and it's too much.

Another thought to ponder - don't expect Mike Slive to take all this stuff lightly when the SEC meetings roll around before the start of the upcoming football season. Likely he'll address all this negative press between the coaches, and reiterate the rules of member coaches' conduct. Spurrier's and Kiffin's off-season behavior, when you think about it, is not a very nice reflection on our conference as a whole.

 

[MahxFahn]

.................................................
Another thought to ponder - don't expect Mike Slive to take all this stuff lightly when the SEC meetings roll around before the start of the upcoming football season. Likely he'll address all this negative press between the coaches, and reiterate the rules of member coaches' conduct. Spurrier's and Kiffin's off-season behavior, when you think about it, is not a very nice reflection on our conference as a whole.

Actually I thought it was an entertaining hour listening to the 'ol BallCoach. Even his perceived slight against Coach was not a big enough deal to me, since we've been hearing this ever since Coach had that radio interview on the Miami station. All this aside you make a very valid point about how the SEC is perceived. Destin will be an additional media circus. Perhaps Slive will only tap their collective wrists, after all this has brought awareness to the upcoming meeting that had died down since lame's leash was shortened.

 

[O-town Gator]

Actually I thought it was an entertaining hour listening to the 'ol BallCoach. Even his perceived slight against Coach was not a big enough deal to me, since we've been hearing this ever since Coach had that radio interview on the Miami station.

For Meyer, this should be a lesson learned to be careful before he speaks, because as you and I both know, words can be taken out of context and spun in so many different interpretations - that, and there are those who read too much into things. For SOS, he also needs to watch himself and mind his own business.

All in all, my extreme dislike of the media in general is only made stronger over episodes like this. Why can't they just report the news and stop trying to cause so much distress upon some of their readers and listening audience? Those two radio interviewers had a clear motive, and they weren't going to be satisfied until they got the answer they wanted that they knew would cause an uproar. That to me is nauseating.

 

[gatorsare#1]

Well, if that's the way SOS wants to go about trying to get recruits - attempting to sabotage another school's program - his tactics are juvenile, idiotic and despicable.

By this definition, almost every college in the BCS would be guilty since these tactics are very common. Coaches pull out all the stops to land big name recruits and coaches want to make recruits doubt other schools. I think saying it was "sabotage" is a little over the top considering he didn't badmouth the school, the program, or Meyer. All he did was keep a rumor going that Meyer himself started by not thinking before he spoke.

 

[O-town Gator]

By this definition, almost every college in the BCS would be guilty since these tactics are very common. Coaches pull out all the stops to land big name recruits and coaches want to make recruits doubt other schools. I think saying it was "sabotage" is a little over the top considering he didn't badmouth the school, the program, or Meyer. All he did was keep a rumor going that Meyer himself started by not thinking before he spoke.

No, it's not "over the top". Some of these recruits can be influenced one way or another depending on the things they hear, and should some of these silly rumors have a negative impact on UF's efforts then it becomes a big deal.
I'm sorry, but SOS had no right to cause further trouble, either.

 

[gatorsare#1]

No, it's not "over the top". Some of these recruits can be influenced one way or another depending on the things they hear, and should some of these silly rumors have a negative impact on UF's efforts then it becomes a big deal.
I'm sorry, but SOS had no right to cause further trouble, either.

You still didn't mention that MEYER is the one that originally started the whole rumor.

Meyer should get the blame if UF loses recruits over it.

 

[GatorBa!t]

What i have noticed alot is there is a little tension between new school Urban Meyer Florida fans and Steve Spurrier(old school) florida fans, i dont think i could ever be mad at the OBC he helped make some of my most cherished weekends watching the gators play football....i dont think meyer will go to Notre Dame( for now) i think what he is doing is great for the program

 

[O-town Gator]

You still didn't mention that MEYER is the one that originally started the whole rumor.

Meyer should get the blame if UF loses recruits over it.

So, he did. Even so, SOS had no right to make things worse by acting as childish as he did.

 

[O-town Gator]

What i have noticed alot is there is a little tension between new school Urban Meyer Florida fans and Steve Spurrier(old school) florida fans, i dont think i could ever be mad at the OBC he helped make some of my most cherished weekends watching the gators play football....i dont think meyer will go to Notre Dame( for now) i think what he is doing is great for the program

There are some Gator fans who think SOS can do no wrong, but I don't subscribe to that school - I can and will get mad at him for doing and/or saying stupid things.

Nothing would make the media, the rumor-mongers, Gator-haters, rival fans, and even the die-hard Spurrier worshippers happy than to see Weis get canned and Meyer leave for ND. Not this Gator fan - and if the actions of a few amongst our fanbase ever drive Meyer away, I won't forgive them. In my lifetime I never again want to see another 0-10-1 season or three years of mediocrity that we had to put up with under Zook. I don't think Gator fans appreciate Meyer enough for what he's done in the four years that he's been here, and only seem to seek out the negatives to criticize him over. Back in 2004 he could very well have spurned Gainesville for South Bend, but he made the right choice in coming to UF and has enjoyed quick success. IMHO, there's no way SOS could have accomplished that same feat, given what he's done at South Carolina in that same time span.

So what if he let one slip back in December - for crying out loud, nobody's perfect. I just wish everybody would get off Meyer's back for awhile.

 

[gatorsare#1]

What i have noticed alot is there is a little tension between new school Urban Meyer Florida fans and Steve Spurrier(old school) florida fans, i dont think i could ever be mad at the OBC he helped make some of my most cherished weekends watching the gators play football....i dont think meyer will go to Notre Dame( for now) i think what he is doing is great for the program

The Gator fans that I have a problem with are those that believe that Gator football started with Urban Meyer in 2005. These fans tend to exalt everything Meyer has done, at the cost of belittling Spurrier's accomplishments, which were just as good, if not better, for their time.

Stats from first four years of coaching at UF:

SOS Meyer
Total record: 39-10 44-9
SEC record: 27-5 26-8
SEC titles: 2 2
Natl. titles: 0 2

When you consider what Spurrier had to overcome though, it makes the stats pretty equal, even though Spurrier didn't win a national title until 1996.

 

[O-town Gator]

at the cost of belittling Spurrier's accomplishments, which were just as good, if not better, for their time.

Who's "belittling" Spurrier's accomplishments? You know, there are some fans who think that's it's a crime to dare to criticize SOS, and those are the fans I can't STAND. I refuse to put Spurrier on a pedestal, but that doesn't make me any less of a Gator fan than you or anybody else.

When you consider what Spurrier had to overcome though, it makes the stats pretty equal, even though Spurrier didn't win a national title until 1996.

Meyer had a mess to clean up that Ron Zook left, so it wasn't just SOS who had to "overcome" certain circumstances.

 

[gatorsare#1]

Who's "belittling" Spurrier's accomplishments? You know, there are some fans who think that's it's a crime to dare to criticize SOS, and those are the fans I can't STAND. I refuse to put Spurrier on a pedestal, but that doesn't make me any less of a Gator fan than you or anybody else.

Meyer had a mess to clean up that Ron Zook left, so it wasn't just SOS who had to "overcome" certain circumstances.

That "mess" included a large part of the 2006 national championship team. I would hardly say that Meyer had a big mess to clean up, if any mess at all. Zook was put into a no-win situation and he did the best he could. Yes, he could have been better, but Zook certainly wasn't this failure that he is made out to be.

And unlike Meyer, SOS didn't "overcome" 3 years of a poor coach who at least was a good recruiter that left the cupboard with good players. SOS not only overcame 80 YEARS of mediocrity, he overcame UF being on probation. He was the first Gator coach to have sustained success over a long period of time. THAT is why he is put on a pedestal. I really don't understand how some Gator fans can't appreciate how enormous an impact Spurrier had at UF.

 

[O-town Gator]

That "mess" included a large part of the 2006 national championship team. I would hardly say that Meyer had a big mess to clean up, if any mess at all. Zook was put into a no-win situation and he did the best he could. Yes, he could have been better, but Zook certainly wasn't this failure that he is made out to be.

And unlike Meyer, SOS didn't "overcome" 3 years of a poor coach who at least was a good recruiter that left the cupboard with good players. SOS not only overcame 80 YEARS of mediocrity, he overcame UF being on probation. He was the first Gator coach to have sustained success over a long period of time. THAT is why he is put on a pedestal. I really don't understand how some Gator fans can't appreciate how enormous an impact Spurrier had at UF.

I must agree to disagree again. Zook was hardly put into a "no-win" situation"'; he made the same mistakes over and over again that cost us wins or almost cost us wins. Zook may have been able to recruit, but he did leave some positions on the depth chart thin that Meyer was forced to compensate for with having to move players to different positions. Zook was a poor clock manager, couldn't effectively solve problems, and was a weak gameday strategist who, more often than not, played to avoid a loss instead of going all out for the win. There was no excuse for losing the 2003 Outback Bowl to Michigan (that "Rex was open" stunt was idiocy on Zook's part), NOR any excuse for his having coughed up a decent lead in that 2003 game against Miami. Add the embarassment he caused UF as a whole - not to mention himself - over "Fratgate", and that made him look even more ridiculous. Zook had every opportunity to succeed when the odds were stacked against him, and he couldn't do it. "Players-only" meetings that were called during the Zook years were an indication that the leadership coming from the coaching staff was either weak, inadequate, or a combination of both. In the end, the Zook firing was necessary to avoid further deterioration of our football program. Enough was enough.

What Meyer was forced to overcome when he assumed control of the program was low morale, weak leadership, players who were not as conditioned as they should have been to play 60 solid minutes of football, poor academic performance and, in general, a locker room with no real sense of order. It so happens that I watched an "Under the Lights" segment on Meyer several times on Sun Sports, and one thing that stands out is a remark he made to Eric Wilbur back in 2005 that "we have too many soft people on this team". Indeed, Meyer had issues to deal with that he inherited from Zook.

I'm not denying the fact that SOS turned UF football around after probation, but he's not perfect, either. Too many fans think he can do no wrong, and I refuse to be one of them. Like I said, I respect what he accomplished as a coach, but I do have an issue with his personality.