The Retirement of Steve Spurrier = Head Ball Coach
Several Coaches Hot Seat members happened to be in the San Francisco Bay area last night after a weekend of watching college football and taking their families to see the US Navy and Blue Angels at Fleet Week over and around San Francisco Bay and they were having dinner last night at a Cheesecake Factory in Marin County just north of San Francisco when the news broke that…
It wasn’t lost on those Coaches Hot Seat members that they were also together having dinner together in that same Cheesecake Factory in Marin County in November 2011 when it was announced that Joe Paterno had been fired by Penn State and both the Paterno firing and Spurrier retirement left all of us with that shocked feeling that imprints on one’s brain the time and place where one first learned about those two events. Both Joe Paterno and Steve Spurrier are LEGENDS in the history of college football in America and both are true American Originals which is saying something in a world where so many people are afraid to be who they really are…no worries on that front with JoePa and the Head Ball Coach who were true to themselves and WINNERS in every sense of the word to the end!
We could write a Helluva lot in this spot about Steve Spurrier right now and we have written a Helluva lot about the Head Ball Coach over the past NINE college football seasons that Coaches Hot Seat has been following this great game BUT by far TWO Coaches Hot Seat members first encounter with Coach Spurrier is the most memorable story of all:
In the spring of 1990 two Coaches Hot Seat members were serving in the US Navy in Jacksonville, Florida and were looking for a house to rent and answered an ad in the newspaper…..this was long before the Internet was invented by Al Gore young folks so yes a newspaper….so they called up the phone number and the guy renting the house said he would be there that afternoon and to just drive over and see the place.
The two Coaches Hot Seat members drove over to the rental house which was just a couple of blocks from the Atlantic Ocean in Jacksonville Beach, Florida and found no one out front and no one answered the door so they walked around back and there they saw an older man moving a garbage can that had what looked like an empty keg in it with several other empty kegs also sitting on the back deck. This older man turns towards the two Coaches Hot Seat members when he sees them and he has on a t-shirt that looked something like this:
The two Coaches Hot Seat members introduced themselves and then one said to the older man:
Coaches Hot Seat Member: “You a big Florida football fan?”
Older Man: “Hell yes….been one since I was a student there in the 1960s. You guys know who Steve Spurrier is?”
Coaches Hot Seat Member: “The new Florida head football coach.”
Older Man: “Very good son. That’s right and I was at Florida when Steve won the Heisman Trophy and we are going to win a Helluva lot of football games once Steve gets things rolling in Gainesville! So you boys looking for a house to rent?”
Coaches Hot Seat Member: “Yes, sir and we are huge college football fans.”
Older Man looks over the two young men who are clean-cut and obviously in the US Navy: “Great….go ahead and look around the house and bring me out a cold beer that is in the fridge when you come back out. We had a party here last night and there are a few cases of beer left in the fridge that you two can keep if you rent the house.”
The two Coaches Hot Seat members both said “Great” and then took a quick look around the house which at $1,000 a month was a bargain with it being only two blocks from the beach so they came back out and told the Older Man that they would take the house and they all sat on the back deck and talked about college football and drink cold beers for the next few hours.
To make a long story short the Older Man took the two Coaches Hot Seat members down to Gainesville in August when Florida football started their first Fall camp under Steve Spurrier and a “friend” of the Older Man who worked in Florida athletic department and who will remain nameless for obvious reasons to at least some folks took the two Coaches Hot Seat members out to the practice field where they got to meet Steve Spurrier and they watched the Gators practice for awhile.
Not long after watching Spurrier working with the Florida quarterbacks one Coaches Hot Seat member said out loud to no one in particular:
“Florida is going to be throwing the ball all over the field under Spurrier and that is going to create chaos in the SEC.”
As many in the media have pointed out over the last 25 years….Steve Spurrier’s Fun-N-Gun offense at Florida did just that….created chaos…and what GREAT fun it was to watch and follow the Head Ball Coach for the past 25-plus years and make that 40-plus years for the Coaches Hot Seat members that are just barely old enough to remember Spurrier playing quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers for nine seasons between 1967 and 1975 after being selected in the First Round and Third overall in the 1967 NFL Draft.
There is so very Damn much that dozens of Coaches Hot Seat members would like to write in this spot about Coach Spurrier BUT what all of those sentiments boil down to is this….
Thanks Head Ball Coach….for Everything…and Best of Luck to you in Retirement.
OK…with the Head Ball Coach now in retirement and his ass off the Hot Seat let’s get to the….
Post Week 6 Coaches Hot Seat Rankings – 10 – 20 Hot Seat Head Coaches
The Hot Seat Is Not A Fun Place To Be For These Hot Seat Coaches But Turn Up The Heat Up On Them A Little More Johnny Cash!
Post Week 6 Coaches Hot Seat Rankings
10. Doug Martin, New Mexico State – With a very predictable loss to Ole Miss on Saturday New Mexico State and their head coach fell to…
0 – 5
….on the season and there is a very good chance the Aggies don’t win a game in 2015 with these games remaining to be played:
At Georgia Southern
Troy
Idaho
At Texas State
At La. Lafayette
Arkansas State
At La. Monroe
Hell, we will go ahead and predict New Mexico State will be 0 – 11 when the travel to play at La. Monroe on December 5 and that is a game that the Aggies might just be able to win!
As for the subject of a report on ESPN we caught over the weekend about the long-term losing that has dominated New Mexico State football in recent years it’s our opinion if NMSU hired the RIGHT coach that they could win again and when we say RIGHT coach we mean a young and up-and-coming coach that is hungry as Hell to make his mark in the world.
Is Doug Martin “hungry as Hell to make his mark in the world?”
In our opinion….NO.
11. Paul Petrino, Idaho – Idaho had a bye in Week 6 and the 1 – 4 Vandals get back at things this Saturday with a game at Troy which has a first-year head coach who is now sitting on a record of 1 – 4 also so this is a game that Paul Petrino’s football team COULD win if they play like Hell and leave the porridge at the door!
What does “play like Hell and leave the porridge at the door” mean exactly?
Nothing…we just made it up and we are thinking it means that if you leave the porridge at the door you will not be worried about eating but rather you will be playing like Hell while taking names and kicking ass!
Memo to Paul Petrino: Play like Hell and leave the porridge at the door against Troy!
12. Trent Miles, Georgia State – As expected Georgia State lost to Appalachian State…
37 – 3
….on Saturday which drops Trent Miles win/loss records at Georgia State to:
Overall: 2 – 27
Sun Belt: 1 – 16
With a road trip to play MAC Conference team Ball State up next we can only say…
13. Norm Chow, Hawaii – The losses just keep coming for Norm Chow at Hawaii with San Diego State being the latest team to beat the Warriors this past Saturday in The Islands which leaves Chow’s win/loss records at Hawaii now at:
Overall: 10 – 33
MWC: 4 – 22
Geez….this kind of losing CANNOT continue at Hawaii even if Norm Chow is a nice guy…right? RIGHT…we think!
Not that we have ever discussed with Norm Chow getting fired by Pete Carroll at USC after the 2004 season so Carroll could elevate Steve Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin BUT it would be interesting now to ask Norm what he thinks of the two…
BOYS and most certainly not MEN
….flameouts at USC in Kiffin and now Sarkisian which has been nothing short of a Complete Freaking Disaster for the very proud folks around the USC football program.
Just our opinion…..Norm Chow’s firing by Pete Carroll after the 2004 season was one of the Top 5 Stupidest Decisions in college football in the last 50 years which was only made worse by the reality that people outside the USC football program came to believe that Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian were actually qualified to lead an NFL or college football program when in our opinion both are barely qualified to shovel shit in West Texas not that we would hire either to shovel shit since those two Dumbasses would probably mess that easy Damn job up as well!
Up next for Hawaii a game at New Mexico which is a game that the Warriors should have a chance to win but with TEN wins in FOUR seasons on the job who the Hell knows what Hawaii will do against the Lobos…we sure the Hell don’t know!
14. Charlie Strong, Texas – It was great fun watching Charlie Strong’s Texas football team put a whipping on Big Choke Bob Stoops Sooners on Saturday and that celebration at the end of game by the Texas players and Charlie was EPIC!
Congrats Charlie and the Texas Longhorns!
Now back to reality….the Texas Longhorns are now at 2 – 4 on the season and they host Kansas State a week from Saturday after a bye and beating the Wildcats is…
CRITICAL
…because of what is left on the schedule after KSU…
At Iowa State
Kansas
At West Virginia
Texas Tech
At Baylor
OK….Texas in our opinion can beat if they continue to play with a lot of passion and pride as they did against Big Choke Bob Stoops and the Sooners…
Kansas State
Iowa State
Kansas
…which would give the Longhorns FIVE wins on the season but can Texas beat…
West Virginia
Texas Tech
Baylor
In our opinion NO which means Charlie Strong and the Longhorns are staring right at a record of…
5 – 7
…on the season and Charlie Strong on the Hot Seat heading into the offseason unless of course Charlie Strong and his agent slide into another college head coaching job somewhere not that we would recommend that if Charlie can stand the heat in Austin!
Congrats again Charlie and keep it up!
15. Gus Malzahn, Auburn – With Auburn on a bye in Week 6 the troubles of Gus Malzahn and the Auburn Tigers receded from the public eye BUT a MASSIVE game on Thursday night against an improving Kentucky Wildcats team is just beyond HUGE for Gus Malzahn’s future because a loss in this spot would drop the Tigers’ records in 2015 to…
3 – 3 Overall
0 – 3 in SEC Play
…with Auburn still having to play these games:
At Arkansas
Ole Miss
At Texas A&M
Georgia
Idaho
Alabama
In our opinion…if Auburn loses to Kentucky the Tigers will end the 2015 season at…
4 – 8
…..and even worse…
0 – 8
….in SEC Conference play and the last Auburn coach that produced an O-FER in SEC Conference play was shown the door in early December which would be one Gene Chizik after the 2012 season.
YES…Kentucky is the BIGGEST game of Gus Malzahn’s young coaching career.
16. Craig Bohl, Wyoming – With yet another loss…this time to Air Force…Wyoming and head coach Craig Bohl dropped to…
0 – 6
…on the season and things don’t get any easier with Nevada coming to Laramie this coming Saturday.
Could Wyoming really go 0 – 12 in Craig Bohl’s second season coaching the Cowboys?
EASILY!
Craig Bohl = Nice Guy…Very Good Football Coach…Took Wrong Job at the Wrong Time…PERIOD.
17. Mike Riley, Nebraska – Before people continue their crying around the idea that Nebraska has lost FOUR games on their opponents last play in 2015 we must say that this Nebraska football team is filled with talent and there is just No Damn Reason why the Huskers did not go ahead and put away…
BYU
Miami
Illinois
Wisconsin
….long before they allowed the opposing team to win on the last play of those games although the last two losses were totally on the Nebraska coaching staff starting with head coach Mike Riley who just failed their players tremendously against Illinois and Wisconsin.
Nebraska is now 2 – 4 on the season and still has to play games against….
At Minnesota
Northwestern
At Purdue
Michigan State
At Rutgers
Iowa
Best Case Win/Loss Record for Nebraska in 2015 = 7 – 5 – While not great by Nebraska standards if the Huskers win five of their last six games that will be a nice recovery for Mike Riley after a disastrous start in Lincoln.
Worst Case Win/Loss Record for Nebraska in 2015 = 2 – 10 – Yes….Nebraska COULD lose their last six games and finish at 2 – 10 which if it did happen would lead to the firing of Mike Riley and Nebraska AD Shawn Eichorst in early December.
Our Best Guess of the Win/Loss Record for Nebraska in 2015 = 5 – 7 – Yes, we see the Huskers winning three of their remaining six games and finishing with a losing record for only the THIRD time since 1962 which is 53 years for those slow on the uptake with those other TWO losing seasons coming under Bill Callahan who was one of the worst head coaching hires in college football history.
What would happen in Nebraska if the Huskers finished with a losing season in 2015 when they averaged winning NINE games a season under Bo Pelini?
Well…Nebraska fans are now to some extent used to average football and losing even dating back to when Frank Solich was sent packing after the 2003 season so what is another 5 – 7 season although IF we were in Nebraska and were Husker fans and our team went 5 – 7 we would be chewing some butt of someone for Damn sure!
18. Butch Jones, Tennessee – Butch Jones got a badly needed win over Georgia on Saturday and the Vols are now at 3 – 3 on the season with these games left to be played after a bye in Week 7:
At Alabama
At Kentucky
South Carolina
North Texas
At Missouri
Vanderbilt
In our opinion if Tennessee can beat Georgia and should have beaten Oklahoma, Florida, and Arkansas we see no Damn reason at all why the Vols don’t win at least…
7 if not 8 games in 2015!
What will get Butch Jones OFF the Hot Seat?
7 Wins Minimum not that we would be impressed with 7 Wins but that would get Butch Jones OFF the Hot Seat.
19. Todd Berry, La. Monroe – With a 34 – 24 loss to Tulsa on Saturday Todd Berry’s La. Monroe team dropped to 1 – 4 on the season and the Warhawks still have to play in 2015:
Appalachian State
At Idaho
At La. Lafayette
At Troy
Arkansas State
At Texas State
At Hawaii
New Mexico State
Hell…La. Monroe SHOULD win at least 5 of its last 8 games and get to 6 – 7 on the season at the worst and there is Todd Berry’s task…
Get to 6 Wins in 2015!
And if La. Monroe doesn’t get to SIX wins and Todd Berry’s overall record at the school drops to something like….
31 – 43
….in SIX seasons coaching the Warhawks then Katy Bar the Door come December whether Katy leaves the porridge at the door or not!
20. Chuck Martin, Miami (OH) – What the Hell is up Chuck Martin because this Loss, after Loss, after Loss, after Loss is getting old son which included yet another LOSS by Miami (OH) to Ohio on Saturday which drops Chuck Martin’s win/loss records to…
Overall: 3 – 15
MAC: 2 – 8
Up next for Chuck Martin and Miami (OH)…
Northern Illinois
Good Luck with that Chuck!