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By Jason Parker
For many, the name Bill Arnsparger is one that may not be a household one, but anyone who is a fan of both college and professional football knows the importance his legacy has on the game. Arnsparger passed away Friday at his home in Athens, Alabama at the age of 88.
Between the resume of coaches he worked under to his own career, Arnsparger will go down in history as one of the best. He served as an assistant to Woody Hayes at Ohio State and Blanton Collier at Kentucky, where he met a fellow assistant named Don Shula.
He would join Shula with the Baltimore Colts and followed him to Miami and became the defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins. That tenure in South Florida saw the team win back-to-back-Super Bowl championships, including the undefeated 1972 season while leading the famed “No-Name Defense”.
Arnsparger spent three years as head coach of the New York Giants before returning to the Dolphins, this time working with a group called the “Killer B’s” and going to another Super Bowl after the 1982 season.
Arnsparger returned to college ball and became the head coach at LSU in 1984, leading the Tigers for three years and winning the SEC title in 1986. Shortly after, he resigned to become the athletics director at Florida. All he did there was help guide them through tough years including NCAA probation, renovate facilities and hire a football coach by the name of Steve Spurrier. The rest, as they say, is history.
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